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Voice 1
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
One in four people in the world live without electricity. They cannot store food in an electric refrigerator. They have to cook using dangerous fires. And they cannot see at night unless they have light powered by fuel or battery2. Without electricity, many small jobs are more difficult - especially daily jobs, like cooking.
Voice 2
Lack of electricity is a major problem. But a group of scientists and one not-for-profit organization are working together to try and solve this problem. They have created an unusual, new stove. This new SCORE Stove can do much more than just cook. It can also produce electricity and work as a refrigerator - to keep food cool. Teo Sanchez, is a writer from the not-for-profit organization, Practical3 Action. On their website, he wrote:
Voice 3
"This amazing stove has the ability to greatly change the lives of people living in poverty4. It can bring electricity to people who have never had it. It can give them dependable light, heat, education and health care for the first time in their lives."
Voice 1
But how does this stove produce electricity? It does it in a very unusual way. The SCORE Stove produces electricity from sound waves! Today's Spotlight is on the SCORE Stove and how it produces power from sound.
Voice 2
In the early 19th century, scientist Robert Stirling proposed5 an idea for a new kind of engine. It was a “thermodynamic” engine. The engine’s name comes from two words – “thermo” meaning heat and “dynamic” meaning moving. His engine translated heat energy into mechanical6 power.
Voice 1
In 1999, scientists Scott Backhaus and Greg Swift7 produced this new kind of engine. This new engine was called a “thermoacoustic” or “heat sound” engine. The new engine was based on Stirling’s thermodynamic engine. However, it also used new technology. This technology translated heat into sound energy.
Voice 2
The thermoacoustic engine has no moving parts. Instead, it uses a system of pipes containing hot and cold air. When the hot and cold air meet, powerful8 vibrations9 or sound waves are produced. And this sound energy is more powerful than traditional heat energy.
Voice 1
The first thermoacoustic engine cost a lot of money to develop. It was also difficult to use. However, many scientists could see the ways that this new engine could help people living without electricity. So scientists at Nottingham University in the United10 Kingdom decided11 to try and improve the new technology. They decided to change the engine’s design a little. They also decided to power the engine using a cooking stove. This was the beginning of the SCORE-Stove.
Voice 2
The SCORE Stove is powered by a small wood fire. The stove traps12 the heat and smoke produced by the fire. This reduces the amount of smoke that escapes into the air. It makes cooking a lot easier. The stove also uses less wood than a normal fire stove. Joe Jamieson works13 for the not for profit organization Alstom UK. He told the University of Nottingham’s news organization:
Voice 4
“This technology is life changing and very creative. It helps to solve a very serious problem by reducing the risk of death from cooking smoke. Cooking smoke kills more people than malaria14 each year. The stove also provides electricity in a safe and easy to produce way.”
Voice 1
The stove is also good for the environment. In many country areas, people use large amounts of wood to make cooking fires. With the SCORE Stove, they do not have to use as much wood. The SCORE Stove requires very little heat. It is able to create a lot of electricity by translating the heat into sound energy. The electricity can also be used to power other things in a home - like lights, a refrigerator and even a mobile15 telephone.
Voice 2
After creating the SCORE Stove, the University of Nottingham scientists decided to test it. They began working with a not for profit organizations called Practical Action. Together, they started testing the stove in areas of Nepal and Kenya.
Voice 1
The University of Nottingham scientists also began working with scientists from Kathmandu University in Nepal. They produced a Nepalese version16 of the SCORE Stove. It is made of low cost, local materials, and it runs on local fuel. Bim Prasad Shrestha is a teacher at Kathmandu University. He helped test the stove in Nepal. He was very excited the first time they were able to run the stove on Nepalese fuel. He told Teo Sanchez of Practical Action:
Voice 5
“It was a great day for us! We managed to create powerful sound waves in our system. We could make electricity using the new stove. It was a great time for our engineers. They successfully17 lit a small light and boiled water at the same time using the wood fire stove.”
Voice 1
Powering a small light may seem like a small thing. But for the engineers working on this project, it was very important. It meant that people who needed electricity in Nepal could create it with this stove.
Voice 2
SCORE Stoves are also helping18 people in Kenya - people like Betty. Betty lives near the city of Kisumu. She works very long days. She awakes at five in the morning to cook food for her family. After noon, she works cleaning the house of another family. The Practical Action organization gave Betty a SCORE Stove to use in her house. Now, Betty can cook complex19 meals quickly. And she has more time to spend with her family. Teo Sanchez talked with Betty after she received her new stove. He explained,
Voice 3
“We talked to Betty about how to start, operate and use the stove safely. Immediately she started to cook. She found that the stove was quick, that it worked well and that it was smokeless. She prepared a meal of meat and vegetables for her family and for us. She prepared it in about 30 minutes…I have to say I enjoyed the food Betty prepared. I also enjoyed watching her face filled with happiness.”
Voice 1
The writer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes20 were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, “The SCORE Stove.”
Voice 2
If you have a comment, you can email us at [email protected]. Or you can leave a comment on the script21 page of this program. You can also find us on Facebook - just search for Spotlight Radio.
Voice 1
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
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spotlight
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| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
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battery
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| n.电池；一批；金属物件；群；【律】殴打 | |
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practical
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| adj.实际的，实践的；实用的，应用的；有实际经验的 | |
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poverty
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| n.贫穷， 贫困， 贫乏， 缺少 | |
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proposed
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| 被提议的 | |
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mechanical
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| adj.机械(学)的；力学的；机械似的；手工操作的 | |
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swift
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| n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地 | |
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powerful
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| adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的 | |
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vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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united
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| adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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traps
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| n.随身携带物，随身行李；圈套( trap的名词复数 )；（对付人的）计谋；（练习射击用的）抛靶器；（捕捉动物的）夹子v.诱骗( trap的第三人称单数 )；使受限制；困住；使（水与气体等）分离 | |
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works
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| n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件 | |
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malaria
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| n.疟疾 | |
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mobile
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| adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体 | |
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version
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| n.版本；型号；叙述，说法 | |
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successfully
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| adv.圆满地；顺利地；成功地 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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complex
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| adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体 | |
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quotes
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| v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价 | |
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script
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| n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹 | |
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