ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Solar House Competition

ENVIRONMENT REPORT – October 18, 2002: Solar House Competition

By Cynthia Kirk

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Experts say in the near future, many houses in the United¹ States will be powered by
energy from the sun. Many people in Washington², D-C, recently were able to see
what some of those homes might look like. Several hundred college students from
across the country took part in a competition to see who could build the best solar-
powered house. The United States Department of Energy organized the competition.

Students from fourteen colleges and universities took part in this Solar Decathlon
competition. Student teams competed in a series³ of ten contests to see who could
design, build and operate the best house powered only by the sun.

The solar homes were built on the National Mall, the grassy⁴ open area between the United States Capitol building
and the Washington Monument⁵. The solar houses were set up in the middle.

Each team included at least twenty students of design, architecture⁶ and building sciences. The students gained the
money to buy equipment and materials for their house. Each house cost as much as two-hundred-fifty-thousand
dollars to build.

A solar-powered house has a roof designed to take in the heat of the sun and change it to energy. That power is
then stored in a battery⁷ bank which supplies power to the whole house.

As part of the competition, the teams were expected to spend most of the day in their homes doing normal
activities. The activities used electricity powered by the sun. For example, the students cooked food, used
computers, operated lights and washed clothes in machines. They even drove⁸ around the solar village in electric
cars powered by a solar battery.

Richard King is the director⁹ of the United States Department of Energy’s solar energy programs. He created the
idea for the Solar Decathlon. He says the contest is designed to show Americans that solar energy works¹⁰. He says
the use of solar energy in the United States is less than in other parts of the world. Seventy-percent of solar
equipment made in the United States is sold to developing¹¹ countries.

Mister¹² King says only about twenty-thousand American homes are solar-powered. He says contests such as the
Solar Decathlon could influence more builders and homeowners to support the use of solar energy.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

3 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

5 monument   

n.纪念碑；遗址，遗迹；有永久价值的作品，不朽的功业

参考例句：

• A monument was set up as a memorial to the dead soldiers.为阵亡将士立了一个纪念碑。
• The monument bears the mark of age.纪念碑上有年深日久的痕迹。

6 architecture   

n.建筑学，建筑术；建筑物；组织，结构

参考例句：

• I'm interested in classical architecture.我喜爱古典建筑风格。
• She studied architecture and art history at the university.她在大学里学习建筑和艺术史。

7 battery   

n.电池；一批；金属物件；群；【律】殴打

参考例句：

• He is charging a storage battery.他在为蓄电池充电。
• The battery has run down.电池用完了。

8 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

9 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

11 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

12 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。