VOA慢速英语2009-Development Report - Rural Areas of Kenya Get Co

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Some young engineers from the United States have brought the Internet to several areas of rural¹ Kenya.

Their idea was to connect the communities to the Web by satellite. But there was a problem. The areas are not even connected to Kenya's electric power supply. The answer: solar panels². Energy from the sun powers the satellite dishes and computers that link the areas with the world outside.
　
Kelly Moran, lower left, and Joan Ervin explain communications equipment in Kenya

Kelly Moran, Joan Ervin and Tricia Donajkowski spent ten days in Kenya in November. The women recently earned master's degrees in space systems engineering³ from the University of Michigan.

Another engineer, Drew Heckathorn, did not go to Africa but worked on parts of the project.

Kelly Moran says there was excitement when the team would arrive to connect communities to the Internet. People would sometimes run alongside⁴ the car carrying the engineers to welcome them. And local residents⁵ would offer to help the team build the Internet stations.

People now have access to educational, medical and all kinds of other information. Farmers, for example, can easily find weather, crop and price information online.

The project began back at the college of engineering in Ann Arbor⁶, Michigan, in two thousand seven. That was when twenty-five students in a class taught by Thomas Zurbuchen first talked about the idea.

The goal was to test whether Internet stations could be set up, how much they would cost, and how long they could operate. But the engineers also had to consider others things -- like social needs. Students from the public health and business schools offered advice.

The young engineers also had to design the equipment to survive the heat in Africa. Professor Zurbuchen praises his former students for "making something work in a different climate far away from home."

Google paid for the final design of the equipment. The company is also supporting the costs of the satellite bandwidth needed for the connections. Google has invested⁷ in a new company that wants to put up a system of satellites over Africa. The availability of more satellites would reduce the costs.

Just five percent of Africans have Internet connections. The International Telecommunication⁸ Union says one-third of Kenyans have mobile⁹ phones. But mobile phones may or may not work well with the Internet.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts¹⁰ and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

2 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。

3 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

4 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

5 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

6 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

7 invested   

v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• The money will be invested in managed funds. 这笔钱将投资于管理基金。
• He invested his lawyer with complete power to act for him. 他让律师全权代办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

9 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

10 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句