VOA常速英语2008年-Virgin Atlantic Flies Jet Using Biofuel

By Paul Sisco
Washington
28 February 2008
 

Air travel is growing rapidly around the world and the fuel jets burn is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Virgin¹ Atlantic Airlines President Richard Branson demonstrated this week that using biofuel to power a commercial jetliner may make the sky a little greener. Paul Sisco has today's Searching for Solutions report.

With much fanfare² billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson tested a Boeing 747 jumbo jet's ability to fly with biofuel powering its massive engines.

"What we are trying to prove is something most of the people have said is impossible," Branson explains.  "People have said it is impossible for biofuel to be used in current-day jet engines at 30,000 feet (10,000 meters), that it will freeze; and we've been working with GE (General Electric) and Boeing over the last year to prove them wrong, and we've actually found that we could use up to a 40 percent biofuel mix in conventional jet engines."

The London to Amsterdam flight was partially³ powered with a mixture of coconut⁴ and babassu nut oil. Branson calls the development historic. Many environmentalists oppose it.

Leo Murray, who is with an (activist) organization called Plane Stupid says, "This is a greenwash venture that is designed to send a message out to the public that it's ok to continue flying because a 'technofix' is just around the corner."

Jos Dings, directs a group called the European Federation⁵ for Transport and the Environment.  "It depends crucially on what sort of biofuel you use, how much land that biofuel actually uses," he explained. "If Virgin would power its entire fleet with biofuel, it would have to use about half of (Britain's) arable⁶ land in order to achieve that, and that outlines the scale of the problem."

Branson counters that this is a start, and he has pledged more than a billion (U.S.) dollars for continued research into greener fuels.

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？