VOA标准英语2009年-US, Chinese Officials Discuss Energy Coope

The U.S. energy secretary says global warming is proceeding¹ more quickly than originally predicted. Stephen Chu is in China, the world's top emitter of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, to urge greater Sino-American cooperation to combat the problem.

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu told an overflow² audience at Beijing's Tsinghua University that climate change is a growing and urgent problem. He says an effective solution will require stronger global cooperation.

"It's for this reason that one should not be saying, 'well, the developed world has thrown out [emitted] all this carbon - you made the problem, you fix it.' We all live in the same world," said Chu. "The developed world did make the problem, I admit that. But the developing world is going to make the problem much, much worse, and we're all in it together, so we have to fix it together."

China and the United States are the world's top two emitters of carbon dioxide, from burning coal and oil. Many scientists believe carbon dioxide is one of the main reasons climate change is accelerating.

"China and the US, together, now constitute 42 percent of all the carbon dioxide emitted in the world today," he said. "And so, what the United States does and what China does in the coming decade will actually, in large part, determine the fate of the world."

The two governments on Wednesday announced the creation of a joint³ research center to develop clean energy sources.

Chu's lengthy⁴ speech ran past the allotted⁵ time for questions from the students.

This 19-year-old physics freshman⁶, surnamed Kang, says he would have asked Chu whether the U.S. plans to share its latest technology to combat climate change.

Kang says this is important because the technological⁷ level in many countries still lags behind that of the United States.

Technology is not the main issue for this 25-year-old graduate student, surnamed Han, who is in Tsinghua's Built Environment Department.

To her, it is a matter of changing personal habits and attitudes. She points out that Chinese people, on average, use less energy than Americans.

Han says for example, Americans use clothes dryers⁸ and dishwashers - all electric appliances. She says Chinese people like to hang their clothes to naturally and wash their dishes by hand.

At the same time, she says she is impressed with Chu, a Chinese-American Nobel Prize winner whose parents both graduated from Tsinghua University. She says if the U.S. and Chinese governments do cooperate to fight global warming, it can only be a good thing.

1 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

2 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

5 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

6 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

7 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

8 dryers   

n.干燥机( dryer的名词复数 )；干燥器；干燥剂；干燥工

参考例句：

• Men also have hair dryers and, if they suffer from baldness, they use a growth stimulator, buy hairpieces, or have hair transplanted from the hirsute part of the scalp to the bare areas. 男士也有他们的吹风机，而且如果他们秃顶的话，还会用毛发生长剂、买假发，或者把头发从密集的地方移植到谢顶的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dryers can be automated. 干燥机可以自动化作业。 来自辞典例句