自給自足的德國村莊

河北 胡金瑩

受能源價格上漲的影響，許多歐洲人在冬天通過調低暖氣和關燈來節約能源。然而，住在德國東部菲利德海姆村的130人并非如此。

主題語境：自給能源 篇幅：354詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Europeans prepare for the increase in prices of their energy bills in winter.Many plan to try to save energy in winter by turning down the heat and turning off lights, but not the 130 people who live in the east German village of Feldheim.The little village has been energy self-sufficient for more than ten years.

2Feldheim built a few wind turbines (渦輪機) to provide it with electricity as an experiment in the 1990s.Then,the village expanded that effort to build a local electrical system,solar panels,batteries,and more turbines.

3A biogas factory built to keep pigs warm was enlarged.It pumps hot water through a village-wide central heating system.A hydrogen production center is also being built.Now,55 wind turbines can be seen on the farmlands around Feldheim.Locals enjoy some of the lowest electricity and natural gas prices in Germany.

4Kathleen Thompson who works for a local educational organization said that the villagers can all sleep well at night.“They've got no misgivings because the prices are not going to change,not in the immediate future anyway,”she said.

5Thousands of visitors from around the world come to see how Feldheim produces green energy.Germany, as a whole, still uses carbon-based fuel for much of its energy needs,but the country has invested billions in the growth of renewable energy to reduce its use of climate-changing energy.Even with that investment,carbon-based fuels and nuclear energy were responsible for more than half of the country's total power production in the first six months of 2022.

6It is a lack of sufficient transmission capacity that often leads to shutdowns at wind parks.Carbon-based fuel plants then increase their production to provide electricity to factories in the south.

7Michael Knape is the mayor of Treuenbrietzen, the city to which Feldheim belongs.He said letting locals participate in and benefit from the project was key to Feldheim's success.

8The community has approved so many turbines that it makes and exports about 250 times more electricity than it uses.Knape admitted that Feldheim's effort can not be copied everywhere,but he said that such projects can be a big part of a solution.

Reading Check

Detail 1.Why do many Europeans want to save energy in winter?

A.To do some experiments.

B.To cut down their costs.

C.To learn from Germany.

D.To protect the environment.

Vocabulary 2.What does the underlined word“misgivings”mean in paragraph 4?

A.Concerns.B.Methods.

C.Requests.D.Comments.

Detail 3.What played an important role in Feldheim's success?

A.The lower price of energy.

B.People's joining in the project.

C.The local government's support.

D.The purchase of enough wind turbines.

Inference 4.What's the author's attitude towards Feldheim's project?

A.Active.B.Negative.

C.Objective.D.Uninterested.

Language Study

I.Difficult sentences in the text

1.Kathleen Thompson who works for a local educational organization said that the villagers can all sleep well at night.在當地一個教育組織工作的凱瑟琳·湯普森說，村民們晚上都能睡得很好。

【點石成金】句中的who 引導的是定語從句，在從句中作主語，that 引導的是賓語從句。

2.It is a lack of sufficient transmission capacity that often leads to shutdowns at wind parks.由于缺乏足夠的輸電能力，風電場經常關閉。

【點石成金】本句為強調句，其構成結構為：It is/was+被強調部分+that/who+其他。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

prepare for 為……準備

turn down 調低

as a whole 總的來說

be responsible for 對……負責

participate in 參加；參與

benefit from 從……中受益