評論
打印
Listen to part of a lecture in an environmental science class.
請聽環境科學課上的部分內容。
Now, there is a growing interest these days in generating electricity from renewable energy sources, right?
這些天人們對利用可再生能源發電的興趣越來越濃，對吧？
From developing wind farms to tapping into an underground source of geothermal energy.
從發展風電場到開發源自地下的地熱能。
And when you’re considering a new project, it’s important to look at the costs as well as benefits of developing that energy source.
在考慮一個新項目時，看到發展這種能源的利益的同時，也要看到成本，這很重要。
Let me give you an example of the kind of thing I’m talking about.
我給你們舉個例子解釋一下我在說的事情吧。
There is currently a lot of interest in harnessing the power of the oceans, of the ocean tides, that is,
目前很多人對利用海洋中的能源興趣頗多，利用海洋潮汐，
the movement of huge amounts of water which causes the water level of oceans to rise and fall.
也就是會導致海洋的水平面上升下降的大量水體的運動。
The idea is that if we can harness that tidal energy, it’d be a great clean renewable energy sources.
想法是如果我們能利用潮汐能，它會成為一種很棒的可再生清潔能源。
One place where this tidal energy can be harnessed is at a shallow body of water, such as an estuary.
這種潮汐能可以得到利用的一個地方就是在較淺的水域中，比如入海口。
Now, can anyone tell us what an estuary is? Yes, Ted.
有人能告訴我們入海口是什么嗎？好的，Ted。
An estuary is where a river enters the ocean.
入海口就是河水匯入海洋的地方。
The fresh water meets the ocean water, sometimes it is covered in water, sometimes it is not.
淡水遇到了海水，有時候它會被覆蓋在水中，有時候不會。
Some parts of the estuary, as the tides go in and out, but other parts are always submerged.
當潮汐進進出出時，入海口的一些部分是顯露在外的，但是其他部分總是沉沒在水中。
Now, estuaries are an ideal place to try to capture energy from changes in tides because,
入海口是捕捉潮汐變化中產生的能量的一個理想地點，
well, there is an exceptionally large difference between the water level at high tide and at low tide.
因為滿潮和低潮的水平面之間有特別大的差異。
