自给自足的德国村庄

河北 胡金莹

受能源价格上涨的影响，许多欧洲人在冬天通过调低暖气和关灯来节约能源。然而，住在德国东部菲利德海姆村的130人并非如此。

主题语境：自给能源 篇幅：354词 建议用时：6分钟

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 (涡轮机) 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.在当地一个教育组织工作的凯瑟琳·汤普森说，村民们晚上都能睡得很好。

【点石成金】句中的who 引导的是定语从句，在从句中作主语，that 引导的是宾语从句。

2.It is a lack of sufficient transmission capacity that often leads to shutdowns at wind parks.由于缺乏足够的输电能力，风电场经常关闭。

【点石成金】本句为强调句，其构成结构为：It is/was+被强调部分+that/who+其他。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

prepare for 为……准备

turn down 调低

as a whole 总的来说

be responsible for 对……负责

participate in 参加；参与

benefit from 从……中受益