High?tech sails for modern cargo ships风能货船，节能又环保

彭文国

主題语境：环保货船 篇幅：350词 建议用时：7分钟

1 On August 21， a cargo ship traveling from Singapore to Brazil became the first to tryout a new kind of sail. The sail is expected to save fuel and cut pollution. If it works well，similar sails could become common on cargo ships over the next few years.

2 The new sail is called WindWing. When the ship is at sea， the WindWing can beraised and turned to catch the wind， helping the ship move forward. When the ship is inport， or when the weather is rough， theWindWing can be folded down flat on theship's deck.

3 Cargill， a huge American food company，had the idea of creating the sail. Becauseit depends on ships to transport itsfood， Cargill was interested in finding waysto reduce pollution from its shipping operations. Shipping produces a huge amount of pollution.About 2.1% of the world's CO2 pollution comes from shipping. In recent years， thatnumber has been increasing. So Cargill decided to try looking at how ships used to move，long before fossil fuels became common—wind power.

4 Cargill asked the British company BAR Technologies to design a sail for cargo ships.And a company called Yara Marine built the WindWings， which were then put on the PyxisOcean—a cargo ship owned by Mitsubishi. In tests， the Pyxis Ocean was able to reach speeds of up to 10 kph using just the WindWings， and no fuel at all.

5 Normally， the Pyxis Ocean will use fuel， but it aims to use far less by letting the windhelp out. Cargill says computer studies show that each WindWing can save 1.65 tons offuel every day. The Pyxis Ocean has two WindWings. Cargill says these should cut theship's pollution by about 30%.

6 The Pyxis Ocean will take six weeks to reach Brazil. Cargill plans to carefully studythe results to learn how well the WindWing worked， and whether it can be improved. Theexciting thing about WindWings is that， if they work well， they can be made to fit manycargo ships that are currently running on fossil fuels.

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1. Why was the WindWing created？

A. To provide a cheaper power source for cargo ships.

B. To increase the speed of cargo ships.

C. To reduce fuel consumption of cargo ships.

D. To improve the stability of cargo ships.

2. Which company came up with the idea for the WindWing sail？

A. The Pyxis Ocean. B. Cargill.

C. BAR Technologies. D. Yara Marine.

3. How much fuel can each WindWing save per day？

A. 1.65 tons. B. 2.1 tons.

C. 10 tons. D. 30 tons.

4. What is the expected impact of WindWings on the Pyxis Ocean's pollution？

A. It will reduce pollution by nearly 10%.

B. It will reduce pollution by nearly 20%.

C. It will reduce pollution by nearly 30%.

D. It will reduce pollution by nearly 40%.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. 日積月累

common adj. 常见的

transport v. 运输

reduce v. 减少

produce v. 生产；制造

increase v. 增加

speed n. 速度

improve v. 改进

currently adv. 目前

cargo ship 货船

wind power 风力

fossil fuel 化石燃料

Ⅱ. 语法填空

A cargo ship traveling 1.__________Singapore to Brazil tested a new kind of sail calledWindWing， 2. __________was designed to save fuel and reduce pollution. Developed byCargill， 3.__________food company， in partnership with BAR Technologies and YaraMarine， the WindWings can be raised and turned 4. __________（catch） the wind， pushingthe ship forward. In tests， the ship 5.__________（reach） speeds of up to 10 kph using onlythe WindWings， without any fuel. Computer studies suggest that each WindWing can save1.65 tons of fuel daily， 6.__________（result） in a 30% reduction in pollution for the ship. Ifsuccessful， WindWings could be fixed on many cargo 7.__________（ship） currently usingfossil fuels， providing a greener option 8. __________the shipping industry. The results fromthe Pyxis Ocean's journey will be 9. __________（careful） studied for potential improvements.John Cooper， 10.__________runs BAR， says that by 2025， he expects half of new cargoships to come with some sort of wind power.