Jatropha: a new biofuel

文章大意

讲座介绍麻疯树（小桐子）作为新型生物燃料的潜力：它能在贫瘠土壤和干旱中生长，种子可蒸馏出柴油，出油量是大豆的四倍、玉米的十倍；在非洲社区用于抽水、冷藏药品、制蜡烛和做围栏，叶片煮水可缓解疟疾，某些种子可治消化问题，燃烧时吸收的二氧化碳使其比化石燃料更环保。

题目与答案

1. Jatropha: A New Biofuel

   Plant facts

   The plant jatropha

   - is originally from Central America

   - can grow in poor quality infertile 31_____

   答案：soil

   原文定位：Few things that make this plant especially attractive is that it can survive in very poor quality and fertile soil

   同义替换：「grow」↔「survive」

2. - can survive 32_____ for a long period of time

   答案：drought

   原文定位：And for up to three years, it's resistant to drought. That's right. It can do without rain for that long

   同义替换：「for a long period of time」↔「for up to three years」

3. - can stop 33_____ of land

   答案：erosion

   原文定位：And even if it's not actually a plant that people can eat, it's still worth having it on your land as it prevents erosion

   同义替换：「stop」↔「prevents」

4. Its seeds

   - can be used to produce diesel oil

   - produce far more fuel than soybean or 34_____

   - provide biofuel mass for power stations

   - produce renewable energy

   答案：corn

   原文定位：After processing, the seeds can yield up to four times the oil that soybean can and ten times the amount compared to corn

   同义替换：「produce far more fuel than」↔「ten times the amount compared to」

5. Uses of jatropha in Africa

   - for water pumps and fridges

   - made into 35_____

   答案：candles

   原文定位：It can be used to produce candles or as a fencing plant to keep some animals enclosed and some animals out

   同义替换：「made into」↔「produce」

6. - fencing plants for animals

   - the 36_____ are bolied and used to treat malaria

   答案：leaves

   原文定位：For example, the boiled leaves can do much to relieve the suffering of people with malaria

   同义替换：「used to treat」↔「relieve the suffering of people with」

7. - for problems with 37_____

   答案：digestion

   原文定位：and some Jatropha species have seeds which are used to treat digestion problems

8. European companies` claims about jatropha

   - It could help stop poverty among rural populations

   - few modification is needed for modern diesel engines

   - The plants use up lots of 38_____

   答案：carbon dioxide

   原文定位：When the plants are burnt, they release carbon dioxide, but they absorb great amounts when they're growing, making them a considerably greener alternative to fossil fuels

   同义替换：「use up lots of」↔「absorb great amounts」

9. Problems with jatropha

   - some seeds are toxic

   - unreliable oil productively

   Other criticisms of biofuels

   - widespread production of biofuels could result in

   ·high food prices in poor countries

   ·environmental damage caused by loss of rainforst and 39_____,

   答案：wildlife

   原文定位：companies are cutting down vast areas of rainforest which can never be replaced, and this in turn results in the disappearance of wildlife which depended on that habitat

   同义替换：「loss of」↔「cutting down vast areas of」，「environmental damage caused by」↔「results in the disappearance of」

10. adding to the problem of 40_____

    答案：global warming

    原文定位：You can also imagine that such deforestation makes a considerable contribution to global warming

    同义替换：「adding to」↔「makes a considerable contribution to」，「loss of rainforest」↔「deforestation」