16.A World without Oil.
16、假如世界没有石油
1. Have you ever stopped to think how your life would change if the world ran out of oil? Take a look at your day. The roof of your home is probably made waterproof by an oil product, bitumen. The same product is used for the road surface outside your home. Before you leave to go to work or school, just examine your surroundings. Is the room warmer than the cold air outside? Oil, or electricity from oil-fed generators may be keeping you comfortably warm. If you are comfortably cool in a tropical climate, your air conditioning unit may also depend on oil-fed generators.
1、你曾想过没有，如果世界上用尽了石油，你的生活会发生什么样变化呢？请看一看你的日常生活。你家的屋顶可能是用一种叫沥青的石油产品做成防水的。沥青同样可用来铺你家外面的路面。在你离家去上班或上学之前，请观察一下你周围的环境。房间里会比外面冷空气暖和吗？这是石油或由燃油发电机发出来的电使你感到舒适温暖。如果你在炎热的气候里感到舒适凉爽，那么你家的空调器可能也是靠燃油发电机工作的。
2. In the kitchen and the bathroom you will probably see some plastic fittings such as tiles and working surfaces; polystyrene cups; curtains made from synthetic materials; disinfectants and detergents. All owe their origin to the oil known as petroleum (Latin/Greek 'petra', rock, and Latin 'oleum', oil), found deep in the earth. Look inside the medicine cupboard for more petroleum products, medical paraffin and petroleum jelly. Cosmetics such as face creams, lipsticks and hair preparations are often based on petroleum.
2、在厨房和浴室里你可能看到一些塑料器具，如塑料地板和塑料操作台面、聚苯乙烯杯子、合成材料的浴帘、消毒剂和去污剂。所有这些都是来自称为“Petroleum”的石油。“Petroleum”(石油)是(由拉丁或希腊文"petro"(岩石)和拉丁文"oleum"(油)组成)，深埋在地下。向药厨里看看，你可以找到更多的石油产品，如药用石蜡和凡士林。化妆品如雪花膏、唇膏、洗发剂等，常用石油作为基本原料。
3. When you're out, notice the fields and gardens. Fertilizers and insecticides made from petroleum can improve crop production. Recently protein feeds for animals have been developed by growing yeast in a petroleum based stock. As you head for your bus, train or car, all of which use petroleum products in the form of fuel to move them and lubricants to keep them in working order, take a look in the mirror. What are you wearing today? A polyester shirt or dress, nylon socks or stockings, and acrylic sweater-a raincoat of PVC (polyvinyl chloride)? All of these are based on petroleum products.
3、当外出时你会看到农田和花园。化肥和杀虫剂是由石油制取的，可以使农作物增产。最近已经研制出一种动物食用的蛋白质饲料，它是用石油作为基本原料加上酵母而制成的。公共汽车、货车或小轿车，都是靠石油产品作燃料开动的，用润滑油保持这些车辆正常工作。当你去乘车之前要照一照镜子。看看今天穿什么衣服好？是化纤服装（衬衫还是外套），是尼龙袜（短袜还是长袜），晴纶毛衣还是塑料雨衣？而所有这些都是用石油产品作原料的。
4. Scientists predict that the world's known oil resources will run out early in the next century. But long before then the world will have to decide on its priorities. Can we afford to use so much of our limited petroleum supplies for private motoring? Should airlines compete on similar routes allowing planes to fly long distances with empty passenger seats? What alternative energy resources can be developed?
4、科学家预言世界上已探明的石油资源将在下个世纪初用尽。但远在那时候以前，世界就必须确定石油是优先考虑控制使用的物资。石油储量既然有限，我们还能把那么多的石油用于私人汽车吗？难道航空公司还应该为了在类似的航线上竞争而允许他们的客机有空座的长途飞行吗？能开发出什么样的替代能源呢？
5. There is an old English saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention," which means that when you are faced with a need you will discover some way of fulfilling it. Already scientists are proposing some fascinating solutions. There is one suggestion that the wheeled traffic and the footsteps of crowds walking the streets in major cities could generate energy. One company has presented an idea in which metal strips inserted in pavements and roads operate fly wheels by means of a piston action using hydraulic fluid. They say the human and wheeled traffic in a busy city center could provide enough energy to light the streets of an entire town or power the heating system for a hospital or school. Some people are developing sophisticated versions of the windmill. Engines can run on alcohol, so surplus sugar cane could be used to produce energy. An air ship powered by energy from the sun has been suggested. Such "sun ship" would have a large enough surface area to carry the enormous number of solar cells necessary to move any appreciable load. Such "sun ship" might travel at over one hundred kilometers an hour. In such circumstances, of course, the tropical parts of the world would have a head start in the race to find new energy sources.
5、英国有一句古话“需要是发明之母”。这意味着当你面对一种需要时，你将发现一种方法满足它。科学家们已经在提出一些迷人的解决方案。有一个建议提出，在大城市街道上，拥挤的人群走的脚步和路面上往来行使的车辆可以用来生产能量。一个公司提出这样想法：嵌在人行道和路面上的金属条用液压活塞的作用使飞轮转动。他们说，在繁华大城市的中心，人群和过往车辆可提供足够的能量为整个城镇的街道照明或者为一个医院或学校提供供暖系统的动力。某些人正在研制高级的风车技术。发动机可用乙醇作燃料开动，因此，过剩的甘蔗可用来产生能量。还有人建议用太阳能作动力来驱使飞艇。这种“太阳能飞艇”必须要很大的面积以携带大量的太阳能电池，这样才有可能运载可观的载荷。这种“太阳能飞艇”也许每小时能航行100多公里。当然倘若这样，世界的热带地区在寻找新能源的竞赛中将会领先一步。