(单词翻译:单击)
Every year, people in America use energy equal to over 30 million barrels of oil each day. That's energy in all forms—oil, gas, coal, nuclear, solar and even wind power. Viewed from scientists' standpoint, all the energy contained in fuel either now or in the future becomes heat. Some of the heat is used directly or produces useful work; the rest is lost or rejected, radiated into the atmosphere from the engines, motors, boilers and all the other energy-consuming machinery that makes Americans' wheels go around. If we could figure out how to improve the efficiency with which we use energy, we can do a lot more work with the energy that is available. With money and careful planning, we can boost efficiency up to a point. Yet improvement won't come easily, it won't come overnight and there are limits beyond which not even science can take us. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about three quarters of the energy we use to move things, including ourselves, accomplishes no useful work. In terms of efficiency and cleanness, buses, trains and other forms of public or mass transportationare superior to the private automobile. But only if they operate at near capacity, otherwise, their overall efficiency is poor. For some people, mass transit may answer all transportation needs. For others, a combination of mass transit and private transportation may be desirable. Better design and wiser use of both mass transit systems and private vehicles will play an important part in helping America get more out of energy used for transportation.
美国人每年消耗的能量相当于每天3000余万桶石油。所消耗能量包含各种形式——石油、天然气、煤炭、核能、太阳能还有风能。从科学家的立场来看，不论是现在或是将来，石油中的能量都会转化成热量。一些热量可直接使用或产生有用功；其它损失或排出的热量会从发动机、电动机、锅炉和其他可使车轮转动的耗能机器中辐射到大气中。如果我们能找到方法提高消耗能量的效率，我们就能用可利用的能量做更多事。有资金和精心计划以后，我们就能在一定程度上提高效率。不过改进不会轻易做到，不是一夜之间就能做到的事，而且也有科学无法做到的限制。战略与国际研究中心表示，包括我们自己在内，我们用来移动事物的能量中，有约四分之三的能量没有产生有用功。在效率和清洁度上，公交车、火车和其他公共交通工具好于私人汽车。但是前提是它们要以接近满负荷的状态运行，否则这些交通工具的整体效率很差。对一些人来说，公共交通可以满足所有交通运输的需求。可是对其他人来说，公共交通和私人交通工具混合使用更为理想。对公共交通工具和私人汽车进行更好的设计及更合理的使用，会在帮助美国交通获得更多可用能量上发挥重要作用。
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
问题22到问题25依据你刚刚听到的短文进行提问。
Questions 22. What does the speaker say about energy used in the United States?
问题22. 说话者介绍了美国能量使用的什么情况？
Questions 23. What do scientists say about energy contained in fuel?
问题23. 科学家怎么看待石油中包含的能量？
Questions 24. When does mass transit prove superior to private vehicles?
问题24. 公共交通工具在什么时候优于私人车辆？
Questions 25. What seems to be the speaker's biggest concern?
问题25. 说话者最大的担心是什么？
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
