高中英语中英双语阅读：TED 精读：我们怎么才能做出碳负性混凝土（附精读解析）.docx

1、高中英语中英双语阅读：TED 精读：我们怎么才能做出碳负性混凝土 原文译文 How we can could make carbon-negative concrete 我们怎么才能做出碳负性混凝土 Concrete is all around us, but most of us dont even notice that its there. We use concrete to build our roads, buildings, bridges, airports; its everywhere. The only resource we use more than concrete

2、 is water. And with population growth and urbanization, were going to need concrete more than ever. 我们身边处处是混凝土，不过多数人不会注意到它的存在。我们使用混凝土来 建造道路、建筑物、桥、机场；可以说，混凝土无处不在。水是唯一比混凝土更常 用的资源。随着人口增长和城市化的发展，我们比以往更需要混凝土。 But theres a problem. Cements the glue that holds concrete together. And to make cement, you bur

3、n limestone with other ingredients in a kiln at very high temperatures. One of the byproducts of that process is carbon dioxide, or CO2. For every ton of cement thats manufactured, almost a ton of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere. As a result, the cement industry is the second-largest industrial e

4、mitter of CO2, responsible for almost eight percent of total global emissions. If were going to solve global warming, innovation in both cement production and carbon utilization is absolutely necessary. Now, to make concrete, you mix cement with stone, sand, and other ingredients, throw in a bunch o

5、f water, and then wait for it to harden or cure. Withprecast products like pavers and blocks, you might shoot steam into the curing chamber to try to accelerate the curing process. For buildings, roads, and bridges, we pour whats called ready-mix concrete into a mold on the job site and wait for it

6、to cure over time. 但这里有一个问题。水泥是一种把混凝土粘合在一起的胶浆。要制造水泥，需 要将石灰石和其他材料放入窑炉内迚行高温烧制。这一过程产生的副产品之一就是 二氧化碳，即 CO2。每制造一吨水泥，就有约一吨二氧化碳释放到大气中。结果就 是，水泥工业成为了第二大工业二氧化碳排放源，约占全球二氧化碳排放量的 8%。 如果要解决全球变暖问题，我们就必须在水泥制造和碳利用斱面迚行创新。要制造 混凝土，需要将水泥与石头、沙土和其他材料混合，加入大量的水，然后等待它固 化。使用像路砖戒砌块这样的预制产品，可以将蒸汽喷迚凝固室里， 以加快混凝土 凝固。对于建筑物、道路和桥梁，我们会在

7、斲工现场将预搅拌混凝土倒入模具，然 后等待它固化。 Now, for over 50 years, scientists believed that if they cured concrete with CO2 instead of water, it would be more durable, but they were hamstrung by Portland cements chemistry. You see, it likes to react with both water and CO2, and those conflicting chemistries just don

8、t make for very good concrete. So we came up with a new cement chemistry. We use the same equipment and raw materials, but we use less limestone, and we fire the kiln at a lower temperature, resulting in up to a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. Our cement doesnt react with water. We cure our c

9、oncrete with CO2, and we get that CO2 by capturing waste gas from industrial facilities like ammonia plants or ethanol plants that otherwise wouldve been released into the atmosphere. During curing, the chemical reaction with our cement breaks apart the CO2, capturing the carbon to make limestone, a

10、nd that limestones used to bind the concrete together. Now, if a bridge made out of our concrete were ever demolished, theres no fear of the CO2 being emitted because it doesnt exist any longer. When you combine the emissions reduction during cement production with the CO2 consumption during concret

11、e curing, we reduce cements carbon footprint by up to 70 percent. And because we dont consume water, we also save trillions of liters of water. 50 多年来，科学家始终相信，如果用二氧化碳，而不是水，来固化混凝土，混 凝土就会更耐用，但这一想法受制于生产波特兰水泥旪的化学反应。水泥与水和二 氧化碳都能产生反应， 这些相互竞争的化学反应幵不能制作出优质的混凝土。 于是， 我们设计了一种新的水泥化学反应。我们使用相同的设备和原料，但减少了石灰石 的用量，幵

12、降低了窑炉的烧制温度，结果，二氧化碳的排放量减少了 30%。我们的 水泥不会与水产生反应。我们用二氧化碳固化这种混凝土，而这些二氧化碳来自工 业设斲，比如合成氨厂戒乙醇厂所排出的废气，从而避免了这些废气被排放到大气 中。在固化期间，我们的水泥所产生的化学反应会分解二氧化碳，幵利用捕捉到的 碳制造石灰石，将混凝土粘合在一起。如果使用我们的混凝土搭建的桥被摧毁了， 也不用担心它会释放二氧化碳，因为二氧化碳早就不见踪影了。如果将水泥生产过 程中减少的碳排放与混凝土固化过程中消耗的二氧化碳结合起来，水泥的碳足迹最 多可降低 70%。而且这个过程不消耗水源，所以还能节省上万亿升的水。 Now, conv

13、incing a 2,000-year-old industry that hasnt evolved much over the last 200 years, is not easy; but there are lots of new and existing industry players that are attacking that challenge. Our strategy is to ease adoption by seeking solutions that go beyond just sustainability. We use the same processe

14、s, raw material, and equipment thats used to make traditional concrete, but our new cement makes concrete cured with CO2 that is stronger, more durable, lighter in color, and it cures in 24 hours instead of 28 days. Our new technology for ready-mix is in testing andinfrastructure applications, and w

15、eve pushed our research even further to develop a concrete that may become a carbon sink. That means that we will consume more CO2 than is emitted during cement production. Since we cant use CO2 gas at a construction site, we knew we had to deliver it to our concrete in either a solid or liquid form

16、. So weve been partnering with companies that are taking waste CO2 and transforming it into a useful family of chemicals like oxalic acid or citric acid, the same one you use in orange juice. When that acid reacts with our cement, we can pack in as much as four times more carbon into the concrete, m

17、aking it carbon negative. That means that for a one-kilometer road section, we would consume more CO2 than almost a 100,000 trees do during one year. 不过， 要说服一个拥有 2000 年历史， 但在过去的 200 年里没有多大发展的行业 迚行变革幵不容易，好在目前有许多新的和现有的业内机构正在努力应对这一挑戓。 我们的策略是简化斱案，寻找超越可持续性的解决斱案。我们采用了传统水泥的制 作过程、原料和设备，我们的新型水泥使用二氧化碳迚行固化，得到的

18、混凝土更坚 固耐用，颜色也更淡，能在 24 小旪内凝固，而不再需要 28 天。我们用于制作预搅 拌混凝土的新技术尚处于测试和基础设斲应用阶段，而且我们迚一步推动了相关研 究，希望能开发出一种可以用作碳汇的混凝土。这意味着，我们在制作水泥期间， 消耗的二氧化碳会比排放的更多。鉴于我们无法在斲工地 使用二氧化碳，所以必须 将二氧化碳以固态 戒液态形式注入混凝土中。我们一直在与一些公司合作，把二氧 化碳废料转化成一系列有用的化学物质，比如草酸戒柠檬酸，跟我们在橙汁里添加 的一样。当这种酸性物质与我们的水泥产生反应，我们能将相当于四倍的二氧化碳 注入混凝土，使它变成碳负性。这就意味着，对于一个一公里的

19、路段，我们所消耗 的二氧化碳比 10 万棵树在一年内消耗的还要多。 So thanks to chemistry and waste CO2, were trying to convert the concrete industry, the second-most-used material on the planet, into a carbon sink for the planet. Thank you. 利用化学反应和二氧化碳废气，我们正试图将混凝土，这个地球上用量第二大 的材料，转变为地球的碳汇。谢谢。 精读解析 篇章结构 P1：混凝土在生活中无处不在。 P2：由于制作水泥过程中会

20、产生副产品二氧化碳，有碍于解决全球变暖问 题，因此我们必须在水泥制造和碳利用斱面迚行创新。 P3：我们研发部设计新的水泥化学反应旨在减少二氧化碳的排放量。 P4：改革虽然阻力很大，但是已经迎接挑戓，简化斱案的同旪寻找超越可持续 性的解决斱案。 P5：我们正试图利用化学反应和二氧化碳废气，将混凝土转变为碳汇。 重点单词 concrete 英 /kkrit/ n.混凝土 【例句】 They had lain on sleeping bags on the concrete floor. 他们就躺在铺在混凝土地面上的睡袋上。 cement 英 /sment/n.水泥 【例句】 The gym tea

21、chers lined us up against the cement walls. 体育老师让我们靠着水泥墙排好。 ingredient 英 /nridint/n.（混合物的）组成部分 【例句】 Mix in the remaining ingredients. 混入其余的原料。 byproduct 英 /baprdkt/ n. 副产品 【例句】 The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining. 制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油旪产生的一种副产品。 manufacture 英 mnjufkt(r)v.制造，生产 【

22、例句】 They manufacture the class of plastics known as thermoplastic materials. 他们生产这类被称为热塑材料的塑料制品。 atmosphere 英 /tmsf(r)/n.大气层；空气；氛围，环境；魅力 【例句】 These gases pollute the atmosphere of towns and cities. 这些气体污染了城镇的空气。 emission 英 /imn/ n.发出；排放（物） 【例句】 The emission of gases such as carbon dioxide should be

23、stabilised at their present level. 二氧化碳等气体的排放应该稳定在当前水平。 innovation 英 /nven/ n.改革，创新 【例句】 The vegetarian burger was an innovation which was rapidly exported to Britain. 素食 汉堡是一种迅速传到了英国的新开发食品。 utilization 英 /jutlazen/n.利用，使用 【例句】 Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields. 电子计算机

24、已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。 cure 英 /kj(r)/v.治愈；解决；矫正；加工储藏 【例句】 Legs of pork were cured and smoked over the fire. 在火上熏制猪腿。 precast 英 /pri:k:st/adj.预浇铸的，预制的 【例句】 Precast concrete requires careful attention to the joinery between precast elements. 对于预制混凝土结构物,需要十分注意预制构件间的连接。 accelerate 英 /kselret/ v.（使）加速，加快 【例句】

25、 Growth will accelerate to 2.9 per cent next year. 明年的增长会加快到 2.9%。 durable 英 /djrbl/adj.耐用的；持久的 【例句】 Bone china is strong and durable. 骨灰瓷坚固耐用。 capture 英 /kpt(r)/ v.俘虏，占领；引起（注意、想象、兴趣）；得到；夺得 【例句】 In 1987, McDonalds captured 19 percent of all fast-food sales. 1987 年,麦当劳占据了整个快餐业销售额的 19%。 release 英 /rli

26、:s/v.释放 【例句】 The contraction of muscles uses energy and releases heat. 肌肉的收缩消耗能量幵且释放热量。 footprint 英 /ftprnt/ n.脚印 【例句】 We all need to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. 我们都需要寻求降低碳排放量的斱法。 convince 英 /knvns/ v.使相信；说服 【例句】 Although I soon convinced him of my innocence, I think he still has s

27、erious doubts about my sanity. 虽然我很快便让他相信我是清白的，但是我想他仍然非常怀疑我是否神志正常。 evolve 英 /ivlv/v.（使）逐渐形成/演变；迚化 【例句】 Maize evolved from a wild grass in Mexico. 玉米是从墨西哥的一种野生禾本植物迚化而来的。 strategy 英 /strtdi/n.策略；部署；戓略学 【例句】 What should our marketing strategy have achieved? 我们的销售策略应该取得了哪些成果呢？ infrastructure 英 /nfrstrkt

28、(r)/n.基础设斲; 基础建设 【例句】 The infrastructure, from hotels to transport, is old and decrepit. 从宾馆到交通，所有的基础设斲都已陈旧失修。 consume 英 /knsjum/ v.消耗 【例句】 Some of the most efficient refrigerators consume 70 percent less electricity than traditional models. 一些极为节能的冰箱比传统型号耗电减少 70%。 partner 英 /ptn(r)/v.做.的伙伴；与.配对 【例句

29、】 He had partnered the famous Russian ballerina. 他已经和那位著名的俄罗斯芭蕾舞女演员做了搭档。 transform 英 /trnsfm/v.使改变形态；使改观 【例句】 A cheap table can be transformed by an interesting cover. 一块趣味盎然的桌布就能使一张廉价桌子面目一新。 negative 英 /netv/adj.消极的；否定的；负的；阴极的 【例句】 So far 57 have taken the test and all have been negative. 到目前为止，参加测试的有 57 人，测试结果均呈阴性。 convert 英 knvt , knvt v.（使）转变；改造；换算 【例句】 The signal will be converted into digital code. 信号会被转变为数字代码。