VOA标准英语2012--India Blackout Highlights Power Problems in Developing Countries
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(八月)
India Blackout Highlights Power Problems in Developing Countries
In recent years, developing countries have made huge investments to expand power supply networks, but India's outages - which left 670 million people without power this week - demonstrate that reliability 1 remains 2 a major problem.
The collapse 3 of three interconnected power grids 5 caused havoc 6 on the streets as traffic lights stopped working. Trains ran late, if at all. And people in shops and businesses across the north of India tried to work by candlelight.
It is being called the worst electrical blackout ever, with 10 percent of the world's population affected 7. And it hit at the worst time, said a businessman in the northern Indian city of Srinagar, Niyaz Ahmed.
"This is summer time and hospitals, air conditioning and factories are not able to function," he said. "People are facing many problems due to this failure."
Developing countries have invested heavily in recent years to expand power supply networks. But while India has four times the population of the United States, its power grid 4 can handle about a fifth of the capacity, says Columbia University engineering professor Vijay Modi.
"You rely on a system where you pay people, large users, not to use electricity. You simply do not have enough," he said.
More than a fifth of the world's population has no access to electricity. Even where grids have been built, World Bank energy expert Vijay Iyer says an economy cannot function normally without a guaranteed supply.
"So you might have access but if you do not get 24/7 reliability that access is not helpful for you because you cannot predict, and you cannot plan on how you conduct your economic activities on a day-to-day basis if you do not know whether you will have the power or not," he said.
Iyer says developing countries need to diversify 8 energy sources and install smart grids.
"Grids that in the old sense that used to derive 9 power from one source, but now they are deriving 10 power from multiple sources," he said. "So grids have to be able to adapt at very short intervals 11. Wind starts to blow, so wind power is coming into the system, it has to adjust immediately to take that power on board and shut down something else."
Even for developed economies, maintaining grids can be a problem. The United States has been installing smart grids and shoring up networks against cyberattacks. But storms earlier this summer knocked out power to around two million people in and around the nation's capital.
- We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
- I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
- The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
- The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
- In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
- Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。
- Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
- The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句
- The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
- This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
- Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。
- We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
- We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
- I anticipate deriving much instruction from the lecture. 我期望从这演讲中获得很多教益。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He anticipated his deriving much instruction from the lecture. 他期望从这次演讲中得到很多教益。 来自辞典例句