2007年VOA标准英语-Solar Energy Brings Benefits to Remote Philippi
时间：2019-01-21 作者：英语课 分类：2007年VOA标准英语（七月）
Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines
16 July 2007
Electricity has yet to reach hundreds of villages in the Philippines. The Philippine government is tapping innovative 1 technology to light up some villages, but in this report by producer Prospero Laput from Zamboanga del Norte in the Philippines, poor villagers complain electricity remains 2 out of their reach. VOA's Heda Bayron has more.
Patagan villiage
The sun powers the remote village of Patagan in the Philippines' poorest province, Zamboanga del Norte.
The only road to the village is not passable when it rains. Power lines simply cannot reach the area.
Residents here thought themselves lucky in 2004 to receive a solar-powered electricity system, part of a nationwide project by the Philippine and Spanish governments.
Joelita Limbaga, a government officer who monitors the project, says children now study more, livelihood 3 has improved and villagers can do some work at night.
Solar panel
Cells in this panel absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity. The panels are reliable and can last up to 25 years.
Village chief Benjamin Baynosa says they needed electric lamps.
He says they were happy to have the solar-powered light because it cannot be put out by strong winds, unlike the small kerosene 4 lamps they had before.
Patagan villagers say the solar panels changed their lives. But their poverty makes it hard to maintain the panels. Most of the villagers are farmers. They earn about a dollar a day, mostly from selling coconut 5 products.
A villiager
Users have to pay $3.70 a month to maintain the solar panels -- more costly 6 than kerosene for lamps. Villagers say it is too expensive.
One villager says it is difficult to keep up with the monthly payments. She says many families have given up and transferred the panels to their neighbors.
There is potential for solar power in the Philippines. But the poorest villages cannot afford to take full advantage of even this source of light and power.
- Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
- He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。
- 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。
- Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
- My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。
- It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
- Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。
- The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
- The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。