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SSS 2010-03-09

时间：2010-05-20 05:46:23

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Last week, the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for energy held its inaugural1 conference in Washington, D.C.—a direct response to a growing sense that the U.S. is losing its technology lead when it comes to the race for cleaner ways to produce and use energy. "We have a Sputnik moment right now and we are losing our technology lead and falling behind."

 

That's Arun Majumdar, the first director of ARPA-E. "Our role is to take the high-risk, high-payoff approach to developing technologies which are, you could see, sort of swinging for the home run. Because we have seen the business as usual and sort of the pace of innovation that we’re going. It’s just not fast enough."

 

The hope is that by seeking novel technologies, like turning a bottle of water into an energy storage device, the U.S. can recapture the lead in the "green revolution" underway in the multi-trillion dollar global energy market. 

 

After all, European companies dominate renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines or solar thermal2 power plants . And China is leapfrogging ahead to produce cheap photovoltaic solar cells . "They missed the first Industrial Revolution, they missed the computer revolution, a lot of the biology revolution, they want to be a leader in the new industrial revolution towards a green energy future," says our secretary of energy Steven Chu of the Chinese. "We should be a leader, the leader in this green energy revolution."

 

That's where the $80 billion in stimulus3 money directly targeted towards energy comes in, including the $400 million for this new ARPA-e effort, an effort meant to mimic4 the success of DARPA in the world of defense5 technologies. DARPA is the secretive agency that can be blamed for everything from the Internet to stealth bombers6. 

 

There doesn't seem to be a shortage of good ideas on energy. Initial funding will explore everything from liquid metal batteries that store large amounts of electricity to cheaper ways of making solar cells from silicon7. As Chu says "There are hundreds that we believe should be worthy8 of funding."

 


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1 inaugural 7cRzQ     
adj.就职的；n.就职典礼
参考例句：
  • We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
  • Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。
2 thermal 8Guyc     
adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的
参考例句：
  • They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
3 stimulus 3huyO     
n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物
参考例句：
  • Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
  • Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。
4 mimic PD2xc     
v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人
参考例句：
  • A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
  • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
5 defense AxbxB     
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
6 bombers 38202cf84a1722d1f7273ea32117f60d     
n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟
参考例句：
  • Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 silicon dykwJ     
n.硅(旧名矽)
参考例句：
  • This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
  • A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。
8 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

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