The company that revolutionized the delivery of information now aims to do the same with electricity. Technology powerhouse Google today announced it would spend "tens of millions" of dollars next year in research and development and investments in an effort to drive down the cost of large-scale renewable energy to make it cheaper than coal. Not only will Google be hiring engineers and energy experts for its new initiative, known as RE (renewableenergy at less cost than coal), but it also will make investments in fledglingcompanies—starting with those that focus on solar-thermal technology, enhanced geothermal, and high-altitude windpower. "
Cheap renewable energy is not only critical for the environment but also vital for economic development in many places where there is limited affordable energy of any kind," said Sergey Brin, Google cofounder and president of technology, in a prepared statement.
Coalsupplies 40 percent of the world's electricity and more than half of U.S.power, and if current trends continue, it is expected to grab an everincreasing share because it is a plentiful and cheap fuel for big consumerslike China and the United States. But coal is also the worst fuel in itsproduction of the global warming gas carbon dioxide. Google cofounder LarryPage said the company's goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewableenergy capacity that is cheaper than coal within "years, notdecades." Google says that's enough electricity to power a city the sizeof San Francisco(about 330,000 households).
Google,located in Mountain View, Calif.,said it was initially working with two other California companies. They are eSolar, ofPasadena, which is specializing in solar-thermal power, using large fields ofmirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate steam to run utility-scaleelectric turbines, and Makani of Alameda, which is developing windenergy technology that takes advantage of the much stronger and more reliablecurrents available at high altitudes.
Google did not specify how much money it was putting intoits projects with these companies but said they both had "promising scalableenergy technologies." This portion of the initiative will be fundedthrough the company's philanthropic arm, Google.org, which is not atraditional charity but can make equity investments in companies. Brin and Pagehave pledged 1 percent of Google's equity and profits toward effortsincluding climate change and global poverty.
Thecompany also has a project to accelerate development and adoption of ultrahigh-efficiency plug-in hybridcars. Google has been lobbying for inclusion of a nationwiderenewable energy portfolio goal in the energy legislation currently undernegotiation on Capitol Hill. And the company is working on an energy-efficientcomputing initiative with other Silicon Valleycompanies.
1.The word “fledgling” (Line 7, Paragraph 1) most probably means_____
[A] inexperienced.
[B] promising.
[C] new.
[D] initiative.
2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the coal?
[A] It is a kind of controversial fuel given its large quantity and its harm to the harm the environment.
[B] It is a plentiful and cheap fuel that will surely earn more market share.
[C] It will be totally replaced by the renewable energy in years because it produces the worst gas—a carbon dioxide.
[D] It is supported by enthusiastic countries like China and U.S.
3. Google.org is a _____
[A] conventional type of charity organization.
[B] equity investor in companies.
[C] a branch website of Google.com that focuses on charity activities.
[D] environmental organization that specializes in promoting green fuel.
4. Which one of the following is not TRUE of RE
[A] It will be realized through investments in solar and wind energy companies.
[B] It is a programme of environmental protection.
[C] It is one of the measures taken to neutralize carbon.
[D] It can come into true in a few years.
5. The best title of this passage is_____
[A] Google’s RE
[B]Google, the Energy Revolutionary.
[C] Google, the Environmental Protector.
[D] Google’s Renewable Energy Project.
[答案]
1. C
2. A
3. A
4. A
5. B
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