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Pod Academy是個針對學術議題提供podcast的網站，包含了[Arts and Culture]，[Business and Economics]，[Humanities and Social Sciences]，[Science and Environment]等各領域的主題報導，歡迎大家進入聆聽來增進學術相關知識同時也能增進英語聽力喔! |
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P.S更正啓事：有鑑於上一期電子報本欄Members Only內容"TestPro Online-TOEFL"連結失效，特此於本期作更正，請按此進入！造成不便深感抱歉。 |
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本影片當中，教導學習者如何練習聽力，藉由老師的小提示，引導學習者聆聽重點，並且能夠在聽力考試中，找到正確的答案，學習者可以在平常的練習中，將較長的音檔，試著分段仔細聆聽，找出每一小段的重點資訊，一起來練習吧!
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館藏介紹
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The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test |
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索書號：LB2367.4 G65 2012
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英語宅急便 
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Mil Arcega July 07, 2014 5:44 PM After decades as an expensive and sometimes impractical source of energy, experts say solar power is finally coming into its own. Not only has the technology improved the efficiency and cost of solar panels, in some states, rising prices for conventional electricity make solar panels an economical alternative. But can solar power actually compete with conventional electric utilities?
John Desmarteau waited 10 years before switching to solar, but the retired Washington physician is glad he did. He says he's cut his reliance on the electric company by 85 percent, and saved the equivalent of more than 200 trees. “In fact, for the last two months, which would be April and May 2014, we’ve used from our electric utility, no electricity," said Desmarteau. The 39 photo-voltaic panels installed on Desmarteau's roof generate three times more than he consumes even with the air conditioning at full blast.
It's not just a greener alternative - for some it can mean real savings. The industry is still evolving but AstrumSolar's Mark Manthy says companies like his are making it easier for consumers to switch. "In most markets right now, especially up and down the East Coast and the West Coast - you could put solar panels on your house for no money down. Somebody else owns them, you pay them a monthly payment that is cheaper than you would pay your utility," said Manthy. In many states, brown energy - electricity generated from polluting, non-renewable resources like coal - is still cheaper than solar. But green advocacy groups such as the Rocky Mountain Institute say that's changing.
“In our most optimistic case that we analyzed, all customers in the Southwest, in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah would see favorable economics within 10 years and 90 percent of the customers in the Mid-Atlantic," said RMI's Jon Creyts. Some will not wait that long. American University in Washington just signed a 20-year deal with solar pioneer Duke Energy. AU’s Chief Financial Officer Doug Kudravetz says the long-term savings are substantial. “We’ve done quite a bit of financial modeling and if brown power goes up five percent a year, we’ll save about million, present value," he said. Barclays Bank believes solar is a big enough threat to the status quo that it downgraded bond ratings for electric utilities. The group's trade association, Edison Electric Institute, declined to comment. But energy blogger Andrew Ricci believes the threat is overblown. "Again, I think that the industry sees it as a drop in the bucket in terms of our overall power needs," he said. And, he says he only sees that changing a long time down the road. While solar power makes up just a fraction of the world's total energy production, some believe the adoption rate will grow exponentially as climate change concerns drive the technology and consumers towards non-polluting and renewable resources like the sun.
Language Notes
Check your vocabulary! Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text below to reveal the hidden answers. 1. He had drunk the equivalent of 15 whiskies. 3. Hurricane Bob has been downgraded to a tropical storm. 4. Certain people always want to maintain the status quo. 5. The first draft of his novel needed a substantial amount of rewriting. 6. Opportunities for women in athletics have increased exponentially. Source：http://www.voanews.com/content/solar-power-economy-electric-utilities/1952688.html |
過去的十幾年來，太陽能一直被視為昂貴、不切實際(
編輯發行：臺大外語教學暨資源中心網路外語教學小組
