tpo22 综合写作

作文来自http://bbs.gter.net/thread-1389824-1-1.html

 

Ethanol actually is a good alternative to gasoline, although you just read three reasons why it's not a good alternative, not one of these three reasons is convincing.

Ethanol fuel, made from plants such as corn and sugar cane, has been advocated by some people as an alternative to gasoline in the United States. However, many critics argue that ethanol is not a good replacement for gasoline for several reasons.

The lecture focuses on convincing people that ethanol will become a good alternative to gasoline in the future.

 

First, the increased use of Ethanol fuel will not add to global warming. It's true that, when Ethanol is burned, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but as you read, Ethanol is often made from plants such as corn. Well, the process of growing the plants counteracts this release of carbon dioxide. Let me explain. Every growing plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as part of its nutrition. So growing giants for Ethanol production actually removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

First, the increased use of ethanol fuel would not help to solve one of the biggest environmental problems caused by gasoline use: global warming. Like gasoline, ethanol releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it is burned for fuel, and carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas: it helps trap heat in the atmosphere. Thus, ethanol offers no environmental advantage over gasoline.

First, it seems specious to the lecturer that the increasing use of ethanol will add to global warming. Though carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere when we use ethanol as our fuel. In fact, we produce ethanol from plants, such as corn. As a result, every plant we grow for ethanol absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as part of its nutrition. That is to say, the growing of plants counteracts the release of carbon dioxide.

 

Second, large scale production of Ethanol doesn't have to reduce the sources of food for animals. That's because we can produce Ethanol using cellulose, cellulose is the main component of plants' cell walls, and you'll find most cellulose in those parts of plants that are not eaten by animals. So, since we can produce Ethanol from the plant parts that aren't eaten, the amount of animal feed that is available will not be reduced.

Second, the production of significant amounts of ethanol would dramatically reduce the amount of plants available for uses other than fuel. For example, much of the corn now grown in the United States is used to feed farm animals such as cows and chickens. It is estimated that if ethanol were used to satisfy just 10 percent of the fuel needs in the United States, more than 60 percent of the corn currently grown in the United States would have to be used to produce ethanol. If most of the corn were used to produce ethanol, a substantial source of food for animals would disappear.

In addition, we need never to worry about the reduce of animals' food due to the use of ethanol. Based on research, it proves that ethanol is produced from one part of a plant that is not eaten by animals. It is true that we have to produce ethanol from plants, but only a specific part is required. Moreover, such a part of plants will not be favored as food for animals. So, conclusion can be drawn that the number of animals' food will not be influenced by production of ethanol.

 

Third, in the future, Ethanol will be able to compete with gasoline in terms of price. It's true that government subsidies make Ethanol cheaper than it would normally be, but this support won't always be needed. Once enough people start buying Ethanol, Ethanol producers will increase their production of Ethanol. Generally, increased production of products leads to a drop in its price. So the price of Ethanol will go down as more of it becomes available. Studies show that, if Ethanol production could be three times greater than it is now, the cost of producing a unit of Ethanol will drop by forty percent.

Third, ethanol fuel will never be able to compete with gasoline on price. Although the prices of ethanol and gasoline for the consumer are currently about the same, this is only because of the help—in the form of tax subsidies—given to ethanol producers by the United States government. These tax subsidies have cost the United States government over $11 billion in the past 30 years. If the United States government were to stop helping the producers in this way, the price of ethanol would increase greatly.

Finally, the professor argues that ethanol will have a good chance to compete with fossil fuels on price in the near future. During this process, government subsidy plays a significant role in making ethanol cheaper than usual. Besides, as the market becomes more mature, more ethanol is bought and produced. The increase of production will surely lead to a drop on price. According to some calculation, once the production triples, the price of ethanol will decrease by 40 per cent. Ethanol seems promising in competing with fossil fuels since it will become much cheaper in the future.

From the three points discussed by the professor, we could clearly learn that the use and production will not add to global warming, reduce the food source of animals, but can make ethanol such a prospective energy source. So, ethanol will become an excellent alternative for gasoline.(331)

第三段的 cell wall 我第一遍没有听出来，这段的逻辑是我自己整理的，不是依据听力材料 的。仅供参考。