As we all know, Wuhan is a large city with busy traffic. Everyday, tens of thousands of motor vehicles are running on the roads, more and more families and businesses are buying cars, and the number of vehicles on the road is increasing rapidly. These vehicles all discharge poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide1, into the air, polluting our beautiful city , and also causing health problems, such as sore throats, stinging2 eyes and breathing disorders . Let's look outside China: in Mexico City and San Francisco in America, the photochemical reactions caused by polluted air plague3 the elderly and children. This is now a serious problem around the world. We must acknowledge this problem and solve it.
Scientific and technological development, for example in the Automobile Industry, has led to a very real environmental crisis. Cars are fast and convenient but the side-effect4 is pollution. So should we now stop all the automobile companies making cars and go back to using camels and horses instead? No, definitely not! Join me and surf the Internet to http://www.usautoday.com/. There is some surprising news that American scientists have developed a new concept car named Dodge ESX3, which is driven by a fuel cell. This could herald5 the appearance of environmental-friendly motor vehicles.
Opportunities are always presented to us, but the choice is up to us. I think this American car can inspire the Chinese scientists. Our automobile industry should seize this opportunity to research and produce fuel cell cars in projects supported by the national government.
Mr. Xu Guanhua, head of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, pointed out that the cell-driven car will be one of the most important of 863 new projects. He said, “Market-guided industrialization is our aim. We will establish a technological base to realize industrial production within five to ten years. We will be able to compete with other countries, because we are all at the same starting line.”
Car usage is associated6 with the natural resource of oil. Importing oil is a big problem for China, as it has very little of this raw material. Oil is the raw material of petrol for car. If we look into the future, global oil reserves will dry up, and we will need to locate another resource. I know the rare earth7. It is the most ideal material for producing fuel cells. What's more, fortunately for China, 80% of global rare earth is to be found in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.8
With a great thirst for knowledge, last summer I traveled far from Wuhan, to Baotou for a few days. When I arrived, I realized that Inner Mongolia is a mysterious place in my dreams. Compared to the gray9 skies of Wuhan, Baotou is very picturesque; the sky there is extremely blue, the clouds are especially white, and the air is very fresh. I visited the Rare Earth High-Tech Company and collected some information about rare earth. I was glad to learn that a new factory will be opened to develop environmental-friendly10 fuel cells, with some American companies offering the technology, and China supplying the resources, machines and premises11. Of course, there will be a lot of problems ahead such as how to save and protect other natural resources during rare earth extraction12. However, if everything works out, it means my dream will come true before long. Can you imagine that in the future cars will no longer emit poisonous gases, and that we will just have to recharge the fuel cells before driving?
I like Wuhan city, but I like clear air, and the happiness and health it brings to us as well. Who knows, maybe one day I'll work in Northwest China and make a contribution to developing fuel cell cars.
1. carbon monoxide 一氧化碳
2． stinging adj． 刺人的
3． plague [pleig] v． 折磨, 使苦恼 photochemical adj． 光化学的
4． side－effect n．副作用
5． herald v． 预报，宣布
6． associate (with) v． 由……联想到
7． rare earth 稀土，它是镧系元素以及钪、钇共17种金属元素的总称，是镍氢动力电池的重要原料
8． Inner Mongolia 内蒙古
9． gray [grei] adj． 灰色的
10． environmental－friendly adj． 利于环保的
11． premises n． 厂房
12． extraction n． 取出, 抽出