科学美国人60秒：宅在家中有利于节省能源

燕山大学 刘立军 编写

 TRANSCRIPT

This is Scientific American - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

The rise in technology, particularly for information and communication, is radically transforming lifestyles. For example, many people can now work from home and still be in almost constant contact with the office. Or maybe you prefer your own couch for watching a recently released movie rather than trekking to the local theater.

"This technology induced lifestyle changes affect how people consume energy and ultimately affect the energy demand of the nation."

Ashok Sekar, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. To assess how our changing usage of technology might alter our energy consumption, Sekar and his colleagues first set out to determine how much more we're in our homes than we were in the past.

For more than a decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has surveyed how Americans spend their time each day. More than 11,000 citizens respond to the survey each year.

Crunching the numbers from this survey, the researchers found that Americans are definitely logging more hours in their living rooms.

"When compared to 2003, in 2012, Americans spent eight days more at home."

That's seven fewer days spent in "nonresidential spaces" and one less day spent traveling per year. And that's on average. The younger generation exhibited even stronger homebody tendencies.

"The population aged 18 to 24 spent two weeks more at home in 2012 compared to 2003, which is 70 percent higher change than the average population."

And that shift in location translates into surprisingly large energy savings. The researchers calculate that Americans are reducing energy use by 1,200 trillion Btus by not hopping in our cars. And we're saving thousand trillion Btus by skipping public appearances at the mall, movie theaters, and the office. The study is in the journal Joule. That's J-O-U-L-E, which like the Btu is a unit of energy.

Now, obviously we still use energy while at home. But not all activities are equally draining when it comes to our dependence on the power grid.

"Activities at home on average takes less energy per minute compared to time spent in your car or commercial buildings."

To save even more energy, Sekar suggests that we focus on improving the energy efficiency of home appliances and consumer electronics - the stuff we use more when we're working from home. All day. In our pajamas. See, we even saved the energy we'd otherwise expend getting dressed.

Thanks for listening for Scientific American - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201807/558716.shtml

 VOCABULARY

1. radically adv. 完全地，彻底地

2. trek v. (informal) to make a long or difficult journey, especially on foot （尤指徒步）长途跋涉。例如：I hate having to trek up that hill with all the groceries. 我很不愿意得带着这么多吃用杂物爬上那个山头。

3. postdoctoral fellow 博士后

4. crunch v. (动词 + 名词短语) (computing 计) to deal with large amounts of data very quickly （快速大量地）处理信息

5. homebody n. (informal, especially North American English) a person who enjoys spending time at home 喜欢待在家里的人；恋家的人

6. expend v. (动词 + 名词短语) expend sth. (in/on sb.) | expend sth. (in/on/doing sth.) (formal) to use or spend a lot of time, money, energy, etc. 花费；消费；耗费。例如：She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。

 QUESTIONS

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (√) or false (×) statements.

（ ） 1. The rise in technology, particularly for information and communication, is radically transforming lifestyles. 

（ ） 2. For more than a decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has surveyed how Americans spend their time each day. More than 12,000 citizens respond to the survey each year.

（ ） 3. Crunching the numbers from this survey, the researchers found that Americans are definitely logging more hours in their bedrooms.

（ ） 4. When compared to 2002, in 2012, Americans spent eight days more at home.

（ ） 5. The younger generation exhibited even stronger homebody tendencies. 

（ ） 6. Activities at home on average takes less energy per minute compared to time spent in your car or commercial buildings.

（ ） 7. To save even more energy, Sekar suggests that we focus on improving the energy efficiency of home appliances and consumer electronics.

 KEY 

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (ü) or false (û) statements.

（√） 1. The rise in technology, particularly for information and communication, is radically transforming lifestyles. 

（×） 2. For more than a decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has surveyed how Americans spend their time each day. More than 12,000 citizens respond to the survey each year. 正确表达： For more than a decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has surveyed how Americans spend their time each day. More than 11,000 citizens respond to the survey each year.

（×） 3. Crunching the numbers from this survey, the researchers found that Americans are definitely logging more hours in their bedrooms. 正确表达：Crunching the numbers from this survey, the researchers found that Americans are definitely logging more hours in their living rooms.

（×） 4. When compared to 2002, in 2012, Americans spent eight days more at home. 正确表达：When compared to 2003, in 2012, Americans spent eight days more at home.

（√） 5. The younger generation exhibited even stronger homebody tendencies.

（√） 6. Activities at home on average takes less energy per minute compared to time spent in your car or commercial buildings.

（√） 7. To save even more energy, Sekar suggests that we focus on improving the energy efficiency of home appliances and consumer electronics.