佳佳的英语绘本 · 第13期
Lexile: 490L | 蓝思值490L · 第13期 · 较前一期提升10L
主题: The City That Ran on Sunlight
类型: Informational Fiction · 社会议题 · 清洁能源
学习模块: Story Time · New Words · Translation · Think About It · Reading Quiz · Grammar Focus
对象: Lily（·科技控）
📖 Story Time
The city of Solara had a problem. Every morning, the mayor checked the energy report and frowned. The coal plant was running out. The oil prices had doubled. Cars stood still in long lines because there was not enough fuel.
"We cannot keep living this way," the mayor said at the town meeting. "The sun gives us more energy than we could ever use. We just need to learn how to take it."
Nobody had built a solar city before. Nobody knew exactly how to do it. But Solara had something other cities did not have — 340 days of sunshine every year.
The first step was the school. The roof of the central school was covered with solar panels. The children learned their lessons under panels that turned sunlight into electricity. When the sun set, batteries that had stored the day's energy kept the lights on.
The next step was the buses. Three electric buses arrived — the first in the region. They had wide windows and soft seats. They charged at the solar station each night and ran silently through the streets during the day.
Then came the houses. The government gave low-interest loans to families who wanted to put panels on their roofs. Slowly, street by street, Solara began to change.
By the fifth year, the coal plant had closed. The air was cleaner. Children could run outdoors without coughing. The mayor smiled when she read the energy report — this time, all the numbers were green.
But the best part was not the clean air or the falling bills. The best part was what the children said at the new solar museum: "Our city is like a giant tree. We eat sunlight, and we give out life."
📝 New Words
| English Word | 中文翻译 | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| solar panel | 太阳能板 | a flat piece of equipment that turns sunlight into electricity | The school roof was covered with solar panels. |
| electricity | 电能 | the flow of power that runs wires and lights | Solar panels turn sunlight into electricity. |
| coal plant | 燃煤电厂 | a factory that makes electricity by burning coal | The coal plant was running out of fuel. |
| mayor | 市长 | the person who leads a city government | The mayor called a town meeting. |
| fuel | 燃料 | a material that is burned to make energy | Oil prices had doubled. |
| region | 地区 | an area of a country or the world | The first electric buses arrived in the region. |
| low-interest loan | 低息贷款 | money borrowed at a low rate of interest | The government gave low-interest loans to families. |
| battery | 电池 | a device that stores electricity | Batteries stored the day's energy. |
| fossil fuel | 化石燃料 | fuels like coal and oil that come from ancient organisms | Solar energy is cleaner than fossil fuel. |
| carbon footprint | 碳足迹 | the amount of carbon dioxide produced by activities | Solar power reduces our carbon footprint. |
🌏 Translation
阳光驱动之城
太阳城有一个问题。每天早晨，市长查看能源报告时都会皱起眉头。燃煤电厂的储备快用完了。油价翻了两倍。汽车排着长队停在原地，因为没有足够的燃料。
"我们不能继续这样下去了，"市长在镇民大会上说。"太阳给我们的能源比我们能用的多得多。我们只是需要学会如何获取它。"
没有人建造过太阳能城市。没有人确切知道该怎么做。但太阳城有其他城市没有的东西——每年340天的阳光。
第一步是学校。中央学校的屋顶铺满了太阳能板。孩子们在把阳光转化为电能的板子下面上课。当太阳落山后，储存了一天能量的电池接替了照明。
下一步是公交车。三辆电动公交车抵达了——全区首批。它们有宽大的窗户和柔软的座椅，每晚在太阳能充电站充电，白天静静地穿行于街道。
然后是住房。政府向想在屋顶安装太阳能板的家庭提供低息贷款。慢慢地，一条街接一条街，太阳城开始改变。
第五年结束时，燃煤电厂关闭了。空气变得更清新。孩子们可以在户外奔跑而不用担心咳嗽。市长看能源报告时笑了——这一次，所有的数字都是绿色的。
但最好的不是清新的空气或下降的账单。最重要的是新太阳能博物馆里孩子们说的话："我们的城市像一棵参天大树。我们吃进阳光，吐出生命。"
💭 Think About It
1. 为什么市长决定建造太阳能城市？
因为燃煤电厂燃料耗尽、油价飙升、能源短缺——传统的化石燃料体系不可持续。太阳城有每年340天的充足阳光，这成为了转型的天然优势。
2. 这个城市转型分哪几步？
① 学校屋顶铺太阳能板（教育先行） ② 电动公交车上路（公共交通转型） ③ 居民屋顶安装太阳能板（全民参与） ④ 关闭燃煤电厂（最终完成）
3. "Our city is like a giant tree. We eat sunlight, and we give out life."这句话的深刻含义？
太阳城的光合作用式隐喻——城市不再消耗化石燃料，而是利用阳光自给自足，同时释放清洁空气（相当于"呼出氧气"）。这不是简单的比喻，而是可再生能源城市最诗意的描述方式。
4. 这个故事和现实有什么关系？
这个故事有真实基础。世界上已有多个城市宣布或正在建设100%可再生能源：冰岛（地热+水电）、哥斯达黎加（约98%可再生能源）、不丹（水电为主）。但完全的"太阳能城市"在热带以外地区仍是挑战——太阳城的"340天阳光"是必要条件。
📝 Reading Quiz
1. Why did the mayor frown every morning? - ( ) The children were noisy - ( ) The city was running out of energy ✓ - ( ) The buses were too slow
2. What was the first step in the city's change? - ( ) Building a new coal plant - ( ) Covering the school roof with solar panels ✓ - ( ) Closing all the buses
3. According to the passage, how many days of sunshine does Solara have per year? - ( ) 200 days - ( ) 280 days - ( ) 340 days ✓
4. What do the children compare the city to at the solar museum? - ( ) A factory - ( ) A giant tree ✓ - ( ) A car
5. What does "all the numbers were green" mean? - ( ) The numbers were written in green color - ( ) All energy sources were clean and renewable ✓ - ( ) The mayor liked the color green
🔍 Grammar Focus: 过去进行时（Past Continuous）
这篇文章在叙述城市转型过程时，用到了一个非常重要的时态组合：一般过去时 + 过去进行时。
什么是过去进行时？
表示过去某个时刻正在进行的动作，由 was/were + 动词-ing 构成。
Nobody had built a solar city before.（一般过去时——已完成的事实）
Nobody knew exactly how to do it.（一般过去时——持续知道的常态）
The children were learning under solar panels.（过去进行时——正在进行的动作）
为什么要区分？
在同一个句子里，我们可以同时用两种时态表达不同的信息：
Last year, while the government was installing solar panels on schools, the citizens were learning about clean energy.
- 过去进行时（was installing）：某件事正在发生 - 过去进行时（were learning）：另一件事同时进行
过去进行时的构成规则
| 主语 | 助动词 | 动词-ing |
|---|---|---|
| I/He/She/It | was | -ing |
| You/We/They | were | -ing |
练习：把句子变成过去进行时
1. The workers install solar panels on the roof. → The workers were installing solar panels on the roof.
2. The bus runs through the city every day. → The bus was running through the city when the mayor saw it.
3. The children learn about clean energy. → The children were learning about clean energy at the solar museum.
📚 佳佳英语绘本第13期 · Lexile 490L · © 2026 Lilyleo.art
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