On October 4, China National Offshore Oil Corporation announced that the main body of the country’s first offshore platform for carbon capture and gas recovery had been finished. Workers in Qingdao have now moved on to testing the equipment. The platform belongs to the Dongfang 1-1 gas field, which lies in the sea about 113 kilometres from Hainan.
The new platform is huge. It weighs nearly 17,000 tonnes, about the same as thirteen thousand family cars, and stands more than twenty-eight floors high. Its deck covers over ten thousand square metres, close to the size of twenty-two basketball courts. Nothing like it has been built for this purpose before.
The idea behind it is simple but clever. Natural gas taken from under the sea usually carries a lot of carbon dioxide. In the past, this gas had to be sent to a plant on land to be cleaned, which cost money, took time and produced more emissions. The new platform moves the whole cleaning system out to sea instead.
Once the carbon dioxide is separated and made pure, it is pressed back into the rock below. There it helps push out natural gas that is hard to reach, and then stays underground for good. Engineers say the platform can store more than one million tonnes of the gas every year. The field itself has produced over fifty billion cubic metres of gas since 2003.
The technology was developed inside China, and the team calls it the first of its kind in the world. It also cuts energy use and raises the amount of gas that can be taken out. The project should start full production in 2027. For a country that still depends heavily on fossil fuels, learning to bury the waste and use it again is a step worth watching.
Words to know:
- offshore (adj. 海上的，近海的)
- platform (n. 平台，作业平台)
- carbon dioxide (n. 二氧化碳)
- emission (n. 排放，排放物)
- tonne (n. 吨，公吨)
- deck (n. 甲板，平台面)
- underground (adv./adj. 在地下（的）)
- fossil fuel (n. 化石燃料)
长难句拆解 · with 复合结构作后置定语 + which 非限制性定语从句
原文：The platform belongs to the Dongfang 1-1 gas field, which lies in the sea about 113 kilometres from Hainan.
拆解：主干是 The platform belongs to the Dongfang 1-1 gas field（这座平台属于东方 1-1 气田）。主句是 The platform belongs to the Dongfang 1-1 gas field，结构很干净。逗号后面 which 引导非限制性定语从句，which 指代前面的 the Dongfang 1-1 gas field，补充说明它在什么位置。about 113 kilometres from Hainan 是介词短语，跟在 in the sea 后面进一步给出距离；about 在此表示约数，不是「关于」。
直译：这座平台属于东方 1-1 气田，该气田位于距离海南约 113 公里的海域。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- announced that … had been finished → said the work was complete（announce ＝ 宣布，可换成 say）
- moved on to testing → started the next stage（move on to ＝ 转入下一步）
- stands more than twenty-eight floors high → is over twenty-eight storeys tall（stand … high ＝ 高达）
- close to the size of → about as big as / nearly as large as（close to ＝ 接近）
- stays underground for good → remains there permanently（for good ＝ 永久地）
- depends heavily on fossil fuels → relies a lot on coal, oil and gas（depend on ＝ rely on）
- a step worth watching → something to keep an eye on（worth watching ＝ 值得关注）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：这座新平台建成后，每年可以封存超过 100 万吨二氧化碳。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：东方 1-1 气田距离海南多少公里？
- 选词填空：Once the carbon dioxide is separated, it is pressed back into the rock ____.（供选：below / under / down）
参考答案与解析
- TRUE。原文说 engineers say the platform can store more than one million tonnes of the gas every year。题目把 one million tonnes 换成 100 万吨，说法一致。要注意干扰套路：题目若改成「每秒」或「每座气田」就属于偷换单位，这里没有。
- 约 113 公里。原文给出 about 113 kilometres from Hainan。题目问的是距离，不要误答成平台重量（近 1.7 万吨）或气田产气量（超过 500 亿立方米）。
- below。below 表示「在……下方、在地表以下」，into the rock below 意为「回注到下方的岩层中」。under 通常表示「在……正下方」且常指被覆盖，down 表方向，都不能这样直接作后置修饰。
中文译文
10 月 4 日，中国海洋石油集团宣布，我国首个海上注碳增气平台的主体已经建造完工。青岛的工人现已转入设备调试阶段。这座平台属于东方 1-1 气田，该气田位于距离海南约 113 公里的海域。
新平台体量惊人。它重近 1.7 万吨，相当于 1.3 万辆家用轿车的总重，高度超过 28 层楼。甲板总面积超过 1 万平方米，接近 22 个标准篮球场的大小。在此之前，还没有为这一用途建造过类似的设施。
它背后的想法简单却巧妙。从海底开采出来的天然气通常携带大量二氧化碳。过去，这些气体必须送到陆地上的处理厂净化，既费钱、耗时，又会产生更多排放。而新平台干脆把整套净化系统搬到了海上。
二氧化碳被分离、提纯之后，会被加压回注到海底岩层里。它既帮助把难以开采的天然气驱赶出来，随后又永久留在原地。工程人员说，这座平台每年可以封存超过 100 万吨二氧化碳。自 2003 年以来，该气田累计产气已超过 500 亿立方米。
这项技术由中国自主研发，团队称其为全球首创。它同时降低了能耗，并提高了天然气的采收率。项目预计在 2027 年全面投产。对于一个仍然高度依赖化石能源的国家来说，学会把废气埋起来、再变废为宝，是值得关注的一步。