On Monday, the National Energy Administration announced a number that few countries can match. By the end of September, China had built 2.01 billion kilowatts of wind and solar power capacity, a figure that has doubled in only a few years. Solar alone reached 1.31 billion kilowatts, up 16.5 percent from a year earlier, while wind reached 700 million kilowatts, up 20.4 percent. In the first nine months, wind and solar supplied 64 percent of all new electricity demand.
The growth is easy to see on the landscape. Solar panels now cover hillsides and float on lakes, and tall turbines stand along coasts and on dry grasslands. Investment has followed the hardware: wind and solar projects took about one third of all money spent in the energy sector between January and September. In the hottest week of summer, the two sources produced over 40 percent of the power the country needed at midday. On a sunny afternoon, the system seems almost solved.
The problem is that the sun sets and the wind stops. A power grid must match supply and demand every second, and a source that disappears in the evening cannot carry that duty alone. On a cloudy, windless evening, the system that covered 40 percent at noon may cover very little. This is why engineers talk less about how many panels are installed and more about how well the system bends. Batteries store afternoon sunshine for the evening peak, long lines move power west to east, and gas plants fill the gap.
So the twenty billion figure is a milestone, not a finish line. The country has shown that it can build clean power faster than anyone else; the harder work is making that power steady, affordable and reachable all day. That means better batteries, markets that pay storage fairly, and a grid that can carry electricity thousands of kilometres without waste. The next few years will be judged less by the number on the announcement and more by whether a family can switch on a light at eight without wondering where the power came from.
Words to know:
- capacity (装机容量；产能)
- solar (太阳能的)
- turbine (涡轮机；风机)
- panels (面板；光伏板)
- demand (需求)
- grid (电网)
- batteries (电池；储能装置)
- investment (投资)
长难句拆解 · not A but B 的变体 + 比较级 · talk less about… and more about…
This is why engineers talk less about how many panels are installed and more about how well the system bends.
主干是 This is why engineers talk…。This is why 后面接结果，前面一句是原因，构成「原因—所以—结果」的完整逻辑链，这类结构在解释性文章中极其常见。
talk less about A and more about B 是 less A, more B 的比较结构，意思不是「谈得少」，而是「相比 A，更关注 B」。中文要译成「谈论的重点不再是……而是……」，若直译成「谈得更少」会丢掉比较重心。
两个 about 后面都接的是名词性从句：how many panels are installed 和 how well the system bends。how many 问数量，how well 问程度，bend 在这里不是「弯曲」，而是比喻系统的「弹性、可调节能力」。
直译：这就是为什么工程师们谈「装了多少块板」谈得更少，而谈「系统有多大弹性」谈得更多。
句 2：并列复合句 + 现在完成时 + 分号对照 · has shown that…; the harder work is… The country has shown that it can build clean power faster than anyone else; the harder work is making that power steady, affordable and reachable all day.
分号前是一个完整的句子：主语 The country，谓语 has shown，后接 that 引导的宾语从句。现在完成时 has shown 强调「到目前为止已经证明」，与后文 the next few years 的未来视角形成时间对照。
分号后是第二个独立分句，the harder work 是主语，is 是系动词，making that power… 是动名词短语作表语。动名词作表语说明「主语具体是什么事」，比用不定式更强调持续进行的状态。
steady, affordable and reachable 三个形容词并列，全部后置修饰 that power，all day 是时间状语。英文常用三个并列形容词收束论点，中文若照搬会显得生硬，宜拆成短句。
直译：这个国家已经证明，它比任何其他国家都能更快地建成清洁电力；更难的工作，是让那些电力整天都稳定、便宜、送得到。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
同一意思换一种说法，是雅思阅读 paraphrase 的核心考点。下面每组左侧是原文表达，右侧是可替换的同义说法，先自己遮住右边想一想。
- a figure that has doubled → a number that has grown twofold / a figure that has risen by 100 percent（描述翻倍，作文里可换用）
- up 16.5 percent from a year earlier → 16.5 percent higher than a year ago / a year-on-year rise of 16.5 percent（同比增长的多种说法，图表题必备）
- supplied 64 percent of all new electricity demand → met 64 percent of the growth in power demand / covered 64 percent of new demand（表示「满足需求」，meet / cover 都可替换 supply）
- The problem is that → The difficulty lies in the fact that / The catch is that（引出问题的三种写法，the catch is that 更口语）
- fill the gap → cover the shortfall / step in（表示补位，step in 很地道）
- a milestone, not a finish line → a milestone rather than a finish line / a step, not the destination（比喻式表达，写作中可用来收束段落）
- without waste → without losses / with little wasted along the way（表示「不浪费」，losses 在电力语境指线损）
阅读自测 · 3 题
T / F / NG：目前中国风电装机容量大于太阳能装机容量。 According to the passage, why can wind and solar not carry the grid alone?（不超过 20 词） 选词填空：Batteries store afternoon sunshine for the evening ______.（peak / growth / grid）
参考答案与解析
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F。第一段给出 solar 13.1 亿千瓦、wind 7 亿千瓦，太阳能远多于风电，题干反了。典型干扰套路是偷换比较对象：原文说两项都在增长、都在突破，并未说风电更大，考生容易凭「风电也很重要」的印象误判。
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Because the sun sets and the wind stops, so their output falls exactly when people still need power.（依据：The problem is that the sun sets and the wind stops… cannot carry that duty alone）
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peak。evening peak 指「晚高峰」，与第三段 Batteries store afternoon sunshine for the evening peak 完全对应。growth 指增长、grid 指电网，都与「傍晚的用电高点」这个意思无关，属于近邻词混淆干扰项。
中文译文
周一，国家能源局公布了一个很少有国家能比的数字。截至九月底，中国已建成风电和太阳能发电装机容量 20.1 亿千瓦，这个数字在短短几年间翻了一倍。仅太阳能一项就达到 13.1 亿千瓦，同比增长 16.5%；风电达到 7 亿千瓦，增长 20.4%。今年前九个月，风电和太阳能承担了全社会新增用电量的 64%。
这种增长在山川间一眼就能看到。太阳能板如今铺满山坡，也漂在湖面上，高高的风机立在海岸边和干旱的草原上。投资跟着设备而来：一月至九月，风电和太阳能项目拿走了能源领域全部投资的三分之一左右。在夏天最热的那一周，这两个电源在正午发出全国所需电力的四成以上。在一个晴朗的午后，这套系统看上去几乎已经解决了问题。
问题在于太阳会落山，风也会停。电网必须每一秒都让供给和需求对得上，而一个到了傍晚就消失的电源无法独自承担这个责任。在一个多云无风的傍晚，那个在正午供出四成电力的系统，可能只能供出很少一点。正因如此，工程师们谈论的重点不再是装了多少块板子，而是整个系统有多大弹性。电池把午后的阳光存到晚高峰，长线路把西部的电送到东部的城市，燃气电站补上缺口。
所以，二十亿这个数字是一座里程碑，不是终点线。这个国家已经证明，它建清洁电力的速度比谁都快；更难的工作，是让这些电全天候稳定、便宜、送得到。这意味着更好的电池、能公平为储能付费的市场，以及一张能跨越数千公里而不浪费电力的电网。未来几年，人们评判的标准将不再是公告上那个数字，而是当一户人家晚上八点开灯时，不用去想这些电从哪里来。