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Solar driven car to circumvent globe 太陽能車世界走透透

Louis Palmer sits inside his solar powered car outside the venue of the UN climate change conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Dec. 7, 2007. 十二月七日，在印尼峇里島努沙杜瓦召開的聯合國氣候變遷會議的會場外，路易斯．帕馬坐在他的太陽能動力車上。照片：美聯社 PHOTO: AP

Cheery Swiss national Louis Palmer was following a childhood dream when he set off from his home country on July 3, traveling over desert, city and sea in 17 countries to reach a conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia. At 14 years old he dreamt that as an adult he would drive around the world.

"Then it came to my mind, how can I travel around the world and enjoy the beauty of this world with a car that is polluting the world? Then I thought the perfect car would be a solar car."

His car was built in three years with scientific help from four universities and 15 Swiss companies.

The car pulls a trailer with 6m2 of solar panels. The electricity is fed into the battery that powers the car which can run for up to 100km a day.

Surplus electricity created by panels back at base in Switzerland is also fed back into the grid, so when Palmer travels by night or on a cloudy day, he can plug into the electricity supply and withdraw his earlier deposits.

"It's the first time in history that a car is driving around the world without a single drop of petrol," boasted Palmer, a teacher by training.

Getting to Bali, however, has thrown up its own challenges. Traffic conditions in India were a nightmare, he said, while Saudi Arabia insisted on a police escort as he made his way across the desert.

So far, Palmer has gone by land through Europe and the Middle East, then by sea to India and on to Indonesia.

In one year from now, after traversing much of Asia, Australia, North America and Africa, he will return to Switzerland to try and drum up support for the commercial possibilities of solar cars.(AFP)

興高采烈的瑞士籍駕駛路易斯．帕馬追尋兒時夢想，七月三日從他的國家出發，橫跨了十七國，經歷沙漠、城市和海洋，最後抵達印尼峇里島參加氣候變遷會議。十四歲時，他就夢想長大後要開車環遊世界。

「我心想，怎麼可以為了環遊世界以享受世界之美，卻開著車子污染環境呢？然後我就想到，太陽能車是最佳的選擇了。」

他所駕駛的車由四所大學和十五家瑞士公司提供技術協助，耗時三年才製作完成。

這輛車拖著一塊六平方公尺大小的太陽能板，電池充電後提供車子動能，一天最遠能行駛一百公里。

在瑞士總部也架設太陽能板，其生產的剩餘電力也會回輸至電極網板，這樣帕馬在夜間或陰天駕駛時，可以接到供電槽，汲取先前的蓄電發動。

「這是有史以來首輛不費一滴油就環遊世界的車，」學教育的帕馬自豪地說。

不過，到峇里島途中也遇到了挑戰。如印度的交通情況簡直是一場噩夢，而沙烏地阿拉伯又堅持派警力護送他度過沙漠。

到目前為止，帕馬走陸路跨越歐洲和中東，然後走海路到印度，接著才到印尼。

未來一年，在橫跨亞洲、澳洲、北美和非洲後，他將重返瑞士奔走遊說，爭取太陽能車商業量產的機會。

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. national n. 國民 (guo2 min2) 例: As a UK national I am entitled to visa-free entry to France. (身為英國國民，我享有免簽證入境法國的權利。) 2. climate change n. phr. 氣候變遷 (qi4 hou4 bian4 qian1) 例: We must address the issues raised by climate change. (我們必須更加注意氣候變遷這個議題。) 3. surplus adj. 過剩的 (guo4 sheng4 de5) 例: Any surplus food will be donated to local charities. (所有剩餘的食物都會捐給當地慈善機構。) 4. traverse v.t. 橫跨 (heng2 kua4) 例: In order to get to the wedding we had to traverse three continents. (為了參加這場婚禮，我們橫跨了三大洲。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 drum up support 鼓吹支持 If someone drums up support for an idea then he or she publicizes his or her idea with the intention of getting people to support him or her. For example: "The students sent out a cross-campus e-mail to drum up support for their protest against the proposed increase in fees." The expression comes from the military. When the military was recruiting new troops they would march from town to town. As they entered the town they would advertise their arrival by beating their drums. 如果某人為了理念「drum up support」，他或她以尋求大眾的支持為目的來宣傳這個構想。例如：「為抗議學費調漲，學生發出全校電子郵件，尋求支持」。 這種說法源自軍方，軍方招募新兵時，會行軍於各城間，每當他們抵達一個城鎮時，就會擊鼓宣傳。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Simon: I'm really worried about climate change. How can I stop it? It just seems like such a huge problem. It really gets me down. Kate: Hey. Chill out a little. You can't stop it all by yourself. You have to take baby steps. Simon: Such as? Kate: Well, see how you can improve your behavior at home. Then take a look around at work, and push for change there. Then write to your local representative and ask him or her to support environmental bills or address specific local issues. Simon: Wow Kate! That makes it seem much better. You're right, baby steps are the way forward. Starting with my immediate environment. 賽門：我對氣候變遷感到相當憂心，我該怎麼防止？這個問題真的看起來很嚴重，讓我覺得好沮喪。 凱特：嘿，開心一點嘛，你不可能獨自完成這一切，你得一步步慢慢來啊。 賽門：比如說？ 凱特：看你在家可以怎麼改善日常習慣，然後拓展到工作上，在辦公室推動改變。接著可以寫信給民代請他支持環保法案，或注意當地的特定議題。 賽門：哇，凱特！事情似乎變得簡單多了。妳說得對，一步步慢慢來是一個很好的方法，就從我週遭做起。 baby steps　從頭起步 Baby steps are small movements in the right direction toward solving a problem. 「baby steps」是指朝著正確解決問題的方向做一些小改變。

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