E-rickshaws driving away pollution โฒ๏ธ 6 Minute English

112,676 views ใƒป 2024-05-30

BBC Learning English


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00:07
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.
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I had my first drive in an electric car yesterday, Neil.
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It was amazing! Electric cars are great
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in theory, but who has the money to buy one?
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It's true that electric vehicles, or EVs as they're also called
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are expensive, but in some parts of the world
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the switch to electric vehicles has been a major success story
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in the fight against climate change and
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it's not just rich people switching to electric. In India,
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poorer workers are embracing it, too.
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Yes, in India
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it's the drivers of small vehicles like motorbikes, mopeds, scooters
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and rickshaws known as two- and three- wheelers who dominate the road.
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And now, over half of these are electric. In this programme,
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we will be discussing the growing role of electric vehicles
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in the fight against climate change.
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And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
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Great. But first,
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I have a question for you, Neil.
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In India, many different vehicles use the road,
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but which country's car market is the biggest? Is it
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a) the US b) China or c) Japan?
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Well, I'll guess it's the US that has the world's largest automobile market.
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OK, Neil, I'll reveal the answer
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at the end of the programme.
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While electric vehicles score better than petrol or diesel cars
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in most environmental tests,
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there is some debate about exactly how green
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they are. A lot depends on how the electricity is generated
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in the first place, and in India, more than three quarters
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of the electricity used continues to be generated by coal.
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Nevertheless, in India,
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the transition to green transport is well under way.
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Here's Louise Ribet,
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head of the climate organisation,
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C40 Cities, explaining the appeal of EVs to Graihaigh
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Jackson for BBC World Service Programme
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'The Climate Question:
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What is it about two
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and three-wheelers that is so appealing?
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I think it can be summarised in one word and it's convenience. From
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an accessibility and affordability and efficiency point of view. And
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on that first point of accessibility,
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The state of public transport is not as developed as it is in places
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like London or Singapore. There's no metro lines or fancy bus networks
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and two- and three-wheelers spread in response to this lack of
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sufficient or high quality, frequent public transport infrastructure.
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Graihaigh asks why electric vehicles are so appealing,
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so desirable and attractive.
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There are several reasons behind EV's appeal
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including convenience and affordability -
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being cheap enough for people to buy.
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In places without reliable public transport, electric scooters are filling the gap.
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That's really needed because the massive increase of petrol cars
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in Delhi has created a toxic and very serious health risk -
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smog. Smog is air pollution caused by a mixture of smoke chemicals,
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and especially car exhaust fumes.
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It makes the atmosphere
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difficult to breathe and very unhealthy.
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What's more, because children are smaller and closer to car exhaust pipes, smog
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affects them most. In winter,
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the air in Delhi gets so bad
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they have to close the schools, sometimes for weeks.
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Here's Graihaigh Jackson again, taking up the story for BBC
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World Service's 'The Climate Question'.
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They're having to shut schools because the pollution is so bad!
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Gosh, that's hardly a solution is it!
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What can be done about it? Well, for India,
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the solution partly lies in switching to electric scooters and
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e-rickshaws. By 2030,
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the Government wants 30% of its vehicles on the road to be electric
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and has put up $1.2 billion to make that happen.
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When Graihaigh discusses schools shutting because of air pollution,
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she uses the word 'gosh',
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an expression used to show a strong feeling of surprise or wonder.
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Luckily, the Indian government is taking measures to improve Delhi's air quality,
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largely through the switch to greener electric vehicles.
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The Government has put up over one billion dollars to make this happen.
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The phrasal verb, 'put up' money for something means to provide
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the money needed to pay for it. In this area,
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it seems India is leading the world,
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which reminds me of your quiz question Beth.
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That's right. I asked you
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which country has the world's largest automobile market
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and you said the US, which was... the wrong answer,
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I'm afraid, Neil.
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In fact, it's now China
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that tops the list, showing that when it comes to green transport, bigger
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isn't always better. Right,
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it's time to recap the vocabulary
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we've learnt in this programme
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starting with two-wheeler - a vehicle with two wheels,
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such as a bicycle motorbike or moped.
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The adjective 'appealing' means attractive, desirable or interesting.
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'Affordability' refers to being cheap enough for people to buy,
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or in other words, inexpensive. Smog is air pollution caused by smoke
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and car fumes which makes the atmosphere unhealthy and difficult
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to breath. 'Gosh' is an expression used to show
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a strong feeling of surprise
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or wonder. And finally, if you put up the money
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for something, you provide the money needed to pay for it. Once again,
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our six minutes are up,
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but remember to join us again next time
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for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute
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06:03
English. Goodbye for now. Bye!
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