能把太阳的能量运用到工作当中_大学英语阅读

能把太阳的能量运用到工作当中

　　Is it possible to catch still more of the suns heat in a house? Yes, Some houses also collect heat on the roof, move it indoors, store some, use some to make hot water and the rest for heating. A house like that is called a solar　house.

　　People who build solar houses have learned how to do those things by observing how the earth itself uses solar energy.

　　Remember the beach?

　　Remember the hot sand and the hot rocks?

　　Some materials take in heat energy from the sun and hold it. They absorb the heat. Sand and rocks do this. So do some other solid materials, such as metals. Water absorbs the suns heat too.

　　Color can also be important. Dark, dull colors absorb heat. Light-colored, shiny surfaces reflect heat. They bounce it back. Thats why dark clothes are warmer in the winter and light colored clothes are cooler in the summer.

　　The longer it takes something to heat up, the longer that thing holds the heat. Materials that heat up fast cool off fast.

　　If you go back to the beach in the evening after sunset, the sand and the rocks, which heated up fast, will be cool. But the water, which heated up slowly, will still be warm.

　　It takes a long time for the sun to heat the water in a big lake or ocean. But by the end of summer, a large body of water will have caught and stored enough heat from the sun to last for a good part of the winter. Water stores heat very well.