The reading and listening materials have a conflict of opinions about ethanol fuel. The writer believes that it is not a good alternative to gasoline, which is contradicted by the following lecture.
Firstly, the writer claims that ethanol fuel fails to solve the environment pollution since it also release carbon dioxidewhen burned.分论据必须给出 However, the speaker opposes the claim by saying that ethanol fuel is made of plants like corn, which absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as part of its nutrition. So the process of growing the plant counteracts the release of green house gas emission.
Secondly, the writer states that the production of ethanol fuel would lead to a decline in source of food for farm animal, while the lecture views this issue from an opposite angle. According to him, ethanol fuel is made of cellulose, which is not eaten by animals. As a result, the amount of animal food won’t be reduced at all.
Third, the passage argues that ethanol fuel is less competitive than gasoline in terms of price because it is still relying on government’s subsidies. By contrast, in accordance with the speaker, the reading’s claim does not hold water. It will no longer be necessary for government to subsidize ethanol fuel because an increase in demand will result in an increase in production, which gives rise to a drop in its price. According to a study, if the production of ethanol fuel is three times greater than it is now, the price will drop by 40%.