VOA慢速英语 印度出现太阳能驱动人力车

　　In India, a Cycle Rickshaw With Help From the Sun

　　印度出现太阳能驱动人力车

　　This the VOA Special English Development Report.

　　Picture a bicycle with a two-wheeled carriage in place of a back tire. India has millions of these cycle rickshaws. The operators are called pullers. They ride through the streets pulling passengers and goods. Unlike auto rickshaws, which burn fuel, cycle rickshaws produce no pollution. But the job of a rickshaw puller is not easy.

　　Now, to help ease their labor, there is the Solar-Electric Rickshaw, or Soleckshaw. This is the product of work of several scientific, industrial and environmental agencies.

　　An electric motor helps the operator pull a heavy load or go up a hill. A thirty-six volt battery can carry the rickshaw forty kilometers. Top speed is fifteen kilometers an hour, and the Soleckshaw does not pollute. The project includes a battery charging station at a Delhi Metro Rail Station.

　　Testing of the Soleckshaw was launched in Delhi in October. The nonprofitCenter for Rural Development is supervising the project.

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