国家地理 没有垃圾的世界可能存在吗(5)

I didn't remember much about that German philosopher.

我对那位德国哲学家印象模糊。

"Leibniz said, 'If it is possible, therefore it exists.'

“莱布尼茨说，'有可能的必将存在。'

And I'm saying, 'If we can make it exist, it's therefore possible.'"

而我要说：'只要我们能实现，就说明它是可能的。'”

Was that tautological¹? Was it wise? Did Leibniz really say that?

这不是同义反复吗？这理智吗？莱布尼茨真那么说过？

It was intriguing², in any case.

无论如何，它总归是个神奇构想。

Not long after that, I took my busted³ old roller bag to be repaired (very circular, compared with buying a new one),

在那之后不久，我把破旧的行李箱拿去修好（这跟买个新包相比十分讲循环经济），

packed the certified⁴ cradle-to-cradle jeans that McDonough had given me,

装入麦克多诺送我的那条经“从摇篮到摇篮”品质认证的牛仔裤，

and headed out to see what evidence of possible existence I could find for the circular economy.

出发寻找循环经济的现世真身。

Metals

金属

The first small breaks in our natural circularity actually predate the 18th-century industrial revolution.

人类经济天然循环状态的首批小裂痕其实发生于18世纪的工业革命之前。

The Romans, besides tossing broken amphorae around in an uninhibited way, pioneered a fraught⁵ invention: sewers⁶.

古罗马人除了将陶罐随手乱丢之外，还首创了一种危险的发明：下水道。

That is, they channeled human waste into rivers, instead of returning it to fields where,

也就是说，他们将人类排泄物通过管道输入河流，而不是回施田地，

as any circularity maven will tell you, those nutrients⁷ belong.

循环专家认为本该回收养分的地方。

As a young boy in Tokyo in the 1950s (his parents were in the occupying American Army),

麦克多诺回忆起20世纪50年代的孩童时期（他的父母在驻日美军中任职），

McDonough recalls waking at night to the sound of farmers collecting the family's night soil.

夜半醒来时听到各家农户收集夜肥的声音。

His mother would soothe⁸ him with lullabies about poop, sometimes in Japanese with an Alabama accent.

他的母亲会唱起有关粪便的童谣催他入梦，时而用带着阿拉巴马口音的日语。

It made a permanent impression.

这为他留下了永久的印象。

1 tautological   

adj.重复的；累赘的

参考例句：

• "Safe" and "reliable" are tautological.稳妥和可靠，意思是重复的。
• Modern logicians think it is tautological.现代的逻辑学家认为它是同义反复的。

2 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

5 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

6 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。