听播客学英语 86 罐子和瓶子

 　　There was a story in the newspapers recently about a couple called John and Ann Till. They live near a town called Petersfield in south-east England, and earlier this year they got married. They wanted to go on a honeymoon¹ to the United² States after the wedding. The difficulty³ they had was that it was going to cost too much. They could not afford it. The cost of their air fares, of hotels and travel and car-hire while they were in America – all of these things were too expensive. What could they do?

　　Then they saw that their local supermarket had started a scheme⁴ to encourage people to recycle cans and bottles. For every four cans or bottles that you returned to the recycling centre at the supermarket, the supermarket would give you 1 reward⁵ point. What is a reward point? Well, some supermarkets, garages and other shops give their customers reward points every time they buy things at the shop concerned. You can collect these reward points, and when you have enough, you can exchange them for, for example, a weekend break in a country hotel, or a new MP3 player. I have been collecting reward points from my local supermarket for years. Soon I will have enough to get an electric toaster!

　　So, John and Ann decided⁶ to collect cans and bottles, and take them to the recycling centre. For three months, they went out every evening, looking for cans and bottles. At first they thought that they might not be able to find enough. But they were amazed⁷ by the amount of rubbish that people throw away – in the streets, in their gardens (or other people’s gardens), in the parks and in the countryside. John Till told the newspapers, “There was enough rubbish out there to fly us to the moon and back.” John and Ann spent hours putting cans and bottles into the machines at the recycling centre. Eventually, they found enough cans and bottles, and collected enough rewards⁸ points, to pay for their air fare to America, where I am sure they had a wonderful honeymoon, and went to lots of interesting places.

　　John and Ann Till collect cans and bottles to pay for their honeymoon in America.

　　Are you thinking to yourself, that’s a nice heart-warming story about two people who wanted to do what they could to help the environment? I am afraid that I do not feel that way, for three reasons. First, as I told you in an earlier podcast, we in England are really bad at recycling. We are better than a few years ago, but many countries in Europe recycle a lot more domestic⁹ waste than we do. On the other hand, we are very good at throwing things away and generally making a mess. We throw away newspapers in the street and on the buses; we throw away food packaging¹⁰ and beer cans in the parks, and plastic bags and bottles in the countryside. John and Ann were able to collect all those cans and bottles only because other people had so carelessly thrown them away.

　　Second, the idea that it is good to pay people to recycle things is still very new in Britain. In other countries in Europe, it is normal to return cans or bottles to the supermarket and to get money in return. In Germany and Scandinavia, they have done this for years. But in Britain, we are only starting to experiment with them. John and Ann were lucky. Their local supermarket was one of only a handful¹¹ of places where they pay you to recycle things.

　　And finally, what did John and Ann do with the rewards points which they got for all those cans and bottles? They bought air tickets to America. Unfortunately, air travel generates¹² large amounts of carbon¹³ dioxide¹⁴, the main gas responsible¹⁵ for climate change. Trying to be green is not easy!

1 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

2 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

3 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

4 scheme   

n.安排，配置，计划，阴谋，方案，图解，摘要；v.计划，设计，图谋，策划

参考例句：

• The scheme seems on the surface to be quite practical.这个方案表面上看来似乎很实际。
• The scheme was a bad egg.计划失败了。

5 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

8 rewards   

n.报酬( reward的名词复数 )；报答；赏金；酬金v.酬谢，奖赏( reward的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They are now reaping the rewards of all their hard work. 现在，他们的全部辛劳都得到了回报。
• He harvested rewards in fame and wealth for his successful experiment. 他因试验成功而名利双收。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

10 packaging   

n.包装，包装业，包装术

参考例句：

• The packaging does not conform to EU rules.这种包装不符合欧盟规定。
• These materials can be recycled into other packaging products.可以回收这些材料制成其他包装产品。

11 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。

12 generates   

v.生（儿、女）( generate的第三人称单数 )；（通过物理或化学过程）发生；生成；引起

参考例句：

• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one. 这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy. 原子反应堆发出大量的热能。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 carbon   

n.碳元素

参考例句：

• Diamonds are pure carbon.钻石是纯净的碳。
• Carbon is an element,while carbon dioxide is a compound.碳是一种(化学)元素，而二氧化碳则是一种化合物。

14 dioxide   

n.二氧化物

参考例句：

• The oxygen and the carbon combine to form carbon dioxide.氧和碳化合，形成二氧化碳。
• Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor to the greenhouse effect.二氧化碳太多是道致温室效应的最主要原因。

15 responsible   

adj.有责任的，应负责的；可靠的，可信赖的；责任重大的；vi.休息，睡；静止，停止

参考例句：

• He must be responsible to me for this matter.这件事他必须对我负责。
• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。