Clean, Green Superhero Dog Fights Garbage in Chile

Clean, Green Superhero Dog Fights Garbage in Chile

Sam may not look like most superheroes. After all, he is a dog. He has four legs and fur. But, like all superheroes, Sam has a superpower. His special skill is collecting waste, or garbage, to set a good example for visitors.

Sam uses his superpower to help clean a large park in Chile's capital city, Santiago. He even wears a green cape¹ – a piece of clothing that many superheroes wear.

Sam's superpower started with walks in Santiago's Metropolitan² Park with his owner, Gonzalo Chiang. Chiang said he and the dog would find and pick up a lot of garbage along the way – from plastic bottles to face coverings.

Chiang said, "From that, the need to come prepared to take away the garbage that we found on each visit arose."

In just one month, Sam and Chiang collected 602 face coverings, 585 bottles and 304 cans.

Chiang said, "The walk is a good opportunity to clean, rather than litter." To litter means to throw or leave garbage on the ground in a public place.

Park officials were pleased with Sam and Chiang's effort. In fact, they decided³ to use Sam's image for their campaign urging visitors to take better care of the park.

Artist Catalina Aravena turned Sam into a cartoon character. A cartoon is a series of designs, or drawings, that tell a story. Sam's story is called "Sam: The Parquemet Superhero." Parquemet is what most locals call Santiago's Metropolitan Park.

Aravena said the cartoon "became much more widespread than expected." She added, "It reached different schools and it has been spread very well on social media."

Park officials launched⁴ anti-littering campaigns last year. They urged food and drink sellers⁵ within the park to use glass containers instead of plastic and to sort garbage into separate containers.

Eduardo Villalobos is the park's acting⁶ director. He said Sam and Gonzalo have "inspired" park leaders to strengthen their efforts related⁷ to educating the public and collecting waste.

Words in This Story

park – n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise

arise – v. to begin to occur or to exist

inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something: to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

 

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1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 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。

4 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

5 sellers   

n.卖者( seller的名词复数 )；卖方；销售者；销售商

参考例句：

• buyers and sellers transacting business 进行交易的买方和卖方
• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。