VOA标准英语2011-- Restaurant Redefines Green, Organic

Mobile Restaurant Redefines Green, Organic

In major metropolitan¹ areas across the United States, food-vending trucks have become a common sight. For the truck merchants selling everything from fresh vegetables to fast food to fancy meals, they are an easy, low-cost way to run a business, and cost a fraction of what it would take to start a restaurant. But how good are they for the environment? One brand of food truck was built to be "green."
In the hills above the Los Angeles suburb of Malibu, the hootenanny was just getting started.
Shoes were optional as people danced to the rhythms of local bands and savored² the local cuisine³. The event was hosted by the "Green Truck" - a bistro on wheels dedicated⁴ to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner - and selling food that's made that way, too:
"The goal is to make it accessible and affordable⁵ for everyone to eat organic food," noted⁶ Mitchel Collier, the co-founder of the Green Truck. Every item on its menu is made with organic, locally grown produce harvested within 160 kilometers.
One example: the "mother trucker" veggie burger, a signature item made with organic vegetables and topped off with a creamy homemade sauce.
"Why organic? Because it's respect for what gives you life. Mother Earth gives you life," added Collier.
The company's advertising⁷ slogan is "Healing the Planet, One Meal at a Time" - and that applies to its trucks as well as its menu. Instead of gasoline, Green Trucks run on bio-diesel fuel and waste vegetable oil left over from their own cookers.
The trucks have receptacles in front for biodegradable trash - a kind of mobile compost pile. That compost is sent back to the farmers who supply the Green Trucks with their produce. The utensils⁸, plates, and packaging are either recyclable or biodegradable.
And the company's commissary, where the food is prepared each day, is solar-powered.
The Green Truck's ecological⁹ initiatives have struck a chord with consumers.
BENJAMIN KILMER (CUSTOMER): "I like the fact that I feel good about eating what I'm eating. It's nice to be conscious about what you're putting in your body."
MICK KELLEHER (CUSTOMER): "We're supporting something that is part of a bigger cause so when I feel full I feel good."
The business started more than five years ago when Collier, a former model and actor, joined forces with Kam Miceli, a former Wall Street banker. Both had strong feelings about the environment, and both wanted to take a stand for what they believe in, assuring a healthy planet for future generations. And so Green Truck was born.
"Everyone eats, everyone lives on this planet and it's the only thing that's the baseline for everyone is through food and water," said Collier.
By its third year of operations, Green Truck was generating a profit. Today, the company operates five trucks: three in Los Angeles, one in San Diego and one in New York.
David Holtze runs the San Diego Green Truck. He says interest in this kind of sustainable food operation is spreading, with business inquries coming in from across the country and around the world.
"Just last week someone from Australia emailed saying, 'I'd love to have a green truck in our city. How can I become involved?'" said Holtze.
Holtze says he hopes Green Trucks will one day be as common as fast food restaurants:
"That's the direction we see for Green Truck: making it as plug-and-play as possible… so we can be like a franchise¹⁰ business. So instead of a McDonalds in your town, you have Green Truck," Holtze added.
In addition to bringing local and organic cuisine directly to the community, Green Truck's founders¹¹ are committed to spreading a bigger message - urging people to respect the Earth and respect each other,
"We're all one, there's nothing that separates us; no religion, no boundaries. It's all air, earth and water and we're on it, and we're together," Collier explained.
And it's the food, Collier says, that connects us all.

1 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。

2 savored   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• We savored the barbed hits in his reply. 我们很欣赏他在回答中使用的带刺的俏皮话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We savored, (the pleasures of) mountain life to the full. 我们充分体会了山居生活的乐趣。 来自辞典例句

3 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

9 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

10 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

11 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句