VOA标准英语2013--Bangkok Hotel Takes Algae from Rooftop to Buffet

 

Bangkok Hotel Takes Algae¹ from Rooftop to Buffet²

BANGKOK — On his flaming wok³, a chef in a Bangkok hotel is adding an unusual ingredient to several dishes that will be set out on the buffet.

It is a nutritional⁴ algae, known as spirulina, cultivated just steps away on the hotel's rooftop 27 stories above Siam Square.

“It helps to give you some energy, replacing the coffee,” said Manuel Reymondin, the resident manager of the Novotel on Siam Square.

Reymondin has become a daily consumer of spirulina, using it as a substantial protein source in place of red meat.

The hotel's spa also relies on the blue-green algae's anti-inflammatory properties for gooey therapeutic⁵ treatments.

Spirulina is given to hospital patients undergoing radiation treatment or others having trouble eating normally because the vitamin-rich cyanobacterium is easy to digest.

The rooftop project growing spirulina also has become a centerpiece for the Novotel's parent (Accor) company’s social responsibility mission.

"It is a product which is easily lovable. When you see it you basically adopt it, such as we did. Before we started the spirulina project most of us didn't know really what it was," said Reymondin.

From African lakes to Thai rooftops

Energaia, a fledgling local for-profit enterprise, introduced spirulina to the hotel, based on its ability to grow in the center of urban Bangkok.

These are starkly⁶ different surroundings from the ancient aquatic⁷ organism’s natural habitat. Once only found in abundance in a few lakes in such places as the African nation Chad, Burma and in Mexico.

There are no global large-scale producers of spirulina. China and India are the two largest countries cultivating the algae, followed by Thailand and the United States.

It is now thriving in “bio-reactors” in Bangkok devised by American Derek Blitz. The system relies on sunlight for photosynthesis⁸, circulating fresh alkaline water and a bit of starter algae carried in laboratory test tubes from a Bangkok breeding ground.

Energaia, after years of research and development utilizing⁹ four staff micro-biologists, is producing 80 to 100 kilograms of spirulina weekly utilizing 130 square meters on the Novotel's flat roof.

Rooftops of high-rise buildings are ideal for this kind of farming. There is available and affordable¹⁰ space. And the sunlight and heat, in a city such as Bangkok, mean the crop grows quickly.

"We're pursuing hotels and other organizations that have empty rooftop space,” said Blitz. “And we can utilize¹¹ that space to produce healthy food in the city for the residents of the city. And that organization can benefit from having access to that to use within their own businesses, as well as the perception of the public that they're doing something good."

A food for all, if production costs come down

Spirulina requires less water than just about any terrestrial crop and has the added advantage of growing on non-arable land.

Energaia, which expects to shortly utilize two more rooftops in Bangkok for growing spirulina, has ambitions beyond the Thai capital.

"We could take and containerize this system so it's ready to go and allow organizations to leverage¹² our technology to develop food within communities that struggle,” explains Blitz.

Research indicates spirulina may aid sufferers of a host of ailments¹³, including allergies¹⁴ and arthritis¹⁵. But production costs are currently too high to make this highly nutritious¹⁶ food affordable for most of those in the developing world.

In Bangkok, 100 grams of fresh spirulina costs $5, which means that it is mainly bought by people with ample disposable income who consume it as a nutritional supplement.

"We prefer to provide it in fresh form... as it's easier to cook with and add to any meal," says Energaia founder¹⁷ Saumil Shah, an aerospace¹⁸ engineer by training. "We've been able to get shelf life up to three or four weeks."

Any product that doesn't sell at retail¹⁹ outlets²⁰ is replaced by Energaia and turned into a powder which has a shelf life of several years.

Shah revealed to a group at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University that his company is also working to create protein-rich but low calorie foods containing spirulina, such as fish snacks and paste. A 100 gram jar of spirulina paste sold by Energaia contains only about 20 calories.

Shah acknowledges not everyone is an instant convert to spirulina, despite its many attributes.

“It looks green, it looks different. Not everybody can get over that and taste it," he said. 

1 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

2 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

3 wok   

n.锅，炒菜锅

参考例句：

• I'm not teaching my students how to use a wok.我不是教我的学生们如何用炒菜的。
• He threw the meat into his biggest wok to cook.他把肉扔到最大的一口锅里煮。

4 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

5 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

6 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

7 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

8 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

9 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

12 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

13 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

14 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

15 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

16 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

17 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

18 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

19 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

20 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》