VOA常速英语2022 加纳企业家用回收塑料建造经济适用房

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加纳企业家用回收塑料建造经济适用房

Ghanaian Entrepreneur Builds Affordable¹ Houses from Recycled Plastics

The real estate market is booming in Accra.Luxury communities continue to spring up in prime locations across the Ghanian capital.Realtors say the boom in luxury properties is fueled by the changing demography² and growing economic activities in the capital.I think it started off from the oil sector³ in the late 2000s when Ghana discovered oil.I would like to believe that there was almost like a gold rush to Ghana at the time,so a lot of developers decided⁴ this is the best time to position themselves.So, they capitalized on that by getting multiple acquisitions and started investing it.Ghanas growing economy is driving up migration⁵ to its cities,where many Ghanaians find themselves competing for decent and affordable accommodation.The 2021 population census⁶ revealed that Ghana needs about two million additional housing units to completely accommodate its 30.8 million people.The deficit⁷ that we are talking about is in the medium to lower income bracket, and we dont seem to be doing well in that area.The average estate developer is unable to meet the price point for this category of people.But whether people are living in luxury or affordable housing, they are also finding themselves facing a common problem:plastic pollution driven by population growth.But plastic houses may be a possible solution to both problems.Nelson Boateng is building houses made of bricks from recycled plastics and is doing so at a fraction of the cost of concrete buildings.His one-bedroom apartment costs 11,000 U.S. dollars and was made with 13,400 kilograms of plastic waste.We advanced in producing plastic Lego bricks to build affordable housing for the very low-income Ghanaian.Not because it is very cheap, the durability⁸ is less.It is stronger than the normal concrete bricks that we have because these bricks can withstand waterlogged areas;it can withstand earthquakes and it doesnt burn.

阿克拉的房地产市场正在蓬勃发展。豪华社区继续在加纳首都的黄金地段如雨后春笋般涌现。房地产经纪人说，首都不断变化的人口结构和不断增长的经济活动推动了豪华房地产的繁荣。我认为这始于21世纪初加纳发现石油时的石油业。我愿意相信当时几乎有一股淘金热涌向加纳，因此，许多开发人员认为现在是定位自己的最佳时机。因此，他们利用这一点进行了多次收购，并开始投资。加纳不断增长的经济正在推动向其城市的移民，在那里，许多加纳人发现自己在为体面和负担得起的住房而竞争。2021年的人口普查显示，加纳需要大约200万套额外的住房才能完全容纳其3080万人口。我们谈论的赤字属于中低收入阶层，我们在这一领域似乎做得不好。房地产开发商一般无法满足这类人的价位。但是，无论人们住的是豪宅还是保障房，他们都发现自己面临着一个共同的问题：人口增长造成的塑料污染。但塑料房屋可能是解决这两个问题的一个可能方案。纳尔逊·博阿滕正在用回收塑料制成的砖块建造房屋，而且成本只有混凝土建筑的一小部分。他的一居室公寓价格为1万1000美元，是用1万3400公斤塑料垃圾建造的。我们在生产塑料砖方面取得了进步，为非常低收入的加纳人建造了负担得起的住房。不是因为它很便宜，而是耐用性较差。它比我们现有的普通混凝土砖更坚固，因为这些砖可以承受积水的地方；它可以承受地震，而且不会燃烧。

Nelson mixes shredded⁹ plastic waste materials with sand under high temperatures to mold the inexpensive building bricks.The bricks have worked well for one-story buildings.But to lower costs and accommodate more people, he must find a way to build high-rise buildings.So, we thought of, Why dont we develop a different pillar corner bolt that can carry two three stories?So that is what we are working on now.The Ghana Standards Authority says tests show Nelsons building blocks meet quality standards.It passed the compression strength just as the ordinary sandcrete blocks also pass.So, the product is of good quality, and it can serve the same purpose as the traditional product.Nelson hopes his homes made from plastic waste will catch on with the Ghanaian public.Even better, perhaps forward-thinking luxury real estate developers will tend to using the plastic bricks when building their next high-rise.

纳尔逊将粉碎的塑料废料与高温下的沙子混合，以塑造廉价的建筑砖。这种砖在单层建筑中效果很好。但为了降低成本，容纳更多的人，他必须找到建造高层建筑的方法。所以，我们想，为什么我们不开发一种不同的柱角，可以承载两三层楼呢？这就是我们现在正在做的事情。加纳标准局表示，测试显示纳尔逊的砖符合质量标准。它通过了抗压强度，就像普通砂混凝土块一样通过。因此，该产品的质量很好，并且可以与传统产品实现相同的用途。纳尔逊希望他用塑料垃圾建造的房子能受到加纳公众的欢迎。更好的是，也许有远见的豪华房地产开发商在建造以后的高层建筑时会倾向于使用塑料砖。

1 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。

2 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 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。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

9 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》