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Building with Bottles 建材新契机：小塑料瓶「立大功」

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Billions of plastic bottlers are used in Taiwan each year. A few are recycled, but most just go in the trash. Now some bottlers are getting a second life as building materials.

When it comes to construction, builders, even in these technologically advanced times, are often left with three main materials – concrete, steel, and bricks. But some innovative designers are increasingly looking to reuse an unlikely material that the world hasin abundance –plastic bottles. Would you live in a bottle building? Before you answer, have a look at many advantages these structures have.

即使在现今科技进步的时代，谈到建筑，建造者所剩可用的往往还是三种主要材料──水泥、钢及砖。但是，愈来愈多创新设计家正计划再利用一种世上大量，但却不太可能是建筑材料的材料──塑料瓶。你愿意住在瓶子建筑中吗？在你回答之前，先看看此类建筑的诸多优点吧！

First and foremost, bottle buildings are low-cost – just think about how little a plastic bottle costs, and you’ll get the idea. They are also quite strong and sturdy, as they can bear a heavy load and may resist earthquakes. Bottles also allow natural light into the structure, reducing energy consumption while creating a warm, inviting interior atmosphere.

首先，瓶子建筑成本很低。只要想想塑料瓶有多便宜，你就能明白了。瓶子建筑也很坚固耐用，因为能受重也许可耐震。塑料瓶也让自然光射入建筑，减少耗能并创造温暖、吸引人的内部环境。

In Taiwan, where just four percent of plastic bottles are recycled each year, the EcoARK building was built in Taipei using an astonishing 1.5 million plastic bottles. This building was used as an exhibition hall during the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo, and served as a reminder that, as Taiwan goes through 2.4 billion plastic bottles annually, we must find a way to recycle or reuse them before they present a huge environmental problem.

台湾每年只回收了百分之四的塑料瓶，但建于台北的环生方舟却用了数目惊人的150万支塑料瓶来建造。此建筑为2010年台北国际花卉博览会期间的展馆，用来提醒我们，台湾每年用掉了24亿支塑料瓶，在造成严重环境问题前，我们必须找到回收或是再利用这些瓶子的方法。

In the city of San Pablo in the Philippines, dozens of volunteers built a school from plastic bottles filled with liquefied adobe. This could be the start of a new trend in which plastic bottles become the new environmentally friendly material of choice for buildings of the future.

在菲律宾的圣巴布罗市，许多志愿者以装有液化泥砖的塑料瓶盖了一所学校。这可能是塑料瓶成为未来环保新建材的一股新趋势的开始。

－by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

concrete [ˋkɑnkrit] n. 混凝土

advantage [ədˋvæntɪdʒ] n. 优点

sturdy [ˋstɝdɪ] adj. 坚固的

resist [rɪˋzɪst] v. 抵抗

consumption [kənˋsʌmpʃən] n. 消耗

inviting [ɪnˋvaɪtɪŋ] adj. 吸引人的 attractive; tempting

astonishing [əˋstɑnɪʃɪŋ] adj. 惊人的

volunteer [͵vɑlənˋtɪr] n. 志愿者

liquefied ['lɪkwɪfaɪd] adj. 液化的

adobe [əˋdobɪ] n. 晒干的泥砖 a sun-dried, unburned brick of clay and straw

Idiom

单词发音

in abundance [əˋbʌndəns] 大量地

first and foremost 首要地 first of all

serve as 作为 to act in the capacity of someone or something

 Reading Questions 

1.   What was the main message of the EcoARK building?

(A)  Taipei needs to start building everything using plastic bottles.

(B)  People in Taiwan should buy only metal cans from convenience stores.

(C)  Although they are quite expensive, plastic buildings can be quite beautiful.

(D)  The large number of bottles in Taiwan is bad for the environment.

2.   Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that people are using bottles for building?

(A)  Bottles are inexpensive compared to other materials.

(B)  Bottles do not get damaged easily during natural disasters.

(C)  Bottles allow more natural light inside buildings.

(D)  Bottles used to make buildings can be recycled each week.

3.   What does the author seem to suggest about what happened in the Philippines?

(A)  It will probably cause other nations to consider building more schools.

(B)  It may make bottles the top material for environmentally friendly buildings.

(C)  It will likely cause nations in Asia to outlaw plastic bottle buildings.

(D)  It should have a major effect on construction projects for corporations.

2010 Taipei International Flora Expo/ FE Eco Ark

EcoARK Pavilion

Bottle classrooms to rise in the Philippines

Answer