ALTHOUGH it is the buried tombs and the lost cities that get all the press, one of the most valuable things that an archaeologist can dig up is rubbish. Palace murals and heroic statues record the sanitised, official version of history, but a societys garbage tells the true story of how its members lived.
With that thought in mind, archaeologists of the future are in for a treat. The industrial societies of the worlds developed countries are the most wasteful ever, their spoor turning up in every corner of the Earth. Almost by definition, waste is something that most people prefer not to think too much about. But Edward Humes, an American journalist, is fascinated by the stuff. Garbology is his attempt to make sense of our historically unprecedented readiness to throw things away.
The book begins at the Puente Hills landfill, an artificial mountain near Los Angeles. It is the biggest dump in America, 30 years old, 150 metres high and containing 130m tonnes of rubbish within a 700-acre footprint. If it were a building, it would be among the 20 tallest in the city. Building a rubbish pile is, it turns out, surprisingly high-tech. The mountain is a giant, putrid layer-cake, with dozens of strata of rubbish separated by soil and plastic liners designed to contain the brew of noxious chemicals that would otherwise leach into groundwater. The rot produces methane, which is collected via a network of pipes that penetrate the mountain, and burned to produce electricity.
From there, Mr Humes traces the history of garbage in America, beginning with New Yorks White Wings , an army of municipal rubbish collectors created to clean the citys stinking streets in the 19th century, through the heyday of backyard incinerators (and the smog they produced) to the modern day, where the most common solutions often involve burying the stuff in the ground or dumping it in the sea. He talks to the researchers who are chronicling the plasticisation of the oceans, a swelling suspended solution of pulverised plastic. And he describes the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an enormous expanse of the Pacific Ocean where currents concentrate the trash over a continent-sized area.
The author is just as interested in the creation of rubbish as its disposal. But whereas few will disagree with the gist of his observations about the shortcomings of our modern, disposable, consumer culture, the analysis is rather superficial. Mr Humes comes close to blaming a single man J. Gordon Lippincott, an industrial designer for the creation of the entire wasteful model of modern consumerism. And although it is understandable that an American author should write a book looking mostly at the problems of America, it nevertheless feels like a missed opportunity. Some of the most interesting parts of the book come towards the end, where he discusses some of the possible solutions such as Denmarks strategy of burning rubbish to produce electricity, or an Irish scheme to charge shoppers for plastic bags, which led to a 90% drop in their use. Food for thought, and more.
dig up 挖出;掘起;开垦;发现
Palace mural 宫廷壁画
heroic statue 英雄雕像
in for a treat 会喜欢的
spoor n. 足迹;痕迹
turn up 出现;发生
by definition 按照定义;显然地;当然地
make sense of 了解 的意义;理解;懂得
unprecedented adj. 空前的;无前例的
readiness n. 敏捷;准备
putrid adj. 腐败的;腐烂的;令人厌恶的
strata n. 层;阶层
noxious adj. 有害的;有毒的
leach v. 渗入;渗透
methane n. 甲烷
penetrate v. 渗透;穿透
heyday n. 全盛时期
chronicle v. 记录;把 载入编年史 n. 编年史,年代记;记录
gist n. 主旨;要点
Question time:
1. Whats the difference between Palace murals, heroic statues and rubbish with regard to history?
2. Can you list the ways that we deal with rubbish according to the passage?
报道称iPhone射频辐射超出安全极限
早睡早起身体好?夜猫子们工作好收入更高!
没事记得打个盹儿:小睡片刻好处多多
“地球之肺”在燃烧!巴西派军队赴亚马孙雨林灭火
以为中了彩票大奖会让你永远快乐吗?
贝克汉姆中国行武汉站 表演踢球不幸摔倒
三十岁后的魅力时光:30岁女人最漂亮 34岁男人最帅气
比尔-盖茨:中国农业创新助力发展
金发已过时 男人更爱娶深发女做老婆
伦敦地铁150岁了!
大学生就业仍然遭遇性别歧视
牛神国:印度高中考试千人作弊
网曝6名外国人在上海高架桥上集体小便
英国兴起哭丧服务 一小时45英镑
想要减肥?那就吃下面4种水果
带你发现最好的自己:记得常问自己的10个问题
不肯跟女朋友分享冰淇淋的男人:NBA球迷欢乐瞬间
电子香烟:烟草业巨头面临一大挑战
是时候做出改变了:不要再做和开始去做的5件事
国际英语资讯:Disused plane sunk in Jordans Aqaba to enrich marine habitat
国际英语资讯:Italys president to open new round of talks on govt crisis
移动:5大笔记软件盘点
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice premier stresses promoting healthy development of intelligent industry
英国之病,谁人能救
四川彭山河道现千只死鸭:网友吐槽喝完排骨汤又来老鸭汤
澳科学家研制抗衰老药有突破 长生不老或不再是神话
儿童选择奖揭晓 斯图尔特独揽双奖满载而归
巴西女医生涉嫌谋杀300名病人 只为腾出病房床位
体坛英语资讯:Spartak Trnava ousted from Europa League qualifiers
在线大学为青少年敞开大门
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |