【一起听英语】便携式塑料袋
塑料袋的使用大大方便了我们的生活，但与此同时也给我们的环境造成了很大的负担.....应该如何正确得使用呢？
Rob: Hello, I'm Rob…
Cath: And I'm Cath.
Rob: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning 1 English. Today we're talking
Cath: Yes, they're very useful for carrying our shopping home in from the
supermarket but are a bit of a problem.
Rob: Not surprisingly millions are used every day all around the world. And today
we'll be telling you about a fight to cut the number being used and thrown
away. Now, Cath, do you use lots of carrier bags?
Cath: Well I try not to. I think it's really really important not to but I do seem to end
up with quite a few. Either I stuff 3 them in a drawer and try and forget about
them or I recycle them.
Rob: That's good because recycling the plastic carrier bags is one way to reduce
waste but I'll tell you more about plans to cut their use soon. But first Cath, we
always like to start the programme with a question. So are you ready to answer
this one?
Cath: Alright then!
Rob: Now, approximately how many plastic carrier bags are used worldwide every
year? Is it:
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 2 of 6
a) 500 million
b) 500 billion
c) 500 trillion
Cath: I don't even know what 500 trillion means. I'm going to go for – I can't believe
it's billions – it must be 500 million.
Rob: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's get
back to the story about a fight to reduce the use of carrier bags.
Cath: Yes, and of course, this is not a real fight! This is a campaign. And it sounds
tricky 4 because plastic bags are so useful.
Rob: Yes. Plastic actually is a very useful resource. There are so many things we
use every day that are made from this chemically produced material – but the
carrier bag is probably the product that gets the most criticism 5.
Cath: Criticism – that's when something or someone gets unfavourable comments.
And the plastic carrier bag gets blamed for lots of environmental problems.
Rob: Yes. For example, many of them end up in our seas and in our countryside and
get swallowed by animals and fish. The problem is they're not biodegradable.
Cath: Yes, they don't decompose 6 naturally very quickly. It can take up to 1000 years.
Rob: So that's why the government in Wales is trying to fight the problem. Let's hear
from the BBC's Collette Hume to hear what's being done and how widespread
the problem is…
Collette Hume, BBC
The carrier bag. Shoppers in Wales will have to pay five pence 7 for every one they use, making
Wales the first part of the UK to charge for them. UK shoppers use around 13,000 carrier bags
in their lifetime. In Wales that amounts to around 480 million bags every year or 150 bags for
every person.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 3 of 6
Cath: Incredible 8! She says shoppers in the UK use around 13,000 carrier bags in their
lifetime.
Rob: So to try and cut that number, the Welsh government is introducing a
compulsory 9 tax of five pence for every bag that someone uses.
Cath: Compulsory – so you have to pay it, there's no choice. So if someone uses 20
bags in a week then that's an extra pound you will spend just on plastic bags!
Rob: Well this is the idea of the tax – or financial levy 10 – people might think twice
about using a bag.
Cath: And of course, they might start re-using the old bags or recycling. This will cut
down on the number of bags being dumped 12 and left to decompose in landfill
sites – that's another name for a rubbish dump 11.
Rob: This new tax is one way to wean people off the single-use carrier bag. But the
government is also providing tougher, stronger bags that last for a long time
and can be used again and again.
Cath: Yes, I've got something like that from my supermarket. But the problem is I
sometimes forget to take it with me every time I go shopping!
Rob: That is annoying! But for the Welsh government, this isn't just an issue about
carrier bags but more about getting people to think about the wider
environment. Let's hear more about the government's thinking from the Welsh
environment minister, John Griffiths. Listen out for the word he uses to
describe what he wants people to change…
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 4 of 6
John Griffiths , Welsh Environment Minister
We want people to think more about environmental issues and change the way they behave so
that they reuse their bags rather than having lots and lots of carrier bags spoiling 13 their
environment. But as a result of the change they think more about environmental issues
generally and change their behaviour so that we have a cleaner, tidier Wales.
Rob: So he wants people to think more about environmental issues and to change
how they behave – their behaviour.
Cath: So he wants to change their habits and that could lead to a cleaner and tidier
Wales – a more environmentally friendly Wales.
Rob: That means being more caring about the natural world around them.
Cath: It's a good ethos and it will be good to see if these new plans work. Of course
there are many other parts of the World where a plastic bag tax has already
been introduced with good results.
Rob: But still billions – or is it trillions?! – of new carrier bags get used every year.
And that brings me back to today's question. Now, Cath, I asked you
approximately how many plastic carrier bags are used worldwide every year?
a) 500 million
b) 500 billion
c) 500 trillion
Cath: And I said 500 million but I'm guessing that's far too few.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 5 of 6
Rob: Far too few. Absolutely wrong! The actual answer is 500 billion. OK, well
we're almost at the end of the programme, so Cath could you please remind us
of some of the vocabulary we've heard in today's programme?
Cath: We had:
campaign
resource
criticism
biodegradable
compulsory
financial levy
landfill sites
to wean
behaviour
environmentally friendly
ethos
Rob: Thanks Cath. We hope you've enjoyed today's programme. OK well it's time to
go now but we'll see you next time!
Both: Bye!
- When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
- Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
- The airplane lifted from the aircraft carrier.飞机从航空母舰上起飞。
- I applied for the job as a mail carrier.我申请邮差的工作。
- We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
- He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。
- I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
- He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。
- Some youth today do not allow any criticism at all.现在有些年轻人根本指责不得。
- It is wrong to turn a deaf ear to other's criticism.对别人的批评充耳不闻是错误的。
- The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
- Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。
- She counted out fifteen pence and passed it to the salesgirl.她数出15个便士交给女店员。
- These apples are selling at 40 pence a kilo.这些苹果售价每公斤40便士。
- Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
- Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。
- Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
- Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。
- They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
- A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。
- Where can I dump this rubbish?我将这些垃圾倒在什么地方？
- They wheeled the rubbish out to the dump.他们把垃圾用车运到垃圾场去。