VOA常速英语2007年-McDonald's Garbage Heats and Lights Buildings i

By Mandy Clark
London
13 November 2007
 

A city in Britain and a U.S.-based fast food chain are teaming up to cut carbon emissions¹ as well as save energy and space in the local landfill.

Some 130 buildings in the City of Sheffield are now being powered by McDonald's hamburgers. Eleven of the company's restaurants are taking part in a program that turns their garbage into light and heat. And McDonald's states each restaurant willl avoid sending 100 tons of waste to Sheffield's landfills every year. VOA's Mandy Clark reports from Sheffield.

 

The Golden Arches in Britain are going Green.

 

One busy McDonald's restaurant may seems like any other. Hamburgers and fries feed the hungry lunch crowd. But at one the food that customers cannot quite finish will be made into fuel of a different kind -- electricity and heating for local buildings.

Franchise² owner Duncan Taylor says he's proud of the initiative. "It is important that we all take little steps, this maybe a little step in a global perspective, but it is a positive step. We are saving significant carbon emissions to the atmosphere."

The Sheffield pilot project ensures none of the restaurants' rubbish goes to landfills.

Instead a truck is taking the day's refuse to the city's Energy Recovery Facility, where it is then incinerated and converted into electricity -- powering hospitals, City Hall, galleries, and theatres.

The restaurants involved are also experimenting with other energy saving technology, including solar panels, wind power, and efficient lighting³.

 

The Carbon Trust -- a government-funded independent company -- will calculate the impact of this project on the environment. But company officials say it is too early now to tell.

 

Some Sheffield citizens are skeptical⁴ about McDonald's motives⁵ but supportive of the idea. A few citizens had these comments:

"I think it is a good idea but maybe they are doing it to get good publicity⁶ and change their image around."

"I think it will do a lot for their reputation because, at the moment, they are getting a lot of bad publicity about obesity⁷ issues."

"If they are providing food for the nation and the world, if they are trying to help in other ways like recycling the rubbish, it's a good scheme [plan] for the whole world, I believe."

And, if the project proves successful here, McDonald's hopes to expand the efforts to its other restaurants across Britain.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

3 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。