VOA标准英语2010年-Sydney, Australia Opens New 'Green' Ce

The Catholic Church is opening its first eco-friendly cemetery¹ in Australia's largest city, Sydney. It is a way of reducing carbon footprints - even after death.

Phil Mercer | Sydney 22 July 2010
Natural Burial Park at Kemp's Creek² Cemetery near Sydney, Australia

Australia's newest natural burial site sits in a quiet corner at Kemps Creek, on the edge of Sydney.

There are no gravestones or grand mausoleums - just a patch of bare grass surrounded by a simple wooden fence.  Those laid to rest here will be buried in bio-degradable coffins³.

 Julian Porteous, the auxiliary⁴ Roman Catholic bishop⁵ of Sydney, thinks it will become a popular option.

Courtesy of Catholic Cemeteries⁶ Board
Peter Ward⁷ (Chairman Catholic Cemeteries), MInister for Lands Tony Kelly, Bishop Julian Porteous, Michael McMahon (CEO Catholic Cemeteries) at the opening of the St. Francis Natural Burial Field at Kemps Creek, Sydney, Australia

"I think people will have a greater sense of their unity⁸ with creation," he said.  "From dust we have come, to dust we shall return.  In no way would this diminish all those very important human dimensions to the experience of death.  There would still be in the Catholic tradition a full funeral Mass.  There would still be the chance for the family to come together to pray.  So, all the normal rituals surrounding the funeral of a person would still be preserved.  But [at] the final resting place where there would be not, if you like, a heavy mark of the person, but rather the person is consigned⁹ to dust from where they came."  

Graves at the Kemps Creek eco site can be leased for about $2,200 and are recycled.  Tenure¹⁰ is limited to 30 years and, if the license¹¹ is not renewed, then that plot is used again by someone else.

When relatives and friends come to pay their respects to someone who has passed away, they find them the grave in a unique way.

"We also put on each grave a transponder," says Michael McMahon, chief executive of the Catholic Cemeteries Board.  "It is a transponder that is put about two feet below the surface.  That will allow us to scan that area and find the name of the person that is actually located in that grave.  We are also bringing in longitude¹² and latitude¹³, which will be a GPS coordinate¹⁴.  So, a person who has a new invented mobile phone can find the location of the grave."     

The idea of a no-frills, environmentally-aware grave may, however, take time to catch on in Australia, where there is still a deep respect for tradition.

At the Rookwood Necropolis in Sydney - one of the largest cemeteries in the southern hemisphere - more than one million people are buried in the traditional fashion.  The vast site is adorned¹⁵ with lavish¹⁶ headstones and statutes¹⁷, as well as more modest memorials.

There are separate sections for Anglicans, Catholics, Jews and Muslims.

Alia, a Muslim migrant from Pakistan, reads a story of forgiveness over her mother's tomb.  She, like visitors to the Rookwood cemetery from other faiths, believes that having a clearly marked, traditional grave is of vital importance.

"It is just like I am meeting her.  It is a meeting place for me," she said.  "Actually, her soul has gone up in the sky that is what we believe and whenever I come here I think of the time she passed away and we were seeing her face.  Her face comes to me straight [away] when I come here."   

Margaret, who is visiting her father's grave, reacts to the idea of finding a gravesite via GPS tracker.  

"No.  No thanks.  I wouldn't like that.  It is not personal," she said.  "We can actually see where he is here.  I don't like the GPS.  That's too modern for me.  I'm very traditional.  I like the old way but just to think with the GPS and you're going around and you look like you are looking for mines or something.  No.  Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid."

There is also a view that conventional graveyards¹⁸ help to preserve history and display the spirit of a community.

Peter Dowling, a heritage officer at the National Trust in Canberra, says eco-burial sites will not have the same 'cultural value' as one of the many traditional cemeteries he visits.

"I quite often get an intense feeling of life and death, of the sort of achievements and failures of the people," he says. "And, I quite often feel I am walking through history, which is exactly what I am doing in actual fact and that is what anyone else is doing.  They are walking through the history of that particular community where that cemetery is.  And, it would be a shame to lose that sort of sense of the past, that sort of connectivity with the past.  You know, these cemeteries are really, really symbols of our past.  They are markers of our history." 

The Roman Catholic Church believes that its new green option will become increasingly popular, as its parishioners weigh up the benefits of the ultimate act of recycling.

The Kemps Creek site is officially open for business.  The ground has been dedicated¹⁹ under Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.
 

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

3 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

4 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

5 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

6 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

7 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 consigned   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
• The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

13 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

14 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

15 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

16 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

17 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

18 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

19 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。