Making Life Easier

董曉白

你為垃圾分類苦惱過嗎？眾所周知，近年來垃圾分類的好處正在逐漸滲透到人們的理念中，但在分類的過程中，仍然有一些難以解決之事，尤其是濕垃圾分類就常常讓人叫苦不迭。然而上海市文萊中學的14歲男孩施源創(chuàng)造力爆棚，發(fā)明了一款濕垃圾“神器”，使我們的生活化繁為簡。

If you live in Shanghai， you might have recently learned how to sort （分類） waste the hard way. You have to be careful when throwing away wet waste， which may include food or other kinds of garbage. Maybe these kinds of waste have made a big mess when you ve thrown them away.

Shi Yuan， 14， from Shanghai Wenlai Middle School， has made a special bag to help solve this problem. The plastic bag has a band of adhesive tape （粘貼帶）. When one end of the tape is open， the bag can be turned upside-down. You can hold the bottom end and easily throw wet garbage into a trash can.

Shi came up with the idea after an unpleasant experience in which he got wet waste all over his pants while throwing it away. He found that many other people had the same problem. He became determined to solve this issue and invented his special bag.

He first thought about using a gunny （麻布） bag or placing a bag break on his trash cans. But neither of these ideas worked. So he decided to just design his own garbage bag. “I didn t want to put any extra burden （負擔） on the bag， so I used adhesive tape，” Shi said.

However， the original tape was a one-off product （一次性產(chǎn)品） and not environmentally friendly. So Shi kept on improving his design. He remembered reading about the adhesive （粘合劑） used for Post-it notes （便利貼）. Shi thought this weak glue （膠水） could be used for the adhesive tape and allow the garbage bag to be reused.

Shi s bag has become popular in many communities. He has already sold 2 million bags online. His father is quite proud of him.

“Kids like to play. Shi just changed the way he ‘plays??and put his mind toward exploring a way to make life easier，” Shi s father said.

【難句解析】

1. If you live in Shanghai， you might have recently learned how to sort waste the hard way.

釋義：如果你是上海居民，那么最近你應該好不容易才學會了如何分類垃圾吧。

點撥：learn （sth.） the hard way 意為“歷經(jīng)挫折才懂得”，是一種習語的表達。在英語中，情態(tài)動詞完成時連用是一個很有用的結(jié)構(gòu)，體現(xiàn)為“情態(tài)動詞+have done”的結(jié)構(gòu)，表達對過去情況的看法或態(tài)度。不同的情態(tài)動詞和have done連用，含義不同。例如：

How I regretted the days when I had played and should have studied. 我多么懊惱我把本該好好學習的日子都拿來玩了。

Since the ground is wet， it must have rained last night. 因為地面是濕的，昨晚一定下雨了。

They can t have lost themselves in the woods， because I drew a map to them. 他們不可能在樹林中迷路，因為我給他們畫了張地圖。

You needn t have woken me up so early. It s Sunday today. 你沒有必要這么早叫醒我。（因為）今天是星期天。

2. Shi came up with the idea after an unpleasant experience in which he got wet waste all over his pants while throwing it away.

釋義：施源是在一次不愉快的經(jīng)歷后有了這個點子，當時他正在倒?jié)窭Y(jié)果弄得滿褲子都是垃圾。

點撥：in which引導定語從句，修飾先行詞an unpleasant experience。“介詞+關(guān)系代詞”引導的定語從句，是定語從句中一種介詞前置的定語從句句型，介詞與關(guān)系代詞之間存在一種介賓關(guān)系。在此結(jié)構(gòu)中，關(guān)系代詞只能用which（指物）或whom（指人），即：介詞+which / whom。本句中while引導時間狀語從句，由于從句主語和主句主語一致，從句謂語中也包含be動詞，故省去從句的主語和be動詞，保留be 動詞之后的部分。例如：

This is my pair of glasses without which I cannot see anything. 這是我的眼鏡，離了它我什么也看不清。

While （you were） walking the dog， you were careless and it got loose and was hit by a car. 當你遛狗時，不小心讓它掙脫了，結(jié)果它被汽車撞了。

3. He remembered reading about the adhesive used for Post-it notes.

釋義：他記得他曾經(jīng)看到過一種用在便利貼上的粘合劑。

點撥：used for Post-it notes作后置定語，修飾名詞the adhesive。過去分詞作定語，在語態(tài)上，表被動;在時間上，表示動作已經(jīng)發(fā)生或完成，與它所修飾的名詞有邏輯上的動賓關(guān)系。過去分詞短語作定語要放在被修飾的名詞后面，作后置定語，其作用相當于一個定語從句。例如：

Most of the people invited （=who were invited） to the conference were my old friends. 大多數(shù)被邀請參加會議的都是我的老朋友。

4. Shi just changed the way he ‘plays and put his mind toward exploring a way to make life easier.

釋義：施源只不過是改變了他玩的方式，并且致力于探索一條簡化生活的道路。

點撥：本句為the way作先行詞的定語從句。當way 表示“方式、方法”，在定語從句中the way作先行詞，并在從句中充當狀語成分時，后面的引導詞有三種，即：that / in which或省略。例如：

I don t like the way （that / in which） he laughed at me. 我不喜歡他嘲笑我的樣子。

I. Choose the right answer.

1. What did Shi Yuan actually invent？

A. A trash can. ??? B. A special plastic bag. ? C. A gunny. ?? D. An adhesive tape.

2. When did Shi come up with the idea？

A. When he graduated from primary school.

B. After he saw his father throw the waste away.

C. After he got his trousers dirty while throwing away the wet waste.

D. After he read about a kind of weak glue used for Post-it notes.

3. Which statement is TRUE？

A. Wet waste refers to household food waste.

B. When one end of the tape is open， the bag can be broken， so you can easily throw wet garbage into a trash can.

C. The original tape was one-off product but environmentally friendly.

D. Shi s bag has become popular in many countries.

4. What is the story mainly about？

A. How Shi Yuan invented the special bag.

B. Why Shi invented the special bag.

C. Shi s bag has many advantages.

D. A fourteen-year-old boy made a special bag to make life easier.

II. Fill in the blanks.

1. In the 19th century， Darwin ________?________?________?（提出） the theory of evolution.

2. My plan ________?（奏效了）， and I got them to agree.

3. He ________?________?________?（下決心） shape his son as a poet and writer.

4. Every right-thinking Chinese would ________?________?________?（以……自豪） them.

5. I have ________?________?________?________?（弄得一團糟） of my life.