樂高考慮出租積木

河南 逯慧才

為減少塑料浪費，樂高公司正在考慮積木出租計劃，并開始尋找塑料的代替材質。

LEGO is considering a brick rental scheme in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste. The Danish toy maker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable（可持續的） sources by 2030 and is searching for significant resources into finding alternatives.

Tim Brooks, vice president responsible for sustainability, said the company was “totally open” to the idea of a produce rental scheme but acknowledged that lost pieces could be a significant problem.He said the rental scheme was “possible” but admitted that there were some “technical barriers”,one of which is the complexity of some LEGO sets, many of which contain thousands of pieces.“What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?” Mr Brooks added.

LEGO has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint with growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. LEGO reportedly gives off around a million tons of carbon dioxide each year, with about three quarters coming from raw materials that go into factories. It produces 19 billion pieces per year 36,000 a minute that are made of plastic and much of the inner packaging is also plastic. So far, the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugar cane(甘蔗). The green trees, plants and flowers were first included in LEGO sets late last year but account for only one-two percent of the total amount of plastic elements produced.

Henrik Ostergaard Nielson, a production administrator in LEGO's factory, told The New York Times last year, “We need to learn again how to do this.” The company has invested (1BF) more than100,000,000 and hired 100 people to research non-plastic alternatives. It is aiming to keep all of its packaging reusable by 2025.

1. What is the aim of LEGO's brick rental plan?

A. To cut down on their cost.

B. To reduce plastic waste.

C. To seek alternative resources.

D. To deal with technical barriers.

2. What is Tim Brooks' attitude towards the toy rental scheme?

A. Negative. B. Confident. C. Ambiguous. D. Objective.

3. What method is used in the last two paragraphs?

A. Listing data.

B. Making comparisons.

С. Giving examples.

D. Describing scenes.

4. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A. LEGO will not make new products after 2025.

B. LEGO has already introduced non-plastic alternatives.

C. LEGO is making efforts for eco-friendly products.

D. LEGO's green technology is relatively backward.

Difficult sentence

He said the rental scheme was “possible” but admitted that there were some “technical barriers”,one of which is the complexity of some LEGO sets, many of which contain thousands of pieces. 他說，租賃計劃是“可能的”，但他承認有一些“技術障礙”，其中之一是一些樂高套裝的復雜性，其中許多套裝包含數千塊積木。

【點石成金】the rental scheme was “possible”為從句，作動詞said的賓語；that引導的從句作動詞admitted的賓語；第一個which引導的是非限制性定語從句，先行詞為technical barriers；第二個which引導的依然是非限制性定語從句，先行詞為LEGO sets。