Green Festival: a Party with a Purpose

姚琴

For the past four years， the Green Festival in Washington， D.C.， has brought together people from around the country who are interested in the environmental movement. People call the festival “a party with a purpose”. They say the purpose of the Green Festival is to create an economy in which natural resources are used in a way that does not destroy the environment. To the people who organize the event， “green” means having a safe and healthy community and a strong local economy.

Throughout the two-day event， over one thousand people volunteered to help the festival run smoothly. Four hundred businesses and organizations showed their products and projects. About three thousand visitors came to the party. They could find everything from naturally made organic food to clothing made from bamboo plants.

There were over one hundred fifty speakers and discussion groups. You could also watch several movies about political and environmental issues. Then you could listen to some live music performances. After sitting for too long， visitors could take a yoga exercise class. There was even an area for children. Younger visitors could enjoy fun games and lessons on subjects like protecting the rainforest and creating chocolate sweets.

Green building was one of the important subjects at the festival. Many companies and organizations aim to create environmentally safe buildings. They design structures with reduced energy use， fewer chemicals and more recycled materials. The Loading Dock is an organization based in Baltimore， Maryland. Its message is that “a person could build a house with what others throw away”.

Spending a day at the Green Festival showed people many solutions to improving the health of our planet. People have inclusive green choices， from the things people buy to the ways people eat， think， and live. The Green Festival connects a wide community of people who care deeply about， and are working to improve， our shared environment.

【難句解析】

1. People call the festival “a party with a purpose”.

釋義：人們把這個節日稱之為“有目的的派對”。

點撥：call可以用于“主語+謂語+賓語+賓語補足語”這個句型，像這樣的動詞還有name， elect， make， think， choose， find， wish， feel等。例如：

They named the boy Jack. 他們給孩子取名叫杰克。

2. Its message is that “a person could build a house with what others throw away”.

釋義：它的宗旨是“一個人能夠用別人扔掉的東西修建一個房子”。

點撥：這是一個復合句，a person could build a house with what others throw away作表語從句。在表語從句中，with what others throw away作狀語，what作throw away的賓語。

what作為連接代詞，承擔兩重任務：連接句子和代替從句缺少的成分（可以代替從句主語、賓語或表語）。例如：

What I want for the moment is a car. （主語從句中，what是want的賓語）我此刻想要的是一輛汽車。

3. Spending a day at the Green Festival showed people many solutions for improving the health of our planet.

釋義：在綠色節度過一天給人們顯示改善我們地球健康的許多方法。

點撥：show可以用于“主語+及物動詞+間接賓語+直接賓語”這個句型，像這樣的動詞還有buy， pass， lend， give， ask， tell， sell， teach， bring， send， return， pay， offer， fetch， cost等。例如：

He often asks the teacher a lot of questions in class. 他常常在課堂上問老師許多問題。

4. People have inclusive green choices， from the things people buy to the ways people eat， think， and live.

釋義：人們有多種多樣的選擇，從買的物品到吃、思考和生活的方式。

點撥：在此句中，people eat， think， and live是定語從句，修飾先行詞the ways。當先行詞為way并且定語從句中缺少狀語時，通常用in which或that引導定語從句（in which或that可省略）;如果定語從句中缺少主語或賓語，則用關系代詞that或which引導定語從句。例如：

I dont like the way that he laughed at me. 我不喜歡他用那種方式來嘲笑我。

=I dont like the way in which he laughed at me.

=I dont like the way he laughed at me.

【閱讀鏈接】

I. Choose the right answer.

1. The purpose of the Green Festival is to ____.

A. bring people together?????????????????????? B. study the environment

C. improve peoples health????????????????? D. develop a green economy

2. Younger visitors could ____ in the festival.

A. watch some movies about love??????????????? B. build a house with their hands

C. play fun games and have lessons ????? D. taste food made from bamboo plants

3. According to the passage， buildings with ____ are green building.

A. reduced energy use????????????????????????? B. many chemicals

C. used doors???????? ??? ??????????????????????????? D. a landfill trash center

4. The underlined word “inclusive” in the last paragraph probably means “____”.

A. important???????????????? B. right???????????? C. wide????????????????? D. possible

5. Which of the following is NOT true？

A. About one hundred fifty visitors took part in the Green party.

B. Recycling materials to rebuild communities saves a lot of money.

C. Clothing made from bamboo plants can be found in the Green party.

D. The Green Festival provides many solutions for improving our planet.

II. Fill in the blanks.

1. I dont like ____ ____ ____ ____ （……的方式） you speak to her.

2. ____ ____ ____ （……的目的） our advertising is to draw customers attention to our product.

3. Ive got boxes of old clothes in the attic， which I really should ____ ____ （扔掉）.

4. Theyve done ____ ____ ____ （他們能做的） to help her.

5. I always wanted to ____ ____ ____ （叫這條狗） Mufty for some reason.

6. It may take a long time to find a ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ （避免犯錯誤的方法）.