文匯報互動英語教室(5) - A vertical garden

文匯報互動英語教室之《餐廳篇》將帶你到中西餐廳學英文!
我的直立式花園!

Lily does not care about environmental protection (環保). She uses all kinds of single-use disposable (即棄) plastic products including trash bags (垃圾袋), cups, plates and bottles. Her friends keep telling her that plastic is one of the major toxic (有毒的) pollutants (污染物) and disposal (處置) of plastic products on land makes harm to soil. Unfortunately, she completely ignores all their advice and keeps using plastic products.

Lily is suffering from allergies (敏感) because of the poor quality of the air in her office. She complained to the property management company (物業管理公司) several times but for some reason her efforts didn’t take. She gave up finally. She felt asleep after a busy work day and had a strange dream in which she met Angel of the Forest…

Liz: Would you like to join me for a coffee and cake?

Lily looked at Liz quizzically (疑惑地).

Lily: Who are you?

Liz: I am Liz, Angel of the Forest. Why do you use so many plastic products?

Lily: Why not? They are so convenient. I can just throw them away after a single use. I never wash the dishes. I’d rather spend more time on playing online games.

Liz: Do you know many plastic products contain harmful chemicals?

Lily: I don’t care.

Liz: Oh! You are wasting paper and killing trees for nothing!

Lily: Who cares? I live in Hong Kong, a polluted big city anyway.

Liz: You are wrong. We can make Hong Kong a better place to live.

Lily: Are you sure?

Liz: Yes! Come with me.

Lily followed Liz to a café. She gave Liz an astonished (驚訝的) look when she saw so many beautiful tropical plants in this café.

Lily: Oh! Am I dreaming?

Liz: Welcome to The Village. Would you like to join me for a tour?

Lily : Sure! I have never seen so many plants in such a small area before! Amazing!

Liz: Like many other big cities, lack of space is a reality in Hong Kong. We should think of ways to maximize the use of any available space.

Lily: Like how?

Liz: Can you notice anything special about the plants here?

Lily: Some plants grow on the wall.

Liz: You are very smart. This is what we called “vertical gardening” (直立式花園). Plants are not restricted to growing on the ground or in pots, they can also grow on the wall.

Lily: Oh! The green walls! Are there any other ben

efits (好處)?

Liz: Of course. Plants can lower temperature of the walls and thus cool down the surrounding space.

Lily: I want to create an attractive garden in my small apartment too. They have a large variety of plants here.

Liz: You are right. Since no soil is used, there are no mosquitos (蚊子) and other insects.

Despite the fact that land is limited in Hong Kong, we can still improve our living place by adding plants to help keep our home and office atmosphere healthier. Vertical gardening, gardening with upright (向上) structures, is ideal for the urban city areas. Walls are often used to create practical (實用) gardening spaces. It is space saving and environmentally friendly.

Lily has decided to make small moves to keep her home green and clean. She stops using plastic bags and starts building a framework for a small vertical garden at home. She believes that these small things can add up to a better future.

Questions:

1) Why plastic products are harmful to the environment?

2) What is vertical gardening?

3) What are the benefits of having a vertical garden?

4) What will you do to help protect our environment?

Answers:

1) Plastic is one of the major toxic pollutants and disposal of plastic products on land makes harm to soil.

2) Plants are not restricted to growing on the ground or in pots, they can also grow on the wall.

3) You can build a vertical garden in a small area. Since no soil is used, there are no mosquitos and other insects.

By Lily Poon

Special thanks to The Village as our venue provider

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