一起聽英語 119 便攜式塑料袋

塑料袋的使用大大方便了我們的生活，但與此同時也給我們的環(huán)境造成了很大的負擔(dān).....應(yīng)該如何正確得使用呢?

Rob: Hello, I'm Rob…

Cath: And I'm Cath.

Rob: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Today we're talking

about plastic carrier bags.

Cath: Yes, they're very useful for carrying our shopping home in from the

supermarket but are a bit of a problem.

Rob: Not surprisingly millions are used every day all around the world. And today

we'll be telling you about a fight to cut the number being used and thrown

away. Now, Cath, do you use lots of carrier bags?

Cath: Well I try not to. I think it's really really important not to but I do seem to end

up with quite a few. Either I stuff them in a drawer and try and forget about

them or I recycle them.

Rob: That's good because recycling the plastic carrier bags is one way to reduce

waste but I'll tell you more about plans to cut their use soon. But first Cath, we

always like to start the programme with a question. So are you ready to answer

this one?

Cath: Alright then!

Rob: Now, approximately how many plastic carrier bags are used worldwide every

year? Is it:

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

Page 2 of 6

a) 500 million

b) 500 billion

c) 500 trillion

Cath: I don't even know what 500 trillion means. I'm going to go for – I can't believe

it's billions – it must be 500 million.

Rob: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's get

back to the story about a fight to reduce the use of carrier bags.

Cath: Yes, and of course, this is not a real fight! This is a campaign. And it sounds

tricky because plastic bags are so useful.

Rob: Yes. Plastic actually is a very useful resource. There are so many things we

use every day that are made from this chemically produced material – but the

carrier bag is probably the product that gets the most criticism.

Cath: Criticism – that's when something or someone gets unfavourable comments.

And the plastic carrier bag gets blamed for lots of environmental problems.

Rob: Yes. For example, many of them end up in our seas and in our countryside and

get swallowed by animals and fish. The problem is they're not biodegradable.

Cath: Yes, they don't decompose naturally very quickly. It can take up to 1000 years.

Rob: So that's why the government in Wales is trying to fight the problem. Let's hear

from the BBC's Collette Hume to hear what's being done and how widespread

the problem is…

Collette Hume, BBC

The carrier bag. Shoppers in Wales will have to pay five pence for every one they use, making

Wales the first part of the UK to charge for them. UK shoppers use around 13,000 carrier bags

in their lifetime. In Wales that amounts to around 480 million bags every year or 150 bags for

every person.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

Page 3 of 6

Cath: Incredible! She says shoppers in the UK use around 13,000 carrier bags in their

lifetime.

Rob: So to try and cut that number, the Welsh government is introducing a

compulsory tax of five pence for every bag that someone uses.

Cath: Compulsory – so you have to pay it, there's no choice. So if someone uses 20

bags in a week then that's an extra pound you will spend just on plastic bags!

Rob: Well this is the idea of the tax – or financial levy – people might think twice

about using a bag.

Cath: And of course, they might start re-using the old bags or recycling. This will cut

down on the number of bags being dumped and left to decompose in landfill

sites – that's another name for a rubbish dump.

Rob: This new tax is one way to wean people off the single-use carrier bag. But the

government is also providing tougher, stronger bags that last for a long time

and can be used again and again.

Cath: Yes, I've got something like that from my supermarket. But the problem is I

sometimes forget to take it with me every time I go shopping!

Rob: That is annoying! But for the Welsh government, this isn't just an issue about

carrier bags but more about getting people to think about the wider

environment. Let's hear more about the government's thinking from the Welsh

environment minister, John Griffiths. Listen out for the word he uses to

describe what he wants people to change…

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

Page 4 of 6

John Griffiths , Welsh Environment Minister

We want people to think more about environmental issues and change the way they behave so

that they reuse their bags rather than having lots and lots of carrier bags spoiling their

environment. But as a result of the change they think more about environmental issues

generally and change their behaviour so that we have a cleaner, tidier Wales.

Rob: So he wants people to think more about environmental issues and to change

how they behave – their behaviour.

Cath: So he wants to change their habits and that could lead to a cleaner and tidier

Wales – a more environmentally friendly Wales.

Rob: That means being more caring about the natural world around them.

Cath: It's a good ethos and it will be good to see if these new plans work. Of course

there are many other parts of the World where a plastic bag tax has already

been introduced with good results.

Rob: But still billions – or is it trillions?! – of new carrier bags get used every year.

And that brings me back to today's question. Now, Cath, I asked you

approximately how many plastic carrier bags are used worldwide every year?

a) 500 million

b) 500 billion

c) 500 trillion

Cath: And I said 500 million but I'm guessing that's far too few.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

Page 5 of 6

Rob: Far too few. Absolutely wrong! The actual answer is 500 billion. OK, well

we're almost at the end of the programme, so Cath could you please remind us

of some of the vocabulary we've heard in today's programme?

Cath: We had:

campaign

resource

criticism

biodegradable

compulsory

financial levy

landfill sites

to wean

behaviour

environmentally friendly

ethos

Rob: Thanks Cath. We hope you've enjoyed today's programme. OK well it's time to

go now but we'll see you next time!

Both: Bye!