Level 2 · Reading series
Lesson 43 · One Bottle, Many Lives
Audio track 43
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
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I used to think a plastic bottle had only one life. You drink from it, throw it away, and it is gone.
At a recycling center, I learned that bottles can become new bottles, clothes, or other products. But this does not happen by magic.
The bottle must be collected, sorted, cleaned, and changed into material again.
Recycling is useful, but using fewer bottles is even better. The best waste is the waste we do not make.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
以前，我以为塑料瓶只用一次：喝完饮料，扔掉瓶子，它就没有下文了。
在回收中心，我知道了瓶子可以变成新瓶子、衣服或其他产品。但这个变化不是凭空发生的。
旧瓶子要经过收集、分类、清洗，再加工成材料。
回收有用，少用塑料瓶则更好。最理想的废弃物，是我们一开始就没有制造出来的。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- used to think
- 过去以为；如今看法改变。
- plastic bottle
- 塑料瓶；文章讨论的物品。
- throw away
- 扔掉；用完后丢弃。
- recycling center
- 回收中心；旧瓶子进入处理流程的地方。
- product
- 产品；回收材料可能制成的新物品。
- by magic
- 像变魔术一样；实际回收需要许多步骤。
- collect
- 收集；处理旧瓶子的第一步之一。
- sort
- 分类；按材料等条件分开。
- material
- 材料；加工后可再次使用。
- fewer
- 更少的；少用瓶子比只依赖回收更进一步。
Background notes (Chinese)
回收需要收集、分类和再加工，不是把瓶子丢进回收箱就自动完成。课文最后进一步提出‘减少使用’，提醒读者区分回收利用和从源头减少废弃物。