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Bar Codes on Sidewalks Give Tourist Info The first two-dimensional bar codes were installed at Arpoador, a massive boulder that rises at the end of Ipanema beach. The image was built into the sidewalk with the same black and white stones. They attracted audiences, who downloaded an application to their smartphones or tablets and photographed the icon. The app read the code and they were then taken to a web site that gave them information in Portuguese, Spanish or English, and a map of the area. They learned, for example, that Arpoador gets big waves, making it a hot spot for surfing and giving the 500-meter beach nearby the name of “Praia do Diabo,” or Devil’s Beach. The city plans to install 30 of these codes at beaches and historic sites, so Rio’s two million foreign visitors can learn about the city as they walk around. Scrap Car Plant Tree Green schemes have been regular news for many years, but it’s rare that we come across an initiative that uses a traditional polluter as a force for environmental good. This is exactly what Scrap Car Plant Tree hopes to do by encouraging owners of old cars to donate the vehicle in order to raise money for the creation of new green spaces in UK cities. Automobiles contribute a large portion of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year. With this in mind, the scheme enables car owners whose vehicles have come to the end of their life to donate them to the Trees for Cities charity. When cars are donated, the scheme aims to tow them within one to three days, after which they will be taken to a scrap yard or put up for auction if still roadworthy. The funds will go to helping plant new trees in the donor’s city. It costs £7.50 to plant and care for a tree through its maturity. One car donation that is used for scrap can raise about £100, funding about 13 trees. If you donate a vehicle that brings in a good amount of money in auction, you could potentially subsidize a whole grove of trees! Disabled Piglet Rolling in Love Video about Chris P. Bacon has Internet animal fans going wild. He is a month-old piglet from Clermont, Florida, born without use of his hind legs, has become an Internet sensation since his owner posted a video showing him learning to use a wheelchair made from a toy building set. The video has been viewed almost 450,000 times by people from as far away as Brazil, England and Australia. The disabled piglet came to Dr. Len Lucero of Eastside Veterinary Hospital in mid-January when a client dropped him off because she couldn’t take care of him. Lucero was familiar with the mobility devices used by disabled animals. One night, he fashioned a wheelchair for Bacon out of K’nex toys, attaching the contraption to the then-1-pound piglet. “He screamed, yelled,” Lucero said. “He didn’t like it at first, but he got used to it.” The wheelchair worked, so Lucero shot a video of the pig testing it on the family’s living-room floor. Lucero posted a six-minute video on YouTube so that his out-of-state friends and family could see Bacon in action. But within a few days, the video spread like wildfire. |
二維碼,新旅游“神器”? 里約熱內(nèi)盧將科技與傳統(tǒng)結(jié)合,在標(biāo)志性的黑白馬賽克人行道上嵌入二維碼,為游客提供這座城市的信息。 首個二維碼設(shè)在伊帕內(nèi)馬海灘盡頭高高聳起的亞波阿多巨石上。它們被鑲嵌在人行道上,用與其相同的黑白石頭拼筑而成。 二維碼吸引了圍觀群眾,他們紛紛把一款應(yīng)用軟件下載到自己的智能手機或平板電腦上,并拍攝二維碼。軟件讀碼后會跳轉(zhuǎn)到一個為游客提供旅游信息和該地區(qū)地圖的網(wǎng)站上,這個網(wǎng)站有葡萄牙語、西班牙語和英語版本。他們可以了解到相關(guān)的信息,如:亞波阿多巨石能造成大浪而成為沖浪的熱門景點,但也使得這片長達(dá)500米的海灘獲得了“魔鬼海灘”的稱號。 里約計劃在海灘和名勝古跡上安裝30個這樣的二維碼,讓其兩百萬名外國游客可以在散步的同時了解這座城市。 舊車換樹 雖然環(huán)保項目是近些年來經(jīng)常被報道的新聞話題,但利用傳統(tǒng)污染源作為推動環(huán)境保護(hù)動力的倡議卻是我們鮮少能碰上的。這就是“舊車換樹”計劃的初衷,它鼓勵舊車車主捐贈舊車,由此募集資金在英國城市里打造更多的綠色空間。 機動車尾氣排放是大氣溫室氣體的很大一部分來源。出于這點考慮,這項計劃鼓勵車主把他們使用壽命已盡的舊車捐贈給城市植樹慈善組織。在車被捐贈后,會在一至三天內(nèi)被拖走,隨后會被帶到廢車場;如果仍能上路行駛也可以進(jìn)行拍賣?;I來的資金將會用于在捐贈者所在城市植樹。 每棵樹從種植到維護(hù)其成熟總共所需的費用為7.5英鎊。每輛報廢的舊車能籌到大約100英鎊,足夠種13棵樹。如果你捐贈的車拍賣價格很高,那你籌集到的錢很可能能種整整一園子的樹木。 “豬堅強”打動人心 克里斯?P. 貝肯在喜愛動物的網(wǎng)絡(luò)粉絲之間刮起了一陣狂潮。它來自佛羅里達(dá)州克萊蒙特,是一只一個月大的小豬,生下來就后腿癱瘓。它的主人用兒童玩具配件為它組裝了一個小輪椅,并把它學(xué)習(xí)用輪椅行走的過程拍成視頻,上傳到網(wǎng)絡(luò)上,使小豬一夜間成為了網(wǎng)絡(luò)明星。這個視頻點擊量高達(dá)45萬次,傳播范圍之廣,就連在遙遠(yuǎn)的巴西、英國和澳大利亞也都有它的粉絲。 一月中旬時,東區(qū)獸醫(yī)院萊恩?盧塞羅醫(yī)生收留了這只殘疾小豬,它原來的主人無法照顧它,因此只能把它留在獸醫(yī)院里。盧塞羅對殘疾動物使用的輔助行動設(shè)備很熟悉。一晚,他將科樂思玩具改造成一個輪椅,并把這一小裝置連接到這只已有1磅重的小豬身上。 “它叫過、喊過,”盧塞羅說,“起初它并不喜歡這個裝置,但后來它也習(xí)慣了?!边@個輪椅奏效了,所以盧塞羅拍了一條小豬在家里客廳地板上試用輪椅的視頻。盧塞羅把長達(dá)六分鐘的視頻上傳到Y(jié)outube上,讓他在美國之外的親朋好友也能看到貝肯的努力。但是沒過幾天,視頻燎原般地在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上火了起來。 (來源:英語學(xué)習(xí)雜志 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: 1. Rio de Janeiro: 里約熱內(nèi)盧,巴西第二大城,每年吸引眾多游客到此觀光;embed: 嵌入,插入;black and white mosaic sidewalk: 黑白馬賽克水波紋狀人行道路面,典型的葡萄牙裝飾風(fēng)格,是里約熱內(nèi)盧的城市標(biāo)志之一。 2. two-dimensional bar code: 二維碼,使用黑白矩形圖案表示二進(jìn)制數(shù)據(jù),被設(shè)備掃描后可獲取其中所包含的信息;boulder: 巨礫,巨石;Ipanema beach: 伊帕內(nèi)馬海灘,里約熱內(nèi)盧著名的景點,是沖浪者的天堂。 3. application: (手機、電腦等的)應(yīng)用程序。下文出現(xiàn)的app是其縮寫;tablet: Tablet PC的簡稱,即平板電腦。 4. scrap: 廢棄,拆毀。 5. scheme: 項目,方案;come across: 發(fā)現(xiàn),碰到;initiative: 主動的行為,倡議。 6. tow: 拖,拉;roadworthy: (車輛)適于在公路上行駛的。 7. subsidize: 發(fā)給……補助金(或津貼),資助;grove: 樹林,果園。 8. piglet: 小豬。 9. hind leg: 后腿,后肢;sensation: 轟動一時的人或事件。 10. fashion: 做成……的形狀;K’nex toys: 科樂思玩具,美國知名拼插類玩具品牌;contraption: 裝置,設(shè)備。 |
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