记台北游

Emory CHN 301

陈美君 (Meei Jiun Chan)

  八月二十号，天气多云。

    今天是我和我的好朋友小宁来到台北的第一天。虽然我们还没有去到美丽的风景区游玩，但是我们却在台北市里经历了许多反映台湾公民环保精神的事情。

在台北我们住的是一家三星级的度假村。这个度假村在每一个电梯的按钮处都贴着一张字条，上面写着：“根据统计的数据，电梯每启动一次需耗费30元的成本。如果你有足够的体力，麻烦请多走楼梯，少搭电梯。走楼梯不但可以节省资源，还有益身体健康喔！”真没有想到这个普通的度假村居然这么重视节省能源的工作。因此看了这张纸条的提醒后，我们两人便带着行李轻快地走上了楼梯。

到了温馨的房间内，我注意到度假村所提供的备用毛巾都没有我以往在旅馆里所使用过的毛巾那么白。起先我还以为这个度假村的清洗服务做得不够完善。后来小宁发现到毛巾的标签上写着几行字：“为了爱护地球和自己，本毛巾不漂白、不染色、不含化学添加剂。因此毛巾色泽微黄，是属于自然的现象。此天然产品能让我们在生活中能轻松作环保。”看来是我误会这间度假村的环保意识了。

到了傍晚，小宁和我决定搭乘公共汽车到台北市去逛逛。在台北市里，我发现处处都安置了垃圾回收箱，让人们无法养成随手一扔的坏习惯。在许多商店里买东西时，售货员一般不会主动提供袋子。若提供袋子，也绝不会是塑胶袋，而是可回收的纸袋。大多数的商店里还贴着告示，提醒顾客们尽量自备环保手提袋。真没想到台北人民的环保意识竟然如此的强烈。更令我敬佩的是，似乎不论是在高级饭店或是在简陋的小饭馆里，使用的都不是一次性竹筷，而是消毒后还能再重复使用的筷子。

在台湾才待了一天我就深深地领悟到了台湾人是如此热衷于做好环境保护的工作。即使没有强制措施或功利，他们还是把环保放在第一位。可见得他们所做的一切都是出自于自己的生活习惯和强烈的环保精神。相比之下，占多数的亚洲人都欠缺台湾人所有的这种环保精神。因此我决定回国后一定要先在家里实行环保工作，再向邻居和同学们宣传环保的重要性。虽然我一个人的力量不大，但是我相信，就如小石块也能在湖面上激起万重波纹一样，总有一天所有人都会意识到回收的重要性。

词汇 Vocabulary:

讨论的问题:

1. 度假村的电梯如何体现了台湾人的环保意识？

How does the note on the elevator demonstrate the Taiwanese citizens’ awareness of environmental protection?

2. 度假村的毛巾有什么特别？

What is special about the towel in the resort?

3. 台北市里的环保是如何进行的？

How do people achieve environmental protection in the cities?

4. 通过这次台北之行，作者受到了怎样的启发？

How is the author inspired by this trip to Taipei？

5.请你告诉我们，哪个地方所作的环境保护工作让你印象很深刻？

Can you tell about a place than has done a great job in the environmental protection?

  Transcript:

My Taipei Tour Diary

   20th August, the weather was cloudy.

       Today is the first day of my visit to Taipei with a good friend of mine, Xiaoning. Although we have not yet visited any scenic areas, we have experienced many things that reflect  the Taiwan citizens’ spirit in environmental protection.

       We stayed at a three-star resort in Taipei. At every elevator in the resort, there was a note that read: “According to statistical data, it costs 30 Yuan each time an elevator starts up. If you have enough physical strength, please take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you take the stairs, it will help to save more resources and benefit your health at the same time.”  I did not expect an ordinary resort like this to put so much emphasis on saving energy. Therefore, after reading this note, both of us took our luggage and went up the stairs.

       In our cozy room, I noticed that the towels provided by the resort were not as white as the ones I had used before in other hotels. At first I thought the resort had a poor cleaning service. Later on, Xiaoning found a label on the towel that said “In order to care for the Earth and ourselves, this towel was not bleached or dyed and does not contain chemical additives. The yellowish color comes from its natural components. This natural product allows us to protect the environment.”  It seems that I misunderstood the resort’s goodwill in environmental protection.

            In the evening, Xiaoning and I decided to take a bus to downtown Taipei. When we arrived, I found that garbage bins were placed almost everywhere, so that people could not develop the bad habit of littering. In many stores, the cashier would not normally take the initiative to provide plastic bags. If they do provide shopping bags, they use recyclable paper bags instead. In most shops, notices were put up to remind customers to bring their own shopping bags in order to protect the environment. I did not expect the people of Taipei’s awareness of environmental protection to be so strong. What I admired even more was that in both high standard hotels and substandard small restaurants, reusable chopsticks were used instead of disposable ones.

Although this was only our first day in Taipei, I felt deeply that people here are very keen on protecting the environment. Even in the absence of mandatory rules, they still put environmental protection as their first priority. This shows that everything they have done is motivated by their living habits and strong spirit in environmental protection. In contrast, the majority of Asians lack the spirit of protecting the environment. Therefore when I return home, I will start recycling at home and then publicize the importance of environmental protection to my neighbors and classmates. Although one person’s strength is not very much, I believe that someday everyone will start to realize the importance of environmental protection,  just as a small pebble can cause millions of ripples on the surface of a lake.