2,012 Urban Gardens by 2012|伦敦 2012年的『首都种植』计划

2,012 Urban Gardens by 2012

by Sean Russell

Londoners are hoping to transform their city into a food grower paradise by 2012.

Due to the recent recession and the rising cost of food, urban gardening projects are popping up around the world. Recently, the city of London jumped on the bandwagon with a public gardening movement called Capital Growth. Through this government program, a goal has been set to create 2,012 new food-growing spaces by the end of 2012.

So far, a large number of Londoners have warmed up to the idea. With training and funding from the government, many have turned unused spaces, including schoolyards, nursing homes, and even flat rooftops, into thriving vegetable gardens. The food that is grown will not be sold in stores. Instead, it will be shared among the growers and the community.

London's Mayor, Boris Johnson, got the idea for Capital Growth from a similar program in Vancouver called the 2010 Challenge. What's more, Johnson wants to make London's 2012 Olympic Games the greenest games in history. He realizes that feeding the millions of people attending the Olympics will be no small task. However, feeding them using some of the locally-grown organic food from around the city will be beneficial to the environment and set a good example for future Olympics.

There are many reasons why Londoners are excited about this new program. Not only do locally-grown foods leave almost no carbon footprint, but they are much healthier, tastier, and fresher than foods found at supermarkets. In addition, prior to Capital Growth, people often had to wait decades for a chance to rent a piece of land. With this better system in place, everyone from children to older people can start growing their own delicious food within weeks.

1.  According to the article, which of the following statements is true?

(A) Training growers has proven to be expensive.

(B) Only government land is used for this special project.

(C) The idea behind Capital Growth came from another country.

(D) Capital Growth has already met its goal of 2,012 spaces.

2.  What does the writer mean by stating that people have warmed up to this idea?

(A) They are a little frightened about the project.

(B) They are starting to like what the project has to offer.

(C) They need the weather to be better before they can start.

(D) They look forward to making a profit from the sale of the food.

3.  Which of the following benefits is NOT mentioned as something that Capital Growth participants will enjoy?

(A) Free training from the government.

(B) Fresh food to share with their friends.

(C) The chance to farm pieces of land in the city.

(D) The possibility to create a larger carbon footprint.

伦敦 2012年的『首都种植』计划

伦敦客希望在 2012 年之前，将这座城市打造成种植食物的乐园。

　　由于最近的不景气和食物价格上涨，世界各地兴起了在都市栽培作物的计划。近来伦敦市赶上这股风潮，发起『首都种植』这项公众栽培运动。透过这项政府计划，他们想在 2012 年年底之前达成默认目标，开辟 2,012个栽种食物的农园。

　　目前，许多伦敦客已经爱上这个构想。由政府负责训练和提供资金，许多人已经将校园、疗养院，甚至是公寓屋顶等闲置空间，变成绿油油的菜园。他们种植的食物将不会在商店贩卖。相反地，它们将由种植者和整个小区一起分享。

　　伦敦市长波利斯‧琼森从温哥华一个叫做『挑战 2010』的类似计划中获得『首都种植』的灵感。此外，琼森想将 2012 年伦敦奥运打造成史上最环保的奥运会。他明白要喂饱数百万参加奥运的人可不是件简单的任务。然而，用一些伦敦当地种植的有机食物来填饱他们的肚子，不仅对环境有益，也替未来的奥运会竖立良好的典范。

　　伦敦市民喜欢这个新颖计划的原因有很多。不只是当地种植的食物几乎不会制造碳足迹，而且比超市贩卖的食物更加健康、美味和新鲜。更何况在『首都种植』计划之前，人们通常得等上数十年才有机会租到一块地。有了这项更完善的制度，不论年龄大小，人人都可以在几个星期内开始种植自己美味的食物了。

答案：1. (C)2. (B)3. (D)

几年前，关于蜜蜂消失的新闻层出不穷，但原因众说纷纭，病毒、真菌、农药、气候变迁、移动电话的使用等都是可能或部分原因。有鉴于此，伦敦市携手 LIDA Agency 及 M&C Saatchi广告公司，发起 Capital Growth的姐妹计划 Capital Bee（首都蜜蜂），来鼓励养蜂社群多种植靠蜜蜂授粉的植物，多购买当地的蜂蜜产品，以及减少农药的使用等。

整个活动其实也是为了在 2012 举办的奥运会前，推广增加食物生产的空间。目前已协助 50 个『小区蜂巢』在这个大城市落脚。（数据源：http://www.bnext.com.tw/article/view/cid/0/id/18947）