The Plastic Bank——treating plastic like money 塑料银行——像对待货币一样对待塑料

郝梦婷

David Katz was upset by all the plastic going into the ocean. To help solve the problem， he had an unusual idea—to treat 1. ___________  like money. Mr Katz called his idea the “Plastic Bank”.

Though Mr Katz would like to remove plastic from the ocean， he realized it was more important to stop the plastic from getting there. He points out that if your kitchen sink is overflowing， you dont start by mopping up the mess—you start by turning off the running water.

Mr Katz believes that one of the main 2.  ___________ why so much plastic winds up in the ocean is that plastic is seen as worthless. In poor countries， people are already working so hard just to get enough 3. ___________to eat， to find a place to live， and to keep themselves healthy. Spending time on recycling does not make sense when you're simply trying to survive.

The goal of the Plastic Bank is to use plastic to help these people solve the problems that worry them the most—food， shelter， and health. So the Plastic Bank adds a value to plastic waste by 4.    ___________ （paying/forcing） people to recycle it.

The 5.  ___________ began in 2015 in Haiti， a poor island nation with huge problems of waste plastic. The Plastic Bank has opened 30 “markets” in Haiti. At the Plastic Bank markets， people can exchange the plastic theyve collected for money or other things they need. The Plastic Bank markets sell many things that local people need， such as gas for cooking stoves or a way to recharge a cell phone. The stores also allow plastic collectors to use the money they earn to pay for health care or school.

To make sure that the plastic gets recycled， the Plastic Bank works with partners who agree to use the plastic that is collected. For example， the British company Marks & Spencer and the German company Henkel are both paying extra money to use recycled plastic from the Plastic Bank in their products.

When customers buy these products， which are labeled “Social Plastic”， they know that they are helping people in other parts of the world and keeping plastic out of the ocean.

Reading Check

Fill in each blank with only one word according to the context.

Language Study

Sentences for writing

1. to do不定式短語作目的状语，置于句首表强调，意为“为了……”。

To help solve the problem， he had an unusual idea. 为了解决这个问题，他想出了一个不寻常的主意。

【仿写】为了避免延误，你最好直接打电话预约。

_______________ any delay， youd better phone your order directly.

2. 动名词短语作主语，谓语动词用第三人称单数。

Spending time on recycling does not make sense when youre simply trying to survive. 如果你只是为了生计而花时间去回收塑料，这是没有意义的。

【仿写】大声朗读对我们学习一门外语来说是非常重要的。

_______________   aloud   _______________   very important for us to learn a foreign language.