Sweden

◎供稿：July

瑞典位于北欧的斯堪的纳维亚半岛。自1523年以来，斯德哥尔摩一直是瑞典的首都。瑞典在环保方面取得的成绩是世界瞩目的。

Sweden is a1)sparsely［spɑːslI］adv. 稀疏地sparselypopulated country, characterized by its long coastline,extensive forests and numerous lakes. It is one of the world’s northernmost countries.

Sweden is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridgetunnel across the Öresund Strait. At about 450 thousand square kilometres, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. The capital city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of about 10 million.

Most of Sweden has a temperate climate, despite its northern2)latitude［΄lætItjuːd］n. 纬度；界限latitude, with largely four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The winter in the far south is usually weak and is3)manifest［΄mænIfest］v. 证明；表明manifestedonly through some shorter periods with snow and sub-zero temperatures, autumn may well turn into spring there, without a distinct period of winter. Sweden experiences extreme contrasts between its long summer days and equally long winter nights. In the summer, the sun stays in the sky around the clock in the parts of Sweden north of the Arctic Circle, but even as far south as Stockholm (59°N) the June nights have only a few hours of semi-darkness.

Sweden is a lovely locale with a4)vibrant［΄vaIbrənt］adj. 充满生机的vibrantlife and friendly faces abound.

In Sweden, you are sure to notice that the streets are relatively clean of garbage,even in larger places such as Gothenburg and Malm. This is because a love of nature is deeply5)instill［In΄stIl］vt. 逐渐灌输instilledin the hearts of all Swedish people, and their respect for nature has6)yield［jiːld］v. 生产；产出yieldeda beautifully green,environmentally friendly society.

Sweden is so good at7)recycle［ˌriː΄saIkl］v. 回收利用；重新使用recyclingthat, for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 percent of Swedish household waste was sent to8)landfill［΄lændfIl］n. 垃圾堆landfilllast year or any year since 2011.

Why are we sending waste to Sweden? Their system is so far ahead because of a culture of looking after the environment. Sweden was one of the first countries to implement a heavy tax on fossil fuels in 1991 and now sources almost half its electricity from9)renewable［rI΄njuːəbl］adj. 可再生的renewables.

Swedish people are quite keen on being out in nature and they are aware of what we need do on nature and environmental issues.

Swedish people are aware not to throw things outdoors but to recycle and reuse. Over time, Sweden has implemented a10)cohesive［kəʊ΄hiːsIv］adj. 凝聚的cohesivenational recycling policy so that even though private companies undertake most of the business of importing and burning waste, the energy goes into a national heating network to heat homes through the freezing Swedish winter. That’s a key reason that Sweden has this district network, so Sweden can make use of the heating from the waste plants. In the southern part of Europe they don’t make use of the heating from the waste, it just goes out the chimney. Here Sweden use it as a substitute for fossil fuel.

Swedish municipalities are individually investing in futuristic waste collection techniques, like automated vacuum systems in residential blocks, removing the need for collection transport, and underground container systems that free up road space and get rid of any smells.

瑞典是一个人口稀少的国家，以其漫长的海岸线、广阔的森林和众多的湖泊为特征。它是世界上最北端的国家之一。

瑞典位于北欧。它的西部和北部与挪威接壤，东部与芬兰接壤，西南部通过横跨厄勒海峡的大桥隧道与丹麦相连。瑞典占地约45万平方公里，是北欧最大的国家、欧盟第三大国和欧洲第五大国。瑞典的首都是斯德哥尔摩。瑞典的总人口约1000万。

瑞典大部分地区尽管在北半球，但气候温和，主要有四个不同的季节，全年温度适中。瑞典南部的冬季时间通常较短，只有在短时期内才出现降雪和零下气温，秋天很可能直接变成春季，而没有明显的冬季。瑞典在漫长的夏日和漫长的冬夜之间经历了巨大的对比。在夏季，北极圈以北的瑞典部分地区全天候都有阳光，即使到了瑞典南部如斯德哥尔摩（北纬59°），六月的夜晚也只有几个小时是半明半暗的。

瑞典是一个令人心情愉悦的地方，到处都充满勃勃生机和友善的面孔。

在瑞典，你一定会注意到街上很干净没有垃圾，即使是在更大的城市，比如哥德堡和马尔默。这是因为热爱大自然的理念已经深入每一个瑞典人的内心，正是由于他们对大自然的尊重，他们营造出了一个美丽的绿色环境友好型社会。

这些年瑞典的环保工作做得太出色了，如今甚至要从其他国家进口垃圾，才能让本国的回收工厂继续运营。去年，瑞典送入垃圾场的生活垃圾不足总量的1%，这种情况一直从2011年持续到现在。

为什么要把垃圾送到瑞典？因为瑞典人有保护环境的文化传统，他们的系统很先进。瑞典是1991年第一批开始对化石燃料征收重税的国家之一，如今瑞典近一半的电力供应来自可再生能源。

瑞典人很喜欢拥抱大自然，也知道采取哪些措施来应对环境问题。

瑞典人不在户外乱扔垃圾，而是对垃圾进行回收和再利用。在过去的时间里，瑞典推行了一项连贯的全国性回收政策，这样一来，尽管私企承担了大部分垃圾进口和焚烧业务，产生的能源还是能用于国家供暖系统，在瑞典寒冷的冬天里温暖千家万户。这是瑞典建立这一区域系统的主要原因，这样才能利用垃圾焚烧产生的热量。欧洲南部的国家不会利用垃圾焚烧来提供热量，而是任凭热量从烟囱冒出去，瑞典则用它来替代化石燃料。

瑞典自治区都在各自发展未来化的垃圾收集技术，比如居民区的自动真空系统免去了垃圾收运，还有地下装载系统，可以避免占用街道和产生各种气味。