近年来，手持小风扇逐渐成为了炎炎夏日里的 “时尚单品”。不过，有研究指出，廉价、劣质的手持小风扇以及其它各类 “fast technology（快科技）” 产品往往容易被人们用后即弃。这不仅会增加电子垃圾的数量，还会给垃圾回收设施带来安全隐患，并可能导致重金属污染。本文简要介绍手持小风扇给人类社会和自然环境带来的问题。

词汇：electronic fans 电风扇

1 They could be the hottest accessory of an even hotter summer. As temperature records were smashed across Europe and other parts of the world, portable electric fans could be seen in the hands of millions of people. Estimates claim that up to 8 million of these devices were sold in the UK alone. The breeze that they provide will have been welcome to many, but could there be a downside to this popular product?

2 Concerns have been raised that these fans are just another example of fast technology. That is products that are sold cheaply and are likely to be disposed of quickly. Research from Material Focus, a British pro-recycling organisation, suggests that half of all the mini fans bought will end up unused or thrown away. This is unsurprising as they can be cheap to buy and almost impossible to repair. Fans contain a mix of different materials – plastic casing, copper wiring and a lithium-ion battery among other components. This means that a considerable amount of natural resource is used in their production, and that they can be complex to recycle and dispose of sustainably.

3 There are more immediate safety risks from portable fans. The London Fire Brigade has reported cases of cheaply-made portable fan batteries catching fire or exploding while being charged. Waste disposal companies in the UK have warned that the lithium-ion batteries used by these devices are often thrown away together with household waste, and that this can lead to fires which put staff and installations at risk. It's not just fire either. The Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency reports a train passenger's hair being sucked into someone else's fan on a train. In addition, once the air around you gets hot enough, fans can even make you warmer rather than colder.

4 As the world's climate continues to heat up, more and more of us may be tempted to reach for portable fans. But maybe we should take some time to reflect on the effect this might be having on our environment and climate.

测验与练习

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 _______
Paragraph 2 _______
Paragraph 3 _______
Paragraph 4 _______

a. Fast technology, hard to dispose of
b. Responsible choices
c. Greenhouse gases
d. A heatwave hit
e. Safety risks

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. Summer temperatures have been high in Europe.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. What does 'fast technology' mean in this article?
a. technology with fast motors
b. cheap and disposable technology
c. technology that is fast to manufacture

3. What does 'this' refer to in the following sentence? This is unsurprising as they can be cheap to buy and almost impossible to repair.
a. portable mini fans
b. half of mini fans being unused or thrown away
c. research from Material Focus

4. Which part of portable mini fans is likely to catch fire?
a. the casing
b. the wiring
c. the battery

5. A fan will always cool you down.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

Portable electric fans have become the latest must-have 1) _______. They're a cheap way to feel a 2) _______ on a hot summer day. However, concerns have been raised about how often they just end up 3) _______. Many of their 4) _______ are hard to dispose of in a sustainable way. There have also been cases where their batteries 5) _______.

breeze
components
wiring
waste
disposal
accessory
thrown away
catch fire

（答案见词汇表后）

词汇表

accessory 配饰
breeze 凉风
fast technology 快科技，更新换代快、价格低廉的科技产品
dispose of 丢弃
throw away 扔掉，丢掉
casing 外壳
copper 铜制的
wiring 线缆，线路
lithium-ion battery 锂离子电池
component 部件，组成部分
sustainably 以可持续的方式，可持续地
catch fire 起火，着火
waste disposal 废弃物处理，垃圾处理
household waste 生活垃圾
installation 设施，装置，设备

答案

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 d) A heatwave hit
Paragraph 2 a) Fast technology, hard to dispose of
Paragraph 3 e) Safety risks
Paragraph 4 b) Responsible choices

二 、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. a. True. As temperature records were smashed across Europe and other parts of the world, portable electric fans could be seen in the hands of millions of people.

2. b. That is products that are sold cheaply and likely to be disposed of quickly.

3. b. The pronoun 'this' refers back to the fact that half of mini fans are left unused or thrown away, mentioned in the previous sentence.

4. c. The London Fire Brigade has reported cases of cheaply-made portable fan batteries catching fire or exploding while being charged

5. b. In addition, once the air around you gets hot enough, fans can even make you warmer rather than colder.

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

Portable electric fans have become the latest must-have accessory. They're a cheap way to feel a breeze on a hot summer day. However, concerns have been raised about how often they just end up thrown away. Many of their components are hard to dispose of in a sustainable way. There have also been cases where their batteries catch fire.