论文部分内容阅读
6月5日是一年一度的世界环境保护日，大家是否想过身体力行，为地球出一分力呢？一起来看看来自英国的凯特是怎样做的。24岁的她正在英国南威尔士攻读人类学与发展学位。在过去两年里，她在一个有机农场做兼职，并住在这个农场的一间由稻草和马粪建成的泥屋里。为什么她对这种生活方式情有独钟呢？
Making the Move to Mud
The house is still in the process of being completed as it’s an eco project set up by the farmer that I work for. When I arrived, it was just a 1)straw 2)bale structure – it looked like neat piles of straw with holes for the windows and door, a wooden floor and beautiful wood roof, and it was protected from the rain by 3)tarpaulin. Over the past two years we’ve been adding to it all the time. We’ve put in windows and doors, and used 4)chicken wire to rat-proof it, as rats are a massive problem when you live in a field.
The best part of making the house is the 5)rendering;
it really is the coolest thing. You make the mix from two parts of 6)sieved 7)top soil to one part fresh horse 8)manure. We have two horses on the farm, so it wasn’t too hard to get the horse manure. You mix all this together with a little water to a clay-like 9)consistency and then spread it on the walls with your hands. So many people of all ages came to help me; it was great fun. You soon get past the fact that it is manure. My walls aren’t straight up and down, they have lots of 10)lumps and 11)bumps on them, but it adds to the charm. It’s really beautiful. I call it my little 12)hobbit home!
So far we’ve 13)coated the whole of the inside and outside of the house, but it needs two more
layers before it’s finished. There are so many different shapes and designs that you can try; once my exams are over, I’ll be 14)poring through all the books trying to decide what style to go for.
I lived in the city for the first half of my degree, but I’ve found it surprisingly easy to 15)adapt to this way of life. I grew up on a farm in Tenby, I’ve lived in a nice house and I’ve lived in a 16)caravan, so moving to live in a straw bale structure in a field wasn’t that difficult for me to 17)adjust to. I found that it was nice to have a space that I can call my own. Very few students have such a luxury.
Why I Love This Life
Even though I’ve been living here for two years, I still come home, walk in and think “wow” every day! It’s so different, and I’ve made it so homely, comfortable and warm. I don’t have any electricity, but with all my candles 18)flickering at night, it feels like another world – a 19)Moroccan 20)den. I also love living so close to the woods and the beach, just being 21)immersed in nature and living among lovely people and the 22)organic farm. I live off the land and it’s so good for me. Living my way I feel really healthy and grounded.
The Downsides
Right now I have essay deadlines and I can’t write them at home, because I haven’t got any electricity. It doesn’t
really bother me the rest of the time, though. I do miss
listening to my music, but I have a 23)wind-up radio and I’ve been saving up to get some 24)renewable energy. I’m looking
into the possibilities but I need a little help choosing. I’m not an expert at this. I’m learning as I go along, but it proves how possible it is for anyone to try eco living if they want to.
The first year I did feel the cold because I wasn’t used to being so exposed to 25)the elements. It is cold when I first get home, but by the time I’ve actually made the fire, it soon becomes 26)cosy. I find that I’m a lot less 27)productive outside in winter; I like to get home before it gets really dark to make the fire, but then everyone 28)hibernates a little in winter, don’t they? At first I found it hard to get used to chopping wood every night. It was a new skill for me to learn, but necessity made me get to 29)grips with it quite quickly. It’s fine in the morning. I just get up and do a couple of sit-ups, and I’m warm enough to get dressed and go off to work or lectures.
At One with the Land
The shower, warmed by the wood stove in winter and the sun in summer, is basically a pipe running from the water tank to the woods by the house, so I wear 30)wellies and shower 31)alfresco – it’s quite 32)surreal! There is also a 33)compost toilet which I share with another field 34)dweller.
In return for my 35)accommodation, I work part time on the organic farm, which I love. The work totally depends on the season. Lately we’ve been 36)cultivating the fields ready for planting seeds. A big team of us has been digging 37)trenches for eight or nine hours. It can be a hard work. Another day I might have a 38)cuppa and chat with the farmer, plant a few hundred thousand seeds, go for a swim on the beach, and then do a few hours of 39)manual 40)hoeing to get rid of all the weeds.
Before I moved here I’d never even planted a vegetable, but I’ve learnt so much. I’m seriously quite 41)obsessed about organic farming now. The whole experience has been so beneficial to my future because I’m studying development. I feel that one solution to many of the world’s problems is learning to live more 42)sustainably. Between my degree and my home and work, I feel I can travel the world to help people to do this now. It isn’t as hard as people think it is, and it’s a lot of fun.
泥土马粪盖泥屋
这所小屋尚未完工，它其实是我为其打工的农场主设立的一个生态项目的一部分。我刚来的时候，小屋还只是个稻草胚子，看起来就像一捆整齐的稻草，上面留有用作门窗的洞，铺着木地板，上面有好看的木质天花板，防水帆布则用来防雨。过去两年里，我们不断对它进行加工，不仅装上了门窗，还用细铁丝网防鼠——老鼠成患是在田里居住的一大难题。
在盖房子的过程中，最有意思的就是在墙上抹底灰这一环节了，简直酷毙了。我们用筛过的表层土和新鲜马粪以2:1的比例混合起来。农场上有两匹马，所以要弄到马粪不成问题。把这两种材料加上一点水混合搅拌，直到成黏土那样的稠度，再用手将其涂到墙上。不少大人小孩都过来帮我抹墙壁，我们干得很开心。很快你就不记得这东西是马粪了。我小屋的墙表面既不平整也不光滑，而是有很多凹凸不平的小块，但这反而增加了它的魅力。真是漂亮极了。我把它叫做我的“霍比特人小屋”！
目前我们已经刷好了屋子内外墙面，但还需要多涂两层才算完成。可供选择的形状和图案满目缤纷；只要考试一结束，我就会马上查阅书籍，想一下该采用哪种风格。
攻读学位的前一半时间我住在城里，但我很惊讶地发现自己轻而易举地适应了这种新的生活方式。我在腾比镇的一个农场长大，住过漂亮的房子，也住过篷车，所以对我来说，要适应原野上一个稻草堆房子里的生活并不困难。能拥有一个完全属于自己的空间真是太棒了，很少学生能过得这么奢侈。
钟爱田园生活的缘由
虽然我在这儿已经住了两年，但每天回到这个小家、走进房子时，我仍会禁不住暗自赞叹一声：“哇！”这座小屋是如此与众不同，而我又把它装扮得如此舒适、惬意和温暖。虽然这里没有电，但夜里烛光摇曳，感觉就像置身于另一个世界——仿如一间摩洛哥书室。我也很喜欢与树林和海滩如此亲近，沉浸在大自然中，和可爱的邻居们同住在这片有机农场上。我靠土地为生，这对我很有益处。这种生活方式让我感到十分健康踏实。
美中不足
现在我正面临论文截稿日，而我又不能在这个田园小家里完成——因为这里没有电。不过在其余时间，没电对我来说倒没什么要紧。我的确挺想念听音乐的日子，不过这儿有一台手动发条收音机，我也在攒钱买些可再生能源。我正在探索这方面的可能性，但我需要别人帮我挑挑，因为我不是这方面的专家。我只是边用边学，但这证明只要愿意，任何人都能尝试绿色环保的生活。
第一年，我确实觉得寒意刺骨，因为我那时还不习惯大自然的风吹雨打。起初回到小屋时会觉得很冷，但当我把火生起来后就舒服多了。我发现冬天在外面干不了多少活；我喜欢在天黑之前回家，早早把火生起来。不过，大冬天里谁都要“冬眠”一下，不是吗？起初，我很不习惯每晚要去砍柴，这对我来说是一种需要学习的新技能。但为生活所迫，我很快就学会了。早上不会觉得太冷。起床后我会做几个仰卧起坐，等身子暖和起来就穿好衣服，出去干活或上课。
与大地融为一体
屋子的淋浴设备在冬天由燃烧木料的炉灶供热，在夏天则利用太阳能。它其实就是一条水管，从水池连接到屋子旁的树林。所以我要穿着长统雨靴在露天淋浴——听起来真有点超现实的味道！另外，我与另一位农场住户共用一个堆肥厕所。
作为住宿的回报，我在这个有机农场做些散工。我很享受这份工作。农场上的活儿完全取决于季节。最近我们在翻耕准备用来播种的土地。我们一大队人花了八九个小时挖渠。这活儿有时真的很费劲。过两天，我则可能会和农民喝杯茶，聊聊天，播下数以万计的种子，到海边游游泳，再回到地里干几小时体力活儿——比如锄杂草之类的。
搬到这里之前我从未种过一棵植物，但现在我学到了很多东西。说真的，现在的我对有机农业相当着迷。这个经历对我的未来也很有帮助，因为我攻读的是研究发展专业。我认为世界上许多问题的其中一个解决方法，就是学会以一种更具可持续性的方式生活。从我的学业、田园小家和农场上的工作中，我觉得现在的自己已经可以到世界各个角落去帮助人们这么做了。它并没有人们想象的那么难，而且还其乐无穷。
Making the Move to Mud
The house is still in the process of being completed as it’s an eco project set up by the farmer that I work for. When I arrived, it was just a 1)straw 2)bale structure – it looked like neat piles of straw with holes for the windows and door, a wooden floor and beautiful wood roof, and it was protected from the rain by 3)tarpaulin. Over the past two years we’ve been adding to it all the time. We’ve put in windows and doors, and used 4)chicken wire to rat-proof it, as rats are a massive problem when you live in a field.
The best part of making the house is the 5)rendering;
it really is the coolest thing. You make the mix from two parts of 6)sieved 7)top soil to one part fresh horse 8)manure. We have two horses on the farm, so it wasn’t too hard to get the horse manure. You mix all this together with a little water to a clay-like 9)consistency and then spread it on the walls with your hands. So many people of all ages came to help me; it was great fun. You soon get past the fact that it is manure. My walls aren’t straight up and down, they have lots of 10)lumps and 11)bumps on them, but it adds to the charm. It’s really beautiful. I call it my little 12)hobbit home!
So far we’ve 13)coated the whole of the inside and outside of the house, but it needs two more
layers before it’s finished. There are so many different shapes and designs that you can try; once my exams are over, I’ll be 14)poring through all the books trying to decide what style to go for.
I lived in the city for the first half of my degree, but I’ve found it surprisingly easy to 15)adapt to this way of life. I grew up on a farm in Tenby, I’ve lived in a nice house and I’ve lived in a 16)caravan, so moving to live in a straw bale structure in a field wasn’t that difficult for me to 17)adjust to. I found that it was nice to have a space that I can call my own. Very few students have such a luxury.
Why I Love This Life
Even though I’ve been living here for two years, I still come home, walk in and think “wow” every day! It’s so different, and I’ve made it so homely, comfortable and warm. I don’t have any electricity, but with all my candles 18)flickering at night, it feels like another world – a 19)Moroccan 20)den. I also love living so close to the woods and the beach, just being 21)immersed in nature and living among lovely people and the 22)organic farm. I live off the land and it’s so good for me. Living my way I feel really healthy and grounded.
The Downsides
Right now I have essay deadlines and I can’t write them at home, because I haven’t got any electricity. It doesn’t
really bother me the rest of the time, though. I do miss
listening to my music, but I have a 23)wind-up radio and I’ve been saving up to get some 24)renewable energy. I’m looking
into the possibilities but I need a little help choosing. I’m not an expert at this. I’m learning as I go along, but it proves how possible it is for anyone to try eco living if they want to.
The first year I did feel the cold because I wasn’t used to being so exposed to 25)the elements. It is cold when I first get home, but by the time I’ve actually made the fire, it soon becomes 26)cosy. I find that I’m a lot less 27)productive outside in winter; I like to get home before it gets really dark to make the fire, but then everyone 28)hibernates a little in winter, don’t they? At first I found it hard to get used to chopping wood every night. It was a new skill for me to learn, but necessity made me get to 29)grips with it quite quickly. It’s fine in the morning. I just get up and do a couple of sit-ups, and I’m warm enough to get dressed and go off to work or lectures.
At One with the Land
The shower, warmed by the wood stove in winter and the sun in summer, is basically a pipe running from the water tank to the woods by the house, so I wear 30)wellies and shower 31)alfresco – it’s quite 32)surreal! There is also a 33)compost toilet which I share with another field 34)dweller.
In return for my 35)accommodation, I work part time on the organic farm, which I love. The work totally depends on the season. Lately we’ve been 36)cultivating the fields ready for planting seeds. A big team of us has been digging 37)trenches for eight or nine hours. It can be a hard work. Another day I might have a 38)cuppa and chat with the farmer, plant a few hundred thousand seeds, go for a swim on the beach, and then do a few hours of 39)manual 40)hoeing to get rid of all the weeds.
Before I moved here I’d never even planted a vegetable, but I’ve learnt so much. I’m seriously quite 41)obsessed about organic farming now. The whole experience has been so beneficial to my future because I’m studying development. I feel that one solution to many of the world’s problems is learning to live more 42)sustainably. Between my degree and my home and work, I feel I can travel the world to help people to do this now. It isn’t as hard as people think it is, and it’s a lot of fun.
泥土马粪盖泥屋
这所小屋尚未完工，它其实是我为其打工的农场主设立的一个生态项目的一部分。我刚来的时候，小屋还只是个稻草胚子，看起来就像一捆整齐的稻草，上面留有用作门窗的洞，铺着木地板，上面有好看的木质天花板，防水帆布则用来防雨。过去两年里，我们不断对它进行加工，不仅装上了门窗，还用细铁丝网防鼠——老鼠成患是在田里居住的一大难题。
在盖房子的过程中，最有意思的就是在墙上抹底灰这一环节了，简直酷毙了。我们用筛过的表层土和新鲜马粪以2:1的比例混合起来。农场上有两匹马，所以要弄到马粪不成问题。把这两种材料加上一点水混合搅拌，直到成黏土那样的稠度，再用手将其涂到墙上。不少大人小孩都过来帮我抹墙壁，我们干得很开心。很快你就不记得这东西是马粪了。我小屋的墙表面既不平整也不光滑，而是有很多凹凸不平的小块，但这反而增加了它的魅力。真是漂亮极了。我把它叫做我的“霍比特人小屋”！
目前我们已经刷好了屋子内外墙面，但还需要多涂两层才算完成。可供选择的形状和图案满目缤纷；只要考试一结束，我就会马上查阅书籍，想一下该采用哪种风格。
攻读学位的前一半时间我住在城里，但我很惊讶地发现自己轻而易举地适应了这种新的生活方式。我在腾比镇的一个农场长大，住过漂亮的房子，也住过篷车，所以对我来说，要适应原野上一个稻草堆房子里的生活并不困难。能拥有一个完全属于自己的空间真是太棒了，很少学生能过得这么奢侈。
钟爱田园生活的缘由
虽然我在这儿已经住了两年，但每天回到这个小家、走进房子时，我仍会禁不住暗自赞叹一声：“哇！”这座小屋是如此与众不同，而我又把它装扮得如此舒适、惬意和温暖。虽然这里没有电，但夜里烛光摇曳，感觉就像置身于另一个世界——仿如一间摩洛哥书室。我也很喜欢与树林和海滩如此亲近，沉浸在大自然中，和可爱的邻居们同住在这片有机农场上。我靠土地为生，这对我很有益处。这种生活方式让我感到十分健康踏实。
美中不足
现在我正面临论文截稿日，而我又不能在这个田园小家里完成——因为这里没有电。不过在其余时间，没电对我来说倒没什么要紧。我的确挺想念听音乐的日子，不过这儿有一台手动发条收音机，我也在攒钱买些可再生能源。我正在探索这方面的可能性，但我需要别人帮我挑挑，因为我不是这方面的专家。我只是边用边学，但这证明只要愿意，任何人都能尝试绿色环保的生活。
第一年，我确实觉得寒意刺骨，因为我那时还不习惯大自然的风吹雨打。起初回到小屋时会觉得很冷，但当我把火生起来后就舒服多了。我发现冬天在外面干不了多少活；我喜欢在天黑之前回家，早早把火生起来。不过，大冬天里谁都要“冬眠”一下，不是吗？起初，我很不习惯每晚要去砍柴，这对我来说是一种需要学习的新技能。但为生活所迫，我很快就学会了。早上不会觉得太冷。起床后我会做几个仰卧起坐，等身子暖和起来就穿好衣服，出去干活或上课。
与大地融为一体
屋子的淋浴设备在冬天由燃烧木料的炉灶供热，在夏天则利用太阳能。它其实就是一条水管，从水池连接到屋子旁的树林。所以我要穿着长统雨靴在露天淋浴——听起来真有点超现实的味道！另外，我与另一位农场住户共用一个堆肥厕所。
作为住宿的回报，我在这个有机农场做些散工。我很享受这份工作。农场上的活儿完全取决于季节。最近我们在翻耕准备用来播种的土地。我们一大队人花了八九个小时挖渠。这活儿有时真的很费劲。过两天，我则可能会和农民喝杯茶，聊聊天，播下数以万计的种子，到海边游游泳，再回到地里干几小时体力活儿——比如锄杂草之类的。
搬到这里之前我从未种过一棵植物，但现在我学到了很多东西。说真的，现在的我对有机农业相当着迷。这个经历对我的未来也很有帮助，因为我攻读的是研究发展专业。我认为世界上许多问题的其中一个解决方法，就是学会以一种更具可持续性的方式生活。从我的学业、田园小家和农场上的工作中，我觉得现在的自己已经可以到世界各个角落去帮助人们这么做了。它并没有人们想象的那么难，而且还其乐无穷。