Learn English with the News: “Recycling in Hong Kong”

Néih hóu!

(tha’ts hello in cantonese.)

How are you today? It’s Monday today, we know, but we hope that in the world of Monday’s, this one is fabulous.

From a young age we are taught the 3 R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. They are known as the 3 R’s of the environment. Today we will be watching a news article on recycling. A very beautiful news article on recycling.

1. Read the text
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. Watch the news

Text

The “Rising Moon” lights up in Hong Kong ahead of the Mid-autumn festival. The 10-meter or 32-foot high dome was created to celebrate the night when the moon is at its roundest and brightest.

– We want to bring the distant moon to Victoria Park. So that during mid-autumn festival, visitors, family and friends can gather around the park, so that they can see this 20-metre sphere, it’s a dramatic moon.

Designer Stanley Kwok says the structure used 7,000 recycled water bottles, containing light bulbs and connected to triangular steel panels. And although that sounds like a lot of bottles, Kwok says it represents just 30 minutes’ worth of water consumption in Hong Kong. Visitors can enter the dome and view the real moon through a hole in the top.

– It is totally an art piece that is made from recycled materials. And I think it is turning the rubbish in a creative way.

And that’s exactly the message of sustainability that Kwok is trying to convey. The Mid-autumn festival falls on September the 19th.

Vocabulary

Ahead – in, into, or for the future.

Distant – far away in time : happening far in the past or far into the future.

Sphere – a round object.

Dome – a large rounded roof or ceiling that is shaped like half of a ball.

Containing – to have (something) inside.

Steel – a strong, hard metal made of iron and carbon.

Panels – a  group of people who answer questions, give advice or opinions about something, or take part in a discussion for an audience.

Consumption – the act of buying things.

Sustainability – involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources.

Convey – to make (something) known to someone.

Video