制作石紙，拯救樹木

澳大利亞商人凱文和喬恩用廢棄石頭代替傳統原料制作紙張，節約了很多樹木資源。 其制作過程與傳統制作過程相比，更節省水資源，大大減少了二氧化碳的排放量。

Is it possible to make paper without trees? Australian businessmen Kevin Garcia and Jon Tse were determined to find out. They spent a year researching a possible alternative that could serve as a possible raw material for making paper.

“What if we re-engineer how paper is made to be more in line with our environmental responsibility?” asked Garcia.Then Garcia read about a Taiwanese company making commercial paper out of stone and inspiration struck. A year later, in July 2017, they launched Karst Stone Paper. The company produces paper without using wood, water or chemicals with terrible smell. Their source is stone waste mined from construction sites and other industrial waste places.

“If you look at the whole process of how paper is traditionally made, it involves cutting trees,adding chemicals and bleach to make pulp (紙漿), using lots of water and then squeezing, drying and flattening it into sheets of paper,” said Garcia. “It contributes to high carbon emission and deforestation （濫伐森林）.” The pulp and paper industry uses over 40% of all industrial wood traded globally, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Karst, based in Sydney, aims to reduce the rate of deforestation with its sustainably-made paper goods.

In 2019, Garcia estimated Karst's paper production helped save 540 large trees from being deforested, 83,100 liters of water from being used and 25,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide from being emitted (排放).

“We collect abandoned limestone from wherever we can find it, wash it, and ground it into fine powder,” Garcia said. “The powder is mixed with HDPE （高密度聚乙烯樹脂） resin. The paste-like mixture is finally turned into thin sheets of paper. The carbon emission from this process is about 67%less than making paper from tree pulp,” he said.

Reading Check

1. What can we learn about the company Karst Stone Paper?

A. It mainly depends on labor.

B. It makes paper from stone waste.

C. It aims to make great profits.

D. It produces paper from trees.

2. What do the statistics in paragraph 5 show about Karst's paper production?

A. It is more eco-friendly.

B. It seldom uses water.

C. Its process is much simpler.

D. It stops carbon dioxide from being emitted.

3. Which of the following best describes Kevin Garcia and Jon Tse?

A. Sympathetic. B. Indifferent. C. Ambitious. D. Responsible.

4. From where is this text likely to be taken?

A. Amusement. B. Interview. C. Science report. D. Modern life.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

“If you look at the whole process of how paper is traditionally made, it involves cutting trees,adding chemicals and bleach to make pulp, using lots of water and then squeezing, drying and flattening it into sheets of paper,” said Garcia.

【翻譯】____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句，其中含有一個條件狀語從句If you look at the whole process of how paper is traditionally made，從句中含有一個賓語從句how paper is traditionally made，主句中含有六個動名詞短語作賓語。