罐裝空氣解鄉愁

山東 孫啟祿

由于英國疫情十分嚴重，其在外留學的游子返鄉遙遙無期，英國一家公司趁機推出了來自家鄉的罐裝空氣，供海外游子一解思鄉之苦，甚至還提供定制服務。

題材社會體裁報道文章詞數 難度 建議用時315 ★★★ 6 分鐘

Thanks to ever-changing COVID-19 travel restrictions, many people around the world have found themselves stranded (滯留) far away from home this year.

Over in the UK, a fast-spreading new coronavirus variant (變體) has led to several countries around the world imposing (推行) bans and restrictions on travel to the nation, meaning a large number of residents currently abroad will not be able to return any time soon. However,relocation website My Baggage has dreamed up a special gift for homesick residents that's quite literally a breath of fresh air.

The company is currently selling bottles of“authentic” air from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to provide UK residents overseas with the scent of home. Priced at ￡25,the 500 milliliter bottle comes with a cork stopper, so the recipient can keep opening it up and taking in the aroma (香味) whenever they need a pick-me-up.

Aside from the four UK countries, the company can also take on special requests for any other specific UK locations, and says they've recently fulfilled an order from a Welshman who requested a sample of air from the mountainous region of Snowdonia in northwestern Wales.Meanwhile, special limited edition bottles featuring air taken from the London Underground or a fish and chip shop in Norfolk are also available.

The team at My Baggage, who deal with international removals for Brits who are relocating, say they were inspired to launch the bottled air range after conducting research that linked the human sense of smell with emotional memories.

“By allowing recipients to take a deep breath of the air from their home country we're hoping to ease homesickness and help them settle into their new life, wherever that may be,”says a spokesperson for the company.

According to My Baggage, the vast majority of orders come from those who are buying the bottles as gifts for friends or family living overseas.

Reading Check

1. Who are the bottles of air intended for?

A. People who were born in Great Britain.

B. British who are stuck abroad.

C. British who have settled abroad.

D. People who come to Britain.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “authentic” in Para. 3?

A. Real. B. Scarce.

C. Expensive. D. Mixed.

3. The team were inspired to launch the bottled air range _______.

A. by imitating other companies

B. after doing some research

C. after repeated experiments

D. at the request of those living abroad

4. The team hope the bottled air can _______.

A. reduce people's homesickness

B. make people much healthier

C. inspire people to live abroad

D. make people miss their friends

Language Study

Complete the sentences with the words from the box in their proper forms. One word is extra.

take on apart from deal with

come from lead to thanks to

1. ____________the English class, I took an active part in English Corner and other afterclass English activities.

2. ____________digital technology and the widely available Internet, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.

3. Only if we ____________and overcome large numbers of difficulties in a correct way will we achieve our dreams.

4.Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature that, in turn,____________climate change.

5. Although I know that reporters work many hours, I am very willing to____________the challenge.