英語播客 A Cup of English 2016 A better way to waste.

With the fire season approaching, we have been preparing our back garden. My husband trimmed off some old, dead branches from our pine trees. These trees are notorious for(1) burning easily because they are both dry and oily. Most of the horrendous fires that make international news are those of pine or fir forests which are both conifers. We have seen this kind of devastation in Canada recently, in Alberta. To avoid as many fires as possible, it is always best to clear forest floors of dead wood, dry bushes, and diseased trees. There is a new community effort in Wenatchee to do the same in as many places as possible to avoid the problems that we had last year. So, the garden is clear, but what do we do with the huge pile of branches and pine needles? "Take everything down to Stemilt Organic Recycling Center on Columbia street" my husband texted me early in the morning. I didn't even know that this place existed. I've lived here for over twenty years, and I'm still discovering things about this town. I looked up the direction on Google Maps and their website. They take all kinds of garden waste and shred it up(2) with a giant shredding machine. This then gets composted and delivered to many of the orchards in town. The rich compost increases the levels of sugar in the fruit. So my oldest son and I loaded up two trucks and made two deliveries to the recycling place. It was hot and heavy work. When we drove in, I was impressed to see an enormous pile of branches and green garden waste. Other people were there emptying bags of weeds, old bushes, and garden clippings (3). Next to the pile was a machine that looked as big as a brontosaurus. "Now that would be fun to operate," I thought to myself. We emptied the trucks, paid a small fee, and left. It's good to know that our waste will become a compost that feeds and nourishes the trees that make up so much of this valley.

1. 'To be notorious for ...' means that a person or thing is well known for something, and it has a negative sense.

a. He is notorious for being late. He was even late to his own wedding!

b. Those valleys are notorious for flooding every spring.

2. 'To shred (up)' this verb describes a way of cutting which leaves the item being cut in thin, long pieces. In cooking, we talk about shredding carrots or cabbage to add to a salad. Notice that I didn't have to use 'up'. This little word is used a lot in the UK to give a sense of completeness or fullness.

a. Fill (up) the watering can and water the flowers please.

b. We need to finish dinner now and get to the cinema; the film starts in six minutes. Eat up!

c. Children, button up your coats, it's really cold outside.

3. 'Clip, cut, trim, cuttings' are all ways of cutting that you can use in the context of gardening. 'Cuttings', however, is a noun. It is the piece of a plant that you break off and encourage to growing roots and become a completely separate plant.

'To clip' is a brief cut that is deep enough to shape or prune a plant. We can use this for our finger and toenails as well as 'to cut'. 'To trim' is more superficial. We often say 'I will trim the hedge' instead of 'I will cut the hedge' which sounds too deep. Likewise, a trim at the hair dressers is a superficial cut, one that just shapes the hair a little.

a. I clipped off the dead rose heads to encourage more blooms.

b. I took cuttings from my hydrangea; I hope they all root and become big, healthy plants.

c. I went to the hairdresser for just a trim, but she gave me a serious hair cut!