It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them?
In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110 million tons by 2050. Unfortunately, only around 20 percent of e-waste is currently being recycled responsibly.
However, in this e-waste crisis, there’s a glint of gold — quite literally. The UK’s Royal Mint, in collaboration with Canadian start-up Excir, is pioneering a groundbreaking method to extract 99 percent of the gold from circuit boards of discarded electronics using a patented green chemical solution. As it can dissolve gold within minutes, even at room temperature, and as the solution can be reused up to 20 times, this secret formula is both efficient and eco-friendly.
Photo: Freepik 照片：Freepik提供
The magic isn’t confined to gold. The technology also offers the prospect of recovering other precious metals, such as palladium, silver and copper. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics demonstrated the potential of recycled metals. Organizers cast 5,000 gold, silver and bronze medals using metals from six million cellphones and around 72,000 tons of e-waste. In line with this trend, the famous jewelry brand Pandora plans to entirely shift to recycled gold and silver by 2025.
Next time your classmates chat about the latest product launches or device trends, remember this: don’t just toss away an old smartphone. Find a way to recycle it, and you might be recovering something of genuine value.
又是一個要上課的日子和同樣的例行公事。你被智慧型手機的鬧鐘叫醒，在通勤的路上滑手機瀏覽訊息，在課間用無線耳機聆聽你最喜歡的播放清單。這些裝置被順暢地融入你的日常生活，確實是讓生活變得更加便利。然而，當你更換這些裝置後，它們最終都去了哪裡呢？
事實上，電子垃圾問題是一項日益引起全球關切的議題。根據聯合國的數據，僅在西元2019年，我們就產生了5,360萬噸電子 垃圾，數量驚人，平均每人 7.3公斤。預測暗示，到西元2050年，這個數字將可能飆升至1.1億噸。不幸的是，目前只有約20%的電子垃圾以負責任的方式得到回收處理。
然而，在這場電子垃圾危機中，卻有一絲希望，如黃金般閃耀—確實就是字面上的意思。英國皇家鑄幣廠與加拿大新創公司Excir合作，正開創打造出一種突破性的方法，使用一種獲得專利的環保化學溶液，從廢棄電子產品的電路板中提取99% 的黃金。由於這種溶液在幾分鐘內就可以溶解黃金，甚至在室溫下也管用， 而且還可以重複使用多達20次，這個祕密配方既高效又環保。
魔法並不僅限於黃金。這項技術還提供了回收其他貴金屬的前景，如鈀、銀和銅。2020東京奧運就展示了回收金屬的潛力。主辦單位使用了從六百萬支手機和約七萬兩千噸電子垃圾中提取的金屬，鑄造了五千枚金牌、銀牌和銅牌。與此趨勢一致，著名珠寶品牌潘多拉計劃在西元2025年之前完全轉向使用回收的金和銀。
下次當你的同學們聊起最近一次產品發表會或最新的電子裝置趨勢時，請記住這一點：不要隨便就扔掉舊的智慧型手機。去找一種可以回收的方式，也許你就會回收一些真正有價值的東西。
MORE INFORMATION
scroll v. 滾動；滑動（螢幕上的資訊）
earbud n. 耳塞式耳機
soar vi. 猛增；暴漲
glint n. 閃光；閃爍
Royal Mint n. 英國皇家鑄幣廠
start-up n. 新創公司
groundbreaking adj. 突破性的；開創性的
extract vt. 提取；萃取
solution n. 溶液
palladium n. 鈀（一種呈銀白色的金屬）
cast v. 鑄造（三態：cast-cast-cast）
in line with 符合……；與……一致
KEY VOCABULARY
1. chemistry n. 化學；化學性質
In chemistry class, students conduct experiments to explore the behavior of certain substances under varying conditions.
在化學課上，學生做實驗以探討某些物質在不同條件下的行為。
2. generate vt. 產生；生成；造成
The new marketing strategy aims to generate increased sales and revenue for the company.
新的營銷策略旨在為公司創造更多銷售額和收益。
3. projection n. 預測；投影
Economists often make projections about future economic trends based on current data.
經濟學家通常根據當前數據對未來經濟走勢做出預測。
4. collaboration n. 合作；勾結
in collaboration with 與…合作
The movie’s success was due to the director’s close collaboration with talented actors and crew.
這部電影的成功是歸功於導演與才華洋溢的演員和工作人員之間的密切合作。
5. circuit n. 電路；迴路；環形物
When an electrical circuit fails, it can lead to power outages or even fires.
當電路出現故障時，可能會導致停電甚至火災。
6. patented adj. 獲得專利的
This patented technology sets the company apart from its competitors in the market.
這項獲得專利的技術使該公司從市面上的競爭對手中脫穎而出。
7. dissolve v. （使）溶解；解散
The chef is demonstrating how to stir the chocolate gently into the cream until it dissolves smoothly.
廚師在示範如何將巧克力輕輕攪拌到奶油中，直到其順利溶解。
8. prospect n. 前景；展望；可能性
After losing his job, Richard had to face the prospect of financial hardship.
失業後，理查不得不面臨到財務困難的可能。
9. bronze n. 青銅
In sports competitions, bronze medals are usually awarded to the third-place participants.
在體育競賽中，銅牌通常是頒發給第三名的參賽者。
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