能够治愈心灵的贩卖机

浙江温州市绣山中学 张 琳

难词探意

vend/vend/v.贩卖

We often use vending machines to satisfy our stomachs,but have you ever imagined we can satisfy our mind from the same machines?You tell them how you are feeling and they give you something that may help you feel better.Doesn't that sound like a cool idea?

Visitors to Sydney tried out such a special vending machine,which was moved around different places in Sydney's CBD to encourage people to take time out of their busy days and help solve the problems with mental health.That was an interesting artwork by artists Elizabeth Commandeur and Mark Starmach.All the money went to Australian mental health organizations.

Instead of potato chips or chocolate bars,this vending machine gave some mind food—“snacks” based on your emotional needs.What you would find inside were things like maps,notes,pencils or even a little paper star to clean up your terrible feelings.There were little packets themed around friendship,bravery,happiness,imagination,purpose and so on.Each little packet cost only two Australian dollars and was created by the artists together with mental health experts to contain products for specific mental needs.Although a “friendship” packet wouldn't give you a friend immediately,you would find a piece of paper that listed some tips to help you keep in touch with old friends or make new ones.The “imagination” packet had a pencil and asked you to draw a series of unusual things.

“We live in a society where,for most of us,our physical needs are satisfied,but often our emotional and mental needs are not,”said Starmach.“We hope people find an unexpected way to talk about the things they all need more in their minds and realize the importance of that,”added Commandeur.

The creative artwork is part of the Art&About public art program which is a city-wide celebration of Sydney's creativity and imagination by the City of Sydney.It has made a big hit.Manypeopleexpectthatvendingmachines which sell mind food can come into service in the near future.We have to believe that the world is not perfect but we can still heal ourselves.

Reading Check

1.Which of the following can you get from the special vending machine?

A.Potato chips. B.Chocolate bars.

C.Two-dollar coins. D.Paper stars.

2.Who can be satisfied by the special vending machine?

A.People who expect a perfect world.

B.People who want to learn to draw.

C.People who have imaginative minds.

D.People who need more new friends.

3.What does the underlined sentence “It has made a big hit.”in the last paragraph probably mean?

A.It has been broken.

B.It has made a success.

C.It has hit people hard.

D.It has failed to be accepted.

4.Why do the artists create the special vending machine?

A.To make money for mental health organizations.

B.To solve the problems with mental and physical health.

C.To encourage people to pay more attention to mental health.

D.To help people realize that the society is busy and not perfect.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Visitors to Sydney tried out such a special vending machine,which was moved around different places in Sydney's CBD to encourage people to take time out of their busy days and help solve the problems with mental health.

【翻译】_____________________________________________________

【点石成金】该句为主从复合句，句中的which引导定语从句修饰a special vending machine。

Cultural Background

悉尼市的公共艺术

悉尼市因拥有一系列多元文化的社区和高度集中的世界级文化目的地而广为人知。悉尼市的公共艺术是整个城市形象的点睛之笔，因此悉尼市也成了公共艺术融入城市的典范。《城市公共艺术战略》是《悉尼可持续发展2030》中的一项关键项目。悉尼街头的这个特殊贩卖机就是悉尼的《城市公共艺术战略》中的一个艺术作品。