导读：在新冠疫情期间，很多企业都遭受了损失，但澳大利亚悉尼市的劳拉•斯通的生意却正在蓬勃发展。这究竟是怎么一回事呢？

 

Laura Stone is the founder of Sydney by Kayak（皮划艇）, a company that offers guided kayak tours of Sydney Harbor in Australia. Not only did their business increase during the COVID-19, but one of their tours is actually more popular than ever.

A few years ago, Laura was paddling in the harbor when she noticed trash floating in the water. For reference, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that about 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year, causing big problems for wildlife and local plants. Laura was so shocked by the garbage in the water that she decided to dedicate a few paddles each week to trash cleanup. Incredibly, her clients were immediately on board with the idea, so Sydney by Kayak now leads four to five garbage-collecting tours every week!

At the start of the COVID-19, Laura thought her business would drop off as many others had. Instead, desperate for purpose and a way to get outdoors, people flocked to her “Clean Up Kayak” tours. They now routinely take about 441 pounds of garbage out of the harbor each week! “We’ve been quite surprised, even through the COVID-19, we’ve been very busy,” Laura said. “Because they can’t travel, people are looking for something to do. That is not just good for them, but also good for the environment.”

本文摘选奇速英语时文阅读原创内容。

难句解析：

• dedicate / ˈdedɪkeɪt / v. 献身；投身；致力
  例句：She dedicated his life to helping the poor. 她毕生致力于帮助穷人。
• desperate / ˈdespərət / adj. 非常需要的；渴望的
  例句：He was so desperate for a job that he would have done anything. 他当时太想找份工作了，什么事都愿意干。
• For reference, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)estimates that about 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year, causing big problems for wildlife and local plants.
  作为参考，联合国环境规划署估计，每年大约有800万吨塑料最终流入我们的海洋，给野生动物和当地植物来了很大的问题。For reference作为参考；that引导宾语从句；causing现在分词作结果状语。
• Laura was so shocked by the garbage in the water that she decided to dedicate a few paddles each week to trash cleanup.
  劳拉被水里的垃圾吓坏了，她决定每周划几桨致力于清理垃圾。 so…that…引导结果状语从句，意为“如此……以致于……”。dedicate...to...致力于……。
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