雅思哥紐約時報精讀
原 文 譯 文
1. SANTA CRUZ, California — Death comes for all of us, but Silicon Valley has, until recently, not come for death. Who can blame them for the hesitation? The death services industry is heavily regulated and fraught with religious and health considerations. The handling of dead bodies does not seem ready for venture-backed disruption. The gravestone does not seem an obvious target for innovation .
加州聖克魯茲——我們所有人都會被死亡找上門來，但死亡，直到最近才被矽谷找上門來。這種姍姍來遲，也怪不得他們。死亡服務業受到嚴格監管，還充滿各種宗教和健康考量因素。屍體處理工作似乎還沒準備好被風險資本顛覆。墓碑看起來也不是顯然的創新對象。
2. But in a forest south of Silicon Valley, a new startup is hoping to change that. The company is called Better Place Forests. It is trying to make a better graveyard. 「Cemeteries are really expensive and really terrible, and basically I just knew there had to be something better,」 said Sandy Gibson, chief executive of Better Place. 「We’re trying to redesign the entire end-of-life experience.」 And so Gibson’s company is buying forests, arranging conservation easements intended to prevent the land from ever being developed, and then selling people the right to have their cremated remains mixed with fertilizer and fed to a particular tree.
但在矽谷南部的一片森林，一家新的初創公司正希望能帶來改變。公司名為善地森林（Better Place Forests）。它正在試圖創造一種更好的墓園。「墓地貴極了，也恐怖極了，基本上我就知道，肯定有更好的選擇，」善地執行長桑迪·吉布森（Sandy Gibson）說。「我們在設法重新設計整個臨終體驗。」 於是吉布森的公司在購置林地，達成保護地役權協議，意在保證今後這片地永遠不會被開發，然後他們將權益賣出去，給那些想將自己的骨灰和肥料混合在一起，給一棵特定的樹做養料的人。
3. The Better Place team is opening a forest in Point Arena, a bit south of Mendocino; preselling trees at a second California location, in Santa Cruz; and developing four more spots around the country. They have a few dozen remains in the soil already, and Gibson says they have sold thousands of trees to the future dead. Most of the customers are 「pre-need」 — middle-aged and healthy, possibly decades before finding themselves in the roots.
善地團隊正在門多西諾略偏南的競技場岬開闢一片森林；在位於聖克魯茲的加州第二處地點預售樹木；還在全國開發另外四個地點。他們已經有十來人的骨灰入土了，吉布森說他們還向未來的死者售出了數千棵樹。大部分客戶都是出於「預先需求」——尚在中年且身體健康，落葉歸根可能還要等上幾十年。
4. Better Place Forests has raised \$12 million in venture capital funding. And other than the topic of dead bodies coming up fairly often, the office is a normal San Francisco startup, with around 45 people bustling around and frequenting the roof deck with a view of the water.
善地森林已經籌得1200萬美元風險投資基金。 除了頻頻談起有關屍體的話題外，這裡和尋常的舊金山初創公司沒什麼不同，大約45個人忙來忙去，常常光顧帶水景的頂層露臺。 5. There is a certain risk to being buried in a startup forest. When the tree dies, Better Place says it will plant a new one at that same spot. But a redwood can live 700 years, and almost all startups in Silicon Valley fail, so it requires a certain amount of faith that someone will be there to install a new sapling .
在初創公司的森林裡入葬有一定風險。那棵樹死後，善地稱它會在同一地點新植一棵。但紅杉能活700年之久，矽谷幾乎所有的初創公司卻都會倒閉，所以需要一定程度的信念，相信有人會去種植一棵新樹苗。
6. Still, Gibson said most customers, especially those based in the Bay Area, like the idea of being part of a startup even after life. The first few people to buy trees were called founders. 「You’re part of this forest, but you’re also part of creating this forest,」 said Gibson. 「People love that.」
但吉布森說大部分客戶，特別是灣區的客戶，喜歡即便是身後仍能成為初創公司一部分的創意。最早買樹的幾個人被稱為創始人。 「你是森林的一部分，也是這片森林創建行動的一部分，」吉布森說。「人們很喜歡這個。」
7. Customers come to claim a tree for perpetuity . This now costs between \$3,000 （for those who want to be mixed into the earth at the base of a small young tree or a less desirable species of tree） and upward of \$30,000 （for those who wish to reside forever by an old redwood）. For those who do not mind spending eternity with strangers, there is also an entry-level price of \$970 to enter the soil of a community tree. （Cremation is not included.）
客戶可以來認領一棵永恆之樹。目前價格在3000美元（欲在幼樹或普通樹種下匯入泥土者）到30000多美元（欲永遠棲息在一棵老紅杉下者）之間。對於不介意和陌生人永久共存者，還有970美元的入門價（不含火化），在共有樹下入土安息。
8. A steward then installs a small round plaque in the earth like a gravestone. When the ashes come, the team at Better Place digs a 0.9-meter by 0.6-meter trench at the roots of the tree. Then, at a long table, the team mixes the person’s cremated remains with soil and water, sometimes adding other elements to offset the naturally highly alkaline and sodium-rich qualities of bone ash. It is important the soil stay moist; bacteria will be what breaks down the remains.
管理員隨後會在土裡安上一塊類似墓碑的小圓牌。當骨灰送來的時候，善地森林團隊會在選定樹木的根部挖出一道0.9米乘0.6米的溝。然後，在一張長桌上，工作人員把這個人的骨灰和泥土與水混合起來，有時會添加一些其他的物質，以抵消骨灰本身鹼性強、鈉含量高的特點。重要的是讓土壤保持溼度；細菌最終會分解遺骸。
9. Because the forest is not a cemetery, rules are much looser. For example: pets are allowed. Often customers want their ashes to be mixed with their pets』 ashes, Gibson said. 「Pets are a huge thing,」 Gibson said. 「It’s where everyone in your family can be spread. This is your tree.」
森林不是墓地，所以規則要寬鬆得多。例如：允許與寵物合葬。吉布森說，客戶常常希望自己的骨灰能和寵物的骨灰混在一起。「寵物是件大事，」吉布森說。「每個家庭成員的骨灰都可以灑進來。這是你的樹。」
10. 「Spreading」 is what they call the ash deposit. The trench is a 「space,」 the watering can is a 「vessel,」 the on-site sales staff are 「forest stewards.」 When it comes to both death and startups, euphemisms abound.
他們把骨灰沉澱物稱為「揮灑物」。溝是一個「空間」，灑水壺是一隻「容器」，現場銷售人員是「森林管理員」。涉及到死亡和初創公司，委婉語總是少不了。
11. It is all pretty low-tech: mix ashes in with dirt and put a little placard in the soil. But there is a tech element: For an extra fee, customers can have a digital memorial video made. Walking through the forest, visitors will be able to scan a placard and watch a 12-minute digital portrait of the deceased talking straight to the camera about his or her life. Some will allow their videos to be viewed by anyone walking through the forest, others will opt only for family members. Privacy settings will be decided before death.
這全都沒有太多技術含量：把骨灰和泥土混合起來，在土裡插上一小塊標牌。但其中也有技術因素：只要額外付費，顧客就可以製作一個數字紀念視頻。在森林裡走過時，訪客可以通過掃描標牌，觀看一段12分鐘的視頻介紹，逝者將直面鏡頭講述自己的一生。一些人會允許任何走過樹林的人觀看他們的視頻，另一些人則選擇只允許家屬觀看。隱私設置將在生前確定。
精 讀 解 析
篇章結構：
P1—P2： 矽谷開始死亡服務業：善地森林。 P3—P6： 善地森林的創新死亡服務：預定森林模式。 P7—P11： 善地森林的具體運營模式。
Be fraught with 充滿著… 【例句】 The job is fraught with difficulties. 工作充滿艱辛。 Marriage is an institution fraught with ironies. 婚姻制度就是如此諷刺。
innovation /n've()n/ n. 改革, 革新, 創新；新觀念, 新方法, 新發明 【同根】 innovate v. 改革；創新；創始；改變；創立；引人 innovative adj. 新發明的, 新引進的; 革新的; 有改革精神的 【例句】 That became my strong desire to ignite innovation. 這變成我想要帶來創新最強大的動力。 startup /stɑ:tp/ n. 啟動；開辦 【例句】 They learned to launch start-up companies through Technovation. 她們通過「技術創新」挑戰學會了如何開辦創業公司。
executive /g'zekjtv/ n. 主管, 高級行政人員, 執行官；行政部門adj. 執行的, 行政的; 有行政能力的 【例句】 She is by far the best executive in the company. 她目前是公司中最為優秀的決策人。
easemen t /'izm()nt/ n. 緩和；減輕；地役權 【例句】 easement in the land 地役 easement tax 地役權稅 Then there were some people who were worried because they put some of their land into a conservation easement. 後來又有一些人因歐文斯夫婦為自己的一些土地申請了保護地役權而產生了憂慮。
cremate /kr'met/ vt. 火葬；燒成灰 【例句】 His body was cremated, but his bones remained unburned. 他的肉身被火化，但他的骨骸卻保留下來。 sapling /'spl/ n. 幼樹, 樹苗 【例句】 This group of volunteers has planted nearly 100 million saplings. 這組志願者已經種植了1億顆樹苗。 perpetuity /pp'tjut/ n. 永久;永恆;永遠；永遠；永久 【例句】 A pretty good rule of thumb, if you assume a particular post will linger in perpetuity. 如果認為你特別曬出的東西會永久珍藏的話，這可是條經驗之談。
eternity /'tnt/ n. 來世，來生；不朽；永世 【例句】 In the sunshine, we bereathe rockily, and expand bit by bit, intonating the eternity of life together. 在歲月哀婉的歌聲中，只有它才能與一切對抗。 alkaline /'lklan/ adj. [化]鹼性的，鹼的 【例句】 Alkaline salts are especially deadly to bacteria. 鹼式鹽對細菌有致命的作用。 euphemism /'jufmz()m/ n. 委婉語;委婉說法 【同根】 euphemistic adj. 委婉的 【例句】 Euphemism is a mode of expression that exists in all cultures. 委婉語是各種文化中都存在的一種表達方式。 memorial /m'mril/ n. 紀念碑, 紀念物 【同根】 memorialize v. 請願 【例句】 Others posted photos and videos of the memorials and memorial services. 還有網友發布了遺蹟和紀念活動的照片及視頻。
placard /'plkɑd/n. 招貼,布告,廣告vt. 張貼布告於,在…上貼廣告 【例句】 Smartphones also allow passers-by to scan bar-codes from placards. 智慧型手機還能幫助順道經過的人從廣告上掃描條形碼。
- THE END -
堅持就會有收穫！