第1605期:Making your gadgets last longer

Have you got any gadgets hanging around your home that you no longer want or use? Between us, we have millions of bits of tech stockpiled in drawers that could be given a new lease of life.

你家里有没有你不再想要或不再使用的小玩意儿？在我们之间，我们有数以百万计的技术储存在抽屉里，可以赋予新的生命。

Part of the problem for our unloved gadgets is that many become obsolete quickly because their software doesn’t get updated. Other items are left unused because they’re broken or they’ve become superseded by a fancy new version. Many of these items are electronics, but despite them appearing to be past their sell-by date, they don’t need to end up in landfill.

对于我们不受欢迎的小工具来说，部分问题在于，许多小工具很快就会过时，因为它们的软件没有得到更新。其他物品因损坏或已被花哨的新版本取代而未使用。这些物品中有许多是电子产品，但尽管它们似乎已经过了保质期，但它们最终不需要进入垃圾填埋场。

There are several ways to make the most of our unwanted gadgets. Recycling is the obvious solution. Materials used to make them can be extracted and reused in other things. As an example, Elisabeth Ratcliffe from the Royal Society of Chemistry told the BBC: “There are about thirty different elements just in a smartphone, and many of them are very rare.” These can be used in touch screens and solar panels.

有几种方法可以充分利用我们不需要的小工具。回收是显而易见的解决方案。用于制造它们的材料可以提取并在其他事物中重复使用。例如，英国皇家化学学会的伊丽莎白·拉特克利夫告诉 BBC：“仅在智能手机中就有大约 30 种不同的元素，其中许多非常罕见。”这些可用于触摸屏和太阳能电池板。

Probably the best antidote to our throwaway culture is to repair our broken tech. This takes patience and skill, which can be learnt at repair clubs and repair cafés –free meeting places where you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. In the UK, the interest in mending our stuff and giving it a new life is reflected by the popularity of a TV series called The Repair Shop, where craftspeople rescue and resurrect items their owners thought were beyond saving.

可能对我们的一次性文化最好的解毒剂是修复我们损坏的技术。这需要耐心和技巧，可以在维修俱乐部和维修咖啡馆学习——免费的聚会场所，在那里您可以找到工具和材料来帮助您进行所需的任何维修。在英国，修补我们的东西并赋予它新生命的兴趣反映在一部名为“修理店”的电视连续剧的流行中，工匠们在其中拯救并复活了他们的主人认为无法挽救的物品。

A final option for your discarded gadgets is to upcycle them. You can breathe new life into unwanted stuff by transforming it into valuable pieces or collectable retroitems. These could be sold on, meaning you can make some cash from your junk and create much needed space in your home!

您丢弃的小工具的最后一个选择是升级它们。您可以通过将其转化为有价值的物品或可收藏的复古物品，为不需要的东西注入新的活力。这些可以出售，这意味着您可以从垃圾中赚取一些现金，并在家中创造急需的空间！

词汇表

stockpile 囤积
a new lease of life 使用寿命延长
obsolete 废弃的，淘汰的
unused 闲置的
superseded 被取代
electronics 电子产品
past (their) sell-by date 不再为人所用（原意：过了保质期）
landfill 垃圾填埋场
recycling 回收利用
extracted 被提取
element 部件
antidote 缓解办法，对抗手段
throwaway culture 一次性文化
repair 维修，修复
tool 工具，器具
repair（名词） 修理，修补
mend 修理，修补
craftspeople 手艺人，工匠
resurrect 恢复，重新使用
discarded 废弃的，丢弃的
upcycle 升级再造，改造
breathe new life into something 赋予生机，注入活力
transform 使…大变样
junk 破烂，垃圾