·社会·
A2B1

Australian Woman Buried in Eco-Friendly Mushroom Coffin

オーストラリアの女性、環境に優しいキノコの棺に埋葬される

#australia#environment#burial#mushrooms
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A2

An Australian woman was buried in a special box made from mushrooms. She is the first person in Australia to use this kind of eco-friendly coffin.

The box is made from mycelium, which is the root part of mushrooms, mixed with plant fibers. It takes only one week to grow the box in a warm room. When people bury the box, it breaks down into natural soil in about 45 days. Traditional wooden boxes can take 50 years to break down.

breaks down into= 時間の経過とともに分解されて自然な物質に変わる

The woman's husband said she loved helping others and nature during her life. Burying her in a mushroom box helps the earth because the box turns into nutrient-rich soil.

Many people are looking for greener ways to say goodbye to loved ones. Using mushroom boxes helps protect the environment and gives back to nature.

B1

A woman in Australia has become the first person in the country to be buried in a coffin made from mushrooms. The eco-friendly burial took place in New South Wales after her family chose a green alternative to traditional caskets.

alternative to= 伝統的または標準的なものの代わりとなる別の選択肢

The special coffin was created by a Dutch company named Loop Biotech. It is grown from mycelium, which is the root structure of fungi, combined with hemp fibers. It takes just one week to grow the coffin in a controlled environment. After burial, the container biodegrades and turns into nutrient-rich soil in about 45 days, compared to wooden coffins that can take up to 50 years to break down.

compared to= 他のものと対比して違いや類似点を示す際に用いる表現

The woman’s husband, Donald, explained that choosing the mushroom coffin matched her lifelong values of caring for others and the environment. By choosing this burial, her body and coffin can naturally return to the earth without harming nature.

More people in Australia are choosing environmentally friendly funerals, known as "eco-death" choices. Traditional cremations release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, so natural burials using plant-based coffins offer a much cleaner choice for the planet.

known as= 特定の名称や用語で呼ばれていることを表す

学習ノート

表現パターン

パターン意味
breaks down into時間の経過とともに分解されて自然な物質に変わる
alternative to伝統的または標準的なものの代わりとなる別の選択肢
compared to他のものと対比して違いや類似点を示す際に用いる表現
known as特定の名称や用語で呼ばれていることを表す

語彙

意味
eco-friendly環境に悪影響を与えない;環境に配慮した
nutrient-rich栄養分を豊富に含む;栄養豊富な
burial埋葬;死者の遺体を墓に納めること。また、その儀式。
alternative別のものに代わる;代替となる
caskets遺体を納めて埋葬または火葬するためのひつぎ。
biodegrades微生物などの働きによって自然に分解する;生分解する
cremations死んだ人の遺体を焼いて弔うこと。また、その葬送方法。

言語メモ

  • オランダで設立されたLoop Biotech社は、菌糸体などの生きた素材を用いた持続可能な製品を専門とし、従来の埋葬方法に代わる環境に配慮した選択肢として「生きた繭(living cocoons)」を提供しています。
  • 「eco-death(エコ・デス)」という言葉は、環境に配慮した葬儀へ世界的に移行する流れを表しています。こうした葬儀では、資源を多く使う従来の方法よりも、土壌の栄養化、二酸化炭素の排出削減、生分解性素材が重視されます。

練習

読んだ内容を確認しましょう。

  1. After burial, the container   and turns into nutrient-rich soil in about 45 days, compared to wooden coffins that can take up to 50 years to break down.

  2. How long does it take for a mushroom coffin to break down into soil after burial?

  3. In the sentence 'a green alternative to traditional caskets', what does 'alternative to' mean?

Source: The Guardian World