新奇事件簿 英国商人向中国出售瓶装空气

An English entrepreneur has started a booming business from selling bottled, British countryside air to Chinese consumers. Leo De Watts¹, 27, struck upon the idea of selling air to China after seeing news footage of pollution and smog in Chinese cities. He guessed there was a market for cleaner air. De Watts launched his company last year in the somewhat imaginatively named industry of "air farming". His team "harvests" air in bottles from various locations across Britain and ships it to China. Even though the air is cheap to collect, De Watts puts a hefty price on his products. Chinese lovers of British air have to pay around $115 for a 580 ml bottle of the fresh stuff.

英国商人向中国售卖瓶装田野空气。中国多城受雾霾污染影响，27岁的莱奥·德沃茨突发奇想售卖空气。他猜想清洁空气市场前景广阔。去年，德沃茨在“空气养殖”业成立公司，该产业名有点凭空想象。团队在英国多地收集瓶装空气，运抵中国。尽管空气成本不高，但空气价格昂贵。每580毫升空气售价约为115美元。

De Watts was born in the British countryside and said he appreciates the quality of the air in rural Britain. He now lives in Hong Kong where he sells his fresh air at local street markets. A lot of his merchandise is sold in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where pollution can be particularly bad. He said his Chinese customers can be quite fussy² about exactly what kind of air they buy. He explained in a promotional video that: "Quite often, a lot of our orders are bespoke³. We have clients who request very particular circumstances for their air. Sometimes we'll be at the top of a mountain, and other times at the bottom of a valley." He added: "There's really a market for this. We've just started."

德沃茨生于英国乡村，并认为乡村空气质量优越。如今，德沃茨生活在香港，并向当地售卖清洁空气。许多“空气”已销往空气污染严重的北京，上海等城市。据德沃茨所说，中国雇主对空气质量非常挑剔。他在一则促销录像中表示：“有些订单经过私人定制。许多顾客对空气环境极为挑剔。有时上山，有时入谷。”他还表示：“空气市场前景广阔。我们才刚刚起步。”

1 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

2 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

3 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句