Roughly 8.5 billion plastic straws are used in the UK each year， but as a new ban takes effect in April， 2020， that number will shrink to zero.

英國(guó)每年大約使用85億根塑料吸管，但2020年4月一項(xiàng)新禁令實(shí)施之后，吸管的使用數(shù)量就會(huì)減少至零。

One start-up is hoping to corner the market for alternative straws using an unlikely material： pasta.

一家初創(chuàng)企業(yè)希望用一款另類吸管來(lái)壟斷市場(chǎng)，這種吸管是用一種難以想象的材料——意粉制成的。

“It ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality as a plastic straw that everyone has been used to growing up，” says Maxim Gelmann， founder of Stroodles， the start-up.

“它就像我們成長(zhǎng)過(guò)程中習(xí)慣使用的那種塑料吸管一樣，擁有其全部功能?！盨troodles這家初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的總裁馬克西姆·格爾曼說(shuō)道。

The straws， made by an Italian manufacturer that also produces regular pasta， are the same shape and size as a standard plastic straw.

這種吸管是一家意大利生產(chǎn)商生產(chǎn)的，該廠商還生產(chǎn)普通的意大利面。這種吸管的形狀和尺寸與標(biāo)準(zhǔn)塑料吸管的相同。

Unlike a paper straw， they dont taste like wet paper; they dont change the flavor of the drink. They last at least an hour， and longer in colder drinks.

它們不像紙質(zhì)吸管那樣，嘗起來(lái)就像潮濕的紙一樣;而且它們也不會(huì)改變飲料的味道。它們至少可以持續(xù)使用一個(gè)小時(shí)，如果用來(lái)喝冷飲的話，使用的時(shí)間會(huì)更長(zhǎng)一些。

“Lets say you have your gin and tonic and then you refill it with ice， it goes even longer，” Gelmann says.

“例如，你要了一杯金酒加湯力水，然后你又加了冰塊，這種吸管就可以使用更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間?！备?duì)柭f(shuō)道。

If youre nursing a drink for hours and the pasta eventually softens， you can choose to eat it （the raw straw is also edible， and Gelmann says that some people snack on them）.

如果你一杯飲料喝了幾個(gè)小時(shí)，這根意面做的吸管最終會(huì)軟化，你可以選擇吃掉它（未使用的吸管也是可以食用的，而且格爾曼表示，有人把這種吸管當(dāng)零食吃）。

A handful of other pasta-straw start-ups also exist， though Stroodles is hoping to differentiate itself with a smoother， more plastic-like texture and its branding.

雖然Stroodles公司希望用更光滑、更像塑料的材質(zhì)來(lái)使其產(chǎn)品和品牌具有差異化，但市面上還有其他幾家生產(chǎn)意面吸管的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)。

Its more expensive to make a Pasta-straw than a plastic straw， but at large volumes， it can compete with the cost of paper straws.

生產(chǎn)意面吸管的成本比塑料吸管的要高，但大批量生產(chǎn)的話，其成本與紙質(zhì)吸管的成本相當(dāng)。

Because of the coming ban， “no one really compares us with plastic anymore，” Gelmann says. “They compare us with paper straw prices， which makes my argument much easier.”

因?yàn)榧磳?zhí)行的禁令，“沒(méi)人再拿我們的價(jià)格與塑料吸管作比較了?！备駹柭f(shuō)道，“他們拿我們的價(jià)格與紙質(zhì)吸管做比較，這使我更容易說(shuō)服他們?！?/p>

Other alternatives， like bamboo or stainless steel， are more expensive and arguably a less elegant solution; some bars say that patrons dont trust the idea that stainless steel straws can be fully sanitized.

其他的替代品，例如竹制吸管或不銹鋼吸管更貴，而且可以說(shuō)是一種不那么簡(jiǎn)單的解決方案;一些酒吧表示，客人們不相信不銹鋼吸管能完全清洗干凈。

Another option—a plastic-like edible straw made from seaweed—may be more of a competitor.

另外一種類似塑料的可食用吸管是用海藻制成的，這種吸管也許會(huì)是一個(gè)強(qiáng)勁的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。

Word Study

shrink /?r??k/ v.（使）縮小，收縮，減少

The market for their products is shrinking.

corner /'k??n?（r）/ v. 壟斷（某種貨品的交易）

Theyve cornered the market in silver.

tick all the boxes 投其所好;迎合眾人/某人的喜好

This is a movie that ticks all the boxes.

edible /'ed?bl/ adj. 適宜食用的;（無(wú)毒而）可以吃的

The food at the hotel was barely edible.

elegant /'el?ɡ?nt/ adj. 簡(jiǎn)練的;簡(jiǎn)潔的;簡(jiǎn)明的