雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選

1、資料來(lái)源：來(lái)自本人網(wǎng)絡(luò)整理！祝您工作順利！雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選 雅思的閱讀題要多練才能讓自己把握閱歷，下面我給大家共享一些雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選，供大家參考。 雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選1 案例討論：新西蘭旅游網(wǎng)站 case study: tourism new zealand website new zealand is a small country of four million inhabitants, a long-haul flight from all the major tourist-generating markets of the world. tourism currently

2、 makes up 9% of the countrys gross domestic product, and is the countrys largest export sector. unlike other export sectors, which make products and then sell them overseas, tourism brings its customers to new zealand. the product is the country itself - the people, the places and the experiences. i

3、n 1999, tourism new zealand launched a campaign to communicate a new brand position to the world. the campaign focused on new zealands scenic beauty, exhilarating outdoor activities and authentic maori culture, and it made new zealand one of the strongest national brands in the world. 新西蘭是一個(gè)有著400萬(wàn)居民

4、的小國(guó)家，離世界上全部的大型游客聚集市場(chǎng)都需要經(jīng)受一場(chǎng)長(zhǎng)途航班。旅游業(yè)目前占這個(gè)國(guó)家國(guó)民消費(fèi)總值的百分之九，是其最大的出口行業(yè)。與其他行業(yè)不同的是，其他行業(yè)是要制作產(chǎn)品再將其銷售到海外，而旅游業(yè)會(huì)將顧客帶到新西蘭來(lái)。產(chǎn)品就是這個(gè)國(guó)家本身其人民、地點(diǎn)和身處其中的體驗(yàn)。在1999年，新西蘭旅游局向全世界推出了一場(chǎng)大型宣揚(yáng)活動(dòng)，營(yíng)造出一個(gè)全新的品牌地位。這場(chǎng)宣揚(yáng)集中展現(xiàn)了新西蘭優(yōu)美的風(fēng)景、興奮人心的戶外工程和本土真正的的毛利文化，它將新西蘭塑造成世界上最強(qiáng)有力的國(guó)家品牌之一。 a key feature of the campaign was the website .newzealand , wh

5、ich provided potential visitors to new zealand with a single gateway to everything the destination had to offer. the heart of the website was a database of tourism services operators, both those based in new zealand and those based abroad which offered tourism services to the country. any tourism-re

6、lated business could be listed by filling in a simple form. this meant that even the smallest bed and breakfast address or specialist activity provider could gain a web presence with access to an audience of long-haul visitors. in addition, because participating businesses were able to update the de

7、tails they gave on a regular basis, the information provided remained accurate. and to maintain and improve standards, tourism new zealand organised a scheme whereby organisations appearing on the website underwent an independent evaluation against a set of agreed national standards of quality. as p

8、art of this, the effect of each business on the environment was considered. 這場(chǎng)宣揚(yáng)活動(dòng)中的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵特色就是“新西蘭旅游這個(gè)網(wǎng)站，它為將來(lái)有可能前往新西蘭的游客供應(yīng)了一個(gè)入口，在這里可以找到新西蘭所能供應(yīng)的一切。此網(wǎng)站的核心內(nèi)容在于一個(gè)由各路旅游效勞經(jīng)營(yíng)者信息所組成的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，其中既有位于新西蘭本土的商家，也有駐扎海外的供應(yīng)前往此國(guó)旅游效勞的公司。任何與旅游相關(guān)的經(jīng)營(yíng)者都可以通過(guò)填寫(xiě)一張簡(jiǎn)潔的表格而獲準(zhǔn)參加。這就意味著：即使是最小型的住宿地和早餐店或特色活動(dòng)的供應(yīng)者都能在此網(wǎng)站上獲得一席之地，從而接觸到全部準(zhǔn)備遠(yuǎn)道而來(lái)的

9、游客。此外，由于參加的商家可以定期更新自己放上去的各種信息，網(wǎng)站的信息就能始終保持精確。并且為了維持并進(jìn)步水準(zhǔn)，新西蘭旅游局還支配了一個(gè)這樣的方案：展現(xiàn)在網(wǎng)站上的全部商家都要根據(jù)一套通過(guò)決議的國(guó)家質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來(lái)承受一場(chǎng)獨(dú)立評(píng)估。其中，每個(gè)企業(yè)對(duì)于環(huán)境產(chǎn)生的影響都要受到考量。 to communicate the new zealand experience, the site also carried features relating to famous people and places. one of the most popular was an interview with former

10、 new zealand all blacks rugby captain tana umaga. another feature that attracted a lot of attention was an interactive journey through a number of the locations chosen for blockbuster films which had made use of new zealands stunning scenery as a backdrop. as the site developed, additional features

11、were added to help independent travellers devise their own customised itineraries. to make it easier to plan motoring holidays, the site catalogued the most popular driving routes in the country, highlighting different routes according to the season and indicating distances and times. 為了充分傳播這場(chǎng)經(jīng)受，該網(wǎng)站

12、還有一些與名人和知名地點(diǎn)有關(guān)的特色介紹。其中最受歡送的內(nèi)容之一是對(duì)新西蘭全黑橄欖球隊(duì)前隊(duì)長(zhǎng)tana umaga的采訪。另外一個(gè)吸引了大量關(guān)注的特色是一場(chǎng)互動(dòng)式旅程，穿過(guò)一些將新西蘭令人目瞪口呆的風(fēng)景選做背景的電影大片中曾經(jīng)出現(xiàn)過(guò)的地點(diǎn)。隨著網(wǎng)站的進(jìn)展，又有一些額外特色被加進(jìn)來(lái)來(lái)關(guān)心自助型游客通過(guò)這個(gè)規(guī)劃屬于自己的特色行程。為了關(guān)心用戶更簡(jiǎn)潔規(guī)劃自駕行假期，網(wǎng)站還依據(jù)季節(jié)改變分類整理出了這個(gè)國(guó)家最受歡送的多條駕車路途，并且標(biāo)注了間隔 和時(shí)間。 later, a travel planner feature was added, which allowed visitors to click an

13、d bookmark places or attractions they were interested in, and then view the results on a map. the travel planner offered suggested routes and public transport options between the chosen locations. there were also links to accommodation in the area. by registering with the website, users could save t

14、heir travel plan and return to it later, or print it out to take on the visit. the website also had a your words section where anyone could submit a blog of their new zealand travels for possible inclusion on the website. 后來(lái)，又增加了一項(xiàng)“旅行規(guī)劃者特色，網(wǎng)站訪問(wèn)者可以點(diǎn)擊他們感愛(ài)好的地點(diǎn)或景點(diǎn)，并標(biāo)注書(shū)簽，然后在地圖上查看結(jié)果?！奥眯幸?guī)劃者會(huì)供應(yīng)往來(lái)于各個(gè)選定地點(diǎn)之間的推

15、舉路途和公共交通方式選擇。同時(shí)還有查看當(dāng)?shù)刈∷扌畔⒌逆溄印Ｍㄟ^(guò)網(wǎng)站注冊(cè)，用戶就可以保存他們的旅行方案，之后返回查看，或者把方案打印出來(lái)隨身攜帶。網(wǎng)站上還有一個(gè)“你的語(yǔ)言的版塊，任何人都可以提交自己有關(guān)新西蘭旅游的博客記錄，這些游記內(nèi)容將有可能展現(xiàn)在網(wǎng)站頁(yè)面上。 the tourism new zealand website won two webby awards for online achievement and innovation. more importantly perhaps, the growth of tourism to new zealand was impressive

16、. overall tourism expenditure increased by an average of 6.9% per year between 1999 and 2021. from britain, visits to new zealand grew at an average annual rate of 13% between 2021 and 2021, compared to a rate of 4% overall for british visits abroad. 新西蘭旅游局的這個(gè)網(wǎng)站因其線上成就和創(chuàng)新贏得了兩次威比獎(jiǎng)?；蛟S更重要的是：新西蘭旅游業(yè)的增長(zhǎng)是令人

17、印象深入的?？傮w旅游支出在1999到2021年期間平均每年增長(zhǎng)6.9%，在2021年到2021年之間，從英國(guó)前往新西蘭的旅客增長(zhǎng)率是13%，而英國(guó)的總體海外旅游增長(zhǎng)率只有百分之四。 the website was set up to allow both individuals and travel organisations to create itineraries and travel packages to suit their own needs and interests. on the website, visitors can search for activities not

18、 solely by geographical location, but also by the particular nature of the activity. this is important as research shows that activities are the key driver of visitor satisfaction, contributing 74% to visitor satisfaction, while transport and accommodation account for the remaining 26%. the more act

19、ivities that visitors undertake, the more satisfied they will be. it has also been found that visitors enjoy cultural activities most when they are interactive, such as visiting a marae (meeting ground) to learn about traditional maori life. many long-haul travellers enjoy such learning experiences,

20、 which provide them with stories to take home to their friends and family. in addition, it appears that visitors to new zealand dont want to be one of the crowd and find activities that involve only a few people more special and meaningful. 這個(gè)網(wǎng)站成立的目的是為了讓個(gè)人和旅游機(jī)構(gòu)都能依據(jù)這個(gè)創(chuàng)立出合適他們自身需求和愛(ài)好的行程以及旅游套餐。在網(wǎng)站，訪問(wèn)者并非

21、僅僅可以依據(jù)地理位置為線索來(lái)搜尋各個(gè)活動(dòng)，還可以通過(guò)活動(dòng)的特定屬性來(lái)查找。這一點(diǎn)是很重要的，因?yàn)橛懻擄@示：活動(dòng)工程是游客滿足度的關(guān)鍵驅(qū)動(dòng)因素，為總體游客滿足度奉獻(xiàn)了百分之七十四的比例，而交通和住宿一起才占了余下的百分之二十六。游客參加的活動(dòng)越多，他們就會(huì)越對(duì)自己的旅行感到滿足。同時(shí)討論發(fā)覺(jué)：游客最享受的文化活動(dòng)是那些有互動(dòng)性質(zhì)的，例如參觀一處毛利會(huì)堂來(lái)理解傳統(tǒng)的毛利人生活。很多遠(yuǎn)道而來(lái)的游客都特別享受這樣的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)受，這樣他們就有故事可以帶回去與伴侶和家人共享。此外，來(lái)到新西蘭的游客們似乎都不想成為群眾中人群中的一個(gè)，而是覺(jué)得那些只有少數(shù)幾個(gè)人參加的活動(dòng)更為特殊和有意義。 it could be

22、 argued that new zealand is not a typical destination. new zealand is a small country with a visitor economy composed mainly of small businesses. it is generally perceived as a safe english-speaking country with a reliable transport infrastructure. because of the long-haul flight, most visitors stay

23、 for longer (average 20 days) and want to see as much of the country as possible on what is often seen as a once-in-a-lifetime visit. however, the underlying lessons apply anywhere - the effectiveness of a strong brand, a strategy based on unique experiences and a comprehensive and user-friendly web

24、site. 可能有爭(zhēng)議說(shuō)新西蘭并不算一個(gè)典型的旅游目的地。它是一個(gè)小國(guó)家，游客經(jīng)濟(jì)主要由小型商家組成。它被群眾普遍視為一個(gè)平安的講英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家，有著牢靠的交通根底設(shè)施。由于要進(jìn)展長(zhǎng)途飛行，大局部游客都會(huì)在此地待比擬久(平均為20天)并想要盡可能地處處多看看這個(gè)國(guó)家，因?yàn)樗麄兺ǔ⒋丝醋魇恰耙簧粊?lái)一次的旅行。然而，新西蘭的旅游業(yè)興盛進(jìn)展背后的閱歷卻可以應(yīng)用到任何地方一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的品牌效應(yīng)，基于獨(dú)有經(jīng)受的策略，和一個(gè)全面而并且關(guān)注用戶的網(wǎng)站。 雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選2 人工智能藝術(shù)家 電腦真的能制造藝術(shù)作品嗎? the painting fool is one of a growing number o

25、f computer programs which, so their makers claim, possess creative talents. classical music by an artificial composer has had audiences enraptured, and even tricked them into believing a human was behind the score. artworks painted by a robot have sold for thousands of dollars and been hung in prest

26、igious galleries. and software has been built which creates art that could not have been imagined by the programmer. “繪畫(huà)愚人是數(shù)目正在漸漸增加的根據(jù)它們的制造者所聲稱的擁有創(chuàng)作才華的電腦程序之一。由人工智能作曲家所創(chuàng)作的古典音樂(lè)曾經(jīng)令觀眾聽(tīng)得入神，甚至讓他們誤以為這首樂(lè)曲是人類的杰作。由機(jī)器人繪畫(huà)的藝術(shù)作品曾經(jīng)賣(mài)出過(guò)數(shù)千美元的價(jià)格并掛在聲明卓著的畫(huà)廊中展覽。還有一些這樣的軟件，它們創(chuàng)作出來(lái)的藝術(shù)品是其編程者事先根本不曾想象過(guò)的。 human beings are the on

27、ly species to perform sophisticated creative acts regularly. if we can break this process down into computer code, where does that leave human creativity? this is a question at the very core of humanity, says geraint wiggins, a computational creativity researcher at goldsmiths, university of london.

28、 it scares a lot of people. they are worried that it is taking something special away from what it means to be human. 人類是唯一可以常規(guī)性地完成冗雜藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作行為的物種。假如我們可以將這個(gè)過(guò)程分解成為電腦編碼，那把人類制造力置于何地呢?“這是一個(gè)關(guān)乎人性最核心的問(wèn)題，倫敦大學(xué)金史密斯學(xué)院的一位計(jì)算機(jī)制造力討論學(xué)者geraint wiggins 這樣說(shuō)。“它讓很多人感到恐懼，他們擔(dān)憂這會(huì)從人類中剝奪某些特別的本屬于人類的東西。 to some extent, we are all

29、familiar with computerised art. the question is: where does the work of the artist stop and the creativity of the computer begin? consider one of the oldest machine artists, aaron, a robot that has had paintings exhibited in londons tate modern and the san francisco museum of modern art. aaron can p

30、ick up a paintbrush and paint on canvas on its own. impressive perhaps, but it is still little more than a tool to realise the programmers own creative ideas. 在某種程度上，我們對(duì)電腦創(chuàng)作的藝術(shù)都很熟識(shí)。問(wèn)題在于：藝術(shù)家的工作是在何處停頓，而電腦的制造力又是從哪里開(kāi)頭的呢?想想最老的機(jī)器藝術(shù)家之一：aaron，這個(gè)機(jī)器人創(chuàng)作的繪畫(huà)作品展覽在倫敦泰特現(xiàn)代美術(shù)館和舊金山現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)博物館里。aaron可以拿起一支畫(huà)筆，自己在畫(huà)布上作畫(huà)?；蛟S的確令

31、人驚嘆，但它也仍舊無(wú)非就是一臺(tái)用來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)編程者自己創(chuàng)意理念的機(jī)器罷了。 simon colton, the designer of the painting fool, is keen to make sure his creation doesnt attract the same criticism. unlike earlier artists such as aaron, the painting fool only needs minimal direction and can come up with its own concepts by going online for mate

32、rial. the software runs its own web searches and trawls through social media sites. it is now beginning to display a kind of imagination too, creating pictures from scratch. one of its original works is a series of fuzzy landscapes, depicting trees and sky. while some might say they have a mechanica

33、l look, colton argues that such reactions arise from peoples double standards towards software-produced and human-produced art. after all, he says, consider that the painting fool painted the landscapes without referring to a photo. if a child painted a new scene from its head, youd say it has a cer

34、tain level of imagination, he points out. the same should be true of a machine. software bugs can also lead to unexpected results. some of the painting fools paintings of a chair came out in black and white, thanks to a technical glitch. this gives the work an eerie, ghostlike quality. human artists

35、 like the renowned ellsworth kelly are lauded for limiting their colour palette - so why should computers be any different? “繪畫(huà)愚人的設(shè)計(jì)者simon colton 特別熱切地想要確保他的產(chǎn)品不會(huì)引來(lái)同樣的批判。不像aaron這樣的早期藝術(shù)家，“繪畫(huà)愚人只需要極少量的指令，就能通過(guò)上網(wǎng)搜尋材料而產(chǎn)生自己的創(chuàng)作理念。這個(gè)軟件啟動(dòng)其自身的網(wǎng)頁(yè)搜尋功能，掃瞄各個(gè)社交媒體頁(yè)面。它如今也開(kāi)頭展現(xiàn)出了某種想象力，能從草稿中制造出完好的畫(huà)作。它的原創(chuàng)作品之一是一系列朦朧風(fēng)景畫(huà)，描繪的

36、是樹(shù)木與天空。雖然有些人或許會(huì)說(shuō)這些畫(huà)作有一種機(jī)械感，colton卻反對(duì)說(shuō)，這樣的反響是出于人們對(duì)待軟件創(chuàng)作和人類創(chuàng)作的藝術(shù)的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。到底，他這樣說(shuō)，要考慮到“繪畫(huà)愚人是在沒(méi)有參照一張照片的狀況下畫(huà)出了這些風(fēng)景?！凹偃缫粋€(gè)孩子從自己的頭腦中描繪出一副新的景象，你就會(huì)說(shuō)這個(gè)孩子有肯定的想象力程度的，他說(shuō)，“放在一臺(tái)機(jī)器上也應(yīng)當(dāng)一樣。軟件破綻也有可能會(huì)造成意想不到的效果?！袄L畫(huà)愚人描繪一把椅子的一些由于技術(shù)故障作品成了黑白色。這給予了畫(huà)作一種怪誕、詭異的感覺(jué)。有一些如ellsworth kelly般有名的人類藝術(shù)家因?yàn)樘貏e抑制地運(yùn)用自己調(diào)色板上的顏色而廣受傳頌?zāi)敲捶旁陔娔X身上為什么就應(yīng)當(dāng)有所不同

37、呢? researchers like colton dont believe it is right to measure machine creativity directly to that of humans who have had millennia to develop our skills. others, though, are fascinated by the prospect that a computer might create something as original and subtle as our best artists. so far, only on

38、e has come close. composer david cope invented a program called experiments in musical intelligence, or emi. not only did emi create compositions in copes style, but also that of the most revered classical composers, including bach, chopin and mozart. audiences were moved to tears, and emi even fool

39、ed classical music experts into thinking they were hearing genuine bach. not everyone was impressed however. some, such as wiggins, have blasted copes work as pseudoscience, and condemned him for his deliberately vague explanation of how the software worked. meanwhile, douglas hofstadter of indiana

40、university said emi created replicas which still rely completely on the original artists creative impulses. when audiences found out the truth they were often outraged with cope, and one music lover even tried to punch him. amid such controversy, cope destroyed emis vital databases. 像colton這樣的討論者們并不

41、贊成將機(jī)器制造力挺直與人類制造力同日而語(yǔ)相互比擬，因?yàn)椤叭祟愐呀?jīng)有幾千年的時(shí)間來(lái)進(jìn)展我們的技巧了。另一些人那么著迷于這樣的前景：一臺(tái)電腦或許能跟我們最好的藝術(shù)家相媲美，創(chuàng)作出同樣富有創(chuàng)意而精致的作品。到目前為止，只有一個(gè)接近了這個(gè)目的。作曲家david cope創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)程序，稱作“音樂(lè)智能試驗(yàn)，簡(jiǎn)稱emi。emi不僅創(chuàng)作出了cope風(fēng)格的樂(lè)曲，而且還仿制出了最受尊崇的古典音樂(lè)作曲家們的作品，包括巴赫、肖邦和莫扎特。觀眾感動(dòng)得淚流滿面，emi甚至還騙過(guò)了古典音樂(lè)方面的專家，讓他們以為自己聽(tīng)到的是真正的巴赫作品。然而并非全部人都對(duì)此表示了驚嘆。有一些人，例如wiggins，就猛烈鞭撻cope 的

42、這項(xiàng)制造為偽科學(xué)，還責(zé)備他對(duì)這個(gè)程序究竟如何運(yùn)行的說(shuō)明刻意模糊不清。與此同時(shí)，印第安納大學(xué)的douglas hofstadter認(rèn)為，emi創(chuàng)作的這些復(fù)制品仍舊要完全依靠于原創(chuàng)藝術(shù)家的創(chuàng)作靈感。在觀眾們發(fā)覺(jué)了真相以后，他們對(duì)cope 感到異樣生氣，有一位樂(lè)迷甚至想要打他。在這樣的一片爭(zhēng)議聲中，cope銷毀了emi的關(guān)鍵數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。 but why did so many people love the music, yet recoil when they discovered how it was composed? a study by computer scientist david mof

43、fat of glasgow caledonian university provides a clue. he asked both expert musicians and non-experts to assess six compositions. the participants werent told beforehand whether the tunes were composed by humans or computers, but were asked to guess, and then rate how much they liked each one. people

44、 who thought the composer was a computer tended to dislike the piece more than those who believed it was human. this was true even among the experts, who might have been expected to be more objective in their analyses. 但是為什么會(huì)有這么多人喜愛(ài)那些音樂(lè)本身，在發(fā)覺(jué)了它是如何被創(chuàng)作出來(lái)之后卻退縮了呢?格拉斯哥卡利多尼亞大學(xué)的計(jì)算機(jī)科學(xué)家david moffat進(jìn)展的一項(xiàng)討論供應(yīng)了

45、一條線索。他讓專業(yè)音樂(lè)家和非專業(yè)人士同時(shí)去評(píng)估六首樂(lè)曲。這些參加者并沒(méi)有被事先告知這些樂(lè)曲畢竟是由人類還是電腦所創(chuàng)作的，但是被要求去進(jìn)展猜想，然后給出自己對(duì)每一首曲子愛(ài)好程度的評(píng)價(jià)。那些認(rèn)為創(chuàng)是電腦的人們通常會(huì)比那些認(rèn)為其創(chuàng)是人類的聽(tīng)眾更不喜愛(ài)這支樂(lè)曲。即使是在專家們之中狀況也是如此，但人們其實(shí)最開(kāi)頭是認(rèn)為專家的分析評(píng)估會(huì)更加客觀的。 where does this prejudice come from? paul bloom of yale university has a suggestion: he reckons part of the pleasure we get from ar

46、t stems from the creative process behind the work. this can give it an irresistible essence, says bloom. meanwhile, experiments by justin kruger of new york university have shown that peoples enjoyment of an artwork increases if they think more time and effort was needed to create it. similarly, col

47、ton thinks that when people experience art, they wonder what the artist might have been thinking or what the artist is trying to tell them. it seems obvious, therefore, that with computers producing art, this speculation is cut short - theres nothing to explore. but as technology becomes increasingl

48、y complex, finding those greater depths in computer art could become possible. this is precisely why colton asks the painting fool to tap into online social networks for its inspiration: hopefully this way it will choose themes that will already be meaningful to us. 這種偏見(jiàn)究竟來(lái)自哪兒?耶魯大學(xué)的paul bloom提出了一個(gè)見(jiàn)解

49、：他認(rèn)為我們從藝術(shù)中得到的愉悅有一局部來(lái)自于作品背后的創(chuàng)作過(guò)程。這能為它給予一種“不行抗拒的精華感，bloom說(shuō)。與此同時(shí)，紐約大學(xué)的justin kruger 所進(jìn)展的試驗(yàn)也顯示：人們假如認(rèn)為創(chuàng)作某件藝術(shù)品需要更多的時(shí)間和精力，就會(huì)更加觀賞它。類似地，colton 認(rèn)為當(dāng)人們?nèi)ンw驗(yàn)藝術(shù)時(shí)，他們會(huì)不禁去好奇藝術(shù)家產(chǎn)時(shí)正在想什么，或者藝術(shù)家正在試圖向他們表達(dá)什么。因此，這一點(diǎn)好像就很明顯了：當(dāng)創(chuàng)作藝術(shù)的是電腦時(shí)，這種遐思就被打斷了因?yàn)闆](méi)有什么可探究的。但是隨著技術(shù)變得越來(lái)越冗雜，在電腦的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作中找到那些意義深邃之處可以漸漸成為可能。正是因此，colton才會(huì)指示“繪畫(huà)愚人去搜尋各社交媒體網(wǎng)頁(yè)來(lái)

50、獵取靈感：盼望通過(guò)這種方式，它將會(huì)選取那些對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)已經(jīng)具有意義的主題。 雅思英語(yǔ)閱讀短文精選3 talc powder a peter brigg discovers how talc from luzenacs trimouns in france find its way into food and agricultural products - from chewing gum to olive oil. high in the french pyrenees, some 1,700m above sea level, lies trimouns, a huge deposit of

51、hydrated magnesium silicate - talc to you and me. talc from trimouns, and from ten other luzenac mines across the globe, is used in the manufacture of a vast array of everyday products extending from paper, paint and plaster to cosmetics, plastics and car tyres. and of course there is always talcs b

52、est known end use: talcum powder for babies1 bottoms. but the true versat ility of this remarkable mineral is nowhere better displayed than in its sometimes surprising use in certain niche markets in the food and agriculture industries. b take, for example, the chewing gum business. every year, talc

53、 de luzenac france - which owns and operates the trimouns mine and is a member of the international luzenac group ( art of rio tinto minerals ) supplies about 6,000 tones of talc to chewing gum manufacturers in europe. weve been selling to this sector of the market since the 1960s, says laurent four

54、nier, sales manager in luzenacs specialties business unit in toulouse. admittedly, in terms of our total annual sales of talc, the amount we supply to chewing gum manufacturers is relatively small, but we see it as a valuable niche market: one where customers place a premium on securing supplies fro

55、m a reliable, high quality source. because of this, long term allegiance to a proven suppler is very much a feature of this sector of die talc market. switching sources - in the way that you might choose to buy, say, paperclips from supplier a rather than from supplier b - is not an easy option for

56、chewing gum manufacturers. fournier says. the cost of reformulating is high, so when customers are using a talc grade that works, even if its expensive, they are understandably reluctant to switch. c but how is talc actually used in the manufacture of chewing gum? patrick delord, an engineer with a

57、degre e in agronomics, who has been with luzenac for 22 years and is now senior market development manager, agriculture and food, in europe, explains that chewing gums has four main components. the most important of them is the gum base, he says. its the gum base that puts the chew into chewing gum.

58、 it binds all the ingredients together, creating a soft, smooth texture. to this the manufacturer then adds sweeteners, softeners and flavourings. our talc is used as a filler in the gum base. the amount vanes between, say, ten and 35 per cent, depending on the type of gum. fruit flavoured chewing gum, for example, is slightly acidic and would react with the calcium carbonate that the manufacturer might otherwise use as a filler. talc, on the other hand, makes an ideal filler because its non-reactive chemically. in the factory