When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.
当约翰·托德还是个孩子的时候，他喜欢探索房子周围的树林，观察大自然是如何解决问题的。例如，一条肮脏的溪流在流过植物和微小生物生活的岩石后，往往会变得清澈。当他长大后，约翰开始思索这个过程是否可以用来清理人们制造的混乱。
After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.
在大学学习了农业、医学和渔业后，约翰重新开始观察自然并提出问题。为什么某些植物可以捕获有害细菌？哪些鱼类可以吃致癌化学物质？他想，如果动物和植物正确组合，也许他可以像大自然一样清理废物。他决定建造他后来称之为生态机器的东西。
The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First, he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.
约翰为自己设定的任务是清除一些污泥中的有害物质。首先，他建造了一系列相互连接的透明玻璃纤维罐。然后，他去当地的池塘和溪流，带回了一些动植物。他把它们放在罐里等着改变发生。渐渐地，这些不同种类的生命相互适应，形成了自己的生态系统。几周后，约翰加入了污泥。
He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.
他对结果感到惊讶。生态机器中的植物和动物把污泥当作食物，开始吃污泥！几周内，污泥就被消化了，剩下的只有纯水。
Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse-like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.
多年来，约翰承担了许多重要的工作。他开发了一个类似温室的设施，处理南伯灵顿1600户家庭的污水。他还设计了一台生态机器，用于清洁中国东南部城市福州的运河水。
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