每天读一篇英语小故事：A Cleaner River (2)

英语自学网

　　The three brothers went out on the river almost every day, weather
permitting. They tied some rowboats behind their boat to use as floating trash
cans. They picked up all the trash they could see floating in the river. Friends
joined them. Then friends told other friends, and by the end of the first year
there were more than 200 volunteers helping the Green Fleet clean up the river.
In the first 365 days, the brothers estimated that they had removed more than 10
tons of trash from the river. Their work was creating a cleaner-looking and
cleaner-smelling river.
        　　Corporations got involved and donated money and materials. By the end of
the second year, the Green Fleet had grown to four boats and four barges. The
brothers appeared on radio talk shows and on local and national TV shows.
Activists throughout the nation began organizing their own Green Fleets.
        　　The Green Fleet got bigger and better every year. Five years after its
inception, the three brothers were able to go snorkeling on weekends in their
river. Unfortunately, a year later, Manny accidentally stuck himself with a
hypodermic needle while picking up a dirty plastic bag. He got an infection but
didn’t see a doctor until it was too late. At Manny's funeral, his brothers
vowed to carry on their volunteer work until they were too sick or old to do it
any longer. To honor Manny, the St. James city council voted to rename the
city's largest park after him.