美国有线新闻 CNN 塑料海洋触目惊心 海洋环境破坏严重

 

This special edition of our show dives into an ocean of plastic, masses of waste accumulating on and around some remote islands in the Pacific.

Synthetic¹ plastic, the kind made by people, has been around since 1907, and scientists estimate that almost every piece of it made since then still exists. Why? It doesn't break down quickly in the environment.

And researchers say that tons of plastic trash around the world find a way to leak into the ocean every year. It might be picked up on the coast and swept out to sea. It might find its way from streets to storm drains, carried by rivers to the ocean. And you'r??e about to see its impact.

Before we get into the problem, though, what can be done about this? It's unlikely and probably unaffordable to take plastics out of the environment altogether.

But on a personal scale, people can reduce the amount of plastics they use. Think water filter bottles or jugs² instead of throwaway water bottles.

Think reusable fabric³ shopping bags instead of plastic ones. Think reusable steel drink bottles instead of single use plastic cups.

And when it comes to the plastic you do use and need to throw away, think recycling every time. This will help keep the materials from slipping into the environment.

One image that's hard to forget about how plastic can impact the environment is what you can see in the stomach of a dead bird on a Pacific island.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Every time you throw away a piece of plastic, it can be felt here, in paradise.

This is Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean, one of the most remote places on the planet but one of the hardest hit by pollution.

But it's too late for parts of it.

Your coffee cup, water bottle, toothbrush, they may all float miles to end up on the shores, inside these birds, the blubber of these seals, and the sand, and invisibly in the waves these dolphins call home.

And eventually, these plastics may well end up inside you.

1 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

2 jugs   

（有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two china jugs held steaming gravy. 两个瓷罐子装着热气腾腾的肉卤。
• Jugs-Big wall lingo for Jumars or any other type of ascenders. 大岩壁术语，祝玛式上升器或其它种类的上升器。

3 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。