【轻松英文阅读】北冰洋的垃圾越来越多

 There are very few people living in the Arctic¹. You would not expect to find much garbage there. Recently, however, some German researchers have discovered a lot of plastic, glass and other waste in the sea there. They say that there is twenty times more garbage than compared to ten years ago.

 

polar bear small

 

The researchers are not exactly sure what is causing the increase in the amount of garbage there. It could be coming from very far away. Ocean currents can spread things over many kilometers. Another factor may be climate change. Ice cover in the Arctic has been shrinking². This has lead to more fishing and tour boats coming into the region³. Some of the litter could be coming from these sources.

 

Ocean garbage is dangerous. Fish and other animals can die. Animals often suffocate⁴ when they try to eat plastic bags. Also, it is not healthy for people who eat the fish.

1 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

2 shrinking   

a.畏缩的，犹豫不决的

参考例句：

• She purposely made the dress larger to allow for shrinking when it was washed. 她故意把衣服做大一些，以防洗时缩水。
• I can't imagine why a dynamic young woman like her is marrying a shrinking violet like him. 我不能想像，像她这样一个充满活力的年轻女子为什么会嫁给他这样一个胆怯害羞的人。

3 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

4 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。