Foreign Diplomats and U.S. Officials Clean a Florida Beach

AS IT IS 2016-09-17 Foreign Diplomats¹ and U.S. Officials Clean a Florida Beach

Last Friday was an unusual day for several diplomats in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Department of State gathered consular³ officers from Africa, Europe and Latin⁴ America to pick garbage off the beach in Key Biscayne.

Their efforts supported a program called the International Coastal⁵ Cleanup of Beaches. This program aims to clean garbage out of oceans and off beaches.

The International Coastal Cleanup also tries to bring attention to the issue of pollution in the world’s oceans.

U.S. Department of State official Clifton Seagroves said protecting the world’s oceans is very important.

"We want to bring attention to … pollution, microbeads, plastics … which causes problems for the whole world."

A 2015 Reuters news service report stated scientists believe more than nine million tons of garbage are in the world’s oceans.

Uruguay’s consul², Lourdes Bonet, said she felt it was her duty to help with the efforts.

“A person continues to live in the place where he or she lives,” she said. “And [they] must return all that hospitality⁶ that has been received.”

Ecuador’s consul, Eduardo Rivadeneira, praised the efforts to clean the beach.

“I had never come to this park and I think it’s spectacular⁷,” he said. “Everyone is from all over the world sharing this great moment.”

The group was able to remove almost 550 kilograms of garbage from the Key Biscayne beach by the end of the day. This same amount usually takes a week to remove.

Words in This Story

consular officer(s) – n. a government official whose job is to live in a foreign country and protect and help the citizens of his or her own country who are traveling, living, or doing business there

garbage – n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown out

hospitality – n. generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests

spectacular – adj. causing wonder and admiration

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

3 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

4 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 hospitality   

n.好客，殷勤；adj.（气候等）宜人，适宜

参考例句：

• He welcomed you to enjoy his hospitality.他欢迎你去做客。
• Thank you for your kind hospitality.谢谢你的盛情款待。

7 spectacular   

adj.引人注目的，出色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• This is a spectacular film.这是一部场面壮观的电影。
• This is the most spectacular financial crash of the decade.这是10年里最引人注目的金融破产事件。