VOA常速英语2019--收集曼利湾遍布的塑料垃圾

These volunteer divers¹ are snorkel² fishing in Manly³ Cove⁴ in Sydney, Australia. But they’re not looking for fish. They’re diving for plastic, all kinds of plastic, but mainly straws. It’s part of a volunteer effort to clean the cove, called Operation Straw. So when we started these projects, we actually just genuinely wanted to count how many straws and other plastic items we’re finding in the ocean. So I was really surprised at how many people wanted to join in, and I think it’s because it’s such a feel-good activity to be able to get in and do something about the problems facing the world. Harriet Spark founded Operation Straw when she came across this octopus⁵ in the Cove clutching plastic straws. We actually once found an octopus. So there’s lots of octopus in this Bay. It’s full of beautiful marine⁶ life.

这些志愿者潜水员正在澳大利亚悉尼的曼利湾潜泳。但他们并不是在寻找鱼雷，而是寻找塑料——各种塑料，主要是吸管。这是志愿者清理曼利湾的部分工作内容，这项工作也称“吸管行动”。我们开始这些项目的时候，我们只是单纯地想看看海洋里有多少吸管等塑料。我很吃惊，竟然有这么多人想加入这项工作。我觉得是因为这项活动体验良好，能够为全球面临的问题做一些事情。哈丽特·斯帕克发起了这项行动，起因是她在曼利湾看到章鱼身体里缠着塑料吸管。我们之前见过一只章鱼。曼利湾里有很多章鱼，有各种漂亮的海洋生物。

And we found an octopus holding plastic straws in its tentacles⁷, and we actually had to pull them out. So that was a bit of a depressing tug-of-war. The group volunteers their Saturdays to dive in the cove and pick up trash. I found 23 today, which is not my record. My record is up in the 60s. But it was a pretty good hit. The effort has inspired 40 local businesses to do their part by ending their use of plastic straws. Hugo’s situated⁸ down here on the water, and Operation Straw is in effect, and they’re collecting straws all the time down here. And we know that we’re one of the restaurants not supplying those straws. During Operation Straws initial summer of work in 2018, the team pulled over 2000 straws out of Manly Cove.

我们发现一只触须里缠着塑料吸管的章鱼，我们只能通过拉扯的方式拽出来。这场拉锯战令人感到有些沮丧。这群志愿者牺牲周六的时间在海湾里潜泳，收集塑料。我今天找到了20个塑料，但这并不是我的历史最高纪录，我的最高纪录是60多个。这项活动引起了轩然大波：激发了当地的40家企业尽自己所能不再使用塑料吸管。雨果餐厅就在水边上，“吸管行动”正在进行中，一直在这里收集吸管。我们餐厅和其他几家餐厅都不再供应这些吸管。在“吸管行动”2018年开启的第一个夏天里，志愿者团队在曼利湾收集了2000多只吸管。

To put that in perspective, Australians use 2.9 billion straws a year. Oh, you can see the change this far. Fewer plastic straws there, you know, bait bags, plastic food packaging, everything else, just as bad. But it shows that you can make a difference by implementing⁹ change. Every little bit helps.

认真审视这件事情会发现，澳大利亚人每年会使用29亿只吸管。所以现在就能看到目前为止的变化了。曼利湾的塑料吸管变少了，诱饵袋、塑料食品包装等所有塑料制品依然会产生危害。但我们可以看到通过发起改变，确实能让情况转变。每一份力量都很重要。

1 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

2 snorkel   

n.泳者所戴的通气管，潜水艇的吸、排气装置

参考例句：

• With a snorkel,however,a diver can stay under water for quite a long time.潜水员携带一根通气管就可以在水下呆很长时间。
• I did buy a mask and fins and a snorkel.我买了面镜、蛙鞋和一个呼吸管。

3 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

4 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

5 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

9 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句