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环球英语 — 192:Plastic in People

时间:2011-08-19 08:43来源:互联网 提供网友:fei   字体: [ ]
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  Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for Spotlight1. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby2 Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on plastic. This material is one of the most common in the world. People use it to hold things, to carry things, to make things, and much more. It seems like the perfect material. But could it be causing people harm? In today’s program we will look at the lasting3 effects of plastic waste.
Voice 2
Charles Moore lives in California, in the United States. He spends a lot of time near or on the ocean. He owns a boat. And he sails in it often. The ocean has always been a place of beauty to Charles. That is, until one day when he discovered something terribly ugly.
Voice 1
In the late 1990’s Charles found a large area of plastic waste in the northern Pacific Ocean. The waste was caught in the natural currents of the ocean. The currents there flow in a circle shape. So, the waste was trapped there. This area is part of the North Pacific gyre. There is a huge amount of waste in this slow moving area of water.
Voice 2
The first time Charles approached the area he was shocked. The first sign of the plastic waste was a long line of plastic bags. They floated like frightening spirits over the surface of the water. Next, he saw fishing nets, ropes and bottles, old oil containers, toys, and tires. The area of waste seemed to stretch forever. It was deeply saddening to Charles.
Voice 3
“There was nowhere I could go to avoid the plastic.”
Voice 1
That was about ten years ago. Since this time, Charles has visited the North Pacific gyre many times. And each time the area of waste grows. Today, the area of waste in the North Pacific gyre covers an area up to one point three million [1,300,000] square kilometers.
Voice 2
Finding4 waste is nothing new in the North Pacific gyre. For thousands of years the water currents have caught and carried many natural wastes like wood. In the past, natural wastes in the gyre have biodegraded. Waste is biodegraded when natural bacteria break the waste into smaller and smaller pieces. Plants and smaller animals use this broken down waste for food and energy.
Voice 1
But plastic waste is different. Plastic cannot biodegrade. Instead, it photodegrades. Sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces. But these pieces remain plastic. Even the smallest plastic molecule5 is not natural. Living organisms6 cannot digest plastic - or process it as food. And the plastic may have even more frightening effects.
Voice 2
Plastics are a mix of different chemicals. These chemicals make plastic very useful to us. They let plastic bend and move easily. They help plastic products resist heat or oil. Chemicals make plastic everything people want it to be.
Voice 1
But, could these chemicals can also be harmful to people? Some food containers are made of plastic. The plastic contains chemicals. Scientists have tested these chemicals. Some of the chemicals cause liver7 problems and memory loss in animals. They also cause reproductive problems - they make the animals unable to have babies. If these chemicals from plastic cause this much damage in animals, what about people? Could enough of a chemical escape from a plastic container into the food to harm a person?
Voice 2
Marc Goldstein, a doctor in the United States has bad news. He says fertility8 rates are getting lower and lower. He says plastic may be the reason. He says unborn babies can even suffer the effects. Mothers pass on the chemicals through the food they eat and liquid they drink. This is especially bad because unborn babies are still forming. Other doctors blame chemicals in plastic for increased prostate cancer and breast cancer.
Voice 1
Every year people produce sixty billion [60,000,000,000] tonnes of plastic products. People use many of these plastic products only once. How do people get rid of the plastic after they use it? Recycling is a way to re-use already made plastic. But only a few kinds of plastic can be recycled. Some people may try to burn plastic to get rid of it. But this releases9 harmful gases. This is not a good answer to the problem. Some of this plastic waste ends up in rivers and in the sea. After a time, much of it goes to areas like the North Pacific gyre. Because this plastic cannot biodegrade, it lasts for hundreds of years.
Voice 2
People invented plastic less than two hundred [200] years ago. But Charles Moore shares a sad fact:
Voice 3
“Except for the small amount that has been destroyed - and it is a very small amount - every bit of plastic ever made still exists.”
Voice 1
Plastic waste sits in places like the North Pacific gyre. This and other gyres cover about twenty-five [25] percent of the earth’s surface. Even the very small broken down plastic particles10 still produce harmful chemicals. Some also escape from the water into the air. So people eat the particles, drink them, and breathe them in. Researchers say that the effects of these chemicals are beginning to show in people.
Voice 2
Many groups are trying to fix these problems. There are now some plastics that will naturally biodegrade. But it will take time for these to be used widely. Unfortunately, people may not have much time left.
Voice 1
Curtis Ebbesmeyer is a retired11 oceanographer. But he continues to study the ocean. The amount of plastic he finds on the beaches makes him sad and angry. He believes that things must change. Or, he says, the future will be very depressing12. He says:
Voice 4
“If you could go ten thousand [10,000] years into the future and do an archaeological dig, you would find a little line of plastic... You might ask, ‘What happened to those people?’ Well, they ate their own plastic. They destroyed their genetic13 structure. And they were no longer able to have children. They did not last very long because they killed themselves with plastic.”
Voice 2
Curtis believes that the plastic waste he finds on the beach is a warning message. And he believes that people must start to listen, or there will be serious costs.
Voice 4
“Nature is writing to us, and she writes to us through the waste on the beach. The ocean is warning us. And if we do not listen, it is very easy for nature to get rid of us.”
Voice 1
What can we do - just normal people? Can we help to stop the dangers of plastic waste? If so, how? Write to us with your ideas. Our e-mail address is radio @ english . net.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spotlight 6hBzmk     
n.公众注意的中心,聚光灯,探照灯,视听,注意,醒目
参考例句:
  • This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
  • The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。
2 ruby iXixS     
n.红宝石,红宝石色
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
  • On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。
3 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
4 finding 5tAzVe     
n.发现,发现物;调查的结果
参考例句:
  • The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
  • That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
5 molecule Y6Tzn     
n.分子,克分子
参考例句:
  • A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
  • This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。
6 organisms dfef3badf2de1f4317a67a23dc17bbc8     
n.有机物( organism的名词复数 );有机体;生物;有机体系
参考例句:
  • The organisms can be divided into discrete categories. 有机体可分为许多互不相联的种类。
  • The cell is the unit of which all living organisms are composed. 细胞是构成一切生物的单位。
7 liver npWzWT     
n.肝;肝脏
参考例句:
  • He has a weak liver.他的肝脏不好。
  • The largest organ in the body is the liver.人体最大的器官是肝脏。
8 fertility Bg4zs     
n.肥沃;繁殖力
参考例句:
  • A green manure is a crop grown mainly to improve soil fertility.种植绿肥作物主要是为使土壤更加肥沃。
  • She is taking drugs to increase her fertility.她为了增强她的生殖能力而在服药。
9 releases 02b67c3eae678dc49209d6de4709a171     
v.释放( release的第三人称单数 );放开;发布;发行
参考例句:
  • Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy. 核裂变释放出巨大的能量。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Zemel says that when calcium levels are low, the body releases a hormone that helps squeeze the most out of every available milligram of the mineral. 泽莫尔博士说,当人体中的钙含量偏低时,身体里就会产生一种荷尔蒙,它能帮助肌体最大限度地吸收所摄入的钙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 particles 7e45214f92b501af4495b82455b39e7c     
微粒( particle的名词复数 ); 颗粒; 极少量; 小品词
参考例句:
  • These small particles agglomerate together to form larger clusters. 这些颗粒聚结形成较大的团。
  • The nucleus of an atom consists of neutrons, protons and other particles. 原子核由中子、质子和其他粒子构成。
11 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
12 depressing wuJzpo     
a.令人沮丧的;令人忧愁的
参考例句:
  • Laundromat is really depressing. 自助洗衣店真闷。
  • The retrospect was depressing. 回想起来令人沮丧。
13 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
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