新奇事件簿 环保人士呼吁全球禁止闪光制品

Scientists arehighlighting the damage that glitter does to our seas, oceans and environment.The scientists are calling for a worldwide ban on the sparkly, shiny pieces ofplastic that decorate everything from eyelids¹ to greetings cards to furniture.Scientists from New Zealand's Massey University say glitter is a micro-plasticand should therefore be banned. They say a considerable amount of glitter endsup in the world's oceans. Fish cannot digest it and it does not break down, soit stays in the food chain. Professor Richard Thompson conducted research inthe seas around the United Kingdom. He found that plastic particles werediscovered in about one-third of the fish caught.

科学家强调闪光制品对我们的大海、海洋以及环境的破坏。科学家呼吁在全球范围内禁止使用这些用于装饰眼部、贺卡及家具的闪闪发光的塑料片。来自新西兰梅西大学的科学家们表示，闪光材料是一种塑料微粒且理应被禁止。他们表示多数闪光制品最终都会流入世界海洋之中。这种闪光制品无法被鱼类消化也无法分解，因此会一直留存于食物链中。理查德·汤普森教授在英国周围的海域进行研究。他发现在所捕获的鱼中，约有三分之一的鱼体内含有塑料微粒。

Micro-plastics are tinypieces of plastic that are less than five millimeters long. Most glitterproduced around the world falls into the category of micro-plastics. Dr TrisiaFarrelly told Britain's "Independent" newspaper: "I think allglitter should be banned because it's a micro-plastic." Professor Thompsonsaid: "I was quite concerned when somebody bought my daughters some showergel that had glitter particles in it. That stuff is going to escape down theplughole and potentially enter the environment." Some cosmetics² companiesare now discontinuing their use of plastic glitter. The company Lush stated:"We've avoided micro-plastics by switching to synthetic³ and mineralglitter."

塑料微粒是不及五毫米长的塑料小碎片。世界上所生产的大部分闪光制品都被归为塑料微粒。翠西亚法雷利博士告诉英国《独立报》：“我认为所有的闪光制品都应该被禁止，因为它们属于塑料微粒。”汤普森教授表示：“我真的很担心这个问题，因为曾有人给我的女儿买过一些含有闪光颗粒的沐浴露。这些物质会流入下水道且存在流入自然环境中的可能。”一些化妆品公司现在正中断塑料闪光材料的使用。Lush公司表示：“我们已经避免了塑料微粒的使用并利用合成矿物闪光材料进行替代。”

1 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

3 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。