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VOA慢速英语2018--巨大的设备旨在捕获太平洋的塑料垃圾

时间:2018-09-16 07:23:45

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Huge Device Aims to Capture Pacific Ocean’s Plastic Garbage

Engineers have launched a huge garbage collection device to gather plastic material floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.

The plastic makes up what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is the world’s largest spread of garbage, at two times the size of the state of Texas.

The organization Ocean Cleanup created the collection device. The group’s founder1 is Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old inventor from the Netherlands.

Slat was just 16 years old when he was moved to clean up the oceans. He had been on a scuba2 dive in the Mediterranean3 Sea and saw more plastic bags than fish. The problem has only grown since.

“The plastic is really persistent4 and it doesn’t go away by itself and the time to act is now,” Slat said.

He told the Associated Press that researchers with his organization have found plastic from the 1960s and 1970s among the material in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It contains an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in total. Most float on the surface of the water, or are within a few meters of the surface.

Last Saturday, a ship pulling the pipe-shaped floating barrier left San Francisco for the Garbage Patch. The barrier, called the floater, is 600 meters across. Attached to it is a screening skirt that hangs three meters down in the water.

The screen is designed to collect the plastic as it moves through the water. Sea animals can safely swim under the barrier.

The cleanup system also comes with lights powered by the sun, cameras, and other special devices. Slat said this will make it so the system can communicate its position at all times. That way a support ship can find it every few months to remove the plastic it has collected.

Shipping5 containers will hold all the plastic gathered, including bottles and fishing equipment. Slat said the containers are expected to be back on land within a year. Then the plastic will be recycled.

Slat said he and his team will closely examine the system’s use of time and energy. They will also study how it performs in severe ocean conditions, including huge waves.

“We still have to prove the technology,” he said.

The Ocean Cleanup has received $35 million in donations to pay for the project, including from the heads of companies likeSalesforce.com and PayPal. The organization hopes to launch 60 free-floating barriers in the Pacific Ocean by 2020.

“One of our goals is to remove 50 percent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years,” Slat said.

The free-floating barriers are made to survive extreme weather conditions and damage from continual use. They will stay in the water for twenty years and in that time collect 90 percent of the garbage in the patch, Slat added.

George Leonard is the chief scientist of the Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental activist6 group. He expressed concern about the cleaning project. He said even if plastic garbage can be taken out of the oceans, more continues to enter the water each year.

“We at the Ocean Conservancy are highly skeptical7 but we hope it works,” he said. “The ocean needs all the help it can get.”

Leonard said 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean yearly. He said a solution to the problem must include preventing plastic from reaching the ocean. He said more education is need so people reduce the use of single use plastic containers and bottles.

Leonard said his group will hold its yearly International Coastal8 Cleanup on September 15. About 1 million volunteers around the world will collect garbage from beaches and waterways. Last year, the Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected about 9,000 metric tons of plastic worldwide in about two hours, he said.

Leonard also raised concerns that animals might be captured by the net that will hang below the surface.

But, Boyan Slat said he does not think that will happen. The system will act as a “big boat that stands still in the water,” with nothing for sea creatures to get caught in, Slat said. But a boat carrying experienced marine9 biologists will also be launched to make sure the device is not harming wildlife.

“I’m the first to acknowledge this has never done before and that it is important to collect plastic on land and close the taps on plastic entering into the ocean, but I also think humanity can do more than one thing at a time to tackle this problem,” Slat said.

I’m Anna Matteo. And I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

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

founder – n. a person who creates or establishes something that is meant to last for a long time, such as a business or school

scuba dive – n. a sport or activity in which you swim underwater using an air tank and a special breathing machine that you strap10 on your body

persistent – adj. continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop

screen(ing) – v. to prevent something harmful from passing through

skirt – n. an outer covering that hangs down to protect something

recycle(d) – v. to send used materials to a place where they are made into something new

skeptical – adj. having or expressing doubt or uncertainty11 about something such as a claim or statement

acknowledge – v. to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of

close the tap(s) – idm. to stop something from happening

tackle – v. to deal with something difficult


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1 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
2 scuba YjDzRf     
n.水中呼吸器
参考例句:
  • I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
  • While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
3 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
4 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
5 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
6 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
7 skeptical MxHwn     
adj.怀疑的,多疑的
参考例句:
  • Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
  • Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。
8 coastal WWiyh     
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。
9 marine 77Izo     
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。
10 strap 5GhzK     
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎
参考例句:
  • She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
  • The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。
11 uncertainty NlFwK     
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
参考例句:
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。

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