首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1) Humans have made enough plastic since the Second World War to coat the Earth entirely in clingfilm, an international study h
(1) Humans have made enough plastic since the Second World War to coat the Earth entirely in clingfilm, an international study h
admin
2018-05-14
50
问题
(1) Humans have made enough plastic since the Second World War to coat the Earth entirely in clingfilm, an international study has revealed. This ability to plaster the planet in plastic is alarming, say scientists—for it confirms that human activities are now having a pernicious impact on our world.
(2) The research, published in the journal Anthropocene, shows that no part of the planet is free of the scourge of plastic waste. Everywhere is polluted with the remains of water containers, supermarket bags, polystyrene lumps, compact discs, cigarette filter tips, nylons and other plastics. Some are in the form of microscopic grains, others in lumps. The impact is often highly damaging.
(3) "The results came as a real surprise," said the study’s lead author, Professor Jan Zalasiewicz, of Leicester University. "We were aware mat humans have been making increasing amounts of different kinds of plastic—from Bakelite to polyethylene bags to PVC—over the last 70 years, but we had no idea how far it had travelled round the planet. It turns out not just to have floated across the oceans, but has sunk to the deepest parts of the sea floor. This is not a sign that our planet is in a healthy condition either. "
(4) The crucial point about the study’s findings is that the appearance of plastic should now be considered as a marker for a new epoch. Zalasiewicz is the chairman of a group of geologists assessing whether or not humanity’s activities have tipped the planet into a new geological epoch, called the Anthropocene, which ended the Holocene that began around 12,000 years ago.
(5) Most members of Zalasiewicz’s committee believe the Anthropocene has begun and this month published a paper in Science in which they argued that several postwar human activities show our species is altering geology. In particular, radioactive isotopes released by atom bombs left a powerful signal in the ground that will tell future civilizations that something strange was going on.
(6) In addition, increasing carbon dioxide in the oceans, the massive manufacture of concrete and the widespread use of aluminium were also highlighted as factors that indicate the birth of the Anthropocene. Lesser environmental impacts, including the rising use of plastics, were also mentioned in passing.
(7) But Zalasiewicz argues that the humble plastic bag and plastic drink container play a far greater role in changing the planet than has been realised. "Just consider the fish in the sea," he said. "A vast proportion of them now have plastic in them. They think it is food and eat it, just as seabirds feed plastic to their chicks. Then some of it is released as excrement and ends up sinking on to the seabed. The planet is slowly being covered in plastic. " In total, more than 300 million tonnes of plastic is manufactured every year, states the paper, The Geological Cycle of Plastics and Their Use as a Stratigraphic Indicator of the Anthropocene.
(8) "In 1950, we virtually made none at all. It is an incredible rise," added Zalasiewicz. "That annual total of 300 million tonnes is close to the weight of the entire human population of the planet. And the figure for plastic manufacture is only going to grow. The total amount of plastic produced since the Second World War is around 5 billion tonnes and is very likely to reach 30 billion by the end of the century. The impact will be colossal. "
(9) As the paper makes clear, plastic is already on the ocean floor, remote islands, buried underground in landfill sites and in the food chain. Even the Polar Regions, generally considered still to be pristine zones, are becoming affected. In 2014, researchers found "significant" amounts of plastic granules frozen in the Arctic Sea, having been swept there from the Pacific Ocean.
(10) In some cases, wildlife adapts to the spread of plastic. For example, on islands such as Diego Garcia, hermit crabs have taken to using plastic bottles as homes. However, most of the impact on wildlife is harmful. Creatures ranging from seabirds to turtles become entangled in plastic and drown or choke to death. " The trouble is that plastic is very slow to degrade, so we are going to be stuck with this problem for a long time," said Zalasiewicz.
The author uses figures in Para. 8 for the purpose of______.
选项
A、comparison
B、transition
C、explanation
D、introduction
答案
C
解析
推断题。在原文第八段中,作者用了一系列数字,指出20世纪50年代人类几乎还没有生产任何塑料,而此后生产不断激增,并用三亿吨、五十亿吨、三百亿吨说明塑料总数激增的具体情况,而回溯第七段最后一句,论文《塑料的地质循环及它们作为人类世地层指征的作用》中提到,人类每年生产超过三亿吨塑料,第八段引用的数字,是对这句话进行的更详细的说明,故答案为[C],同时可排除[A]、[B]、[D]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/OyxK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
UsingLyricstoDevelopStudents’CriticalLiteracySonglyricscanbeusedeffectivelyin【T1】toprovidethe【T1】______voice
CriticalThinking&InnovativeWritingI.Aheateddiscussionaboutthe【T1】ofEnglishteachingand【T1】______learning.1)Abottl
WhichaspectofMarkTwain’slifedoesthepassagefocuson?
YouhavebeenatFurnellUniversityfortwoweeksnow.Asusual,youneedenoughtimetosleepandeat.Youalsowanttospendt
ThedealsignedbythemajorityofAustraliastateandcentralgovernmentsisabout
ManyAmericansdon’tliveinlarge,twoandthreestoryhousesbecause
DiamondThediamondisconsideredthemostfamousandvaluablejewelintheworld./Diamondsweremadeasaresultofgreat
Utopiaisaperfectplace.Itisaplacewithoutwar,hunger,poverty,orcrime.Itisaplacewherethepeopleworktogetheran
(1)Theuseofnitrousoxide,orlaughinggasduringchildbirthfelloutoffavorintheUnitedStatesdecadesago,andjusttwo
Unlessallthemembersagreeto_______totheplan,theremaybefurtherdevelopmentinthecourseofaction.
随机试题
采用时态法折算外币会计报表时,按照历史汇率折算的会计报表项目有
病人在甲状腺大部分切除手术后一回到病房,护士就要求其回答问题,目的是为了评估病人有无
施工机械设备的选择,主要考虑施工机械的( )等方面对施工质量的影响与保证。
一家棉纺业企业为增值税一般纳税人,1月份发生下列业务:(1)购进纺织设备一台,不含税价格10万元,取得增值税专用发票,另支付运费500元,取得承运部门开具的运输发票。(2)从当地农民生产者购进免税棉花10吨,每吨1.4万元,收购凭证上注明价款14万元。
以4Ps为核心的营销策略不包括()。
下列关于双代号网络计划中关键工作和关键线路的说法,错误的是()。
住宅专项维修资金是指专项用于住宅()保修期满后的维修和更新、改造的资金。
认为遗传对心理发展作用的大小依赖于环境的变化;而环境作用的发挥,也受到遗传的制约。这种理论是()。
年满16周岁的公民小敏,以自己的劳动收入为主要生活来源。小敏可以视为:
Intoday’sworld,peace,developmentandcooperationisthetrendofthetimes,theinternationalenvironmentisconducivetope
最新回复
(
0
)