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随身英语Plastic problem 塑料带来的问题 塑料是我们生活中不可缺少的一种原材料。我们用它制作像购物袋、瓶子或包装等等的日常用品。但那些被我们丢弃的塑料制品最后往往会被倒入海洋中，而事实证明此做法给野生动植物的生存带来极大的挑战。本集《随身英语》讨论塑料给环境带来的影响和问题。 课文内容 Vocabulary: the environment 词汇: 环境 How many plastic carrier bags have you got in your house? I seem to have cupboards full of them and it feels like they're taking over my home! The ubiquitous shopping bag is just one example of the million things we use made from this useful material, plastic. But unfortunately, it's not the easiest thing to recycle and this is causing an environmental problem. Most of our everyday plastic items end up in landfill, left to rot away for many years. But some of it blows away, blighting the countryside and causing damage to the natural environment and harming wildlife. The problem is most acute in our oceans. Research has found an uninhabited island in the South Pacific is littered with the highest density of plastic waste anywhere in the world. Henderson Island, part of the UK's Pitcairn Islands group, has an estimated 37.7 million pieces of debris on its beaches. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, described how remote islands act as a 'sink' for the world's rubbish. They become collecting points for fishing items and everyday things including toothbrushes, cigarette lighters and razors; things that we throw away. Dr Jennifer Lavers from the University of Tasmania says "Almost every island in the world and almost every species in the ocean is now being shown to be impacted one way or another by our waste." | 
