时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(八)月


英语课

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch may be disappearing, and not in a good way. New research presented at the biannual 1 meeting of the American Chemical Society reveals that polystyrene actually can break down in seawater.


Polystyrene is probably better known as Styrofoam, wads of which can be found on seashores and floating out to sea. Most scientists assumed it would linger forever but apparently 2, when exposed to sunlight and rain and seawater, Styrofoam breaks down into its constituents 3, most notably 4 three chemicals known to cause cancer.


 


Japanese chemists found traces of these chemicals in samples of seawater from across the Pacific.


They also found bisphenol A, or BPA, which is another chemical that leaches 5 from some plastics. BPA has been linked to human health impacts, such as heart disease, as well as developmental and reproductive disorders 6 in animals.


 


Of course, these chemicals are diluted 7 almost beyond detection by the vastness of the sea and not all plastics are exposed to strong sunlight or warm waters. But it’s clear that the millions of tons of plastic pollution building up in the world's oceans are up to no good.


 



1 biannual
adj.一年两次的
  • I have to make a biannual report next Monday.下周一我得作半年度报告。
  • Our school doctor recommends a biannual visit to the dentist.我们校医建议一年去看牙医两次。
2 apparently
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
3 constituents
n.选民( constituent的名词复数 );成分;构成部分;要素
  • She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
  • Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 notably
adv.值得注意地,显著地,尤其地,特别地
  • Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席,特别是连班长也没来。
  • A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小,一头银发,每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。
5 leaches
n.(将化学品、矿物质等)过滤( leach的名词复数 );(液体)过滤,滤去
  • People consume it when it leaches from plastic into baby formula, water or food in container. 当它被从塑料中经沥滤而入婴儿配方奶粉、水或罐装食品当中的时候,人们将其摄入。 来自互联网
  • After this article uses is also the microwave pretreatment, leaches the method with the solution. 本文采用的也是微波预处理后用溶液浸取的方法。 来自互联网
6 disorders
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 diluted
无力的,冲淡的
  • The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
  • This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。
标签: SSS notably
学英语单词
a crashing bore
alto basso
area data
arthritic insanity
average premium
beam reach
Benguel(l)a
Berliozian
big hand
bite out
breakfast in bed
BTPABA
cargo claim
casting form
civil partnership
clad sheet steel
coil exit
contact plate
cross rail elevating screw
Crux Australis
deformitas
depth digitizer
Dickenson County
disintegrating machine
drop ship
effervescible
entry loader
exchange procession
excind
floway
fruit shedding
gadofosveset
gender cross
glass fibre coating
gongoristic
graph partition
grid generation technique
Gyljen
high altitude satellite
hsikuanshan formation
in-fillings
interest in shares
inversely-proportional relationship
Janpan decimal classification
korti (kurti)
kuchuks
light-beer
living dead
loads of
M.Ap.L.
macadamizaton
mammered
mark match
mcandrews
memory cycle steal
metro car
monoetherates
multitap
necrobiosis lipoidica
new laddish
non-matchings
nontrivial manifold
obtruncating
omnipoint
one-quart
open a door for
Pantethien
piecewise differential
planetfeedback
programmable interrupt controller
rack type cutter for spur and helical gears
relationship to patient code
Republic of Angola
salinator
saw-cut gorge
scuppit
Sedum fedtschenkoi
self-propelled lighting equipment
self-resetting
simple multiples
Sinobaijiania
Skyriot
small castings
stamping copper washer
stooping to
supply roll
system perturbation
Tanypezidae
termination impedance
tied to
trade-wind zone
traffic flow confidentiality
trichromothrips xanthius
Tsibritsa
ulcerative stomatitis
Unconscionable Contracts Ordinance
unit type optical fiber cable
urge sb on
vaginoperineal
Vlasovo
wet machine
white limestone powder