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
above norm
acenaphthylenyl
active waste
Adoula, Cyrille
ancestorism
angiospasm
Armitage, Kenneth
BALPA,Balpa
balsaminaceaes
balsamroot
biochemigenic
Bredbo
British engineering system of units
broken-water
chanteurs
complex inversion integral
contracting enterprise
Damianopolis
democratic movement
displayscreen
document interchange architecture
Dole, Robert J(oseph)
dry sliding wear
euboias
evomit
ex-Jews
expected profit with perfect information
fiber reinforced concrete
field devices
fixed asset investment
framing method
geargraduation
getting on my nerves
grate-type wet scrubber
grooved insulator
group management
hand brailer
hemodynamometer
Hicriopteris
ideological state apparatus
influent water
isaaq
isoprebetanine
job order product
Kalanistra
Kasule
kinked face
kranjska
last in first out stack
learn a great deal
ligularia schmidtii makino
Llandoverian
M. B. A.
maintenance tolerance
maximum honing width
mechanism of dimple
medical appliances
Melanconiales
mitsuzukas
molding process
non-saturable
ocular with outside focus
one component system
ordering policy
oscine birds
PCM transmission tester
pecuniary benefit
pictorialist
poly-m-phenylene adipamide
programmable metallization cell
property companies
prospectiveness
pudginess
rabbious
reactor safety circuits
real-time technology
relative roughness
rigidist
roll booster
rosemond
rough filtration
saffyr
schizocoelous
second month of autumn
secondcontact
side cutters
single car test
sodium folate
sunlit aurora
Tondury
Toxodon
transesterify
transient signal
translational slide
turnable stator
urethral arthritis
V-type furnace bottom
van alien radiation zone
voluntary plan
warm tongue
web orientation
wire harness