一、听力练习
1.
A. 20 million metric tons.
B. 35 million metric tons.
C. 52 million metric tons.
D. 70 million metric tons.
2.
A. China.
B. India.
C. Nigeria.
D. Indonesia.
3.
A. Ban plastic production.
B. Create the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
C. Increase plastic recycling rate to 90%.
D. Impose a tax on plastic pollution.
二、听力文本
The world creates about 52 million metric tons of plastic pollution every year, a new study says. More than two-thirds of that plastic comes from the Global South – a term that loosely describes developing countries. The amount of pollution is enough to fill New York City's Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, researchers at the University of Leeds in Britain say. They examined waste produced on the local level at more than 50,000 cities and towns across the world for a study released recently in the publication Nature. The study examined plastic that goes into the open environment. It did not examine plastic that goes into landfills or is properly burned. For 15 percent of the world's population, government fails to collect and dispose of waste, the study said. This lack of collection and disposal is a big reason Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa produce the most plastic waste. Lagos, Nigeria, released the most plastic pollution of any city. The other biggest plastic-polluting cities are New Delhi in India, Luanda in Angola, Karachi in Pakistan, and Cairo, in Egypt. India leads the world in producing plastic pollution, with more than 9.3 million metric tons a year. That number is far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often criticized for pollution, is in fourth place but is making big improvements in reducing waste. Other top plastic polluters are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil. The top eight nations are responsible for more than half of the world's plastic pollution, the study's data suggests. The United States takes 90th place in plastic pollution with more than 47,600 metric tons. And Britain takes 135th place with nearly 4,600 metric tons, the study says. In 2022, most of the world's nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November.
Question 1: How much plastic pollution does the world create every year, according to the study?
Question 2: Which country produces the most plastic pollution annually?
Question 3: What significant action did most of the world's nations agree on in 2022 to address plastic pollution?
三、重点词汇
1. plastic: an artificial substance that can be shaped when soft into many different forms and has many different uses 塑料
四、背景知识
根据9月4日发表于《自然》的一项分析，这些人群中大多数会焚烧塑料废物或将其倾倒在环境中。该研究认为，全面的收集服务是减少全球塑料污染的唯一途径。 英国利兹大学的Costas Velis和同事利用地方政府的废物数据与人口普查数据，对世界各地城市地区的塑料废物流动进行了建模。然后，他们根据这些数据训练了一种人工智能算法，以预测全球5万多个城市地区的废物产生及处理方式。 Velis说，这种自下而上的方法提供了一个前所未有的视角，让人们了解塑料废物是如何处理的，以及为什么会在不同国家成为污染。“以前没有人这样做过。” Velis团队估计，每年有5210万吨塑料废物成为污染物，占全球总量的1/5，主要产生于垃圾收集不可靠或不存在的较贫穷国家。这些塑料废物大多没有得到妥善处理，而是在家里、街道上或小垃圾场焚烧，整个过程没有经受任何环境控制。（背景知识来自于https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/discovery/2024-09-05/doc-incnaxxi5266760.shtml）
五、参考答案
Question 1: C
Question 2: B
Question 3: B
六、网络翻译
世界每年产生约5200万吨塑料污染，根据一项新研究显示。其中超过三分之二的塑料来自全球南方——这个术语大致描述了发展中国家。英国利兹大学的研究人员表示，这些污染量足以将纽约市的中央公园填满，塑料废物的高度达到帝国大厦的高度。研究团队对全球超过50,000个城市和城镇的当地废物进行了调查，研究结果最近在《自然》期刊上发布。该研究考察了进入开放环境的塑料，而没有研究进入填埋场或被妥善焚烧的塑料。研究指出，全球15%的人口未能得到政府的废物收集和处理，这种缺乏收集和处理是东南亚和撒哈拉以南非洲产生最多塑料废物的一个重要原因。尼日利亚的拉各斯是产生塑料污染最多的城市。其他主要的塑料污染城市包括印度的新德里、安哥拉的罗安达、巴基斯坦的卡拉奇和埃及的开罗。印度是世界上产生塑料污染最多的国家，年产超过930万吨。这一数字是紧随其后的尼日利亚和印度尼西亚的两倍多。中国经常因污染而受到批评，排名第四，但在减少废物方面正在取得重大进展。其他主要的塑料污染国包括巴基斯坦、孟加拉国、俄罗斯和巴西。研究数据表明，前八个国家负责全球一半以上的塑料污染。美国在塑料污染排名中位列第90，年产超过47,600吨。而英国则位列第135，年产近4,600吨。2022年，世界大多数国家达成协议，制定首个具有法律约束力的塑料污染条约，包括海洋污染。最终的条约谈判将于11月在韩国进行。
七、版权说明
英文新闻来自于VOA；背景知识来自于国内等多个平台。本平台属于公益平台，未通过转载相关内容获得相关利益。文章不涉及打赏及相关产品推荐等。转载相关中文背景知识出于传递更多信息、方便学生理解相关新闻背景；英文文章及音频所传递的观点与本公众号无关。网络翻译来源于ChatGPT的在线翻译，翻译内容仅供参考。此外，内容删减仅是因为篇幅以及考虑学生接受等目的，不涉及歪曲事实观点及作者相关意见。若有来源标注错误或侵犯了您的合法权益，请与本公众号运营人员进行联系，我们将及时更正、删除，谢谢。 邮箱地址：yangyanchao@mmc.edu.mo
