科学家找到了吃塑料的细菌(中)

绝大多数的塑料回收都有粉碎和碾磨阶段，这一阶段会使构成塑料的纤维磨损、断裂，导致其质量降低。

双语精读

Current methods of breaking down or recycling plastics are woefully inadequate.

目前分解或回收塑料的方法仍然存在严重不足。

The vast majority of plastic recycling involves a crushing and grinding stage, which frays and snaps the fibres that make up plastic, leaving them in a lower-quality state.

绝大多数的塑料回收都有粉碎和碾磨阶段，这一阶段会使构成塑料的纤维磨损、断裂，导致其质量降低。

While a glass or aluminium container can be melted down and reformed an unlimited number of times, the smooth plastic of a water bottle, say, degrades every time it is recycled.

玻璃或铝制容器可以无数次熔化和重塑，而光滑的塑料水瓶每次回收都会发生降解。

A recycled plastic bottle becomes a mottled bag, which becomes fibrous jacket insulation, which then becomes road filler, never to be recycled again.

回收后的塑料瓶会变成色彩斑驳的塑料袋，再变成纤维绝缘层，最后成为路面填料，再也无法被回收利用。

And that is the best case scenario. In reality, hardly any plastic – just 9% – ever enters a recycling plant.

这还是最好的情况。实际上，只有极少数（9%）的塑料会进入回收厂。

The sole permanent way we've found to dispose of plastic is incineration, which is the fate of nearly 70 million tonnes of plastic every year – but incineration drives the climate crisis by releasing the carbon in the plastic into the air, as well as any noxious chemicals it might be mixed with.

我们目前永久处理塑料的唯一方式是焚烧，每年近7000万吨塑料都逃不过焚烧的宿命。但是，焚烧会将塑料中的碳，以及其中混有的任何有毒化学物质释放后排入空气，从而加剧气候危机。

In the years after their discovery, Oda and his student Kazumi Hiraga, now a professor, continued corresponding and conducting experiments.

在发现这种细菌后的几年里，小田教授和他的学生平贺和三（如今已成为教授）一直保持着联系并进行着实验。

When they finally published their work in the prestigious journal Science in 2016, it emerged into a world desperate for solutions to the plastic crisis, and it was a blockbuster hit.

2016 年，他们终于在著名的《科学》杂志上发表了研究成果，当时全球都在迫切寻找应对塑料危机的解决方案，他们的论文引起了巨大的轰动。

Oda and his colleagues named the bacterium that they had discovered in the rubbish dump Ideonella sakaiensis -- after the city of Sakai, where it was found -- and in the paper, they described a specific enzyme that the bacterium was producing, which allowed it to break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic found in clothing and packaging.

小田教授及其同事将他们在垃圾场中发现的这种细菌命名为大阪堺菌--以细菌发现地日本大阪府辖下的堺市(Sakai)命名--他们在论文中指出，这种细菌会产生一种特定的酶，这种酶可以分解聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯(PET)，PET是服装和包装中最常见的塑料。

The paper was reported widely in the press, and it currently has more than 1,000 scientific citations, placing it in the top 0.1% of all papers.

这篇论文被新闻媒体广泛报道，目前已有超过1000次的科学引用，引用率名列所有论文的前 0.1%。

词汇预习

• journal [高考]

  美[ˈdʒɜːrnl] | 英[ˈdʒɜːnl]

  n. 日志；日记；期刊

• currently [高考]

  美[ˈkɜːrəntli] | 英[ˈkʌrəntli]

  adv. 现在；通常；当前

• unlimited [高考]

  美[ʌnˈlɪmɪtɪd] | 英[ʌnˈlɪmɪtɪd]

  adj. (数或量)极大的；无限的；不受限制的

• fate [高考]

  美[feɪt] | 英[feɪt]

  n. 命运，宿命 vt. 注定

• dispose [高考]

  美[dɪˈspoʊz] | 英[dɪˈspəʊz]

  v. 清除；处理掉；解决；杀死；打败

• inadequate [高考]

  美[ɪnˈædɪkwət] | 英[ɪnˈædɪkwət]

  adj. 不适当的；不充分的

• majority [高考]

  美[məˈdʒɔːrəti] | 英[məˈdʒɒrəti]

  n. 大多数；大部分；多数票；（获胜的）票数

• vast [高考]

  美[væst] | 英[vɑːst]

  adj. 广阔的；巨大的；大量的；巨额的 n. 浩瀚；广阔无垠的空间 n. (Vast)人名；(法)瓦斯特

• container [高考]

  美[kənˈteɪnər] | 英[kənˈteɪnə(r)]

  n. 容器；集装箱

• permanent [高考]

  美[ˈpɜːrmənənt] | 英[ˈpɜːmənənt]

  adj. 永久的；持久的 n. [口] 烫发

• desperate [高考]

  美[ˈdespərət] | 英[ˈdespərət]

  adj. 绝望的；不顾一切的；极其想要的

• bacterium [高考]

  美[bækˈtɪriəm] | 英[bækˈtɪərɪəm]

  n. 细菌

• aluminium [高考]

  美[ˌæljəˈmɪniəm] | 英[ˌæljəˈmɪniəm]

  n. 铝

• dispose of [高考]

  美[dɪˈspoz ʌv] | 英[disˈpəuz ɔv]

  处理； 安排； 解决

• lower [高考]

  美[ˈloʊər] | 英[ˈləʊə(r)]

  adj. 低的；下级的；下层的 v. 降低；减弱；跌落

• dump [高考]

  美[dʌmp] | 英[dʌmp]

  v. 丢弃，扔掉；乱堆，乱放；（在不合适的地方）丢下，抛弃；分手，甩掉；（向国外）倾销，抛售；（内存信息）转储，转存；（尤指系统发生故障后内存的）打印输出，卸出 n. 垃圾场；废料堆场；矿山废石堆；[非正式]脏地方；军需品临时存放处；转储，转存 【名】（Dump）（美）邓普（人名）

• where [高考]

  美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]

  adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方

• corresponding [四级]

  美[ˌkɔːrəˈspɑːndɪŋ] | 英[ˌkɒrəˈspɒndɪŋ]

  adj. 相当的；相应的；一致的

• prestigious [六级]

  美[preˈstɪdʒəs] | 英[preˈstɪdʒəs]

  adj. 享有声望的；声望很高的；[古]魔术的

• insulation [六级]

  美[ˌɪnsəˈleɪʃn] | 英[ˌɪnsjuˈleɪʃn]

  n. 隔热，绝缘，隔音；隔热（或绝缘、隔音）材料

• scenario [六级]

  美[səˈnærioʊ] | 英[səˈnɑːriəʊ]

  n. 剧本；情节梗概

• sole [六级]

  美[soʊl] | 英[səʊl]

  adj. 独占的；唯一的 n. 脚底；鞋底 n. 鳎鱼 vt. 给(鞋)换底

• noxious [托福]

  美[ˈnɑːkʃəs] | 英[ˈnɒkʃəs]

  adj. [正式]有害的；有毒的

• fibrous [托福]

  美[ˈfaɪbrəs] | 英[ˈfaɪbrəs]

  adj. 纤维的；纤维性的

• mottled [托福]

  美[ˈmɑtld] | 英[ˈmɒtld]

  adj. 有杂色的；斑驳的

• crushing [雅思]

  美[ ˈkrʌʃɪŋ] | 英[ˈkrʌʃɪŋ]

  adj. 压倒的；决定性的；支离破碎的；毁灭性的

重点讲解

Current methods of breaking down or recycling plastics are woefully inadequate.

目前分解或回收塑料的方法仍然存在严重不足。

break down  

1. 砸破；破坏

【例】break the door down/break down resistance

破门而入/瓦解抵抗情绪

2. 分解（物质）

【例】Sugar and starch are broken down in the stomach. 

糖和淀粉在胃里被分解。

【近义词】decompose  v. 腐烂；分解

3. 失败；出故障

【例】The car/Her marriage/Her health broke down.

车抛锚了/她的婚姻破裂了/她的身体垮了。

inadequate  adj.

1. 不足的；不够好的

【例】inadequate supplies/an inadequate answer

供应不足/不够让人满意的回答

2. （人）不胜任的；缺乏信心的

【例】He makes me feel totally inadequate at work.

他使我感到自己完全不够胜任自己的工作。

【反义词】adequate  adj. （数量或质量）足够的

The vast majority of plastic recycling involves a crushing and grinding stage, which frays and snaps the fibres that make up plastic, leaving them in a lower-quality state.

绝大多数的塑料回收都有粉碎和碾磨阶段，这一阶段会使构成塑料的纤维磨损、断裂，导致其质量降低。

snap  v. 

1. 断裂；崩断

【例】The rope snapped. 绳子崩断了。

He snapped a twig off a bush. 

他从灌木上折断了一节树枝。

2. （情绪）失去控制

【例】My patience finally snapped. 

我终于失去耐心了。

degrade  v.

1. 降低身份；侮辱人格

【例】This poster is offensive and degrades women. 

这张海报冒失无礼，有辱女性尊严。

【拓展】upgrade/downgrade  v. 升级/降级

2. 降解

【例】These chemicals quickly degrade into harmless compounds.

这些化学品很快地降解成无害的化合物。

While a glass or aluminium container can be melted down and reformed an unlimited number of times, the smooth plastic of a water bottle, say, degrades every time it is recycled.

玻璃或铝制容器可以无数次熔化和重塑，而光滑的塑料水瓶每次回收都会发生降解。

snap  v. 

1. 断裂；崩断

【例】The rope snapped. 绳子崩断了。

He snapped a twig off a bush. 

他从灌木上折断了一节树枝。

2. （情绪）失去控制

【例】My patience finally snapped. 

我终于失去耐心了。

degrade  v.

1. 降低身份；侮辱人格

【例】This poster is offensive and degrades women. 

这张海报冒失无礼，有辱女性尊严。

【拓展】upgrade/downgrade  v. 升级/降级

2. 降解

【例】These chemicals quickly degrade into harmless compounds.

这些化学品很快地降解成无害的化合物。

A recycled plastic bottle becomes a mottled bag, which becomes fibrous jacket insulation, which then becomes road filler, never to be recycled again.

回收后的塑料瓶会变成色彩斑驳的塑料袋，再变成纤维绝缘层，最后成为路面填料，再也无法被回收利用。

insulation  n. 隔热、隔音、绝缘材料

【例】foam insulation from sound  隔音的泡沫

【拓展】non-conducting  adj. 不导电的；绝缘的

【拓展】insulate  v. 使隔离；使免受不良影响

【例】to insulate the house from the cold weather 让房子与冷空气隔离

to insulate oneself against the cost of inflation 使自己免受通胀带来的损失

【反义词】conduct  v. 传导（热或电）

And that is the best case scenario. In reality, hardly any plastic – just 9% – ever enters a recycling plant.

这还是最好的情况。实际上，只有极少数（9%）的塑料会进入回收厂。

insulation  n. 隔热、隔音、绝缘材料

【例】foam insulation from sound  隔音的泡沫

【拓展】non-conducting  adj. 不导电的；绝缘的

【拓展】insulate  v. 使隔离；使免受不良影响

【例】to insulate the house from the cold weather 让房子与冷空气隔离

to insulate oneself against the cost of inflation 使自己免受通胀带来的损失

【反义词】conduct  v. 传导（热或电）

The sole permanent way we’ve found to dispose of plastic is incineration, which is the fate of nearly 70 million tonnes of plastic every year – but incineration drives the climate crisis by releasing the carbon in the plastic into the air, as well as any noxious chemicals it might be mixed with.

我们目前永久处理塑料的唯一方式是焚烧，每年近7000万吨塑料都逃不过焚烧的宿命。但是，焚烧会将塑料中的碳，以及其中混有的任何有毒化学物质释放后排入空气，从而加剧气候危机。

dispose of

1. 清除；销毁；处理掉

【例】They dispose of the city's waste in the sea. 

他们把城市垃圾倒在海里处理掉。

【近义词】get rid of  摆脱；丢弃

2. 解决；处理

【例】A few years of effort could dispose of the housing shortage. 

几年的努力当可解决住房短缺问题。

In the years after their discovery, Oda and his student Kazumi Hiraga, now a professor, continued corresponding and conducting experiments.

在发现这种细菌后的几年里，小田教授和他的学生平贺和三（如今已成为教授）一直保持着联系并进行着实验。

correspond  v. 通信；保持联系

【例】He frequently corresponds with his brother. 

他和他的兄弟经常通信。

【拓展】correspondence  n. 往来信件；通信联系

【例】private correspondence 私人往来信件

keep up a correspondence with sb 与某人保持联系

be desperate for sth  非常渴望某物

【例】He was so desperate for a job he would have done anything. 

他当时太想找份工作了，什么事都愿意干。

【近义词】be eager for/long for sth 渴望某物

【辨析】despairing  adj. 绝望的

When they finally published their work in the prestigious journal Science in 2016, it emerged into a world desperate for solutions to the plastic crisis, and it was a blockbuster hit.

2016 年，他们终于在著名的《科学》杂志上发表了研究成果，当时全球都在迫切寻找应对塑料危机的解决方案，他们的论文引起了巨大的轰动。

correspond  v. 通信；保持联系

【例】He frequently corresponds with his brother. 

他和他的兄弟经常通信。

【拓展】correspondence  n. 往来信件；通信联系

【例】private correspondence 私人往来信件

keep up a correspondence with sb 与某人保持联系

be desperate for sth  非常渴望某物

【例】He was so desperate for a job he would have done anything. 

他当时太想找份工作了，什么事都愿意干。

【近义词】be eager for/long for sth 渴望某物

【辨析】despairing  adj. 绝望的

Oda and his colleagues**** named the bacterium that**** they**** had discovered**** in**** the rubbish dump**** Ideonella sakaiensis**** --**** after the city**** of**** Sakai,**** where it**** was found --**** and in**** the paper,**** they**** described a specific**** enzyme**** that**** the bacterium was producing,**** which allowed it**** to**** break down**** polyethylene**** terephthalate (PET****), the most**** common**** plastic found in**** clothing**** and packaging.****

小田教授及其同事将他们在垃圾场中发现的这种细菌命名为大阪堺菌--以细菌发现地日本大阪府辖下的堺市(Sakai)命名--他们在论文中指出，这种细菌会产生一种特定的酶，这种酶可以分解聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯(PET)，PET是服装和包装中最常见的塑料。

The paper was reported**** widely**** in**** the press,**** and it**** currently has more**** than**** 1,000 scientific**** citations,**** placing it**** in**** the top 0.1%**** of**** all papers****.****

这篇论文被新闻媒体广泛报道，目前已有超过1000次的科学引用，引用率名列所有论文的前 0.1%。

课后练习

• The problem of the current methods of recycling plastics is ____.

  A. the complexity of the processes

  B. the financial cost

  C. the toxic waste

  D. the decline in quality

• According to the text, most of the plastics are ____.

  A. buried in landfills

  B. made into insulation materials

  C. processed in a recycling plant

  D. burnt in the fire

• Professor Oda’s work was a hit because ____.

  A. plastics were boycotted around the world

  B. burning plastics caused heavy casualties

  C. the world was eager for a better way to dispose of plastics

  D. microbiological research attracted scientists’ attention

• What can be learned about Ideonella sakaiensis?

  A. It is already put into use in the city of Sakai.

  B. It produces an enzyme to break down plastics.

  C. It creates a special substance called PET.

  D. It is found in clothing and packaging.