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科学家找到了吃塑料的细菌(上)
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当细菌分解这些垃圾时，它们会吸收塑料中的碳作为能量，用于生长、移动和分裂出更多啃食塑料的细菌。
双语精读
In 2001, a group of Japanese scientists made a startling discovery at a rubbish dump.
2001年，日本的一群科学家在一个垃圾场有了惊人的发现。
In trenches packed with dirt and waste, they found a slimy film of bacteria that had been happily chewing through plastic bottles, toys and other bric-a-brac.
在满是泥土和垃圾的沟渠里，他们发现一层黏糊糊的细菌正在乐滋滋地啃食着塑料瓶、玩具和其他小东西。
As they broke down the trash, the bacteria harvested the carbon in the plastic for energy, which they used to grow, move and divide into even more plastic-hungry bacteria.
当细菌分解这些垃圾时，它们会吸收塑料中的碳作为能量，用于生长、移动和分裂出更多啃食塑料的细菌。
Even if not in quite the hand-to-mouth-to-stomach way we normally understand it, the bacteria were eating the plastic.
这虽然不是我们通常理解的从手到嘴到胃的进食方式，但细菌也是在吃塑料。
The scientists were led by Kohei Oda, a professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. His team was looking for substances that could soften synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, which is made from the same kind of plastic used in most beverage bottles.
这些科学家由京都工艺纤维大学的小田耕平教授带领，他的团队在寻找能够软化合成纤维的物质，比如用于制造大多数饮料瓶的塑料材料聚酯纤维。
Oda is a microbiologist, and he believes that whatever scientific problem one faces, microbes have probably already worked out a solution. "I say to people, watch this part of nature very carefully. It often has very good ideas," Oda told me recently.
小田教授是一位微生物学家，他认为无论人们面临什么科学问题，微生物可能都已经找到了解决办法。小田教授近期告诉我：“我对人们说，仔细观察大自然中的这个领域，这里通常会产生绝妙的灵感。”
What Oda and his colleagues found in that rubbish dump had never been seen before. They had hoped to discover some micro-organism that had evolved a simple way to attack the surface of plastic.
小田教授及其同事在垃圾场里发现的细菌是闻所未闻的。他们原本希望发现某种已经进化出破坏塑料表面的简单方式的微生物。
But these bacteria were doing much more than that -- they appeared to be breaking down plastic fully and processing it into basic nutrients. From our vantage point, hyper-aware of the scale of plastic pollution, the potential of this discovery seems obvious.
但这些细菌的作用远不止于此——它们似乎能完全分解塑料，并将其加工成基本的营养物质。从我们的视角，即对塑料污染规模的认识来看，这一发现的潜力似乎是显而易见的。
But back in 2001--still three years before the term "microplastic" even came into use--it was "not considered a topic of great interest", Oda said. The preliminary papers on the bacteria his team put together were never published.
但小田教授说，在2001年--当时距离“微塑料”一词开始使用还有三年--这个发现“并没有被人认为是一个非常有趣的话题”。他的团队整理的关于这种细菌的初步论文也从未发表过。
In the years since the group's discovery, plastic pollution has become impossible to ignore. Within that roughly 20-year span, we have generated 2.5bn tonnes of plastic waste and each year we produce about 380 million tonnes more, with that amount projected to triple again by 2060.
研究团队发现这种细菌之后的几年里，塑料污染已经变得无法忽视。在过去大约20年的时间里，我们已经产生了25亿吨塑料垃圾，每年还会新增3.8亿吨，预计到2060年，这一数字还将再增加两倍。
A patch of plastic rubbish seven times the size of Great Britain sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and plastic waste chokes beaches and overspills landfills across the world.
在太平洋中央有一个面积相当于七个英国的塑料垃圾堆，世界各地的海滩都塞满了塑料垃圾，垃圾填埋场也充斥着这些废塑料。
At the miniature scale, microplastic and nanoplastic particles have been found in fruits and vegetables, having passed into them through the plants' roots. And they have been found lodged in nearly every human organ – they can even pass from mother to child through breast milk.
从微观角度来看，微塑料和纳米塑料颗粒已被发现存在于水果和蔬菜中，它们通过根茎进入这些植物。而且它们还被发现几乎存在于人体的所有器官中，甚至可以通过母乳在母婴之间传递。
词汇预习
normally [高考]
美[ˈnɔːrməli] | 英[ˈnɔːməli]
adv. 通常；正常地
roughly [高考]
美[ˈrʌfli] | 英[ˈrʌfli]
adv. 粗略地；大约；粗暴地；粗糙地；粗鲁地
scale [高考]
美[skeɪl] | 英[skeɪl]
n. 等级，规模；刻度；音阶；量程；天枰 v. 攀登；到达…顶点；去鳞
organism [高考]
美[ˈɔːrɡənɪzəm] | 英[ˈɔːɡənɪzəm]
n. 有机体；生物体；有机组织
ignore [高考]
美[ɪɡˈnɔːr] | 英[ɪɡˈnɔː(r)]
vt. 忽视；不理；不顾
potential [高考]
美[pəˈtenʃl] | 英[pəˈtenʃl]
adj. 潜在的；可能的 n. 潜力；潜能 n. 电位；电势
aware [高考]
美[əˈwer] | 英[əˈweə(r)]
adj. 知道的；意识到的
obvious [高考]
美[ˈɑːbviəs] | 英[ˈɒbviəs]
adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的;自明
organ [高考]
美[ˈɔːrɡən] | 英[ˈɔːɡən]
n. 器官；风琴；机构；喉舌；报刊
breast [高考]
美[brest] | 英[brest]
n. 乳房；胸脯 vt. (以胸)对着
put together [高考]
美[pʊt tə'ɡeðər] | 英[pʊt tə'ɡeðə]
合在一起
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）
miniature [高考]
美[ˈmɪnətʃər , ˈmɪnətʃʊr] | 英[ˈmɪnətʃə(r)]
adj. 小型的；小规模的 n. 缩图；小画像；小模型
patch [高考]
美[pætʃ] | 英[pætʃ]
n.修补程序；补丁；小片；眼罩 v.修补；打补丁；缝补
preliminary [高考]
美[prɪˈlɪmɪneri] | 英[prɪˈlɪmɪnəri]
adj. 初步的；预备的；开始的 n. 初步行动；准备；初步措施
span [高考]
美[spæn] | 英[spæn]
n. 时期；跨度；间距 vt. 延续；横跨；贯穿；遍及；弥补
synthetic [四级]
美[sɪnˈθetɪk] | 英[sɪnˈθetɪk]
adj. 合成的；人造的；综合的；虚伪的 n. 合成物；人工制品
beverage [四级]
美[ˈbevərɪdʒ] | 英[ˈbevərɪdʒ]
n. 饮料
happily [四级]
美[ˈhæpɪli] | 英[ˈhæpɪli]
adv. 幸福地；快乐地；幸好；恰当地
micro [四级]
美[ˈmaɪkroʊ] | 英[ˈmaɪkrəʊ]
adj. 微小的 pref. 表示"微小；百万分之一"
in that [四级]
美[ɪn ðæt] | 英[in ðæt]
因为，由于，既然
aware of [四级]
美 | 英
知道的, 察觉到的, 意识到的
triple [四级]
美[ˈtrɪpl] | 英[ˈtrɪpl]
adj. 三部分的；三人的；三组的；三倍的 v. 成为三倍；使增至三倍 n. 三倍的数[量]；三个一组；【棒】三垒打
soften [四级]
美[ˈsɔfn] | 英[ˈsɒfn]
v. (使)变柔和；(使)软化
fully [六级]
美[ˈfʊli] | 英[ˈfʊli]
adv. 十分地；完全地；全部；足足
kind of [六级]
美[kaɪnd ʌv] | 英[kaind ɔv]
adv. 有点儿
broke [专八]
美[broʊk] | 英[brəʊk]
adj. 一文不名的；破产的 v. 打碎；折断；违背；解决；中断（动词break的过去式）
slimy [专八]
美[ˈslaɪmi] | 英[ˈslaɪmi]
adj. 黏滑的；卑劣的
microbiologist [考研]
美[ˌmaɪkroʊbaɪˈɑlədʒɪst] | 英[ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst]
n. 微生物学家
hyper [托福]
美['haɪpər] | 英[ˈhaɪpə(r)]
adj. 亢奋的；高度紧张的；精力过旺的
startling [托福]
美[ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ] | 英[ˈstɑːtlɪŋ]
adj. 惊人的
packed [托福]
美[pækt] | 英[pækt]
adj. 塞满的；收拾好行李的；紧压的
重点讲解
In 2001, a group of Japanese scientists made a startling discovery at a rubbish dump.
2001年，日本的一群科学家在一个垃圾场有了惊人的发现。
startling adj. 惊人的；让人震惊的
【例】a startling news 惊人的新闻
【近义词】surprising/shocking/astonishing adj. 惊人的
【拓展】startle v. 使吓一跳
【例】The explosion startled the horse.
爆炸声使马受了惊。
be packed with 充满；有大量……的
【例】The book is packed with information.
这本书资料丰富。
【近义词】be full of/be loaded with 充满
【拓展】packed adj. 充满的；拥挤的
【例】a packed room/a fun-packed journey
挤满了人的房间/妙趣横生的旅行
film n. 薄薄的一层；薄膜
【例】a film of oil on water/a film of dust/cling film
水面上薄薄的一层油/一层灰尘/保鲜膜
【拓展】coating/layer n. 涂层；表层
In trenches packed with dirt and waste, they found a slimy film of bacteria that had been happily chewing through plastic bottles, toys and other bric-a-brac.
在满是泥土和垃圾的沟渠里，他们发现一层黏糊糊的细菌正在乐滋滋地啃食着塑料瓶、玩具和其他小东西。
startling adj. 惊人的；让人震惊的
【例】a startling news 惊人的新闻
【近义词】surprising/shocking/astonishing adj. 惊人的
【拓展】startle v. 使吓一跳
【例】The explosion startled the horse.
爆炸声使马受了惊。
be packed with 充满；有大量……的
【例】The book is packed with information.
这本书资料丰富。
【近义词】be full of/be loaded with 充满
【拓展】packed adj. 充满的；拥挤的
【例】a packed room/a fun-packed journey
挤满了人的房间/妙趣横生的旅行
film n. 薄薄的一层；薄膜
【例】a film of oil on water/a film of dust/cling film
水面上薄薄的一层油/一层灰尘/保鲜膜
【拓展】coating/layer n. 涂层；表层
As they broke down the trash, the bacteria harvested the carbon in the plastic for energy, which they used to grow, move and divide into even more plastic-hungry bacteria.
当细菌分解这些垃圾时，它们会吸收塑料中的碳作为能量，用于生长、移动和分裂出更多啃食塑料的细菌。
harvest n. & v.
1. 作名词：收获；收成
【例】the autumn harvest/a good harvest 秋收/丰收
2. 作动词：
（1）收获；收割
【例】to harvest rice 收割稻谷
（2）收集；获得
【例】to harvest several prizes/to harvest rainwater 斩获数项大奖/收集雨水
You harvest/reap what you sow. 种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。
【近义词】reap v. 收获；获得
Even if not in quite the hand-to-mouth-to-stomach way we normally understand it, the bacteria were eating the plastic.
这虽然不是我们通常理解的从手到嘴到胃的进食方式，但细菌也是在吃塑料。
harvest n. & v.
1. 作名词：收获；收成
【例】the autumn harvest/a good harvest 秋收/丰收
2. 作动词：
（1）收获；收割
【例】to harvest rice 收割稻谷
（2）收集；获得
【例】to harvest several prizes/to harvest rainwater 斩获数项大奖/收集雨水
You harvest/reap what you sow. 种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。
【近义词】reap v. 收获；获得
The scientists were led by Kohei Oda, a professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. His team was looking for substances that could soften synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, which is made from the same kind of plastic used in most beverage bottles.
这些科学家由京都工艺纤维大学的小田耕平教授带领，他的团队在寻找能够软化合成纤维的物质，比如用于制造大多数饮料瓶的塑料材料聚酯纤维。
synthetic adj. 合成的；综合的
【例】natural and synthetic leather/a synthetic science
天然皮革和人造皮革/综合性的科学
【拓展】synthesis n. 合成；综合体
【例】the synthesis of vitamin D/the synthesis of art with everyday life
维生素D的合成/艺术与日常生活的结合
【拓展】synonym/synchronize/syndrome n./v./n. 同义词/使同步/综合征
microbe n. 微生物
【例】the viable microbes 能存活的微生物
【反义词】macro- prefix. 宏观的
【拓展】bacteria/virus/fungus n. 细菌/病毒/真菌
bug/germ n. （口语）病菌；小病/微生物；病菌
【例】I picked up a flu bug in the office. 我在办公室染上流感了。
The soap can kill germs. 这种香皂可以杀灭病菌。
Oda is a microbiologist, and he believes that whatever scientific problem one faces, microbes have probably already worked out a solution. “I say to people, watch this part of nature very carefully. It often has very good ideas,” Oda told me recently.
小田教授是一位微生物学家，他认为无论人们面临什么科学问题，微生物可能都已经找到了解决办法。小田教授近期告诉我：“我对人们说，仔细观察大自然中的这个领域，这里通常会产生绝妙的灵感。”
synthetic adj. 合成的；综合的
【例】natural and synthetic leather/a synthetic science
天然皮革和人造皮革/综合性的科学
【拓展】synthesis n. 合成；综合体
【例】the synthesis of vitamin D/the synthesis of art with everyday life
维生素D的合成/艺术与日常生活的结合
【拓展】synonym/synchronize/syndrome n./v./n. 同义词/使同步/综合征
microbe n. 微生物
【例】the viable microbes 能存活的微生物
【反义词】macro- prefix. 宏观的
【拓展】bacteria/virus/fungus n. 细菌/病毒/真菌
bug/germ n. （口语）病菌；小病/微生物；病菌
【例】I picked up a flu bug in the office. 我在办公室染上流感了。
The soap can kill germs. 这种香皂可以杀灭病菌。
What Oda and his colleagues found in that rubbish dump had never been seen before. They had hoped to discover some micro-organism that had evolved a simple way to attack the surface of plastic.
小田教授及其同事在垃圾场里发现的细菌是闻所未闻的。他们原本希望发现某种已经进化出破坏塑料表面的简单方式的微生物。
vantage point （观察事物的）有利地点；独特视角
【例】From our vantage point atop the mountain, we could see the whole city below.
从我们所处的山顶上，可以看到山下城市的全貌。
I asked him how, from his vantage point, the media have changed over the years.
我问他，从他的视角看，媒体在这些年来发生了什么变化。
【近义词】point of view 视角；观点
But these bacteria were doing much more than that -- they appeared to be breaking down plastic fully and processing it into basic nutrients. From our vantage point, hyper-aware of the scale of plastic pollution, the potential of this discovery seems obvious.
但这些细菌的作用远不止于此——它们似乎能完全分解塑料，并将其加工成基本的营养物质。从我们的视角，即对塑料污染规模的认识来看，这一发现的潜力似乎是显而易见的。
vantage point （观察事物的）有利地点；独特视角
【例】From our vantage point atop the mountain, we could see the whole city below.
从我们所处的山顶上，可以看到山下城市的全貌。
I asked him how, from his vantage point, the media have changed over the years.
我问他，从他的视角看，媒体在这些年来发生了什么变化。
【近义词】point of view 视角；观点
But back in 2001--still three years before the term “microplastic” even came into use--it was “not considered a topic of great interest”, Oda said. The preliminary papers on the bacteria his team put together were never published.
但小田教授说，在2001年--当时距离“微塑料”一词开始使用还有三年--这个发现“并没有被人认为是一个非常有趣的话题”。他的团队整理的关于这种细菌的初步论文也从未发表过。
preliminary adj. 初步的；预备性的
【例】a preliminary estimate 初步估计
【近义词】initial adj. 最初的；开始的
【例】the initial stage/my initial reaction 最初阶段/我的最初反应
project v.
1. 制定方案
【例】The next edition of the book is projected for publication in March.
本书的下一版计划于三月发行。
2. 预计；预测
【例】It is projected that the unemployment rate will fall.
预测失业率将会下降。
【近义词】predict/forecast v. 预计；预测
In the years since the group's discovery, plastic pollution has become impossible to ignore. Within that roughly 20-year span, we have generated 2.5bn tonnes of plastic waste and each year we produce about 380 million tonnes more, with that amount projected to triple again by 2060.
研究团队发现这种细菌之后的几年里，塑料污染已经变得无法忽视。在过去大约20年的时间里，我们已经产生了25亿吨塑料垃圾，每年还会新增3.8亿吨，预计到2060年，这一数字还将再增加两倍。
preliminary adj. 初步的；预备性的
【例】a preliminary estimate 初步估计
【近义词】initial adj. 最初的；开始的
【例】the initial stage/my initial reaction 最初阶段/我的最初反应
project v.
1. 制定方案
【例】The next edition of the book is projected for publication in March.
本书的下一版计划于三月发行。
2. 预计；预测
【例】It is projected that the unemployment rate will fall.
预测失业率将会下降。
【近义词】predict/forecast v. 预计；预测
A patch of plastic rubbish seven times the size of Great Britain sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and plastic waste chokes beaches and overspills landfills across the world.
在太平洋中央有一个面积相当于七个英国的塑料垃圾堆，世界各地的海滩都塞满了塑料垃圾，垃圾填埋场也充斥着这些废塑料。
choke v.
1. 哽噎；使窒息
【例】Very small toys can choke a baby.
很小的玩具也能使婴儿窒息。
2. 塞满，堵塞（通道、空间等）
【例】The roads are choked up with traffic.
几条马路都在塞车。
【拓展】choke point 咽喉要道
lodge v.
1. （出钱）借住；提供住宿
【例】He lodged with Mrs Brown when he arrived in the city.
他初到这座城市时租房住在布朗太太的家里。
2. 牢牢固定住；卡住
【例】A fish bone had lodged in her throat.
一根鱼刺卡在她的喉咙里。
【近义词】be stuck in 卡住
At the miniature scale, microplastic and nanoplastic particles have been found in fruits and vegetables, having passed into them through the plants’ roots. And they have been found lodged in nearly every human organ – they can even pass from mother to child through breast milk.
从微观角度来看，微塑料和纳米塑料颗粒已被发现存在于水果和蔬菜中，它们通过根茎进入这些植物。而且它们还被发现几乎存在于人体的所有器官中，甚至可以通过母乳在母婴之间传递。
choke v.
1. 哽噎；使窒息
【例】Very small toys can choke a baby.
很小的玩具也能使婴儿窒息。
2. 塞满，堵塞（通道、空间等）
【例】The roads are choked up with traffic.
几条马路都在塞车。
【拓展】choke point 咽喉要道
lodge v.
1. （出钱）借住；提供住宿
【例】He lodged with Mrs Brown when he arrived in the city.
他初到这座城市时租房住在布朗太太的家里。
2. 牢牢固定住；卡住
【例】A fish bone had lodged in her throat.
一根鱼刺卡在她的喉咙里。
【近义词】be stuck in 卡住
课后练习
What did the bacteria do in the rubbish dump?
A. They were multiplying rapidly in the trenches.
B. They were obtaining energy from plastics.
C. They were releasing carbon into the air.
D. They were evolving a digestive mechanism.
Professor Oda’s team was looking for ____.
A. a degradable material to replace plastics
B. a soft synthetic fabric to make bottles
C. a permanent solution to the plastic crisis
D. a type of microbe to destroy the surface of plastics
Professor Oda didn’t publish the papers on the bacteria because ____.
A. the preliminary results needed to be tested
B. there was a lack of solid evidence
C. the topic didn’t attract much attention
D. the findings were contradictory
What can be learned about the present plastic pollution?
A. The amount of newly added plastic waste is decreasing.
B. Britain suffers the worst plastic pollution in the world.
C. Plastic waste is hindering the growth of plants.
D. Plastic particles are entering the human body.