2 . The Blue Planet Ⅱ's latest episode focuses on how the plastic is having a destructive effect on the ocean and slowly poisoning our sea creatures. Researchers recently also found that sea creatures living in the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench, have plastics in their stomachs. Indeed, oceans are drowned in plastics.
Though it seems that the world couldn't possibly function without plastics, plastics are a remarkably recent invention. The first plastic bags were introduced in the 1950s, the same decade when plastic packaging began gaining popularity in the United States. This growth has happened so fast that science is still catching up with the change. Plastics pollution research, for instance, is still a very early science.
We put all these plastics into the environment, but we still don't really know what the outcomes are going to be. What we do know, though, is disturbing. The ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, have been found with plastics in their bellies. Ninety percent of seabirds are now eating plastics on a regular basis. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 100 percent.
And it's not just wildlife that is threatened by the plastics in our seas. Humans are consuming plastics through the seafood we eat. I could understand why some people see the ocean plastic as a disaster, worth being mentioned in the same breath as climate change. But the ocean plastic is not as complicated as climate change. There are no ocean trash deniers(否认者), at least so far. To do something about it, we don't have to remake our planet energy system.
This is not a problem where we don't know what the solution is. We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to deal with it. We know how to recycle. We can all start by thinking twice before we use single-use plastic products. Things may seem ordinary, like using a reusable bottle or a reusable bag, but when taken collectively, these choices really do make a difference.
1. Why is plastic pollution research still a very early science?
| A．The plastics pollution research is too difficult. |
| B．Plastics have produced less pollution than coal. |
| C．The world couldn't possibly function without plastics. |
| D．Plastics have gained popularity too fast for science to catch up with. |
2. How did the author support his opinion in Paragraph 3?
| A．By citing quotes from leading experts. |
| B．By making a comparison and contrast. |
| C．By presenting solid statistics. |
| D．By listing examples from his own experience. |
3. What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．We reap（收获） what we sow. |
| B．The shortest answer is doing. |
| C．All things are difficult before they are easy. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The oceans become choked with plastics. |
| B．The ocean plastic is a global issue. |
| C．The Blue Planet Ⅱ Has left viewers heartbroken. |
| D．Plastics gain popularity all over the world. |
