1 . With the outbreak of the COVID-19, multiple kinds of protective medical equipment, such as disposable(一次性的)masks, have been consumed. Market research indicates a sharp increase rate of 53% in the mask market alone. People often use these types of protective equipment and then throw them without thinking of the consequences, both on the ecosystem and human beings.
Disposable surgical masks are severely affecting the ecosystem. When improperly-handled masks enter the water system, they break up into smaller pieces. Complete masks can trap marine animals, resulting in their impaired mobility and even death. Meanwhile, the poisonous plastic particles will cause marine animals to be poisoned to death or weakness when they consume plastic. Furthermore, these harmful pollutants can severely affect reproduction, growth, and the development of the young. Just like their effects on marine animals, these pollutants can also contribute to severe harm in human bodies, especially in the neuron system. Exposure to micro plastics may cause particle poisoning, cellular damage and neuro-degenerative (神经退化的) diseases like Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默症).
Despite the potential harm to the ocean system and human neuron system, improperly-handled disposable masks will likely become a dangerous public health threat under the environment of a global pandemic. Instead of helping us fight against the COVID-19, to some extent, micro plastic pollution also causes the potential risk of speeding up the spread of the virus. Micro plastic particles in the ocean can be mixed up with water vapour to form aerosols in the atmosphere because they are small enough to enter the water cycle, where they are transferred from the marine system to the atmosphere in vast amounts and become a source for the disease COVID-19. thus causing the virus to speed up the spread of the global pandemic.
Humans will eventually suffer from the wrongdoing in the ocean systems because humans are nothing but temporary residents of the planet. Just like what the famous English anthropologist, Jane Goodall, has said, “Every individual matters. Every individual makes a difference.”
1. The underlined word “impaired” in paragraph 2 probably means“_________”.| A．strengthened | B．damaged |
| C．completed | D．influenced |
| A．the impact on marine lives’ reproduction, growth and weakness |
| B．the destruction to human’s neuron system, cellular system |
| C．the huge economic loss for people living near the sea |
| D．the great burden of micro plastic particles on ecosystem |
| A．to describe the negative effects of disposed masks on nature and human beings. |
| B．to advise readers to deal with the improperly-handled masks. |
| C．how the improperly-handled masks help spread the virus. |
| D．how to deal with the virus. |
| A．To explain a serious phenomenon caused by the virus. |
| B．To advocate a proper solution to solving the disposable masks. |
| C．To compare the sufferings between marine animals and human beings. |
| D．To analyze the harmful results of the improperly-handled masks. |
