时差N小时 我们生活中藏匿的毒品

Just as the police bang down the door, the bad guys flush theincriminating drugs down the toilet.Surely, a scenario¹ we've allseen on TV and in the movies.

我们在电视上或电影里总会看到这样的场景，警察破门而入时，坏人正将罪证毒品倒入厕所冲走。

But, you might be surprised tofind out how many drugs innocently wind up in our lakes and rivers every day.

但是，你可能会惊奇地发现每天将有多少药品流入我们的河流湖泊里。

Household drugs like painkillers², antibiotics⁴ and hormones⁵ enter the water system through manychannels.

像去疼片，抗生素，激素等家庭用药会以多种渠道进入水系统。

For example, some animal feeds contain antibiotics and flood into rivers with run-offwater.

比如，一些动物饲料中包含抗生素，会随水流一起流入河中。

Antibiotics are regularly flushed or dumped down sinks and toilets.

通常，抗生素会被冲进或倒入水池和厕纸中。

Since many sewagetreatment plants don't effectively remove drugs or hormones, these compounds enter ourwaterways and wind up in our tap water.

许多污水处理厂并不能有效的去除药品或激素，这些化合物就进入我们的水管中，最终成为我们的自来水。

Are flushed drugs a health concern?

该不该担心那些被冲走的药品会影响我们的健康?

Once in a river, antibiotics might affect wildlife by killing⁶ off thenormal microbes that are naturally found in the water and soil and that form the basis of the local ecosystem⁷.

药品一旦进入河流，抗生素会杀死水中，土壤中正常的微生物， 而它们是形成当地生态系统的基础，所以抗生素可能会影响野生动物。

Or, perhaps more dangerously, the microbes may learn to adapt and reproduce in thepresence of antibiotics, developing antibiotic³ resistance.

或者可能更具危险性，微生物也许会学着适应，并在有抗生素存在的情况下繁衍，衍生出抗药性。

At present, common household drugs are found in many lakes and rivers in relatively⁸ smallconcentrations, but we can do something to help.

目前，家庭常用药物在河流湖泊中的浓度还不高，但是我们可以改善这种情况。

We can avoid throwing drugs down the drainand, instead, take them to a hospital, pharmacy⁹ or hazardous¹⁰ waste center for safe disposal.

我们可以不往下水道里扔药品，将药品带去医院，药房或者危险废弃物中心进行安全处置。

1 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

2 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

3 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

4 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

5 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

10 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。