VOA慢速英语2015 粉虱可以食用废塑料

Mealworms Can Eat Plastic Waste 粉虱可以食用废塑料

Styrofoam is a plastic with a bad reputation.

It cannot be recycled without releasing dangerous pollution into the air. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is the fifth-largest creator of hazardous¹ waste.

Worms to the rescue. Specifically, mealworms.

Scientists from the U.S. and China have discovered that mealworms can digest plastic. One mealworm can digest a pill-sized amount of plastic a day.

Study co-author Wei-Min Wu says that in 24 hours, the plastic is turned into carbon dioxide.

Are the worms hurt by eating plastic? The study found that worms eating Styrofoam were as healthy as worms eating bran. 

The researchers will study the worm’s eating habits and look to duplicate the plastic breakdown² but on a larger scale.

Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is a light-weight material, about 95 percent air, with very good insulation³ properties, according to Earthsource.org. It is used in products from cups that keep your beverages⁴ hot or cold to packaging material that protects items during shipping⁵.

Solving the issue of plastic pollution is important says Wu, a Stanford University environmental engineering instructor⁶. Landfill space is becoming limited, he says.

About 33-million tons of plastic are thrown away in the United States every year. Plastic plates, cups and containers take up 25 percent to 30 percent of space in America’s landfills. One Styrofoam cup takes more than 1 million years to recycle in a landfill, according to Cleveland State University.

Words in This Story

recycle – v. to make something new from something that has been used before

Styrofoam – n. used for a type of plastic that is light and usually white

bran – n. the outer coat of the seed of a grain

carbon dioxide – n. a gas that is produced when people and animals breathe out or when some fuels are burned

pill – n. a small, rounded object that you swallow and that contains medicine

digest – v. to change food that you have eaten by a biological process into simpler forms that can be used by the body

1 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。

2 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

3 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

4 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。