How long does it take you to drink a bottle of water？ Maybe just five minutes. But the plastic （塑料的） bottle will stay in nature for 500 years！ Plastic does not disappear （消失） easily. It is a big problem for Earth.

你喝一瓶水需要多長時間？也許只需要五分鐘。但塑料瓶將會在自然界中保存500年！塑料不會輕易消失，這對地球來說是一個大問題。

There are many plastic things in our lives. They are cheap， light and easy to make.

我們的生活中有很多塑料制成的東西。它們便宜、輕便、容易制造。

Every year， the world uses 500 billion （十億） plastic bags.The plastic we throw away in one year can circle （環(huán)繞） Earth four times！Every minute， we buy 1 million （百萬） plastic bottles.

每年，全世界使用5 000億個塑料袋。我們一年扔掉的塑料可以繞地球四圈！每分鐘，我們就會購買100萬個塑料瓶。

棉花糖：這個數(shù)字真的挺嚇人的！

For plastics， the trash can （垃圾桶） is not the last place they go in their lives. Every minute， a full truck of plastic goes into the sea. They make the seawater dirty. They are dangerous for sea animals， too.

對于塑料來說，垃圾桶并不是它們一生中最后的去處。每一分鐘，都會有滿滿一卡車量的塑料流入大海。它們把海水弄臟，也對海洋動物造成了威脅。

The plastic we throw away in one year can circle the world ____ times.

A. 2 B. 4 C. 8

We use plastic （塑料） bags and bottles almost every day. Plastics make our life easier， but they also cause problems.

我們幾乎每天都使用塑料袋和塑料瓶子。塑料使我們的生活更便捷，但也帶來很多問題。

According to a 2017 study by Science Advances， humans have made 8.3 billion （十億） tons of plastic since the 1950s. Seventy-nine percent of it ends up as waste （垃圾）. Plastic waste can take hundreds of years to break down. Much of it ends up in the sea， where it can hurt animals.

根據(jù)《科學進步》2017年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，自20世紀50年代以來，人類已經(jīng)生產(chǎn)了83億噸塑料，其中79%最終成為垃圾。塑料廢物需要幾百年才能完全分解。它們中的大部分最終會在海里，并給海里的動物帶來傷害。

棉花糖：今年6月，在泰國南部沿海，一只幼年領航鯨因吞下塑料袋而死亡。解剖報告顯示，這只領航鯨的胃部有80個塑料袋，重達8公斤！太可憐了！

Facing the problem， the Earth Day Organization set the theme （主題） for this years Earth Day （April 22） as“end plastic pollution （污染）”.

面對這個問題，地球日組織將今年地球日（4月22日）的主題定為“終結塑料污染”。

One of the causes of our plastic pollution problem is our“throwaway culture”， according to the Guardian. Too many people use plastic things only once before throwing them away. Plastic packaging（包裝） is a good example of this. In the UK， only one-third of all plastic packaging is recycled （回收）， the BBC reported.

據(jù)英國《衛(wèi)報》報道，造成塑料污染問題的原因之一是我們的“拋棄文化”，塑料的東西許多人只使用一次就扔掉了。塑料袋就是一個很好的例子。據(jù)英國廣播公司報道，在英國，只有三分之一的塑料袋被回收。

Online shopping is getting more popular these days. People are using more plastic packaging for express deliveries （快遞）. This is especially true in China.

如今，網(wǎng)上購物越來越受歡迎。人們使用更多的塑料袋來包裝快遞包裹。這種現(xiàn)象在中國尤其突出。

The Chinese government is trying to solve this problem. Last December， it adopted a new policy（政策） for plastic packaging. It is asking express delivery companies to use recycled packing things like paper and cloth.

中國政府正在努力解決這個問題。去年12月，中國政府通過了一項新的塑料袋政策，要求快遞公司使用回收包裝，如紙和布。

What can we do to help？為減少塑料污染我們該怎么做？

Use paper or cloth shopping bags.使用紙或布做的購物袋。

Bring our own cup when buying drinks at a coffee shop or elsewhere.在咖啡店或其他地方買飲料時自己帶杯子。

Keep leftovers （剩菜） in glass jars.把剩菜放進玻璃罐里。

Dont use plastic straws （吸管）.不要用塑料吸管。

Do not litter （丟垃圾）.不亂丟垃圾。

Collect plastic and other trash that we find outside.收集我們在外面發(fā)現(xiàn)的塑料和其他垃圾。

Oscar Mendez is an architect （建筑師） from Bogota， Colombia. He builds houses using plastic waste.He and his group collect plastic waste and shape it into blocks （磚塊）. They use the plastic blocks to build houses. This kind of house is much cheaper than a normal one. Mendez plans to build more in order to help poor people and protect the environment.

奧斯卡門德斯是一位來自哥倫比亞波哥大的建筑師，他利用廢棄的塑料來蓋房子。他和他的團隊收集廢棄塑料并將其塑造成塊。他們用這些塑料砌塊蓋房子。這種房子比普通房子便宜得多。門德斯計劃建造更多的建筑，以幫助窮人和保護環(huán)境。

An Indian company used vegetable oil， natural starch （自然淀粉） and several plants to make the bag. It looks and feels just like plastic. But its better for the environment. It biodegrades （生物分解） naturally in less than 180 days. And if you place it in water， it breaks down within just one day. You can even eat it， if you like！

一家印度公司使用植物油、天然淀粉和幾種植物來制作袋子。它看起來、感覺上就像是塑料，但對環(huán)境更好。它能在180天內(nèi)自然降解。如果你把它放在水里，它一天內(nèi)就會分解。如果你愿意的話，你甚至可以吃了它！