20100302 Garbage Patch Expedition Finds Plastic Everywhere (2)

"Garbage Patch" Expedition Finds Plastic Everywhere

"Every day, every night, we'd pull up samples and pour the water through a sieve. It would be completely clogged with tiny pieces of plastic," said Margy Gassel, a research scientist with the California Environmental Protection Agency. "It was so disturbing." The research was the most extensive look yet at the garbage patch, a coliection of mostly plastic debris located 1,000 miles north of Hawaii. The bobbing debris field, where currents swirl everything from discarded fishing line to plastic bottles into one souply mess, was discovered in the mid-1990s. The garbage patch is emerging as a major international environmental concern.

Not only do its plastics pose a potential chemical threat, but birds, sea turtles and other marine life die when they eat or become entangled in floating plastic. Invasive species such as crabs, barnacles and other marine life also can attach themselves to it and float across the globe. Mary Crowley, who co-founded Project Kaisei, said time is of the essence. "The floating pieces of plastic - large and small - are like a spreading cancer on the ocean," she said. "It's impossible for me to think of what the ocean might be like in another 30 years if we don't change."


clog v. 塞滿/阻塞
clog clogged clogged clogging
be clogged with something 塞滿...
eg: The pipes are clogged with fallen leaves.
=> 水管裡塞滿了落葉。
eg: Freeways in L.A. are always clogged with traffic during rush hour.

swirl v. 打轉/使捲曲
eg: The water rapids swirled violently and sent the raft downstream.
=> 急流猛烈地打旋，把木筏沖向下流。
eg: Snowflakes swirled in the brisk wind as we were driving through the wilderness.
=> 當我們開車經過荒野時，寒風中雪花從空中紛飛而下。

entangle v. 使捲入/使陷入/使糾纏
eg: The swordfish got entangled in the fishing net.
eg: The bear got entangled by the trap set by the hunters.
=> 這隻熊陷入了獵人所設的陷井中。
The governor was entangled in the political scandal.
=> 州長被捲入了這個政治醜聞中。

sieve n. 篩子/篩網

barnacle n. 黑雁

time is of the essence 時間是非常重要的
=> Time is the most important thing in order to gain success.

//== Chat room ==//

conjunction 連接詞

not only A, but also B
=>不僅A...,也是B

eg: Not only does the library have books, but it also has magazines.
=> not only放在句首時，需要採用倒裝句

both A and B
=> A和B兩者都是
eg: The library has both books and magazines.

either A or B
eg: Either go to another library or buy a magazine at the store.

neither A nor B
=> A和B兩者都不是
eg: You can neither smoke nor eat in this library.