UN Takes Action to Stop Ocean Plastic Pollution

UN Takes Action to Stop Ocean Plastic Pollution

Countries around the world have agreed to protect marine lives and stop plastic waste from entering the ocean.

byTheodore Pigott, special correspondent

According to the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP), at least 8 million tons of plastic trash isdumped into the oceans each year, and it has causedirreparable and fatal damage to many marine creatures. The United Nations (UN)has decided to address the issue, and a resolutionregarding ocean plastic waste was passed at a recent environmental summit. Although the resolution lacksaconcretetimetable and is not legally binding, many environmentalistshailed the resolution for taking the first step in the right direction.

However, some countries, including theUS, China and India, wereopposed to the resolution.An UNdelegate even revealed that journalists in some countries were paid by plastic companies to make up stories about job losses after the plastic ban.

Why is ocean plastic waste an urgent problem? It is because creatures such as turtles and seabirds often mistake plastics as food, and consuming it can be deadly for them. In addition, plastic is very slow to biodegrade, this means it may remain in the ocean and hurt the environment even after hundreds of years.

“This is a planetary crisis. In a few short decades since we discovered the convenience of plastics, we are ruining the ecosystem of the ocean,” said UN oceans chief Lisa Svensson. She has also urged governments, companies and individuals to take action to halt plastic pollution.Although the road to no plastic may seem formidable, many countries have already implemented this policy very well, such as Kenya and Bangladesh.Some organizations are attempting to reduce the use of plastic straws, and the new UN resolution will certainly raise the awareness of plastic waste in the oceans.

Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. What is the passage mainly about?

(A)The importance of UN and its resolutions to reduce air pollution.

(B) The UN’s resolution to solve the problem of ocean plastic waste.

(D) A short history of the development of plastic.

( ) 2. Which of the following is true about plastic waste in the ocean?

(A) It can be unhealthy and even deadly for the creatures that eat it.

(B)It biodegrades very quickly and is only in the oceans for a few years.

(D) It is in fact a small problem that affects very few people or animals.

( ) 3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

(A) Some companies pay journalist to write stories about job loss after the plastic ban.

(B) The resolution passed by the UN still lacks a detailed schedule.

(D) Business leaders around the world have decided to stop using plastic altogether.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1.marineadj. 海洋的
2.irreparableadj.無可挽救的
3.fataladj.致命的
4.resolution n.[C]決議
5.regardingprep.關於；至於
6.summitn.[C]高峰會
7.lack vt.缺少，缺乏
8.concreteadj.具體的 / 9.hailvt.讚揚，為……喝采
10.delegaten.[C](尤指會議的)代表
11.reveal vt.透露
12.biodegrade vi.生物分解
13.planetaryadj.行星的
14.ecosystemn.[C]生態系統
15.formidableadj.難以克服的

Words for Recognition

1.United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)n.聯合國環境署
2.timetablen.[C]時間表 / 3.Kenyan.肯亞
4.Bangladeshn.孟加拉

A Closer Look at Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the world's most popular virtual currency. But what exactly is Bitcoin? And how does it work?

byTheodore Pigott, special correspondent

If you have ever heard of Bitcoin, you probably wish you had bought some when it was first __1__ to the public. In fact, if you had bought just US$100 of Bitcoin in 2011, you would now be a millionaire.

What exactly is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a new type of __2__currency. Some have also called it a “cryptocurrency.” With Bitcoin, people can use the Internet to send or receive this type of money. In addition, this can all be done anonymously and without any transaction fees or service charges.

Bitcoin is backed by something called the blockchain. This is a globaldatabase that keeps a record of all transactions in a network in a type of online ledger. The blockchain also __3__ new Bitcoins when they are created or “mined” on computers that verify the transactions of others in the system.

Although Bitcoin is very well known today, its creator remains a mystery. All that is known is that a person—or a group of people—used the name Satoshi Nakamoto and created Bitcoin. A small group of people then began to use it, and it faced many ups and downs in the years that followed.

Then, in 2017, the value of Bitcoin began to skyrocket, with one Bitcoin now __4__ at least US$16,000. Critics have called Bitcoin a bubble, and they predict that it will crash soon. Supporters, however, have said the Bitcoin is the biggest change to hit the world since the Internet, and they believe that it will continue to rise in the years to come.

What will the future bring for Bitcoin? It’s impossible to predict. However, one thing is for certain: with advanced technology, the value of currency is no longer __5__ to physical money, and digital currency is on the rise.

Fill in the Blanks

(A)records / (B)limited / (C) digital / (D) introduced / (E) worth
(1)______/ (2)______/ (3)______/ (4)______/ (5)______

Vocabulary and Phrases

1.millionairen.[C]百萬富翁
2.currency n. [U]貨幣
3.anonymouslyadv.匿名地
4.transactionn.[U]交易
5.backvt.幫助，支持
6.globaladj.全球的，全世界的
7.database n.[C] 資料庫
8.ledgern.[C]分類帳簿
9.minevt.採礦 / 10.verify vt.證明，證實
11.creatorn.[C] 創造者
12.valuen.[U]價值，價格
13.criticn.[C]批評者
14.bubble n.[C] (持續不長的)好景
15.predictvt.預料，預計
16.crash vi.崩潰，崩盤
17.supportern.[C]支持者
18.physicaladj. 實物的

Words for Recognition

1.Bitcoinn.[U]比特幣
2.cryptocurrencyn.[C]加密貨幣
3.blockchainn.區塊鏈 / 4.Satoshi Nakamoto n.中本聰
5.skyrocketvi.暴漲，飛漲

Did You Know?

Have you ever wondered how deep the ocean is? On January23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh explored the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed—the Challenger Deep. It took the submarine almost five hours to descend, and they reached a depth of 10,916 meters. The two men spent only twenty minutes on the ocean floor and had to resurface due to a crack in the window. To know more about the depths of the mysterious ocean, scan the picture with COCOAR2 or visit

閱讀測驗解答：1.B 2. A 3.D

文意選填解答：1.D 2. C 3. A 4. E 5.B

Translation

聯合國採取行動阻止海洋被塑膠污染

世界各國已經同意保護海洋生物，不讓塑膠垃圾進入海洋。

根據聯合國環境規劃署，每年至少有800萬噸塑膠垃圾被傾倒進海洋，這已經對許多海洋生物造成無可挽回的致命損害。聯合國已經決定要處理這個問題，最近舉行的環境高峰會通過一項關於海洋塑膠垃圾的決議。雖然該決議缺乏明確的時程表，也沒有法律約束力，但是許多環保人士稱頌這項決議往正確方向跨出第一步。

然而，部分國家，包括美國、中國和印度，都反對這項決議。一位聯合國代表甚至透露，部分國家的記者收取塑膠業者的錢，杜撰塑膠禁令導致工作流失的報導。

為什麼海洋塑膠垃圾是急迫的問題呢？這是因為烏龜和海鳥等生物經常誤將垃圾當成食物，誤食對牠們來說可能致命。此外，塑膠的生物分解非常緩慢，這意味即使數百年之後，塑膠可能仍留在海洋裡，破壞環境。

聯合國海洋問題主管麗莎·斯文森說：「這是地球危機。自我們發現塑膠方便好用的短短幾十年間，我們都在摧毁海洋的生態系統。」她也已經敦促各國政府、公司行號以及個人，採取行動以中止塑膠污染。雖然邁向禁塑的道路似乎困難重重，許多國家已經切實落實這項政策，例如肯亞和孟加拉。部分國家嘗試減少塑膠吸管的使用，新的聯合國決議無疑地會提升對海洋塑膠垃圾的意識。

細看比特幣

比特幣是全球最受歡迎的虛擬貨幣。但比特幣到底是什麼？又如何運作？

如果你聽說過比特幣，你很可能希望在比特幣剛問世時就買進一些。事實上，如果你在2011年只買了＄100美元比特幣，現在你會是個百萬富翁。

比特幣到底是什麼？比特幣是一種新型數位貨幣。有些人稱為「加密電子貨幣」。有了比特幣，人們可用網路傳送或收受這種貨幣。此外，這些可以匿名進行，毋須任何交易費用或服務費。

比特幣靠區塊鏈技術提供支援。這是一個全球資料庫，在一種線上帳本網絡裡保存所有交易紀錄。在新的比特幣被創造或「挖礦」出來時，區塊鏈也會予以紀錄在能認證系統中其他交易的多台電腦上。

雖然比特幣今日已廣為人知，但它的創造者仍然是一個謎。外界唯一知道的是，一個人—或一群人—使用中本聰的名字，創造了比特幣。然後一小群人開始使用，其後數年，比特幣面臨多次起伏波折。

然後，在2017年，比特幣的價值開始一飛沖天，1塊比特幣現在價值至少1.6萬美元。批評者說比特幣是泡沫，他們預測比特幣很快會崩盤。然而，支持者說，比特幣是自網際網路以來，世界遭遇的最大變革，他們相信，比特幣在未來幾年會持續上漲。

比特幣將面臨什麼樣的未來會呢？這點無法預料。然而，有件事可以確定：有了先進技術，貨幣的價值不再受限於實體貨幣，數位貨幣正在崛起。