小編寄語：熟悉四六級閱讀理解題型的同學(xué)應(yīng)該都了解，英語四六級考試閱讀理解材料大多選自《時代》《衛(wèi)報》《科學(xué)美國人》等外刊。要想閱讀理解這部分拿到高分，必須在平常多閱讀，掌握新詞匯，鍛煉閱讀速度。但對于很多同學(xué)來說，如何每日在浩瀚的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)世界尋找合適的閱讀材料進行分析解讀是一項很耗時間的事情。為此，滬江英語每日精選《衛(wèi)報》《時代》等外刊上的文章供大家進行閱讀練習(xí)。

【今日閱讀推薦】本篇閱讀材料“全球垃圾處理速度趕不上塑料包裝的制造速度”選自《衛(wèi)報》（原文標(biāo)題：Global hunger for plastic packaging leaves waste solution a long way off?2011.12.29）。如果大家覺得比較簡單，就當(dāng)作泛讀材料了解了解，認識幾個新單詞或新表達方式也不錯。如果大家覺得這些材料理解上有難度，不妨當(dāng)做挑戰(zhàn)自己的拔高訓(xùn)練，希望大家都有進步^^

Five hundred tonnes of Christmas tree lights and at least 25m bags of plastic sweet wrappers, turkey coverings, drinks bottles and broken toys will be thrown away by UK homes this Christmas and new year. But only a tiny proportion of this waste will be recycled.

Even at other times of year, only a little under a quarter of the UK's plastic waste is recycled, but over the festive period still less escapes the tip according to a survey by home drinks maker SodaStream. Globally, recycling of plastics is even smaller.

The outcome is a belief that the Earth is being slowly strangled by a gaudy coat of impermeable plastic waste that collects in great floating islands in the world's oceans; clogs up canals and rivers; and is swallowed by animals, birds and sea creatures.

clog up ?堵塞；阻塞

In many parts of the developing world it acts as a near ubiquitous outdoor decoration, along roads in India, around villages in Africa and fluttering off fences across Latin America. And when it is not piling up, it is often burned in the open, releasing noxious smoke.

pile up ?堆積；堆放起來

noxious ?有毒的；有害的

There are no global figures on the true scale of the problem but, according to PlasticsEurope, the European trade association for plastics manufacturers, 265m tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year. In the UK, about two thirds of this is for packaging; globally, this would translate to 170m tonnes of plastic largely created to be disposed of after one use.

dispose of ?處理；解決

Even at the almost unmatched EU recycling rate of 33%, two thirds of that – or more than 113m tonnes – would end up in landfill, being burned or cluttering up the environment. Such a figure, almost certainly a huge underestimate, would be enough to cover the 48 contiguous states of the US in plastic food wrapping. If the world recycled packaging at the rate the US does, 15%, it would generate more than enough plastic to cover China in plastic wrap. Every year.

clutter up ?使雜亂；堆滿；塞滿 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?contiguous ?adj. 相鄰的；鄰近的

generate ?產(chǎn)生；導(dǎo)致；引起

A few years ago the UK was seized with worry about plastic bags: communities went "plastic-bag free" and the then prime minister, Gordon Brown, announced he would talk to retailers about phasing them out. In the absence of much change, his successor, David Cameron, recently re-raised the idea of a national levy. In response, the plastics industry argues that the alternatives would be even more wasteful in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

be seized with ?被（強烈的情感、愿望等）影響 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

phase out ?使逐漸停止；逐步淘汰

in the absence of ?缺乏；無…時 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

alternative ?adj. 供選擇的；選擇性的；交替的 n. 替換物；供替代的選擇

in terms of ?依據(jù)；按照；在…方面 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

greenhouse gas emissions ?溫室氣體排放

What would a world without plastic look like? Earlier this year, Austria-based environmental consultancy Denkstatt imagined such a world, where farmers, retailers and consumers use wood, tins, glass bottles and jars, and cardboard to cover their goods. It found the mass of packaging would increase by 3.6 times, it would take more than double the energy to make and the greenhouse gases generated would be 2.7 times higher.

the mass of 大多數(shù)

To understand this, consider the properties of plastic that make it so attractive: it is durable, flexible, it does not shatter, it can breathe (or not) and it is extremely lightweight. As a result, food and drink are protected from damage and kept for lengths of time previously unimaginable.

The European Packaging and Films Association (Pafa) says average spoilage of food between harvest and table is 3% in the developed world, compared with 50% in developing countries, where plastic pallets, crates, trays, film and bags are not so widespread. Once the food reaches people's homes, its lifespan is also increased – for a shrinkwrapped cucumber, from two to 14 days.

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