The white pollution war

浙江宁波市鄞州高级中学 张 延

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海词积累

1. vendor /΄vendə（r）/ n. 小摊贩

2. invariably /ɪn΄veəriəbli/ adv. 始终如一地

3. dominate /΄dɒmɪneɪt/ v. 占优势；处于支配地位

4. sufficiently /sə΄fɪ∫ntlɪ/ adv. 足够地

5. supervision /΄suːpə΄vɪʒn/ n. 监督;管理

Seven years ago the Chinese government banned shops from providing free plastic shopping bags in a bid to battle white （plastic）pollution. There was a call for a return to the cloth bags of old. However， a recent investigation by the Shanghai newspaper the Laodong Daily found Shanghai residents haven't yet got into the habit of taking recyclable bags when they go shopping and low-quality plastic bags are still widely used.

In daily life， reporters found customers were still much more willing to pay for a plastic bag—it has proved much more convenient to spend a dime than carry an old-fashioned material bag with them. As a result，supermarkets and department stores have been the biggest winners from the policy—before the ban was introduced， they spent large sums of money every year providing free bags but now they get paid for the service.

In wet markets few people bother to bring their own bags as free plastic bags are still available and it's common for vendors to hand out hundreds of bags a day. There is another problem here： These bags are thinner than 0.025 mm， too thin to be reused and invariably abandoned after being used once.

Every year 400 million tons of plastic items are used worldwide and China uses 15 percent of these. In 2015， 700，000 tons of plastic bags were used in China—300，000 tons of these came from the retail industry， from shops， super-markets and department stores.

One reason why plastic bags dominate is that customers have few alternatives available.“Although I know that plastic bags are a major source of pollution and should be reduced， I have no other choice. Often there are no recyclable bags on sale in supermarkets and if there are， they are expensive—a few jiao for a plastic bag is easier，” a woman told the Laodong Daily.

And some customers who don't want to pay for plastic bags use the free bags provided for fresh meat， fruit or vegetables for all their purchases. “It's more important to improve public awareness rather than just stop supplying plastic，” a supermarket worker commented.

Experts state the ban on free plastic bags would only be effective if people weresufficientlyconcerned and changed their habits completely， and the government introduced strictsupervision.

Reading Check

1. What's the purpose of listing the investigation in the beginning?

A. Introducing the topic.

B. Expressing the author's opinion.

C. Criticizing the behavior of Shanghai residents.

D. Explaining the ban of the Chinese government.

2. What's the suggestion of the experts on the ban?

A. Customers should pay for plastic bags.

B. Customers should have more alternatives available.

C. Public awareness should be improved immediately.

D. The government and the citizens should work together.

Language Study

Sentences for writing

1. 在日常生活中，记者发现消费者仍然非常乐意花钱去买塑料购物袋。

In daily life， reporters found customers _________still much more _________________pay for a plastic bag.

2. 塑料袋占主流的一个原因是消费者的选择很少。

One reason ________plastic bags dominate________ ________customers have few alternatives available.