Task 1

本刊试题研究中心

The oceans have a plastic problem, and it's growing by 8 million tons a year. Three years ago, a Dutch teenager named Boyan Slat designed a solution: an ocean rubbish collection device (设备) that would collect ocean plastic without harming ocean life.

These days, Slat is anxious to put his ocean-cleaning idea to the test. A passing grade might lead to the removal of nearly half of the plastic rubbish floating (漂浮) in the Pacific Ocean. But the process needs to be tested in real-world conditions before it can be fully started—or beat the criticism(批评) of scientists who are doubtful that it can work.

Slat's idea is opposite to present oceanic cleanup methods: Instead of sending ships out to run after floating rubbish, place a fixed, floating, V-shaped buffer (缓冲器) in the ocean so that water moves through it, funneling (使流经漏斗状空间) plastic rubbish into a container while allowing animals to swim past the net-free device.

To test the idea, Slat and his company, Ocean Cleanup, plan to place a 6,561-foot-long float in the Korea Strait. If realized, it would be the largest floating structure ever used. If the technology works, Ocean Cleanup hopes to build a 62-mile-long system that would float somewhere between Hawaii and California. This one would be big enough to deal with an area containing millions of tons of plastic rubbish.

When it first appeared on the Internet in 2013, Slat's plan caught hearts around the world. But the scientific community doubts whether it would work, how effective it would be, and its possible environmental influence. Slat and the 100 workers of his company, Ocean Cleanup, answered last year with a 530-page report, expressing that a 62-mile-long model would remove 42 percent of the plastics in the Pacific Ocean in less than 10 years.

1. Boyan Slat invented the device to __________.

A. remove ocean plastic B. catch scientists' attention

C. gain fame D. beat the criticism of other teenagers

2. What do we know about Slat's invention?

A. Its position changes with the wind.

B. It collects rubbish with some nets.

C. It works mainly with the V-shaped buffer.

D. It uses funnels to control the floating plastic.

3. What is the scientific community's attitude towards Slat's invention?

A. Supportive. B. Doubtful. C. Negative. D. Objective.