Question

Flying insects are polluting new environments by eating microplastics in polluted waters and carrying them through the air, a new study has found.

UK researchers found that microplastics -- pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in size -- remain in the bodies of mosquitoes and other waterborne insects even after they become flying adults.

The findings mean that pollution from plastics being dumped into our oceans is being carried into the air, and raises concerns that birds and other creatures that eat the insects are also being polluted.

The team from the University of Reading in England and Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, inserted two minuscule pieces of polystyrene, each weighing just over one gram per cubic centimeter, into young mosquitoes and observed the insects throughout their life cycles. They found that the particles did not disappear from the mosquitoes’ systems after the insects moved between life stages and started to fly, and were present inside the fully formed insects. “When the microplastics become the adults, it represents a potential aerial pathway to pollution of new environments,” the authors wrote in the study.

“Thus, any organism that feeds on terrestrial life phases of freshwater insects could be affected by MPs found in aquatic ecosystems ( 水生态系统),” they added, using an abbreviation for microplastics. Freshwater insects such as mosquitoes are eaten by birds, amphibians, insects and fish, according to the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States. More than 150 million tons of plastic are floating in the world's oceans, with an additional eight million tons entering every year, according to the World Economic Forum. Plastic can be eaten by fish, birds and marine mammals, and can damage marine ecosystems such as coral reefs.

“This disturbing study raises real concerns about the spread of plastic pollution: it really is present everywhere, not just the marine environment,” said plastic pollution campaigner Emma Priestland from the charity Friends of the Earth.

“Knowing that plastic can be moved from the larval stage to the adult mosquito, which then serves as food to a multitude of larger animals, highlights the urgency with which we need to.”

A study from 2015 estimated that the total amount of floating plastic in the oceans could triple by 2025.

1.According to a new study, what has been found?

A. Pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters only remain in the bodies of mosquitoes.

B. Pieces of plastic will disappear after waterborne insects become flying adults.

C. Pieces of plastic will remain in the bodies of waterborne insects.

D. Pieces of plastic more than 5 millimeters remain in the bodies of waterborne insects.

2.How did the team from the University of Reading and Queen's University do their research?

A. They inserted two minuscule pieces of polystyrene into old mosquitoes.

B. They weighed the young mosquitoes.

C. They observed the insects throughout their life cycles.

D. They observed the insects after they started to fly.

3.What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. Plastic is harmful to the environment.

B. We should reduce our plastic consumption.

C. We should protect insects.

D. We should protect animals.

Answer

1. C

2. C

3. B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，研究人员经过研究发现微型塑料残留物一直会残留在水生物的体内，对环境产生持续的影响。以此告诉我们塑料制品对环境的影响很大，提醒我们尽量少使用塑料制品。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第二段“UK researchers found that microplastics -- pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in size -- remain in the bodies of mosquitoes and other waterborne insects even after they become flying adults.”可知微型塑料残留物一直会残留在水生昆虫的体内。故C项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段“The team from the University of Reading in England and Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, inserted two minuscule pieces of polystyrene, each weighing just over one gram per cubic centimeter, into young mosquitoes and observed the insects throughout their life cycles.”可知英国雷丁大学的教授把两块聚苯乙烯注射进蚊子的体内，然后观察蚊虫的一生，以此研究残留物对环境的影响。故C项正确。

3.主旨大意题。本文是一篇说明文，研究人员经过研究发现微型塑料残留物一直会残留在水生昆虫的体内，对环境产生持续的影响。以此告诉我们塑料制品对环境的影响很大，提醒我们尽量少使用塑料制品。故B项正确。