Passage 22
学霸导读 “微塑料”已经无处不在。它究竟是一种什么样的物质？是怎么产生的？
In the past few years， scientists have found microplastics （ 微塑料 ） in our soil， tap water， bottled water， beer and even in the air we b 1 . And there’s growing concern about the potential health problems they cause.
The new analysis in the U.K. have discovered microplastics widely distributed （ 分布 ） across all 10 lakes and rivers sampled （ 取样 ）. More than 1，000 small pieces of plastic per liter were found in the River Tame， which was revealed last year as the most p 2 place tested worldwide. Even in relatively remote places such as the Falls of Dochart and Loch Lomond in Scotland， two or three pieces per liter were found.
Microplastics are not a specif ic kind of plastic， but rather any type of small pieces of plastic that is less than 5 mm in length a 3 to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration （ 美国国家海洋和大气管理局 ）. They may originate from a variety of sources， including cosmetics （ 化妆品 ）， clothing， and industrial processes.
Humans are known to consume the tiny plastic particles （ 颗粒 ） through food and water， but the p 4 health effects on people and ecosystems have yet to be determined. One study， in Singapore， has found that microplastics can harbor harmful microbes （ 微生物 ）.
Research by the National University of Singapore found more than 400 types of bacteria on 275 pieces of microplastics c 5 from local beaches. They included insects that cause gastroenteritis （ 肠胃炎 ） and wound infections in humans.
“Microplastics are being found absolutely e 6 but we do not know the harm they could be doing，” said Christian Dunn at Bangor University， Wales， who led the work. “It’s no use l 7 back in 20 years’ time and saying： ‘If only we’d realized just how bad it was.’ We need to be monitoring （ 监测 ） our waters now and we need to think， as a country and a world， how we can be reducing our reliance on plastic.”
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高频词汇
relatively /'relətɪvli/ adv. 相当程度上；相当地
originate /ə'rɪdʒɪneɪt/ v. 起源；发源；发端于
process /'prəʊses/ n. 工艺流程；工序
harbor /'hɑː bə/ v. 包含，带有