Question

    The negative health impacts of plastic on both wildlife and humans have been well documented. Recycling contributes to settling the problem. However, the material coming from the plastic recycled using the traditional technology is of lower quality and can only be used a few times for items like clothing or carpets before it has to be thrown away.

Now, French start-up Carbios wants to help alleviate the world’s plastic pollution with a bacterial enzyme (细菌酶) that “eats” PET—the most plentiful plastic used to produce packaging and plastic bottles. The enzyme is able to downgrade 90% of a ton of plastic in less than 10 hours. And the resulting material can be used to create anything and, more importantly, can be continuously recycled.

To break down the plastic, the waste is placed in a reactor with water and the enzyme and heated for 16 hours at 65℃. The resulting mix is then filtered (过滤) and purified (净化). This allows for the recovery of the building blocks that make up PET. These building blocks are then remade into new plastic and transformed into bottles and other items, without having to use more resources.

The recycling process will be tested in a larger range at a new, bigger facility in Lyon, France, by the end of 2021. Once all the problems have been removed, Carbios hopes to bring the technology on the market by 2024.

Though Carbios’s recycling technique will certainly help reduce plastic pollution, Stephan believes it is only part of the solution. We can only win the battle if we do a better job of ensuring that plastic waste does not end up in the environment or in landfills. So the next time you use a plastic bottle, be sure to make the extra effort to place it in a recycling bin.

1.What does the underlined word “alleviate” in paragraph 2 mean?

A.Cut down. B.Reflect on.

C.Keep records of. D.Watch out for.

2.What is the main characteristic of the material produced by enzyme?

A.It can resist bacteria. B.It can stand high temperatures.

C.It can be sustainably used. D.It is harmless to the environment.

3.What does paragraph 3 mainly tell us?

A.The sources of the bacterial enzyme.

B.The process of producing plastic bottles.

C.How the bacterial enzyme breaks down PET.

D.How waste plastic is recycled with the bacterial enzyme.

4.Which statement agrees with the text?

A.The new technology has been put to wide use.

B.Traditional plastic is easily storable and affordable.

C.The promising enzymes technology is in the experimental stage.

D.Bacterial enzymes will completely solve the problem of plastic pollution.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文为说明文。本文讲述了一种新的回收塑料的技术，相比传统的回收方法高效快速。

1.

词义猜测题。根据所给划线词后…a bacterial enzyme (细菌酶) that “eats” PET—the most plentiful plastic used to produce packaging and plastic bottles. 可知，这种细菌酶会吃掉用于生产包装和塑料瓶的最大量的塑料，由此可知，法国创业公司Carbios想要用一种细菌酶来帮助减少世界上的塑料污染，因此，alleviate有“减轻，减少”之意，选项A符合语境，故选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句And the resulting material can be used to create anything and, more importantly, can be continuously recycled(产生的材料可以用来创造任何东西，更重要的是，可以持续回收利用。)可知，酶生产的材料的主要特点是它可持续性利用，故选C。

3.

段落大意题。根据第三段可知，本段主要讲述利用细菌酶，经过加热、混合过滤和净化等步骤分解塑料，将其重新利用，故选项D. How waste plastic is recycled with the bacterial enzyme(如何利用细菌酶回收废旧塑料)符合题意，故选D。

4.

推理判断题。根据倒数第二段The recycling process will be tested in a larger range at a new, bigger facility in Lyon, France, by the end of 2021. Once all the problems have been removed, Carbios hopes to bring the technology on the market by 2024. (到2021年底，回收过程将在法国里昂的一个新的更大的设施中进行更大规模的测试。一旦所有的问题都被解决，Carbios希望能在2024年将这项技术推向市场。)可知，该项细菌酶技术还处于实验阶段，故选C。