IELTS Reading 練習 9 海洋塑膠污染（含題目+詳解）

Plastic Pollution in the Ocean

Plastic was introduced as a mass-market material in the 1950s, and global annual production has risen from around two million tonnes in 1950 to approximately 400 million tonnes today. A substantial fraction of this output is designed for single use — packaging, bottles, films — and, despite recycling programmes, an estimated eight to twelve million tonnes enters the ocean every year. Much of this input comes not from coastal activities but from rivers; a small number of major Asian and African river systems are responsible for more than half of riverine plastic delivery to the sea.

Once in the ocean, plastic does not biodegrade in any meaningful timescale. Exposure to sunlight, waves and salt fragments larger items into progressively smaller pieces, eventually yielding particles less than five millimetres across, known as microplastics. These are now detectable in nearly every marine habitat sampled, from surface waters to the sediments of the Mariana Trench. Microplastics carry organic pollutants that bind to their surfaces, and filter-feeding species such as mussels and certain whales ingest them in large quantities.

The public image of ocean plastic often focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a region of accumulated debris held together by circular currents between California and Hawaii. Satellite and sampling surveys suggest the patch covers roughly 1.6 million square kilometres, though its density is far lower than press reports sometimes imply — it is not a solid raft of rubbish but a diffuse soup. Four other similar gyres have been documented in the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific oceans.

Efforts to address the problem are multi-pronged. River interceptor vessels, used on the Ganges and the Mekong, capture waste before it reaches the sea. National bans on single-use bags and straws have reduced inputs in several countries. Some researchers are exploring bacterial enzymes capable of breaking down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), though such methods remain experimental. Scientific consensus, however, is that reducing plastic production at source will prove more effective than any cleanup operation, which can at best address a small fraction of what has already accumulated.

1. Annual global plastic production has grown roughly 200-fold since 1950.
2. Most ocean plastic enters the sea directly from beaches and ships.
3. Microplastics have been found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

1. According to the passage, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch:

- A. is a solid floating island of waste - B. covers about 1.6 million square kilometres but is diffuse - C. is located between Japan and California - D. has recently been fully cleaned

1. The writer suggests that PET-degrading enzymes are:

- A. now widely used worldwide - B. proven to work at industrial scale - C. still at an experimental stage - D. banned in several countries

1. The final paragraph's main point is that:

- A. cleanup operations are highly successful - B. reducing production at source is more effective than cleanup - C. national bans have eliminated ocean plastic - D. research funding is inadequate

Complete the sentences using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage.

1. Plastic particles smaller than ______ across are known as microplastics.
2. Filter-feeders such as mussels and some whales consume microplastics along with bound ______.
3. Vessels used on rivers such as the Ganges and Mekong are called river ______.

1. TRUE Supporting sentence: "global annual production has risen from around two million tonnes in 1950 to approximately 400 million tonnes today". 400 ÷ 2 = 200. Directly supported.

2. FALSE Supporting sentence: "Much of this input comes not from coastal activities but from rivers". "Coastal activities" includes beaches and ships. Direct contradiction — "not from coastal".

3. TRUE Supporting sentence: "detectable in nearly every marine habitat sampled, from surface waters to the sediments of the Mariana Trench". Sediments = bottom. Directly supported.

4. B — covers about 1.6 million square kilometres but is diffuse Supporting sentence: "the patch covers roughly 1.6 million square kilometres, though its density is far lower than press reports sometimes imply — it is not a solid raft of rubbish but a diffuse soup". Option A is the popular misconception being corrected.

5. C — still at an experimental stage Supporting sentence: "Some researchers are exploring bacterial enzymes capable of breaking down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), though such methods remain experimental". Direct statement.

6. B — reducing production at source is more effective than cleanup Supporting sentence: "Scientific consensus, however, is that reducing plastic production at source will prove more effective than any cleanup operation". Direct paraphrase.

7. five millimetres Supporting sentence: "eventually yielding particles less than five millimetres across, known as microplastics". Two words/number combination.

8. organic pollutants Supporting sentence: "Microplastics carry organic pollutants that bind to their surfaces, and filter-feeding species such as mussels and certain whales ingest them in large quantities". Two words, exactly from passage.

9. interceptor vessels (or interceptors) Supporting sentence: "River interceptor vessels, used on the Ganges and the Mekong, capture waste before it reaches the sea". Two-word compound; "interceptors" alone would also be scored correct in practice.