中英對照讀新聞》Scientists make ’disturbing’ find on remote island: plastic rock科學家在偏僻的島上找到令人擔憂的塑膠石頭
地質學家在巴西特林達德島上發現含有塑膠的岩石。(法新社)
◎林雨萱
There are few places on Earth as isolated as Trindade island, a volcanic outcrop a three- to four-day boat trip off the coast of Brazil.
地球上很少有地方像特林達德島般與世隔絕,這是一座露出地面的火山岩,從巴西海岸搭船3至4天才能抵達。
Geologist Fernanda Avelar Santos was startled to find an unsettling sign of human impact on the otherwise untouched landscape: rocks formed from the glut of plastic pollution floating in the ocean.
地質學家費爾南達.阿韋拉爾.桑托斯吃驚地發現,在這片原本未開發的土地上,出現一個令人不安的人類影響跡象:在海上漂浮的大量塑膠汙染形成了岩石。
Intrigued, she took some back to her lab after her two-month expedition.
備感興趣之下,她在2個月的考察之後,把部分岩石帶回實驗室。
Analyzing them, she and her team identified the specimens as a new kind of geological formation, merging the materials and processes the Earth has used to form rocks for billions of years with a new ingredient: plastic trash.
分析岩石之後,她和她的研究團隊認定,這些標本是一種新的地質結構,將地球數十億年來用以形成岩石的材料和過程併入一種新成分:塑膠垃圾。
新聞辭典
startled:形容詞,吃驚的。例句:Peggy was startled when a dog showed up at her bedroom.(當一隻狗出現在珮琪的辦公室裡,她嚇了一跳。)
glut:名詞,過量;供過於求。例句:The glut of egg set the price down.(雞蛋供應過盛,造成價格下跌。)
intrigue:動詞,激起…的興趣。例句:Duffy was intrigued by mythology.(達菲對神話感興趣。)