聽BBC學英文 Learning English - Words in the News
11 April, 2011 - Published 16:43 GMT
Japanese garbage island moves towards US
Following the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami disasters, a massive amount of rubbish has washed into the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy is watching the garbage with interest as it floats towards Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. Mark Lobel reports.
Entire houses, bodies, car parts, tractors and many upturned boats have amassed off the east coast of Japan on an epic scale.
The floating objects have been declared a maritime hazard by the American Navy, which warned they could pierce the body of a boat, or destroy engines in the Pacific's shipping lanes.
The island of debris of most concern, 110 kilometres long, is being closely monitored by the US Navy's seventh fleet, as experts predict it could hit Hawaii's shores in two years and the American west coast a year later.
Hawaiian scientists put it bluntly. They warned that a vast mess that originated in a few moments of destruction in Japan, could eventually foul beaches and reefs off the Eastern North Pacific and kill marine life.
The American Navy's working with civilian construction companies from the earthquake-hit country, as huge cranes and boats are deployed to clear the seas of this vast bobbing mass of wreckage of household furniture, wood, tyres, fishing equipment and other garbage, sweeping eastwards.
Mark Lobel, BBC News
Vocabulary
amassed
gathered or collected a large amount
an epic scale
a big or impressive size
a maritime hazard
a danger, encountered while at sea
pierce
puncture or damage the outer layer of
shipping lanes
routes travelled by ships and boats at sea
island of debris
here, large mound of wreckage or garbage
bluntly
honestly or directly
foul
here, make a dirty mess on
deployed
sent or assigned
bobbing
moving up and down with the currents of the sea
菁英國際│菁英教育|上海托福|上海雅思|全民英檢|TOEIC|TOEFL|
留言列表
全民英檢GEPT 
