Imagine a mass of floating waste is two times the size of the state of Texas. Texas has a land area of more than 678,000 square kilometers. So it might be difficult to imagine anything twice as big.
All together, this mass of waste flowing in the North Pacific Ocean is known as the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch ( 太平洋上的垃圾带). It weighs about 3,500,000 tons. The waste includes bags, bottles and containers—plastic products of all kinds.
The eastern part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 1,600 kilometers west of California. The western part is west of the Hawaiian Islands and east of Japan. The area has been described as a kind of oceanic desert, with light winds and slow moving water currents. The water moves so slow that garbage from all over the world collects there.
In recent years, there have been growing concerns about the floating garbage and its effect on sea creatures and human health. Scientists say thousands of animals get trapped in the floating waste, resulting in death or injury. Even more die from a lack of food or water after swallowing pieces of plastic. The trash can also make animals feel full, lessening their desire to eat or drink.
The floating garbage also can have harmful effects on people. There is an increased threat of infection of disease from polluted waste, and from eating fish that swallowed waste. Divers can also get trapped in the plastic.
Its existence first gained public attention in 1997. That was when racing boat captain and oceanographer Charles Moore and his crew sailed into the garbage while returning from a racing event. Five years earlier, another oceanographer learned of the rubbish after a shipment of rubber ducks got lost at sea. Many of those toys are now part of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.
In August, 2009, a team from the University of California, San Diego became the latest group to travel to it. They were shocked by the amount of waste they saw. They gathered hundreds of sea creatures and water samples to measure the garbage patch’s effect on ocean environment.
How did the writer put forward the topic of the text?
A. By giving an example. B. By listing the facts.
C. By telling a story. D. By giving a comparison.
What do we know about the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?
A. It is made up of various kinds of plastic products.
B. It is a solid mass of floating waste materials.
C. It lies 1,600 kilometers east of California.
D. It caused animals and humans to get lost.
In which column of a newspaper can you most probably find the text?
A. Sports and entertainment. B. Media and culture.
C. Environment and society. D. Science and technology.