The East African country of Kenya has been at the forefront of the global war on plastic since 2017, when officials banned plastic bags. In June 2020, the government ________ the efforts with a ban on single-use plastics in protected areas. Unfortunately, the measures have ________ made any impact. Hundreds of tons of industrial and consumer polymer(聚合物)waste continue to get ________ into landfills daily. However, if 29-year-old Nzambi Matee has her way, the unpleasant plastic ________ will soon be transformed into colourful bricks.
The material engineer’s search to find a(n) ________ solution to control plastic pollution began in 2017. She quit her job as a data analyst at a local chemical factory and set up a small lab in her mother’s backyard. It took her nine months to produce the first brick and even longer to ________ a partner to help build the machinery to make them. But the determined eco-entrepreneur was confident in her idea and did not________.
She says, “I wanted to use my education in applied physics and material engineering to do something about the problem of plastic waste pollution. But I was very ________ that the solution had to be practical, sustainable, and affordable. The best way to do this was by ________ the waste into the construction and finding the most efficient and affordable material to build homes.”
Her company, Gjenge Makers, now hires 112 people and produces over 1,500 bricks a day. The pavers(铺路材料) are made using a mix of plastic products that cannot be reprocessed or recycled. The polymer is obtained ________ from factories or picked by hired locals from Nairobi's largest landfill, Dandora.
The collected plastic is ________ with sand, heated at very high temperatures, and compressed into bricks that vary in colour and thickness. The ________ product is stronger, lighter, and about 30 percent cheaper than concrete bricks.
Matee, who was recently ________ as one of the Young Champions of the Earth 2020 — the United Nations’ highest environmental ________. Her dream is to reduce the mountain of trash in Dandora to just a hill by increasing production and expanding her offerings. She says, “The more we recycle the plastic, the more we produce affordable housing, and the more we create ________ for the youth.”
【小题1】A.modified | B.glorified | C.intensified | D.justified |
【小题2】A.barely | B.nearly | C.mildly | D.equally |
【小题3】A.leaked | B.turned | C.loaded | D.dumped |
【小题4】A.modes | B.heaps | C.ports | D.mills |
【小题5】A.personal | B.orderly | C.feasible | D.adjustable |
【小题6】A.remind | B.convince | C.assure | D.direct |
【小题7】A.get off | B.show off | C.give up | D.put out |
【小题8】A.clear | B.fair | C.bold | D.mature |
【小题9】A.enclosing | B.distributing | C.channelling | D.reversing |
【小题10】A.distantly | B.openly | C.secretly | D.directly |
【小题11】A.replaced | B.mixed | C.equipped | D.fixed |
【小题12】A.reforming | B.recovering | C.resulting | D.recording |
【小题13】A.recognized | B.criticized | C.claimed | D.defended |
【小题14】A.level | B.grant | C.diploma | D.honour |
【小题15】A.employment | B.experiment | C.entertainment | D.investment |