You are sitting in a restaurant and a server brings over a glass of water and drops a plastic straw (吸管) next to the glass. Any idea how many plastic straws are thrown away in the US everyday? Around 500 million! Plastic straws were the seventh most common type of litter found during beach cleanups this year! Last year, a diver diving in Australia collected 319 plastic straws in just 20 minutes. The next day, she returned to the same location and found another 294 straws.
Very few single-use plastic straws are recycled. They break down into tiny bits of plastic, and are eaten by sea life. Luckily, thousands of people have gotten involved (参与) with the cause, including kids!
In 2011, 9-year-old Milo Cress made an interesting observation after ordering a drink of juice in a restaurant, “I noticed the servers automatically placed a plastic straw by my drink.” Milo thought this was a real waste and thought there had to be something he could do about it. Milo talked with plastic producers to get an estimate of just how many straws we use. He learned that 500 million plastic straws are used every day! This inspired him to start a project called Be Straw Free. Milo encouraged restaurants not to hand straws out so freely. “Actually,” remembers Milo, “businesses liked the idea as it would save them money.”
Milo was one of many kids to become involved with the cause. Earlier this year, a group of third-and-fourth-graders from Seattle, Washington, spoke with local lawmakers about the harm plastic straws have on sea life and our environment. The group, calling themselves the Straw Kids, would like cities to ban their use, and would like other kids to rethink the use of single-use plastic straws. Megan O’Reilly, 9, says, “We are making a website, strawkids.org, which will help us get the word out that plastic straws are bad, and help us get more supporters.”
【小题1】The data in paragraph 1 is used to show ______.| A．divers enjoy doing beach cleanups | B．restaurants always provide plastic straws |
| C．plastic straws are causing an environmental problem | D．Australia’s environment is getting worse and worse |
| A．It was unacceptable. | B．It was difficult to carry out. |
| C．It was quite effective. | D．It was favorable to their business. |
| A．Intelligent and sensitive. | B．Caring and humorous. |
| C．Creative and responsible. | D．Courageous and demanding. |
| A．One good turn deserves another. | B．One is never too young to change. |
| C．Kids can also make a difference. | D．Kids should be prepared for the future. |
