Waterways are important for every country around the world. They provide not only water for everyday use but also routes for transport. However, due to industrial activity, many of them are now polluted.
Dakota Perry from the US has experienced water pollution firsthand. The 15-year-old high school girl told Alabama Local News that she spends a lot of time going on boat rides with her dad on the river behind their house. However, the river has become littered with plastic bags, bottles and cups.
Perry wanted to clean up the water so she could continue to enjoy the river. So, with the help of her father, she designed a system to collect and remove trash in waterways.
In May, Perry put forward her solution al the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair held in Gcorgia, US, and received a Judge’s Award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for her project.
According to the Science News for Students website, her system was inspired by the Dutch Great Bubble Barrier in Amsterdam, which creates a flow of bubbles that trap waste and directs it to a catchment (集水) system. But Perry tried to challenge herself and make her system more environment-friendly.
She planned to create a curtain of bubbles that spanned the river diagonally (对角地).The curtain would stop the floating trash and then push it toward the shore. Once there, a conveying belt run by a solar-powered battery would carry the waste to trash bins.
In her backyard pool, Perry used an air compressor (压缩机) to send air through a pipe full of holes to create a stream of bubbles. She experimented with different amounts of pressure to make sure there would be enough bubbles to form a full curtain. “For the bubble system to actually work and actually collect the trash,” she explained to Science News for Students, “I have to know how much pressure the air compressor is supposed to push out.”
After she tested her system for collecting trash, Perry found that it worked better than expected. Next, she plans to work out how to use the power of the river to run the air compressor.
【小题1】What drove Perry to design a trash-collecting system?| A．Her father’s encouragement. | B．A science and engineering fair. |
| C．Her desire to protect a nearby river. | D．A study ou waterway pollution. |
| A．It was designed partly by Perry’s father. | B．It was inspired by a UK invention. |
| C．It creates a bubble curtain to block the trash. | D．It uses water power to run the air compressor. |
| A．The way Perry tested her system. | B．Difficulties Perry didn’t overcome. |
| C．Perry’s view on her system. | D．Advantages of the system. |
| A．Responsible and creative. | B．Easy-going and hardworking. |
| C．Smart and honest. | D．Patient and modest. |
