题目内容
Not long ago, we argued in this space that because America has some of the best tap water available, it is time to start thinking twice about drinking commercially bottled water. One big reason is that a lot of petrol is required to manufacture and transport the plastic bottles, thus adding to global warming and other environmental problems. Of course, in certain circumstances bottled water is necessary. It is important during emergencies—think Katrina—and it is certainly a better alternative when the only other drinks come loaded with calories(卡路里).
What the rising use of bottled water leaves us with, however, is a huge recycling problem. Of the mountain of individual plastic water bottles created by Americans each year—enough to hold more than seven billion gallons of water—less than one?fourth are sent to the recycling industry for a second round. That makes absolutely no sense for the environment or for the economy.
The recycling industry sees plastic water bottles as a major commodity because they can be turned into anything from jackets to a very durable set of luggage. One reason so few water bottles are recycled is that except in a very few states, they cannot be rewarded at the local grocery store. But recycling rates are significantly higher in the 11 states that pay customers a nickel (5美分) and in some cases a dime (10美分) if they return their bottle. But only three of these states—California, Hawaii and Maine—include water bottles.
There are other ways to encourage recycling. At many public places—ballgames or city parks, for example—it is often much easier to buy a bottle of water than to find a recycling bin (垃圾箱) to throw it away. And in some areas, like parts of Philadelphia, officials are experimenting with ways to pay homeowners by the pound for recycled trash, a trend definitely worth watching. Of course, for most people, the simplest recycling solution of all might be to wash a plastic bottle out and use it again for fresh water from the tap.
Topic | Problems Caused By Bottled Water |
Introducing the topic | ?In some emergencies, it is (76)________ to have bottled water available. ?Bottled water is a better choice than (77)________ with a lot of calories. |
Problems | ?However, Manufacturing and transporting plastic bottles needs a lot of petrol, thus causing (78)________ problems. ?Less than one?fourth of used water bottles are (79)________.
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The (80)________ for the low recycling rate | Only in three states, people can get (81)________ for recycling water bottles. |
Some (82)________ to settle the problem | ?To (83)________ more recycling bins so that people can throw bottles in ?To (84)________ homeowners who return their bottles ?To (85)________ the bottle |
76.important 77.drinks 78.environmental 79.recycled 80.reason 81.rewards 82.ways / means
83.set / put 84.pay 85.reuse