4月29日午间英语新闻：哪些食物含有最多的塑料? 如何减少摄入？

> Which foods have the most plastics? 
哪些食物含有最多的塑料? 如何减少摄入？

Ninety percent of animal and vegetable protein samples tested positive for microplastics, tiny polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer), according to a February 2024 study. Anything smaller than 1 micrometer is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.
根据 2024 年 2 月的一项研究，90% 的动物和植物蛋白样本中都检测出了微塑料，微塑料是一种微小的聚合物碎片，范围从不到0.2英寸(5毫米)到1/ 25000英寸(1微米)。任何小于1微米的东西都属于纳米塑料，必须以十亿分之一米为单位进行测量。

If the plastic is small enough, fruits and vegetables can absorb microplastics through their root systems and transfer those chemical bits to the plant’s stems, leaves, seeds and fruit.
如果塑料足够小，水果和蔬菜可以通过它们的根系吸收微塑料，并将这些化学物质转移到植物的茎、叶、种子和果实中。

Salt can be packed with plastic. Sugar is also “an important route of human exposure to these micropollutants,” according to a 2022 study.
盐中可能含有塑料。根据2022年的一项研究，糖也是“人类接触这些微污染物的重要途径”。

Even tea bags, many of which are made of plastic, can release enormous amounts of plastic. Researchers at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, found brewing a single plastic teabag released about 11.6 billion microplastic and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into the water.
即使是许多由塑料制成的茶包，也会释放出大量的塑料。加拿大魁北克省麦吉尔大学的研究人员发现，泡一个塑料茶包会向水中释放约116亿个微塑料和31亿个纳米塑料颗粒。

A University of Queensland study found that for every 100 grams (1/2 cup) of rice people eat, they consume three to four milligrams of plastic — the number jumps to 13 milligrams per serving for instant rice. (You can reduce plastic contamination by up to 40% by washing rice, researchers said. That also helps reduce arsenic, which can be high in rice.)
昆士兰大学的一项研究发现，人们每吃100克(1/2杯)米饭，就会摄入3到4毫克的塑料，而每份即食米饭的塑料摄入量则高达13毫克。(研究人员表示，洗米可以减少高达40%的塑料污染。这也有助于减少砷含量，因为大米中的砷含量可能很高。)

Let’s not forget bottled water. One liter of water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics, including nanoplastics, according to a March 2024 study.
不要忘了还有瓶装水。根据2024年3月的一项研究，一升水——相当于两瓶标准尺寸的瓶装水——平均含有24万个塑料颗粒，这些微粒来自包括纳米塑料在内的七种塑料。

In the February study, which was published in Environmental Research, researchers looked at over a dozen commonly consumed proteins, including beef, breaded and other types of shrimp, chicken breasts and nuggets, pork, seafood, tofu and several plant-based meat alternatives, such as nuggets, plant crumbles similar to ground beef and plant-based fish sticks.
在2月份发表在《环境研究》上的研究中，研究人员调查了十几种常见的蛋白质，包括牛肉、面包虾和其他类型的虾、鸡胸肉和鸡块、猪肉、海鲜、豆腐和几种植物性肉类替代品，如鸡块、类似于碎牛肉的植物碎块和植物鱼条。

The least contaminated proteins were chicken breasts, followed by pork loin chops and tofu.
受污染最少的蛋白质是鸡胸肉，其次是猪里脊和豆腐。

Apples and carrots were the most contaminated fruit and vegetable, respectively, with over 100,000 microplastics per gram. The smallest particles were found in carrots, while the largest pieces of plastic were found in lettuce, which was also the least contaminated vegetable.
苹果和胡萝卜分别是污染最严重的水果和蔬菜，每克含有超过10万个微塑料。胡萝卜中的颗粒最小，而生菜中的塑料碎片最大，生菜也是受污染最少的蔬菜。

Some ways to reduce plastic:
减少塑料的方法

· The levels of contamination found in bottled water reinforce long-held expert advice to drink tap water from glass or stainless steel containers to reduce exposure.  
瓶装水中发现的污染程度强化了专家长期以来的建议，即从玻璃或不锈钢容器中饮用自来水，以减少接触。

· Try to avoid eating anything that has been stored in a plastic container. Look for food stored in glass, enamel or foil. 
尽量避免吃任何储存在塑料容器里的食物。寻找用玻璃、搪瓷或铝箔包装的食物。

· Wear clothing made from natural fabrics and buy consumer products made from natural materials. 
穿天然面料的衣服，购买天然材料的消费品。

· Don’t microwave in plastic. Instead, heat food on the stove or by microwaving in glass. 
·不要在塑料中微波加热。而是在炉子上加热食物，或在玻璃里用微波炉加热食物。

· If you can, eat as much fresh food as possible, and limit purchase of processed and ultra-processed foods wrapped in plastic. ·
如果可以，尽可能多吃新鲜食物，限制购买塑料包装的加工食品和超加工食品。

重点词汇：
ultra-processed
adj.超加工的：指食品经过高度加工，含有大量添加剂、人工成分和低营养价值的成分。