Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.
Picture a serene, turquoise sea off the coast of Costa Rica, where a team of dedicated marine biologists is on a crucial mission. Their task is not to study the marine life today but to save one of its residents a distressed turtle struggling to breathe. As they work meticulously to uncover the cause of its discomfort, they find an alarming culprit lodged deep within its nose: a 10-centimeter plastic straw. This heart-wrenching rescue, captured on video and viewed millions of times, casts a stark light on a pressing environmental crisis the relentless invasion of our oceans by plastic waste.
On a boat near Costa Rica, a team of marine biologists1 is helping a turtle. The animal is having trouble breathing, and the team discovers why there is something inside its nose. A scientist tries to extract the object, but the turtle cries in pain. Finally, after eight long minutes, a long object is pulled out: It is a 10-centimeter plastic straw. The video of the turtle’s rescue has been viewed millions of times on YouTube. It has helped raise awareness of a growing problem: The world’s seas are full of plastic. Since 2000, there has been a huge increase in worldwide plastic production, but we recycle less than one-fifth of it. A lot of this plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Today, scientists think about 8.1 billion kilograms goes into the sea every year from coastal regions. Most of this plastic will never biodegrade. This ocean plastic hurts millions of sea animals every year. Some fish eat plastic because it is covered with sea plants, and it looks and smells like food. Typically, eating plastic leads to constant hunger. “Imagine you ate lunch and then just felt weak … and hungry all day,” says marine biologist Matthew Savoca. “That would be very confusing.” In some cases, eating sharp pieces of plastic can seriously hurt sea animals and even result in death. Plastic is useful to people because it is strong and lasts a long time but this is bad news for sea creatures who eat or get stuck in it. According to Savoca, “Single-use plastics are the worst.” These are items that are used only once before we throw them away. Some common examples include straws, water bottles, and plastic bags. About 700 sea species (including the turtle from the video) have been caught in or have eaten this kind of plastic. Luckily, the turtle survived and was released back into the ocean. How will plastic affect sea animals in the long term? “I think we’ll know the answers in 5 to 10 years’ time,” says Debra Lee Magadini from Columbia University. But by then, another 25 million tons of plastic will already be in the ocean.
The rescue of the turtle in Costa Rica, though successful, serves as a poignant reminder of the broader, more insidious threat that plastic pollution poses to marine life. As researchers like Debra Lee Magadini suggest, the full impact of this crisis on sea animals may only become clear in the next 5 to 10 years. However, we must act now to mitigate further damage. With another 25 million tons of plastic expected to enter our oceans in that time, the urgency to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic has never been greater. Our actions today will determine the health of our oceans and the survival of countless marine species in the future.
