경기여고 2025 고1 2학기 중간 · 공통영어2

About fifty percent of plastic is produced for single-use products. That means the items are used just once and then discarded. Do you ever stop to think about where these plastic items go after you throw them away? Recycling can help reduce the amount of plastic in our landfills. However, less than ten percent of the world's plastic waste has been recycled so far. Often, plastic waste is moved to places where it is just dumped or burned. Furthermore, between 8 and 14 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. This puts many marine species in danger. With this in mind, scientists are turning to mealworms. Mealworms are the larvae of a certain species of beetle. Special bacteria live inside them. These bacteria can break down plastic. This means that mealworms can actually feed on plastic. Scientists are now looking for ways to cultivate the bacteria outside of mealworms. They also want to speed up the process by which the bacteria break down plastic. This may help us keep our landfills plastic-free.

About fifty percent of plastic is produced for single-use products. That means the items are used just once and then discarded. Do you ever stop to think about where these plastic items go after you throw them away? Recycling can help reduce the amount of plastic in our landfills. However, less than ten percent of the world's plastic waste has been recycled so far. Often, plastic waste is moved to places where it is just dumped or burned. Furthermore, between 8 and 14 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. This puts many marine species in danger. With this in mind, scientists are turning to mealworms. Mealworms are the larvae of a certain species of beetle. Special bacteria live inside them. These bacteria can break down plastic. This means that mealworms can actually feed on plastic. Scientists are now looking for ways to cultivate the bacteria outside of mealworms. They also want to speed up the process by which the bacteria break down plastic. This may help us keep our landfills plastic-free.

Mining and other industries are causing soil pollution across the globe. Although polluted soil can be dug up and transported to a landfill, this process is expensive. ___ Moreover, it only moves the problem to another area and does not really solve it. Fortunately, there is an eco-friendly and cost-effective way to restore polluted soil—planting willow trees. These amazing trees have extensive and well-developed root systems. ___ As a result, they naturally extract a wide range of harmful materials from the soil. They can also grow quickly, even in soil with a high acidity level or a lot of heavy metals in it. Research on the effectiveness of using willow trees for this purpose is in development. Scientists have found that some species of willow trees are able to absorb harmful materials better than others. ___ Therefore, this promising area should be further explored to find out which trees are the most effective. In time, we may be able to clean up our land with willow trees.