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研究表明，生物体会迅速从污染的水中吸收聚苯乙烯纳米粒子。
测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：
scallop[ˈskɒləp] n.扇贝
particles['pa:tɪklz] n.颗粒
nanoparticles[nænəʊ'pa:tɪklz] n.纳米粒子
polystyrene[ˌpɒliˈstaɪri:n] n.聚苯乙烯
gills[gɪls] n.腮
阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。
Clive Cookson
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Marine organisms accumulate billions of tiny plastic particles in their tissues within a few hours of exposure to the pollutant at levels similar to those in the oceans, according to an alarming study by UK scientists.
The laboratory research, led by the University of Plymouth, examined the response of scallops when nanoparticles of polystyrene, a common plastic in seawater, were added to their tanks.
Plastics in the ocean break down into ever smaller pieces, ending up as nanoparticles less than a micron (thousandth of a millimetre) across, but scientists still know little about them.
The water in the study contained 15 micrograms of plastic per litre, representing common levels in the environment. Billions of larger nanoparticles lodged in the scallops’ intestines, while smaller ones were distributed throughout their body including kidneys, gills and muscles.
Richard Thompson, head of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit described the study as “groundbreaking” in terms of both the scientific approach and the findings.
“We only exposed the scallops to nanoparticles for a few hours and, despite them then being transferred to clean conditions, traces were still present several weeks later,” he said.
Maya Al Sid Cheikh, the study leader, said the team made nanoparticles of plastic in laboratories and “incorporated a [radioactive] label so that we could trace the particles in the body of the scallop at environmentally relevant concentrations”.
“The results show for the first time that nanoparticles can be rapidly taken up by a marine organism, and that in just a few hours they become distributed across most of the major organs,” she said.
When the scallops were returned to plastic-free water, it took 14 days for the smaller nanoparticles to disappear from their body, while some of the larger particles were still present after 48 days. The study will appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Professor Thompson said that although plastic pollution had become one of the public’s top environmental concerns over the past couple of years, research into the biological effects of tiny plastic particles was still at a rudimentary stage.
For example, no analytical technique is yet sensitive enough to measure the distribution of nanoparticles in wild marine organisms — which is why the Plymouth laboratory had to use radio-labelled particles to detect them in its scallops. “We are now looking at fish, using a similar approach, but don’t yet have any results,” he said.
A study in October detected microplastics in human stools but it has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, so scientists are uncertain about its significance.
Humans are almost certainly eating tiny particles of plastic, Prof Thompson said, “but we have very little idea of what they are doing inside our bodies.”
请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：
A.Amazed
B.Alarmed
C.Excited
D.Optimistic.
答案 (1)
A.A type of scallop
B.A type of sea weed
C.A type of metal
D.A type of plastic
答案 (2)
A.The number of particles are just so large.
B.It's the first time that so much is learned about scallop.
C.Both the method and the result are significant.
D.Scallops are actually more important than people used to think.
答案 (3)
A.Humans are not eating tiny particles of plastic.
B.Current analytical technique is not sensitive enough to measure the distribution of nanoparticles in wild marine organisms.
C.Using radio-labelled particles is not necessary in the study.
D.The effect of plastic particles on human body is well understood by scientists.
答案 (4)
(1) 答案：B解释：Marine organisms accumulate billions of tiny plastic particles in their tissues within a few hours of exposure to the pollutant at levels similar to those in the oceans, according to an alarming study by UK scientists.
(2) 答案：D解释：The laboratory research, led by the University of Plymouth, examined the response of scallops when nanoparticles of polystyrene, a common plastic in seawater, were added to their tanks.
(3) 答案：C解释：Richard Thompson, head of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit described the study as “groundbreaking” in terms of both the scientific approach and the findings.
(4) 答案：B解释：For example, no analytical technique is yet sensitive enough to measure the distribution of nanoparticles in wild marine organisms — which is why the Plymouth laboratory had to use radio-labelled particles to detect them in its scallops.