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MirandaWang_2013-_两个年轻的科学家分解塑料的细菌_
Miranda Wang: We're here to talk about accidents. 汪郁雯: 今天我们来聊聊“意外”。
Miranda:[美国法律]米兰达原则;
How do you feel about accidents? 大家觉得“意外”怎么样？
When we think about accidents, we usually consider them to be harmful, unfortunate or even dangerous, and they certainly can be. 当我们想到“意外”的时候, 通常我们都会认为“意外”是有害的, 是不幸的,甚至是危险的,很多时候“意外”的确是这样的。
But are they always that bad? 但是,“意外”真的那么糟糕吗？
The discovery that had led to penicillin , for example, is one of the most fortunate accidents of all time. 比方说,青霉素的发现, 可能是有史以来最幸运的“意外”。
penicillin:n.盘尼西林(青霉素); fortunate:adj.幸运的;交好运的;吉利的;
Without biologist Alexander Fleming's moldy accident, caused by a neglected workstation , we wouldn't be able to fight off so many bacterial infections . 要是没有生物学家亚历山大·弗莱明 一时疏忽而造成的“发霉”意外 我们根本无法抵抗如此之多的细菌感染。
biologist:n.生物学家; moldy:adj.发霉的;乏味的;陈腐的; neglected:adj.被忽略的; v.忽略; (neglect的过去分词和过去式) workstation:n.工作站; bacterial:adj.[微]细菌的; infections:n.传染病;口腔病害(infection复数形式);
Jeanny Yao: Miranda and I are here today because we'd like to share how our accidents have led to discoveries. 姚佳韵: 今天我和米兰达来到这儿 向大家分享“意外” 是如何造就我们的发现
In 2011, we visited the Vancouver Waste Transfer Station and saw an enormous pit of plastic waste. 我们在2011年的时候参观了温哥华废物转移站, 看到了非常非常多的塑料垃圾。
Vancouver:n.温哥华(加拿大主要港市); Transfer:n.转移;调任;调离;[体]转会球员;v.调任;调走;转学;转移; enormous:adj.庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的; pit:n.深洞;深坑;矿井;麻子;v.使…表面有斑点;在…上打洞;去掉…的果核;
We realized that when plastics get to the dump , it's difficult to sort them because they have similar densities , and when they're mixed with organic matter and construction debris , it's truly impossible to pick them out and environmentally eliminate them. 我们意识到,当塑料垃圾聚集到垃圾场的时候, 是很难将它们分类的,因为他们的密度很接近, 而且,当这些塑料跟有机物 以及建筑碎片混合的时候,几乎不可能 将它们筛选出来并环保地处理掉。
dump:v.倾倒;抛售;抛弃;转存;n.垃圾场;转储;转存;废物堆; densities:n.密度(density的复数); organic:adj.有机的;不使用化肥的;绿色的;有机物的;n.分子有机体; construction:n.建设;建筑物;解释;造句; debris:n.碎片,残骸; environmentally:adv.有关环境方面; eliminate:v.消除;排除;
MW: However, plastics are useful because they're durable , flexible , and can be easily molded into so many useful shapes. 汪郁雯:可是呢,塑料确实是有用的 因为它们很耐用,韧性大, 并且可以很容易制作成各种有用的形状。
durable:adj.耐用的;耐久的;长期的;长久的;n.耐久品; flexible:adj.灵活的;柔韧的;易弯曲的; molded:adj.模塑的;造形的;
The downside of this convenience is that there's a high cost to this. 这种便利的不足之处在于 需要付出很大的代价。
downside:n.下降趋势;底侧;adj.底侧的; convenience:n.方便;便利;适宜;便利的事物(或设施);
Plastics cause serious problems, such as the destruction of ecosystems , the pollution of natural resources , and the reduction of available land space. 塑料会引发一系列严重的问题,比如 对生态系统的破坏, 对自然资源的污染, 以及侵蚀有用的土地资源。
destruction:n.破坏,毁灭;摧毁; ecosystems:n.生态系统(ecosystem的复数); resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); reduction:n.减少;缩小;降低;减价;折扣;缩图;
This picture you see here is the Great Pacific Gyre . 图片中展示的是太平洋环流。
Gyre:n.回转;旋回;旋转;vi.旋回;
When you think about plastic pollution and the marine environment, we think about the Great Pacific Gyre, which is supposed to be a floating island of plastic waste. 当我们将塑料污染 跟海洋环境联系在一起时, 我们想到了太平洋环流, 这本该是一个由塑料垃圾组成的浮岛。
marine:adj.海的;海产的;海生的;海船的;n.(尤指美国或英国皇家)海军陆战队士兵; supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式)
But that's no longer an accurate depiction of plastic pollution in the marine environment. 然而,对于海洋中的塑料垃圾 这已经不再是一个准确的描述了。
accurate:adj.精确的; depiction:n.描写,叙述;
Right now, the ocean is actually a soup of plastic debris, and there's nowhere you can go in the ocean where you wouldn't be able to find plastic particles . 此刻,海洋事实上像是悬浮着塑料碎片的“云带” 并且已经不能在海里找到 一片没有塑料碎片的地方了。
nowhere:v.无处; n.无处; adj.不存在的; particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
JY: In a plastic-dependent society, cutting down production is a good goal, but it's not enough. 姚佳韵:在一个依赖塑料制品的社会, 减少塑料的生产是个好主意,但这还不够。
And what about the waste that's already been produced? 那些已经存在的塑料垃圾怎么办？
Plastics take hundreds to thousands of years to biodegrade . 塑料需要成百上千年才能生物降解。
biodegrade:vt.生物递降分解;vi.进行生物降解;
So we thought, you know what? 所以,我们想,
Instead of waiting for that garbage to sit there and pile up, let's find a way to break them down with bacteria. 与其等待这些垃圾慢慢堆积, 不如想个办法 用细菌分解。
garbage:n.垃圾;废物; pile:n.桩;堆;摞;桩柱;v.堆放;摞起;叠放;放置;
Sounds cool, right? 听起来不错吧？！
Audience: Yeah. JY: Thank you. 观众:是的。 姚佳韵:谢谢大家。
But we had a problem. 但我们遇到了一个问题。
You see, plastics have very complex structures and are difficult to biodegrade. 你知道的,塑料构造十分复杂 并且很难降解。
complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式);
Anyhow, we were curious and hopeful and still wanted to give it a go. 然而,我们还是很好奇并且怀着希望 想要尝试一把。
curious:adj.好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的;
MW: With this idea in mind, Jeanny and I read through some hundreds of scientific articles on the Internet, and we drafted a research proposal in the beginning of our grade 12 year. 汪郁雯:怀着这样的想法,珍妮和我从因特网上 阅读了上百篇科学论文, 然后我们在高三刚开始的时候 起草了一个研究提案。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; drafted:v.起草;草拟;选派;抽调;(draft的过去分词和过去式) proposal:n.提议,建议;求婚;
We aimed to find bacteria from our local Fraser River that can degrade a harmful plasticizer called phthalates . 我们的目标是从本地的弗雷泽河（音译）中寻找到一种细菌, 可以降解一种叫做邻苯二甲酸酯（phthalate）的有害塑化剂。
plasticizer:n.塑化剂;可塑剂; phthalates:n.邻苯二甲酸盐;[有化]酞酸盐(phthalate的复数);
Phthalates are additives used in everyday plastic products to increase their flexibility , durability and transparency . 邻苯二甲酸酯是一种应用于日常塑料制品的添加剂, 用以增加塑料的柔软度,耐久性以及透明度。
additives:n.添加剂,食物添加剂;附加剂; flexibility:n.灵活性;弹性;适应性; durability:n.耐久性;坚固;耐用年限; transparency:n.透明,透明度;幻灯片;有图案的玻璃;
Although they're part of the plastic, they're not covalently bonded to the plastic backbone . 尽管它们（邻苯二甲酸酯）也是塑料的一部分, 但它们并非共价绑定在塑料聚合物主链上。
covalently:共价的(covalent的变体); backbone:n.支柱;主干网;决心,毅力;脊椎;
As a result , they easily escape into our environment. 因而,它们（邻苯二甲酸酯）可以轻易地进入我们的环境。
As a result:结果;
Not only do phthalates pollute our environment, but they also pollute our bodies. 邻苯二甲酸酯不仅可以污染我们的环境, 它们还可以“污染”我们的身体。
To make the matter worse, phthalates are found in products to which we have a high exposure , such as babies' toys, beverage containers, cosmetics , and even food wraps . 更严重的是,邻苯二甲酸酯存在于很多 我们经常接触到的产品中,比如婴儿的玩具, 饮料容器,化妆品,甚至食品包装。
exposure:n.暴露;显露;揭露;面临; beverage:n.饮料; cosmetics:n.[化工]化妆品(cosmetic的复数); v.用化妆品打扮(cosmetic的三单形式); wraps:n.外衣; v.包裹;
Phthalates are horrible because they're so easily taken into our bodies. 邻苯二甲酸酯是很可怕的,原因在于 它们可以很轻易进入我们的身体。
horrible:可怕的,极讨厌的,
They can be absorbed by skin contact , ingested , and inhaled . 它们（邻苯二甲酸酯）可以通过皮肤接触,吞食,呼吸等方式被吸收。
absorbed:adj.被…吸引住; v.吸收(液体、气体等); (absorb的过去分词和过去式) contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系; ingested:v.摄入;食入;咽下(ingest的过去分词和过去式) inhaled:v.吸入;吸气;(inhale的过去分词和过去式)
JY: Every year, at least 470 million pounds of phthalates contaminate our air, water and soil. 姚佳韵:每年,至少有4亿7千万磅的邻苯二甲酸酯 污染我们的空气,水以及土地。
contaminate:v.污染;玷污,毒害(人的思想或品德);
The Environmental Protection Agency even classified this group as a top-priority pollutant because it's been shown to cause cancer and birth defects by acting as a hormone disruptor . 环境保护署 甚至将邻苯二甲酸酯归类为最严重污染物 因为研究显示邻苯二甲酸酯会通过干扰荷尔蒙 引起癌症和生理缺陷。
Agency:n.代理,中介;代理处,经销处; classified:adj.机密的; v.将…分类; (classify的过去分词和过去式) top-priority:adj.优先考虑的;最优先的;n.当务之急; pollutant:n.污染物; cancer:n.癌症;恶性肿瘤; defects:n.缺点;瑕疵;不合格品(defect的复数);v.叛变(defect的三单形式); hormone:n.[生理]激素,荷尔蒙; disruptor:n.破坏者,分裂者;
We read that each year, the Vancouver municipal government monitors phthalate concentration levels in rivers to assess their safety. 我们了解到,每年温哥华市政府 都会监测河流中邻苯二甲酸酯的浓度 来评估河流的安全性。
municipal:adj.市政的,市的;地方自治的; concentration:n.浓度;含量;集中;专心; assess:vt.评定;估价;对…征税;
So we figured, if there are places along our Fraser River that are contaminated with phthalates, and if there are bacteria that are able to live in these areas, 所以我们设想,假如弗雷泽河周边 有已经被邻苯二甲酸酯污染的地区, 同时在这些地区有可以存活的细菌,
contaminated:v.污染;玷污,毒害(人的思想或品德);(contaminate的过去分词和过去式)
then perhaps, perhaps these bacteria could have evolved to break down phthalates. 那么也许,也许这些细菌可以进化 到分解邻苯二甲酸酯。
evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式)
MW: So we presented this good idea to Dr. Lindsay Eltis at the University of British Columbia, and surprisingly , he actually took us into his lab and asked his graduate students Adam and James to help us. 汪郁雯:所以我们将这个不错的主意 提交给了英属哥伦比亚大学的林赛埃尔迪斯（音译）博士, 出乎我们意料的是,他让我们加入了他的实验室 同时让他的研究生亚当（音译）和詹姆斯（音译）协助我们。
surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地
Little did we know at that time that a trip to the dump and some research on the Internet and plucking up the courage to act upon inspiration would take us on a life-changing journey of accidents and discoveries. 那时候我们根本没有想到 这段参观垃圾场的经历,在因特网上做的一些研究以及 鼓起勇气按照灵感行动 会将我们带上一段充满意外跟发现 甚至改变了我们人生的旅程。
plucking:v.摘;拔;拔掉,退去(死禽的毛);弹,弹拨(乐器的弦);(pluck的现在分词) life-changing:改变人生的; journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行;
JY: The first step in our project was to collect soil samples from three different sites along the Fraser River. 姚佳韵:我们计划中的第一步 是从弗雷泽河周边三个不同地点 采集土壤样本。
sites:n.网站(site的复数);遗址,举办地点;v.使...位于(site的单三形式);
Out of thousands of bacteria, we wanted to find ones that could break down phthalates, so we enriched our cultures with phthalates as the only carbon source. 我们想要从上千种细菌中找出 可以分解邻苯二甲酸酯的, 为此我们用邻苯二甲酸酯作为 培养基中的唯一碳源。
enriched:v.使丰富;使饱含(某物);使富有;(enrich的过去分词和过去式) carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的;
This implied that, if anything grew in our cultures, then they must be able to live off of phthalates. 这意味着,如果有任何细菌可以在我们的培养基中生长, 那么他们必然可以靠邻苯二甲酸酯存活。
implied:adj.不言而喻的; v.含有…的意思; (imply的过去分词和过去式)
Everything went well from there, and we became amazing scientists. (Laughter) 从那以后一切都很顺利, 并且我们成为了不可思议的科学家。（笑声）
MW: Um... uh, Jeanny. JY: I'm just joking. 汪郁雯:唔,珍妮。 姚佳韵:我就是开个玩笑。
MW: Okay. Well, it was partially my fault. 汪郁雯:好吧,我也有部分责任。
partially:adv.部分地;偏袒地;
You see, I accidentally cracked the flask that had contained our third enrichment culture, and as a result, we had to wipe down the incubator room with bleach and ethanol twice. 你看,我意外地打破了 装有我们第三个加富培养基的烧瓶, 结果就是我们不得不用漂白剂跟酒精 将细菌培养室擦洗了两遍。
accidentally:adv.意外地:偶然,偶然地; cracked:adj.疯狂;破裂的;有裂纹的;v.破裂;裂开;断裂;(crack的过去分词和过去式) flask:n.[分化]烧瓶;长颈瓶,细颈瓶;酒瓶,携带瓶; enrichment:n.丰富;改进;肥沃;发财致富; wipe:v.擦;抹;拭;消除;n.擦;拭;揩;(湿)抹布; incubator:n.[禽]孵卵器;[儿科]保温箱;早产儿保育器;细菌培养器; bleach:n.漂白剂;v.(使)变白,漂白,晒白,退色 ethanol:n.[有化]乙醇,[有化]酒精;
And this is only one of the examples of the many accidents that happened during our experimentation . 这仅仅是我们实验过程中 许多意外中的一个例子。
experimentation:n.实验;试验;
But this mistake turned out to be rather serendipitous . 但这个不小心却变成了一个意外的收获。
serendipitous:adj.偶然发现的;
We noticed that the unharmed cultures came from places of opposite contamination levels, so this mistake actually led us to think that perhaps we can compare the different degradative potentials of bacteria from sites of opposite contamination levels. 我们注意到没有破损的培养基 来自于污染程度完全相反的两个地方（鸟类保护区和垃圾填堆区）, 这使我们想到 也许我们可以比较 污染程度相反地点所采集到的细菌 降解能力的不同。
unharmed:adj.无恙的;没有受伤的; contamination:n.污染,玷污;污染物; compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较; potentials:n.[电]电位;潜能(potential的复数);
JY: Now that we grew the bacteria, we wanted to isolate strains by streaking onto mediate plates, because we thought that would be less accident-prone , but we were wrong again. 姚佳韵:接下来在我们培养细菌的时候, 我们想要用划线接种到调节板的方法来将菌种分离, 因为我们觉得这样可以 降低发生意外的可能,但我们又错了。
isolate:v.孤立; n.[微]分离菌; strains:n.[微]菌株(strain复数); v.[力]拉紧; streaking:n.裸奔;v.加条纹(streak的现在分词); mediate:vi.调解;斡旋;居中;vt.调停;传达;adj.间接的;居间的; accident-prone:adj.易出事故的;易惹事故的;事故率超出一般的;
We poked holes in our agar while streaking and contaminated some samples and funghi. 当我们在划线接种的时候戳破了培养基 并且污染了一些样本跟真菌。
poked:v.捅,杵;推;捅;戳;探;伸出;探出(poke的过去分词和过去式) agar:n.琼脂(一种植物胶);
As a result, we had to streak and restreak several times. 结果就是,我们不得不多尝试几次。
Then we monitored phthalate utilization and bacterial growth, and found that they shared an inverse correlation , so as bacterial populations increased, phthalate concentrations decreased . 之后我们监测了邻苯二甲酸酯使用率 跟细菌增长率, 我们发现这两者呈现出负相关, 所以当细菌数量增长时, 邻苯二甲酸酯浓度就会降低。
utilization:n.利用,使用; inverse:n.相反;倒转;adj.相反的;倒转的;v.使倒转;使颠倒; correlation:n.[数]相关,关联;相互关系; concentrations:n.关注点;[土壤]浓聚物(concentration的复数); decreased:v.减少,减小,降低;(decrease的过去分词和过去式)
This means that our bacteria were actually living off of phthalates. 这意味着我们的细菌实际上是靠邻苯二甲酸酯存活的。
MW: So now that we found bacteria that could break down phthalates, we wondered what these bacteria were. 汪郁雯: 如今我们发现了可以分解邻苯二甲酸酯的细菌, 我们想要了解这些究竟是怎样的细菌。
So Jeanny and I took three of our most efficient strains and then performed gene amplification sequencing on them and matched our data with an online comprehensive database. 所以珍妮和我取样了三种最有效的菌株 之后对它们进行了基因扩增测序 并且将我们的数据跟一个综合在线数据库进行了比对。
efficient:adj.有效率的;有能力的;生效的; performed:v.表演;执行;履行;演出;工作,运转(好/不好)(perform的过去分词和过去式) gene:n.基因;遗传基因;遗传因子; amplification:n.[电子]放大(率);扩大;详述; sequencing:n.[计]排序; v.[计]定序(sequence的ing形式); comprehensive:adj.综合的;广泛的;有理解力的;n.综合学校;专业综合测验;
We were happy to see that, although our three strains had been previously identified bacteria, two of them were not previously associated with phthalate degradation , so this was actually a novel discovery. 我们高兴地发现, 尽管我们的三个菌株是已经被识别的细菌, 但其中两个之前并未与 邻苯二甲酸酯的降解联系在一起,所以这实际上是一个全新的发现。
previously:adv.先前;以前; identified:v.确认;认出;找到;发现;说明身份;(identify的过去式和过去分词) associated:adj.有关联的; v.联想; (associate的过去分词和过去式) degradation:n.退化;降格,降级;堕落; novel:adj.新奇的;异常的;n.小说;
JY: To better understand how this biodegradation works, we wanted to verify the catabolic pathways of our three strains. 姚佳韵:为了更好地理解这样一个生物降解过程, 我们想要检测这三个菌株的分解代谢过程。
verify:vt.核实;查证; catabolic:adj.分解代谢的;异化的; pathways:n.小路;小径(pathway的复数);
To do this, we extracted enzymes from our bacteria and reacted with an intermediate of phthalic acid. 为此,我们从这些细菌中提举了酶样本 并且跟一种邻苯二甲酸媒介进行了化学反应。
extracted:adj.萃取的;引出的;v.提取(extract的过去式及过去分词); enzymes:n.[生化]酶(enzyme的复数);酶类,酵素; reacted:v.起反应; (react的过去分词和过去式) intermediate:adj.中间的; v.起调解作用; n.中级学生;
MW: We monitored this experiment with spectrophotometry and obtained this beautiful graph. 汪郁雯:我们使用分光光度测定法监测了这个实验 并且获得了这个美丽的曲线图。
spectrophotometry:n.[分化][光]分光光度法;[分化]分光光度测定法; obtained:v.获得(obtain的过去分词);
This graph shows that our bacteria really do have a genetic pathway to biodegrade phthalates. 这个曲线图显示我们的细菌确实有一种 可以生物降解邻苯二甲酸酯的基因路径。
genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的;
Our bacteria can transform phthalates, which is a harmful toxin , into end products such as carbon dioxide , water and alcohol . 我们的细菌可以将邻苯二甲酸酯这样一种有害毒素 转化成二氧化碳,水 还有酒精。
transform:v.使改变;使改观;使转换;n.[数]变换式;[化]反式; toxin:n.毒素;毒质; carbon dioxide:二氧化碳; alcohol:n.酒精;乙醇;含酒精饮料;
I know some of you in the crowd are thinking, well, carbon dioxide is horrible, it's a greenhouse gas . 我知道你们当中肯定会有人在想,
greenhouse gas:n.温室气体(尤指二氧化碳);
But if our bacteria did not evolve to break down phthalates, they would have used some other kind of carbon source, and aerobic respiration would have led it to have end products such as carbon dioxide anyway. 但如果我们的细菌没有进化到可以降解邻苯二甲酸酯, 他们就会使用其它碳资源, 同时有氧呼吸会使其 最终还是成为二氧化碳。
aerobic:adj.需氧的;增氧健身法的; respiration:n.呼吸;呼吸作用;
We were also interested to see that, although we've obtained greater diversity of bacteria biodegraders from the bird habitat site, we obtained the most efficient degraders from the landfill site. 我们惊喜地看到, 尽管我们从鸟类栖息地采集到了 多种多样的具有降解能力的细菌, 我们所获取到的降解效果最佳的细菌却来自垃圾堆。
diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: habitat:n.[生态]栖息地,产地; degraders:n.降能器; landfill:n.垃圾填埋地;垃圾堆;
So this fully shows that nature evolves through natural selection . 这也充分显示了是自然界进化是 物竞天择的。
evolves:v.进化,进展(evolve的第三人称单数形式); natural selection:n.自然选择;物竞天择;
JY: So Miranda and I shared this research at the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge competition and were recognized with the greatest commercialization potential. 姚佳韵:米兰达和我在赛诺菲（音译）生物天才挑战赛上 分享了这个研究,同时 也被认为最具有商业潜能。
competition:n.竞争;比赛,竞赛; recognized:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到;(recognize的过去分词和过去式) commercialization:n.商品化,商业化;
Although we're not the first ones to find bacteria that can break down phthalates, we were the first ones to look into our local river and find a possible solution to a local problem. 尽管我们不是第一个发现细菌 可以用来分解邻苯二甲酸酯的人, 但我们是第一个对本地的河流进行调查 并找出方法解决本地问题的人。
solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答;
We have not only shown that bacteria can be the solution to plastic pollution, but also that being open to uncertain outcomes and taking risks create opportunities for unexpected discoveries. 我们不仅证明了细菌 解决塑料污染的方法,也证明了 对未知结果的开放态度以及冒险精神 可以为意外发现创造机会。
uncertain:adj.无常的;含糊的;靠不住的;迟疑不决的; outcomes:n.结果;成果;后果;出路;(outcome的复数) unexpected:adj.意外的,想不到的;
Throughout this journey, we have also discovered our passion for science, and are currently continuing research on other fossil fuel chemicals in university. 通过这样的经历,我们也发现自己对于科学的热情, 如今我们在大学里继续着 对其它化石燃料化学成分的研究。
Throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及; passion:n.激情;热情;酷爱;盛怒; currently:adv.当前;一般地; fossil fuel:n.化石燃料(如煤或石油); chemicals:n.化学制品;化学品;(chemical的复数)
We hope that in the near future, we'll be able to create model organisms that can break down not only phthalates but a wide variety of different contaminants . 我们希望在不久的将来, 我们可以创造出模型生物体 用来分解除了邻苯二甲酸酯以外 更多品种的污染物。
organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体; variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化; contaminants:n.[环境]污染物;污垢物(contaminant的复数);
We can apply this to wastewater treatment plants to clean up our rivers and other natural resources. 我们可以将此应用在污水处理厂 来净化我们的河流 以及其他自然资源。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求; wastewater:n.废水,污水; treatment:n.治疗;疗法;对待;处理;讨论;
And perhaps one day we'll be able to tackle the problem of solid plastic waste. 并且也许有一天我们能够解决 固体塑料垃圾的问题。
tackle:v.处理; n.用具;
MW: I think our journey has truly transformed our view of microorganisms , and Jeanny and I have shown that even mistakes can lead to discoveries. 汪郁雯:我认为我们的经历确实改变了 我们关于微生物的观点, 珍妮和我证明了 即使错误也能带来新的发现。
transformed:v.使改变形态;使改变外观(或性质);(transform的过去分词和过去式) microorganisms:n.[微]微生物,微生虫(microorganism的复数);
Einstein once said, "You can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking you used when you created them." 爱因斯坦曾说过, “你不可以用你造成问题的思路 去解决你的问题。”
If we're making plastic synthetically , then we think the solution would be to break them down biochemically . 如果我们制造塑料的方式是“（人工）合成式”的,那么我们 解决塑料污染问题的方式就是“生物化学降解式”的。
synthetically:adv.综合地;合成地; biochemically:生化地;
Thank you. JY: Thank you. 谢谢大家。姚佳韵:谢谢大家。
(Applause) （掌声）