托福听力

🎧 听力原文

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an environmental science class. Professor: Today we're going to talk about a surprising source of pollution: your laundry. When you wash synthetic fabrics like polyester, they shed thousands of tiny plastic fibers, called microfibers. These fibers are less than five millimeters long, and they pass through wastewater treatment plants because the filters aren't fine enough to catch them. Once in the ocean, they're ingested by fish and other marine life, and they can end up on your dinner plate. A recent study found that a single fleece jacket can release up to two grams of microfibers per wash. Some solutions include using washing machines with special filters or adding a device to catch fibers in the wash cycle. However, the simplest way is to wash less often and use cold water, which reduces fiber shedding. But, as I'll explain, these solutions aren't perfect, and more research is needed.