以下文章来自WX公主号“英语跃进”
If you've ever eaten okra, then you'll know that the stuff can be pretty gooey. According to new research, that quality could allow a compound from the plant to be used in a less toxic method of removing microplastics from drinking water.
如果你曾经吃过秋葵，那么你就会知道它很粘稠。根据一项新的研究，基于这种特性，可以利用该植物中的一种化合物去除饮用水中的微塑料，且这种净水方法的毒性较小。
It's an unfortunate fact that tiny fragments of plastic pollution are now spread throughout the world's waterways. The health effects of ingesting those fragments themselves are still not fully known, although one danger lies in the fact that the particles could absorb pollutants from the environment, then pass those pollutants on to us.
不幸的是，塑料微粒污染现在已经遍布世界各地的水道。摄入这些微粒对健康的影响尚不完全清楚，其中一个危险在于这些颗粒可能会从环境中吸收污染物，然后将这些污染物传递给我们。
In order to remove plastic microparticles from municipal water supplies, water treatment plants typically add chemicals known as flocculants to the water. These form into clumps which the particles stick to – when the clumps are subsequently removed from the water, they take the particles with them.
为了去除市政供水中的塑料微粒，水处理厂通常会在水中添加絮凝剂，形成粘附颗粒的团块——当团块从水中移除时，塑料颗粒也被带走。
Unfortunately, flocculants such as polyacrylamide can themselves become toxic under certain conditions. Seeking a safer alternative, Dr. Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Texas' Tarleton State University looked to compounds extracted from several food-grade plants.
不幸的是，在某些条件下，聚丙烯酰胺等絮凝剂本身会变得有毒。为了寻找更安全的替代品，德克萨斯州塔尔顿州立大学的Rajani Srinivasan博士及其同事研究了从几种食品级植物中提取的化合物。
After some experimentation, it was found that polysaccharides from okra paired with those from fenugreek worked best at removing microplastics from seawater, while those same okra polysaccharides paired with those from tamarind were best for use on freshwater.
经过一些实验，发现黄秋葵多糖和胡芦巴多糖最适合去除海水中的微塑料，而黄秋葵多糖和罗望子多糖最适合用于淡水。
All in all, depending on factors such as the ratio of the polysaccharides and the water source, the plant-based flocculants performed either as well as or better than polyacrylamide. And importantly, they could be used in existing water treatment plants, without any alterations to the facilities or processes.
总之，根据多糖和水源的比例等因素，植物基絮凝剂的性能与聚丙烯酰胺相当或更好。重要的是，它们可以用于现有的水处理厂，而无需对设施或工艺进行任何更改。
重点词汇
okra /ˈoʊkrə/ n.秋葵
gooey /ˈɡuːi/ adj. 胶粘的
flocculant /ˈflɒkjʊlənt/ n. 凝聚剂
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