亞馬遜在美國仍然存在著嚴重的塑料垃圾問題

蔣子慧

Despite making pledges（承諾） to cut down on plastic packaging， a new report from the nonprofit conservation organization Oceana estimates （預估）that Amazons plastic waste has continued to grow in the US.

The company created 208 million pounds of plastic waste from its packaging in the US in 2022 alone. But the US is a worrying outlier for Amazon， Oceana says. Globally， the e-commerce giant says that it reduced its use of plastic packaging 11.6 percent in 2022 compared to the prior year， and Oceana argues its where Amazon needs to make a progress.

“Why are U.S. customers being left behind？” Matt Littlejohn， Oceanas senior vice president said in an emailed press release.

Theres not much transparency（顯而易見的）on how much plastic waste Amazon pumps out from place to place. Its latest sustainability （可持續性）report， doesnt break the data down by country. Oceana relied on market data from firms Mordor Intelligence and Euromonitor to conduct its analysis， and then made adjustments based on public statements Amazon has made about new measures meant to reduce waste.

In July of last year， Amazon appeared to make a vague commitment to ditch some of its iconic plastic packaging altogether. The company said it will take action， but it didnt set a timeline for when that would happen.

Oceana wants to see the company phase out plastic packaging in its home base， the US. Its also calling on Amazon to shrink the total amount of plastic packaging it uses by a minimum of one-third by the end of the decade.

（材料來自The Verge，有刪改）

1. Which of the following titles is the most suitable for this article？

A. Amazon still has a serious plastic waste problem in the US.

B. Amazon has found a sustainable path in the US market.

C. Amazons plastic waste issue in the US market has been resolved.

D. Amazons plastic waste problem in the US market is hopeless.

2. What is the attitude of the issue Oceana about the plastic problem in the US？

A. Supportive. B. Positive.

C. Concerned. D. Critical.

3.What action has Amazon taken in the US regarding plastic delivery packaging according to the article？

A. It has replaced all plastic packaging with sustainable alternatives.

B. It has made a vague commitment without a set timeline.

C. It has continued to use single-use plastic delivery bags.

D. It has launched a recycling program for its plastic film bags.

4. Which of the following words has a similar meaning to the word “shrink” in the last paragraph？

A. Blink. ? B. Expand. ? C. Contract. ? D. Reduce.

1. A。解析：主旨大意題。材料第一段提到“雖然亞馬遜已承諾削減塑料包裝的使用，但根據非營利環境保護組織Oceana的最新報告，亞馬遜在美國產生的塑料廢棄物量仍在持續上升”，由此可知美國仍然有很嚴重的塑料垃圾問題，故選A；而B選項是“已經找到了可持續發展道路”，與文章主旨不符；C選項是“美國已經解決了塑料垃圾問題”，與文章主旨不符；D選項是“美國塑料垃圾問題已經無法挽回”，過于夸大問題，不選。

2. C。解析：細節理解題。材料第二段提到“Oceana指出，對于亞馬遜來說，美國市場在塑料包裝問題上是一個讓人頭疼的特例。盡管在全球范圍內，這家電商巨頭宣稱其2022年的塑料包裝使用量較前一年下降了11.6%，但美國作為其最大的市場，Oceana認為亞馬遜還有很長的路要走”。由此可知，B選項“擔憂的”與材料相符合，故選B。

3. B。解析： 推理判斷題。材料第五段提到“去年7月，亞馬遜似乎做出了一個模糊的承諾，要徹底拋棄一些標志性的塑料包裝。該公司表示將采取行動，但沒有設定何時采取行動的時間表”，由此可知，B選項與材料相符合，故選B。

4. C。解析：詞義判斷題。shrink是“收縮、縮水”的意思，A選項是“眨眼”，B選項是“擴張、擴展”，D選項是“減少”，只有C選項含有“收縮、縮水”的意思，故選C。