12月21日午间英语新闻：最新研究：使用塑料砧板切菜会产生微塑料

> Retail sales show signs of China's recovering economy

国家统计局：11月国民经济持续回升向好

China's economy showed signs of steady recovery in November as industrial production and retail sales picked up, though pressures remain, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

国家统计局15日表示，尽管压力依然存在，但随着工业、零售这些指标持续改善，11月份国民经济稳步回升向好。

Figures released by NBS showed China's value-added industrial output - a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors - grew by 6.6 percent from a year earlier in November, up from the 4.6 percent rise in October.

国家统计局发布数据显示，11月规模以上工业增加值（衡量制造业、采矿业和公用事业等经济活动的指标）同比增长6.6%，高于10月的4.6%。

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 10.1 percent year-on-year in November, up from the 7.6 percent growth in October.

作为衡量消费者支出的关键指标，11月社会消费品零售总额同比增长10.1%，高于10月的7.6%。

In the January-November period, fixed-asset investment - a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment - grew by 2.9 percent compared with a year earlier, equal to the readings for the January-October period.

1至11月期间，全国固定资产投资（衡量基础设施、房地产、机械和设备等项目的支出）同比增长2.9%，与1至10月份持平。

Despite fresh signs of reviving, NBS said the economy still faces many unstable and uncertain factors in external environments while domestic demand remains insufficient. It added that the foundation for economic recovery still needs to be consolidated.

国家统计局称，国民经济持续回升向好，但也要看到，外部不稳定不确定因素依然较多，国内需求仍显不足。经济回升向好基础仍需巩固。

The country will strengthen macroeconomic regulation, and more efforts will be made to boost economic vitality, prevent and mitigate risks, improve social expectations, consolidate and promote the momentum of economic recovery, and effectively improve the quality of the economy and promote its growth within a reasonable range, according to NBS.

国家统计局表示，中国将加强宏观经济调控，切实增强经济活力、防范化解风险、改善社会预期，巩固和增强经济回升向好态势，持续推动经济实现质的有效提升和量的合理增长。

重点词汇：

gauge

英/ ɡeɪdʒ / 美/ ɡeɪdʒ /

n.测量仪器；宽度，厚度；（测量或判断的）尺度，标准；（铁道的）轨距；（枪管的）口径；（汽车）胎压计

v.估计，判断；测量

> People ditching plastic cutting boards after disturbing study

最新研究：使用塑料砧板切菜会产生微塑料

Not only does plastic cause real havoc on our oceans and take centuries to decay, causing even more of an environmental crisis, but toxicologists have questioned whether consuming microplastics can negatively impact health. Especially if there are pieces of plastic you’re using on a regular basis, like your plastic cutting board.

塑料不仅给海洋造成了真正的破坏，而且需要几个世纪的时间才能腐烂，从而造成更大的环境危机，但毒理学家也质疑食用微塑料是否会对健康产生负面影响。尤其是当你经常使用一些塑料制品时，比如方便实用的塑料砧板。

A recent study published by the journal Ecotoxicology and Public Health evaluated the amount of microplastics found in food between two different types of plastic cutting boards. Carrots were chopped on a cutting board made with polypropylene, and another with polyethylene. Scientists evaluated what the total exposure would be per person when using these types of plastic cutting boards. 

近日发表在《生态毒理学与公共健康》杂志上的一项研究，对使用两种不同类型的塑料砧板在食物中发现的微塑料数量进行了评估。研究人员分别在聚丙烯砧板和聚乙烯砧板上切胡萝卜，评估在使用这两种塑料砧板时平均每个人的微塑料总接触量。

At the end of the study, they found these plastic cutting boards resulted in 1,114 microplastic particles (pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long) on the carrots each time the board was used. This means a plastic cutting board could generate 15 milligrams of microplastics per cut, and around 50 grams a year — the equivalent of 10 plastic credit cards.

研究结束时，他们发现每次使用这些塑料砧板都会在胡萝卜上产生1114个微塑料颗粒（长度小于5毫米的塑料碎片）。这意味着塑料砧板切菜每次会产生15毫克的微塑料，一年大约产生50克，相当于10张塑料信用卡。

With so many microplastics being exposed to our food, should consumers be worried? The Kitchn spoke with Alex LeBeau, a toxicologist and certified industrial hygienist on the impact on human health from using plastic cutting boards on a regular basis, and if there are healthier cutting board solutions we should consider.

如此多的微塑料暴露在食物中，消费者是否应该担心？The Kitchn 就经常使用塑料砧板对人体健康的影响以及是否应该考虑使用更健康的砧板采访了相关领域专家亚历克斯·勒博。

At first, the studies regarding microplastics consumption seem bleak. Evidence suggests that microplastics can be found in our blood, our lungs, and even our placenta, and can be potentially hazardous to our physical health. A 2022 animal study in South Korea found microplastics could interfere with digestive, respiratory, endocrine, and even our reproductive systems.

起初，有关微塑料消耗的研究似乎并不乐观。有证据表明，微塑料可能存在于我们的血液、肺部甚至胎盘中，对身体健康有潜在危害。2022 年在韩国进行的一项动物研究发现，微塑料可能会干扰消化、呼吸、内分泌甚至生殖系统。

And yet, while this research will make a plastic cutting board user seem wary, it’s important to note that the science is still new and very limited. Dr. LeBeau points out that while the recent study evaluating cutting boards does prove the release of microplastic particles, it does not make any claims about the negative effects these cutting boards can have on human health. 

然而，尽管这项研究会让塑料砧板使用者保持警惕，但重要的是要注意，这是一项新的科学研究，而且有很大局限性。勒博博士指出，虽然最近评估砧板的研究确实证明了微塑料颗粒的释放，但研究并没有声称这些砧板会对人类健康产生负面影响。

Plus, the studies that look at microplastics potentially harming human health are all looking at correlation without making any outright claims because the connection between the two is still harder to outright conclude. 

此外，有关微塑料可能危害人类健康的研究都是在研究两者之间的相关性，而没有提出任何明确的说法，因为两者之间的联系还很难直接得出结论。

重点词汇：

polypropylene

英/ ˌpɒliˈprəʊpəliːn / 美/ ˌpɑːliˈproʊpəliːn /

[高分子] 聚丙烯

polyethylene

英/ ˌpɒliˈeθəliːn / 美/ ˌpɑːliˈeθəliːn /

聚乙烯 (PE)