[A] brief [B] conclude [C] cumulative [D] descendants [E] developed

[F] exotic [G] hazard [H] ingested [I] inhabitants [J] lingering

[K] marine [L] neglectfully [M] pollutant [N] properly [O] released

A staggering 8 million tonnes of plastic waste is entering the world’s oceans every year, which is equivalent to five grocery bags full of plastic for every foot of coastline in the world, according to the first scientific assessment of the problem.

The joint US-Australian study,【C1】_____at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, analysed waste production data from 192 countries to【C2】_____that 4.8 million to 12.7 million tonnes of “mismanaged plastic” entered the oceans in 2010, and 8 million tonnes is the central estimate.

Plastic in the oceans is becoming a serious ecological problem for【C3】_____life, as well as an ugly【C4】__washed up on beaches and floating on the open seas. Large pieces such as intact plastic bags are a【C5】__for animals from turtles to dolphins, which can become entangled (缠住) or swallow them with fatal results. More insidious is the weathering of plastic debris into tiny particles that can be【C6】_____even by microscopic invertebrates (无脊椎动物).

“In 2025 the annual input would be about twice the 2010 input or 10 bags per foot of coastline. The【C7】________input in 2025 would be nearly 20 times our 2010 estimate: 100 bags full of plastic per foot of coastline in the world,” said the study leader Jenna Jambeck.

Fortunately,【C8】_____nations have the infrastructure to dispose【C9】__of the vast majority of their plastic or recycle it. But poorer countries do not. Altogether about 3 percent of the world’s total plastic waste ends up in the oceans through littering or dumping. A huge investment will be needed to save the oceans and their 【C10】_____from choking on human plastic debris.

【C5】