英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

　　Banana peels have led to the misfortune of many cartoon characters for as long as falling down has been funny. _(1)_ Scientists in Brazil have discovered that when banana peels are dried and ground into a powder, they can be more effective in purifying contaminated water than many other filtering chemicals on the market.
　　Scientists discovered that banana peels contain nitrogen (氮), sulfur (硫), and most importantly, carboxylic acids (羧酸). _(2)_ These waters could have possibly been polluted with mining refuse, industrial waste, or runoff from farms. Perhaps more significant is the fact that the peels can be used repeatedly. _(3)_ This means that the use of banana peels as water purifiers provides a cheap,renewable, and environmentally friendly method of removing toxins from vital water sources around the world. Though the peels cannot remove bacteria from the water, their rate of extracting heavy metal contaminants can be as high as 65 percent per treatment. _(4)_
　　Brazil is a country in which bananas are incredibly abundant. Restaurants and markets in its major cities throw away tons of banana peels a week. _(5)_ However, cleaning water is not the only thing banana peels can do. As every good housewife knows, they can also be used to polish silver, burnish leather, and give houseplants a healthy new shine.

(A) These acids bind with metals, such as lead and copper, effectively removing them from polluted bodies of water like oceans, lakes, and streams.
(B) The potential for recycling such a large amount of food waste into asustainable water purifier is an environmentalist's dream.
(C) Now, it seems the slippery skin of the banana is finally developing areputation in the scientific community.
(D) As a matter of fact, the same peels can be used up to 11 times before they become ineffective as purifiers.
(E) Each treatment cycle can of course be repeated over and over to gain an almost complete cleansing.

1. misfortune n. 不幸
2. filter vt. 過濾，濾除
3. nitrogen n. 氮
4. sulfur n. 硫磺
5. carboxylic acid n. 羧酸
6. refuse n. 廢物，垃圾
7. runoff n.（製造過程中）排出的廢物
8. renewable a.（能源）可再生的
9. toxin n. 毒素
10. bacteria n. 細菌（複數形）
    bacterium n. 細菌（單數形）
11. contaminant n. 污染物，致污物
12. burnish vt. 擦亮 車

香蕉皮淨化水質有奇效
科學家正在研究香蕉皮是否能淨化海洋。
　　長久以來，只要跌倒會引人哈哈大笑，香蕉皮造成了許多卡通人物的不幸。如今，滑溜的香蕉皮似乎終於在科學界打響名號。巴西的科學家發現，晾乾並磨成粉後的香蕉皮能有效地淨化污水，效果優於市面上其他許多化學過濾物質。
　　科學家發現香蕉皮含有氮和硫，而更重要的是，它含有羧酸。這些酸性物質能與銅和鉛等金屬結合，有效地將這些金屬物從海洋、湖泊、溪流等受汙染的水中清除。這些水源可能是被採礦產生的廢棄物、工業廢料或農田流出的廢物所污染。或許更重要的是，香蕉皮可以不斷重複使用。事實上，同 1 條香蕉皮在變成無效的淨化物之前可使用多達 11 次。這意味著被拿來當作淨化水質的香蕉皮提供了 1 種廉價、可再生且環保的方式，來清除全球重要水源中的毒素。雖然香蕉皮不能去除水中的細菌，但每次處理所吸附的重金屬汙染物比率可高達百分之六十五。每次的循環處理過程當然可以一再重複，以達到幾乎徹底的淨化效果。
　　巴西是盛產香蕉的國家。該主要城市的餐廳和市場每星期丟棄大量的香蕉皮。將如此大量的食品廢棄物回收再生為能持續淨化水源的工具，這種潛力可說是環保人士的夢想。然而，淨化水質並非是香蕉皮唯一能做的事。每位賢慧的家庭主婦都知道，香蕉皮也可以用來擦亮銀器和皮革，以及讓室內盆栽植物健康地閃閃發光。
答案： 1. (C)　2. (A)　3. (D)　4. (E)　5. (B)