Japanisgettingtoughaboutrecycling—andnotinthepaperandplastickindofway.Recently,thecountryrequiresthatallelectronicgoods—TVs,VCRs,stereos,andmore—berecycled.Butrecyclingwillnotbelefttoconsumers,instead,thedeviceswillbesenttotheoriginalmanufacturerforproperdisposal.
Thenewlawposesafewchallengestomanufacturerswhoarenowrushingtosetupcollectionnetworksandperfectingtechniquestodisassembleandrecycleolderproducts.Withaneyetowardthefuture,theyarealsointegratingeasilyrecycledmaterialsintonewproducts.Plastics,amajorcomponentofmostelectronicproducts,poseaparticularobstaclebecausetheirqualitybecomesworseandworsewithage,losingstrengthandflexibilityevenifreprocessed.NECCorp.overcomesthisproblembycreatingaplasticssandwich,inwhichthefillingis100percentrecycledplasticandtheouterlayersamixtureof14percentrecycledmaterial.TheresultingplastichassufficientstrengthandtoughnessforuseasacasefordesktopPCs.Thecompany,incooperationwithplasticmakerSumitomoDow,hasalsodevelopedanewplastic,whichengineersclaimretainsitsmechanicalpropertiesthroughrepeatedrecycling.NECusestheplastic,whichisalsoflame-retardant(阻燃的)inbatterycasesfornotebookPCs.
Meanwhile,MatsushitaElectric,makerofthePanasonicbrand,isavoidingplasticinfavorofmagnesium(镁).Magnesium,saysthecompany,isidealforrecyclingbecauseitretainsitsoriginalstrengththroughrepeatedreprocessing.Matsushitahasdevelopedmoldingtechniquestoformmagnesiumintothecasefora21-inchTV.Unfortunately,themagnesiumcaseandenergy-savingfeaturesmaketheTVabouttwiceasexpensiveasanordinarymodel.Thecompanyhopes,however,thatincreaseduseofmagnesiumwilleventuallybringpricesdown.
练习题：
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.AccordingtothepresentregulationsofJapan,therecyclingofpaperandplasticwillbetheresponsibilityof______.
2.WhichofthefollowingisNOTthecharacterofplastics?
A.Mostelectronicproductscontainplastics.
B.Itretainsitsoriginalstrengththroughreprocessing.
C.Recycledplasticscanbeintegratedintonewproducts.
D.Plasticswillloseflexibilityafteracertainperiodoftime.
3.Accordingtothepassage,theterm“plasticsandwich”refersto_____.
A.akindofsandwich-shapedtoymadeofplastics
B.akindofplasticswithdifferentintegrationineachlayer
C.akindofplasticswithmaximumstrengthandflexibility
D.akindofplasticsmadeof100%recycledmaterials
4.Inthepassage,itisimpliedbutNOTstatedthat_____.
A.disposingtheplasticsisoneofNECCorp’sbusinesses
B.magnesiumisanidealmaterialforthecaseofTV
C.21-inchTVwithmagnesiumcaseisn’tverypopularsofar
D.magnesiummustbebetterthantheplastics
5.Theauthorwritesthispassageinorderto_____.
