The firm used to be a sponge to soak up surplus east Indian Labour.

该公司过去是吸收东印度多余劳动力的一块海绵。

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Treatment typically consists of dietary phosphate restriction and phosphate binders—medications that work like a sponge to soak up phosphate in the gut.

这种治疗通常包括限制磷酸盐饮食和使用磷酸盐结合剂，后者像海绵一样吸收肠内磷酸盐。

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Working with Yale University neurologist Stephen Strittmatter, who cloned the Nogo gene, Biogen Idec has created a counterinsurgency protein that acts as a sponge to soak up copies of Nogo and other growth-blocking proteins in the spinal cord before they can bind to the receptor.

FORBES: Health

The tax breaks could act like a giant sponge to soak up income that would otherwise be taxed.

FORBES: The Numbers Don't Add Up: IRS Says Solyndra's $71M Cash Can't Pay $900M In Debt

The diatom skeletons of which the mineral is composed are able to soak up huge quantities of oily materials such as lanolin and nitroglycerine, in the same way that a sponge soaks up water.

ECONOMIST: Pest control