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BEST IELTS General Reading Test 33
GENERAL READING TEST 33 – PASSAGE – 2
GENERAL READING TEST 33
READING PASSAGE – 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 16-28, which are based on Reading Passage – 2 below.
A PANDEMIC CALLED PLASTIC
A. In the last decade, the composition of garbage/solid waste in India cities and towns has been gradually dominated by ‘dispossable’ thin polythene carry bags and varying sizes of sachets, cups, plates, and containers made of flimsy plastic. Ironically, the word disposable is a misnomer, because most of these plastic items are not disposed of but just passed on along a typical chain.
B. Once they leave the place of manufacture, these low grade plastics (fit only for single use) travel from the storekeeper to the consumer to household garbage bins to tricycle/tempos to municipal solid waste bins and finally to landfill sites. When they are not channeled to reach bins or garbage collection points, they are seen flying just about everywhere – on roads and footpaths, at public places where people gather, along the railway tracks, at inaccessible places including lakes, nullas, open wells and drains and even on treetops.
C. Plastics travelling downstream reach villages on the outskirts of urban areas and cause untold damage to farmers;’ field and cattle. Enough has been said and written with vivid portrayals through pictures and the electronic media. Each of us is well aware of the pollution and destruction caused to air, water, land, animal and man by the “never disposable” characteristics of low grade plastic materials which no one wants to retrieve. They are neither recyclable nor biodegradable.
D. Littering is now a behavioural license in India. It is assumed that sanitation workers are paid and therefore people are entitled to litter the place. But no amount of resources spent on facilities for picking up litter is adequate for cleaning the unsightly mess in front of eateries, shops and entertainment spots. For all the talk on segregating domestic waste at source, namely in household, the practice of filling cheap plastic containers with leftover food and wet wastes is only on the increase and compounds the problems of sanitation workers at every level.
E. If anyone is blamed it is the municipality! Surprisingly, no one speaks about who generated the litter in the first place. Growing consumerism over the last decade has compounded the problem to make it reach ‘tsunamic’ proportions. Less than two years ago, three young children foraging for bits of metal recyclables in mountains of garbage at a landfill in Autonagar, Hyderabad, were actually buried alive under a landslide of garbage, predominantly plastic. A few months ago, three women went missing at a similar site at Jawaharnagar in the same city.
F. Let us not become so insensitive as to treat these instances as mere news items. From administrators in governments, to plastic manufacturers and consumers, everyone has a role to play.
G. It is not that we as a nation were unaware of the problem 10 years ago. Several environmentally conscious citizens trusted our policymakers and waited for them to take bold decisions and implement them. In small groups, consumers decided to use their own reusable shopping bags and to “say no to plastics.” The effort of such groups has, however, been a drop in the ocean!
Questions 16-20
Choose the appropriate letter from A-D and write them I boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.
16. Which paragraph describes the ‘typical chain’ of plastic pollution?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
17. In which paragraph is there a mention of plastic items called solid waste?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
18. What do we normally have in homes to keep the household waste?
A. Iron bucket.
B. Plastic bags.
C. Cheap plastic container.
D. Big cans.
19. Who is generally blame for the problem of sanitation?
A. Safai sewaks.
B. maid-servants.
C. stray animals
D. Municipality
20. What should everyone do to get rid of this problem of insanitation?
A. Say no to plastics.
B. Stop using plastic items.
C. Avoid buying plastic items.
D. Plastic items should be banned.
Questions 21-25
Complete the table below.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answer in boxes 21-25 on your answer sheet.
| olythene carry bags are made of | 21……………………………………….. |
| 22…………………………………… | What travels from the shopkeeper to the consumer |
| The low grade plastic material is neither | 23………………………………………… |
| Surprisingly, no one speaks about who | 24………………………………………… |
| 25…………………………………… | The effort to ‘say no to plastics’ will be like a drom. |
Questions 26-28
Using NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS from the passage, answer the following questions.
26. Where does the low grade plastic finally go?
27. Where does the garbage collect besides public places?
28. What decision was once taken by small groups of consumers?
ANSWER KEY
16. B
17. A
18. C
19. D
20. A
21. flimsy plastic
22. low grade plastics
23. recyclable nor biodegradable
24. generated the litter
25. in the ocean
26. to landfill sites
27. on roads and footpaths
28. ‘Say no to plastics’
