Skills Test 3B Units 5-6

READING SKILLS

1 Read the article and match headings 1-7 to paragraphs A-E. There are two extra headings that you do not need.

1 First European country to ban plastic bags

2 National bag bans in developing countries

3 Other bags are too expensive

4 The first bag ban in the UK

5 What of the future?

6 Too few people reuse plastic bags

7 Taxing bags works well

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Banning plastic bags

Disposable plastic bags are small things, but they are big news at the moment. Every year, 500 billion are used worldwide. In the UK alone, consumers get through over 13 billion bags a year - that's enough to fill 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools - over 400 bags per household!

Most plastic bags are only used for an average of just 20 minutes before they're thrown into the rubbish, but they then take hundreds of years to decompose. While they decompose, they kill animals and produce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. However, the fight against plastic bags is growing.

A

In the 1980s, a movement against plastic bags began in Bangladesh, where old plastic bags blocked drains and caused floods. In 2002, it became the first country to completely ban plastic bags. Other countries followed - Rwanda in 2005, Kenya in 2007 and China in 2008. However, things have been slower in developed countries.

B

In 2002, Ireland introduced a 33% tax on plastic bags so they cost 15 pence instead of being free. The result? People started buying and using cloth bags and within six weeks, use of plastic bags had dropped by a staggering 94%. Experts estimate that each cloth bag saves a thousand plastic ones so this is a huge step forward.

C

The village of Modbury in England hit the headlines in 2007 when it became the first place in England to completely ban plastic bags. When a local filmmaker, Rebecca Hosking, went to Hawaii to make a film she was horrified to see the environmental devastation caused by thousands of plastic bags. After returning home she showed her film to the local shopkeepers and persuaded them to stop using plastic bags. Several other towns and cities copied the idea. San Francisco became the first place in the USA to ban bags later that same year.

D

Since a ban went into place on January 1, 2011, stores in Italy, which used to use 20 billion bags a year (20% of all European use), have only offered paper, biodegradable or cloth bags. It is the first European country to completely ban plastic bags. Now the European Commission is considering a Europe-wide approach to plastic bags which could include total bans on single-use carrier bags.

E

Plastic bags are slowly beginning to disappear all over the world. As Italy's environment minister said, `Sustainability is made of little changes to our lifestyle that don't cost us anything and can save the planet.' Let's hope that one day in the future we will only see plastic bags in museums.

2 Read the article again. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?

1 Most plastic bags are only used for a short time before being thrown out. *

2 Rwanda and Kenya banned plastic bags after the ban in Bangladesh. *

3 After the bag price increase in Ireland the number of bags used only dropped a little. *

4 After her trip to Hawaii, Rebecca Hosking wanted the shopkeepers in her home
town to stop using plastic bags. *

5 The European Commission has banned plastic bags in two European countries. *

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LISTENING SKILLS

1 Track 4 Match extracts 1-5 with descriptions A-E. There are two extra descriptions that you do not need.

Extract 1 *

Extract 2 *

Extract 3 *

Extract 4 *

Extract 5 *

A information for visitors

B a film review

C a student giving a talk about a novel

D a teenager writing a text message

E a news report

F a student in a history class

G a group of people visiting a museum

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2 Track 4 Listen again and choose the correct answers.

1 At the time of the disaster, the city

a had 20,000 inhabitants.

b was on the top of a mountain.

c didn't have many shops.

2 The flood

a killed 70 people.

b destroyed 200,000 homes.

c caused damage that will be very expensive to repair.

3 There is no information on the message about

a group visits.

b the bookshop.

c the most recent exhibition.

4 The speaker says The Smoke Jumper

a is a book of photos of forest fires.

b was written by Nicholas Evans.

c sounds like a boring story.

5 Galveston is the name of

a the hurricane.

b the city.

c the director.

/ 5

COMMUNICATION

1 Complete the mini dialogues with the words in the box. There are two extra words that you do not need.

appreciate better don't idea loss should were worth

1 A My cat keeps being sick. I've no idea what to do.

B You'd __ take it to the vet.

2 A I want to buy my children a pet. I'd really __ your advice.

B Why __ you get a dog? I'm sure they'd love that.

3 A My dog gets really nervous when I go out to work. I'm at a __ as to what to do.

B Have you asked Jim? He knows a lot about dogs.

4 A I need a cheap plane ticket to China, do you know a good travel agency?

B I think it's __ checking on the Internet, there are special summer promotions now.

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TOTAL				/ 25

PHOTOCOPIABLE New Matura Success Intermediate © 2011 Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o.

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Name _________________________________________________ Class ________________________

PHOTOCOPIABLE New Matura Success Intermediate © 2011 Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o.

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