Comprehension Level 7

SECTION A
COMPREHENSION

Text A
The problem with plastics
This article warns of the dangers of plastics.

Plastics are wonder materials: adaptable and durable. We produce and use more
plastics than we do almost any other man-made materials, apart from steel, cement
and brick. Scientists calculate the total plastic ever made as 8.3 billion tonnes – as
heavy as one billion elephants – an astonishing mass of material.

Mass-manufacturing of plastics began in the 1950s. Plastics are now all around us,
in everything from food wrapping to aeroplane parts and flame retardants. It is
precisely plastics’ amazing qualities that present a growing problem.

‘We’re rapidly heading towards “Planet Plastic”. If we don’t want to live in that kind of
world we have to rethink how we use materials, particularly plastic,’ explains
environmental scientist, Dr Ros Gaia. ‘None of the commonly used plastics are
biodegradable. You can permanently dispose of plastic waste by incinerating it – but
that’s complicated by concerns about health and emissions.’

Plastic items tend to be used for very short periods before being discarded. Waste
plastic is sent largely to landfill; much of it just litters the wider environment, including
the oceans.

Dr Gaia commented: ‘People need to realise that a plastic bottle could be recycled
20 times. Currently, poor design limits us. The whole point of recycling is keeping
material in use for ever if you can. Actually 90 per cent of the material that does get
recycled only gets recycled once.’

In the meantime, the waste mounts up. Recycling rates are increasing, and there are
new biodegradable alternatives, but manufacturing plastic is so cheap that there is
little incentive for change. Each year eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the
oceans, with clear evidence that some gets into the food chains because marine
creatures ingest small fragments of micro-plastics.

Dr Gaia explains: ‘We’re facing a tsunami of plastic waste. The global waste industry
needs to get its act together. We need a radical shift. On current trends, it will take
until 2060 before more plastic gets recycled than landfilled and lost to the
environment. We can’t wait that long.’

Question 1
(a) Give three examples of man-made materials humans use more than plastic.
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(b) Using your own words, explain what the text means by:
(i) ‘adaptable and durable’ (line 1):
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(ii) ‘an astonishing mass’ (line 4):
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(c) Re-read paragraph 3 ( ‘‘‘We’re rapidly ... emissions.’’’).
Give two reasons why disposing of plastics is difficult.
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(d) Re-read paragraphs 4 and 5 (‘Plastic items ... recycled once.’’’).
(i) Identify two facts about how plastic items are dealt with, which lead to plastic
waste littering the environment.
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(ii) What changes are needed to improve the recycling of plastic?
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(e) Re-read paragraphs 6 and 7 (‘In the meantime ... that long.’’’).
Using your own words, explain the reasons why the problem of plastic waste is not
being dealt with quickly enough.
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(3)

SECTION B
SUMMARY

Read Text B, and then answer Question 1(f) on the question paper.

Text B
It’s great that Blue Planet II is pushing hard on plastic pollution, but

The writer of the article has viewed a documentary about the world’s oceans called
Blue Planet II.
The documentary was first aired as a series on television and attracted large
numbers of viewers.

I gasped in awe at the latest stunning images of marine life in the marvellous
television documentary, Blue Planet II. Blue sharks dodged great whites to scavenge
on oceanic carrion; sperm whales dozed vertically then plunged to unfathomable
depths to feed.

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It was jaw-dropping stuff.

However, in this final part of the series, the narrator’s tone has changed. He has bad
news. He shows us grim images: turtles and tropical fish tangled in plastic debris and,
most heart-breaking of all, a mother pilot whale unable to let go of her long-dead
infant.
‘Today in the Atlantic waters whales have to share the ocean with plastic. A mother
is holding her newborn young – it’s dead,’ he said. ‘The mother’s milk may have
been contaminated by plastics.’

This had a big impact. One newspaper headline: ‘Shocked viewers vow never to use
disposable plastic again,’ captured the reaction of many. Online message boards
buzzed, demanding a ban on all plastics.

I know research suggests there could already be over five trillion pieces of plastic in
the ocean; that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish; that birds are starving
as they fill their guts with plastic waste; that micro-plastic is in our seafood. I wanted
to shout, ‘Yes! Ban plastics!’ but the scientist in me resisted.

In the whole programme, no direct link was made between the death of this baby
whale and plastics; we saw pictures of whales and pictures of plastics in the sea, but
no evidence that this whale-mother’s milk actually contained contamination from
plastics.
Nothing.

I convulsed with frustration at the idea of wildlife being killed by human waste, but
was incensed by the lack of direct evidence shown in the programme.

Some wildlife programmes have been criticised for passing off footage of captive
animals as hard-won material taken in the wild. If the facts are right, perhaps that’s
OK – it makes striking educational TV – but the linkages between this dead whale
and plastic pollution were at best circumstantial.

Campaigners argue that plastic and toxic chemicals are capable of killing young
whales, and everybody needs to realise the urgency of the pollution issue.
Urgent action is needed, but we need to keep up the pressure for change with good
evidence. I don’t want exposing the production fakery to become the story,
overshadowing the real story about plastic pollution. Please, programme makers, go
beyond brilliant images and gripping storylines. Documentaries can change views
with truth and scientific evidence.

Read Text B, It’s great that Blue Planet II is pushing hard on plastic pollution,
but, and then answer Question 1(f) on this question paper.

Question 1f
According to Text B, what problems are associated with plastic waste and the
way documentary programme makers are presenting the issue?
You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far
as possible.
Your summary should not be more than 120 words.

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Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer and up to 5 marks
for the quality of your writing.

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(15)

SECTION C
Read Text C, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) and Question 3 on the question
paper.
Text C
The penguin lessons
The narrator, Tom Michell, has borrowed his friend’s luxury holiday apartment by the
sea. It is out of season, and the friend is not using the apartment himself. Tom is
enjoying a few days relaxing and exploring in the quiet resort, and unexpectedly
meets a new friend and companion.

A few fishing boats and pleasure craft rocked gently in the small harbour on the
fashionable western side of the point, basking serenely in the winter sunlight. Cries
of gulls and the smell of fish filled the air. Vibrant colours of boats and painted
houses played against the sapphire sea and azure sky.

Swimming in unison, shimmering shoals of sprats raced around the harbour,

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them fly through the water, twisting and turning, snapping up sprats. I was only
surprised that there were not more penguins there feasting on such rich and easy
pickings.

I turned and walked round the promontory to the eastern side. I had only been
strolling along the seashore for minutes, when I caught sight of the first of them:
black, unmoving shapes. Initially, I was aware of only a few but, as I walked on, they
grew in number, until the whole beach appeared to be covered with black lumps in a
black carpet. Hundreds of penguins lay dead in the sand, covered in thick, cloying oil
and tar. Each wave that broke piled another grim batch of carcasses on top of those
already there. The sight was dreadful, sickening and depressing.

I understood then why there were so few penguins in the harbour – only a lucky few
had avoided the oil slick. Consumed by dark thoughts, I continued walking. The
pollution along the beach extended as far as I could see.

I had not heard reports of any oil spill, but in those days regulations were less
stringent.
After discharging cargo at their destinations, oil tankers would put to sea again and
wash out their tanks, creating vast, deadly floating oil slicks.

I had been walking briskly, unwilling to focus closely on the details of the dead
creatures, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a movement in the stillness on
the beach. I stopped. One valiant bird was alive: a single survivor struggling amid all
that death.

Although it was lying on its belly and covered in tar like the others, this penguin was
holding its head up and moving its wings with little spasmodic jerks. Could I walk on
and abandon it to the poisonous oil and exhausting, suffocating tar? I decided that I
could not; I headed towards it.

I had no clear plan – in fact, no plan at all. As I approached the solitary penguin, it
struggled to its feet, flapping sticky wings and ready to fight for its life once more.

Amid all the obscenity, this single penguin sparking with anger stood there, eyeing
me suspiciously. How would I approach this filthy, aggressive bird? I scanned the
accumulated rubbish along the beach: bits of wood, plastic bottles, disintegrating
fishing net. As I moved away, the penguin settled back down on its tummy again.
Hurriedly, I gathered debris that I thought might be of assistance. Now, gladiator-like,
I approached my quarry. Sensing the renewed threat, it immediately reared up to full
height. Its black malevolent eyes shone with pure loathing and venom. Its beak
snapped shut with a savage metallic clack. Swirling a piece of fishing net, I distracted
the penguin and, with the swiftness and bravery of Achilles, dropped the net over its
head, pushed it over with a stick and grabbed its feet.

Arriving back at the flat, I looked around and realised that I’d been carried away with
the idea of rescuing the penguin. The average penthouse holiday flat is rarely
equipped with the necessities for de-tarring penguins. I had not thought about the
practicalities that cleaning would involve. The flat was elegant, tasteful, like an
advertisement from a glossy magazine – the last place to bring a furious, oil-soaked

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penguin. The chances of making a real mess, and getting injured into the bargain,
seemed very real.

Read Text C, The penguin lessons, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) on this
question paper.

Question 2
Identify a word or phrase from the text which suggests the same idea as the
words underlined:
(a)
Boats used for recreational purposes were moored in the harbour as well as the
boats used by local fishermen.
(i)
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(ii) The colours of the boats and houses by the harbour were bright and cheerful.
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At the time of the incident, rules about where oil tankers could wash out their tanks
were not as strict as they are now.
(iii)
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Oil tanks washing out their tanks left huge patches of sea covered with a film of
poisonous oil.
(iv)
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(b) Using your own words, explain what the writer means by each of the words
underlined:
I turned and walked round the promontory to the eastern side. I had only been
strolling along the seashore for minutes, when I caught sight of the first of them:
black, unmoving shapes.
(i) strolling
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(ii) caught sight
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(iii) unmoving
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(c) Use one example from the text below to explain how the writer suggests his
feelings about what he saw on the beach.
Use your own words in your explanation.
Initially, I was aware of only a few but, as I walked on, they grew in number, until the
whole beach appeared to be covered with black lumps in a black carpet. Hundreds
of penguins lay dead in the sand, covered in thick, cloying oil and tar. Each wave

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that broke piled another grim batch of carcasses on top of those already there. The
sight was dreadful, sickening and depressing.
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(d) Re-read paragraphs 2 and 9.
• Paragraph 2 begins ‘Swimming in unison ’ and is about the wildlife in the harbour.
• Paragraph 9 begins ‘Amid all the ’ and is about approaching and capturing the bird.
Explain how the writer uses language to convey meaning and to create effect in
these paragraphs. Choose three examples of words or phrases from each
paragraph to support your answer. Your choices should include the use of imagery.
Write about 200 to 300 words.

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(15)

Re-read Text C, The penguin lessons, in the insert and then answer Question 3
on this question paper.

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Question 3
Imagine you are a local journalist. Recent events have prompted you to write a
magazine article about the need to better safeguard the area.
Write the magazine article.
In your article you should explain:
• the attractions of the local area and why people visit
• the problems affecting the area and the likely impact if things do not improve
• what Tom Michell did and why, and the result of his actions.
Base your article on what you have read in Text C, but be careful to use your own
words. Address each of the three bullet points.
Begin your article with a suitable headline.
Write about 250 to 350 words.
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(25)