Reading for Success 1

UNIT 2

RUBBISH
Facts about "Rubbish":

- On average, every person in developed countries throws away

their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks.

- Every household in the UK produces over a tone of rubbish each

year.

- Every year some 45,000 tons of plastic waste are dumped into
the world's oceans.

Pre-reading Questions:

1. What are some of the wastes which we throw away everyday?

2. Which societies produce more rubbish today?
3. How can we reduce the amount of rubbish in our everyday life?

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 Unit 2: Rubbish

Living with Rubbish

Nowadays, rubbish1 has become a big concern all around the world.
Years ago rubbish was not a problem, because most of the materials
used by people were natural. While natural materials quickly decay2
and are absorbed in the soil, today most of what is available to us
such as plastic, glass, chemicals and electronic devices are not
natural to decay soon. In fact, they usually take a long time to break
down and in some cases a very long time, indeed.

Environmental experts have worked to see how long our rubbish is

going to stay here on Earth after we are gone. Their findings show
that plastics take 450 to 1000 years to decay, while glass takes up to
at least one million years to decay.

Rubbish or waste is directly linked to human development, both

technologically and socially. So, it is not surprising to see that the
developed countries produce more waste than others. For example, in
a lifetime, every American throws away 600 times his or her adult
weight in rubbish. This means that each adult will leave a legacy3 of
90,000 pounds4 of waste for his or her children.

Since, the rubbish problem is going to be one of the most important

threats in the following years, the first step to stand against it is
reducing the rubbish and it starts at home. For example, buying
products that use less packaging, buying products made from recycled
materials or with recyclable5 packaging and reusing boxes and jars
can be some simple but effective steps. Together we can try to make
our surroundings more pleasant places because protecting our earth is
everyone’s responsibility6.

1
unwanted things or waste material
2
become gradually damaged, worse or less
3
money or property received from someone after they die
4
a unit of weight equal to 454 grams
5
able to be used again
6
job or duty

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Reading for Success 1

Reading Comprehension

A. Choose the correct answer for each question:

1. Which of the following materials decay sooner?
a. chemical materials
b. electronic devices
c. natural materials

2. Plastic is decayed sooner than…………

a. glass
b. natural materials
c. a and b

3. An adult American of 80 kilos produces……….rubbish during his lifetime.

a. 600 kilos
b. 48000 kilos
c. 4800 kilos

4. It's our social duty to …………..to make the earth a better place for life.
a. reduce the rubbish
b. recycle the chemical waste
c. throw away the rubbish

B. Read the sentences; put T for TRUE or F for FALSE. If a sentence is false,
change it and make it true:
1. Natural wastes take a long time to decay.
2. Plastics are considered as non-natural substances.
3. It is our duty not to keep our surroundings clean.
4. Non-natural materials are more harmful because they quickly break
down.

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 Unit 2: Rubbish

C. Read the passage and find the following information:

Paragraph Answer
number
1. Countries that produce more waste than others
2. materials that do not decay soon
3. Where the fight against rubbish problem begins
4. Materials which quickly break down

D. Match two halves of each sentence:

1. In the former centuries, rubbish a. they should begin reducing the
was not concern because, rubbish at their homes.
2. If we reduce the rubbish, b. people used mostly natural
materials.
3. While natural materials decay c. we can have a more suitable
quickly, world.
4. If people want to take the first d. non-natural materials take a
step to stand against the rubbish long time to break down.
problem,

E. In each sentence, circle the best answer. The words in italics are from the
passage:
1. Plastic and glass are not natural materials. They are …………..by
humans.
a. found b. made c. used

2. Rubbish is known as a big concern in many parts of the world, that is

many people are…………..about it.
a. happy b. worried c. perplexed

3. Rubbish is not only an environmental threat, but it is also known as a

social …………..
a. waste b. danger c. protection

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Reading for Success 1

Vocabulary Comprehension

F. Match the words with their definitions:

( ) concern a. really or certainly
( ) absorb b. to get rid of or discard
( ) indeed c. a situation or an activity causing danger
( ) throw away d. to take something in, especially gradually
( ) device e. an object invented for a particular purpose
( ) packaging f. worry or nervousness
( ) threat g. the boxes or plastic used for wrapping
products so that they can be sold

G. Odd Word Out: for each group, circle the word that does not belong. The
words in italics are vocabulary items from the passage:
1. a. natural b. non-natural c. manmade d. artificial
2. a. decrease b. reduce c. increase d. lessen
3. a. suitable b. available c. pleasant d. desirable

Vocabulary Skill
Antonyms
Antonyms are words with opposite meaning. Sometimes
antonyms are very different words, for example, "true" and
"false"; other times antonyms are made by adding or
changing prefixes (a letter or group of letters attached to
the beginning of a word) or suffixes (a letter or group of
letters attached to the end of a word). For example,
"natural" and "unnatural" or "with" and "without". One good
way to increase our vocabulary is to learn antonyms.

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 Unit 2: Rubbish

H. The words in the left column are all in the passage. Match them with their
antonyms from the following.
short / slowly / finish / least /begin/ increase

1. quickly …………………..
2. long …………………….
3. reduce ……………………
4. start ……………………
5. most …………………..

I. In each sentence, circle the best answer. Remember that the words in
parentheses are antonyms.
1. A world filled with rubbish cannot be a/an (pleasant / unpleasant) place
of living.

2. Today, development and rubbish are related to each other (directly /

indirectly).

3. In the past centuries, waste was an (important / unimportant) worry for

the people.

4. Most of the rubbish (available / unavailable) to modern societies is

manmade.

Language Focus
Nouns
A noun is often defined as a word that describes a person, place, and thing
or shows an event or idea. Nouns are usually divided into two groups: (a)
concrete nouns, which are nouns that describe a physical object or a person
such as book, boy, garden; (b) abstract nouns, which describe anything that
cannot be perceived using the five senses, such as love, danger and problem.

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Reading for Success 1

J. Read the following sentences chosen from the passage and then circle the
nouns:
1. Natural materials quickly decay and are absorbed in the soil.
2. Chemicals and electronic devices are not natural to decay soon.
3. We can try to make our surroundings more pleasant places.
4. Rubbish has become a big concern all around the world.
5. Buying products made from recycled materials and reusing boxes and jars
can be some simple but effective steps.

Cloze

K. Complete the passage by filling in the blanks with the words in the box:
recycle – room – reusing - resources - new - change

Today, on average, each person throws away their own body weight in
rubbish every seven weeks. Something needs to ………. - there isn't
enough………. for all this rubbish and not enough ………. to keep making new
things. The best thing to do is to reduce the amount of stuff we use in the
first place, then think of ways of ………. things instead of throwing them
away, and of course, making sure we ………. everything we can, even if it
means a bit of extra effort. Recycling means using old things to make
……….things. Most of what we throw away such as glass, plastic, paper and
metal can be used again.

Pair Work

L. According to the above passage, answer the following qu estions in pairs:

1. What is the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce?
2. How much rubbish does a person produce a day?

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 Unit 2: Rubbish

Reading the picture

symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical object or a
process and its purpose is to communicate meaning or give information. For
example the following recycling symbol is used for products which can be
recycled after consumption.

M. Now, look at the following recycling symbols and choose what everyone says:

1. Products containing recycled materials, or make use of recycled

materials in the manufacturing process
2. Products made from a particular percentage of recycled materials
3. The paper product can and should be recycled after use.
4. Reminds consumers to recycle their glass products.

Discussion

N. Discuss the following question with your classmates:

- What do you know about using new technology in recycling rubbish in Iran?

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