Pre-Intermediate Reading Exercise
The World's Biggest Rubbish Dump
Read 'The World's Biggest Rubbish Dump: An Island of Plastic', then answer the questions about the text, choosing the best answer for each question.
Jump to exercise walkthrough video
The World's Biggest Rubbish Dump: An Island of Plastic
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there is a place that some people call the world's biggest rubbish dump. It is not a real island that you can walk on. Instead, it is a huge area where ocean currents have collected enormous amounts of floating plastic waste. This area is known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".
Scientists have known about the garbage patch for many years. It is caused by plastic pollution from countries all around the Pacific Ocean. Rubbish from the land, like plastic bottles, bags, and fishing nets, is washed into rivers and then carried out to sea. Once in the ocean, the currents slowly pull all this plastic together into one place. It is difficult to know the exact size, but some scientists estimate it is more than twice the size of France.
The plastic is very harmful to marine life. Sea turtles, birds, and fish can mistake small pieces of plastic for food. They can also become trapped in larger pieces of rubbish like old fishing nets. Over time, the sun breaks the large plastic items down into tiny pieces called 'microplastics'. These are very difficult to clean up and can enter the food chain, which could be dangerous for both animals and humans.
Cleaning up the garbage patch is an extremely big and difficult job. Many organisations are developing new technology to try and collect the waste. However, experts agree that the most important solution is to stop the plastic from getting into the ocean in the first place. This means we all need to reduce our use of plastic and recycle more to protect our planet's environment.
Correction Walkthrough Video
It's time to improve your understanding with our video walkthrough. In this lesson, we'll not only go over the correct answers with detailed explanations, but also review the key vocabulary and read the full text for listening practice. Watching this is the perfect way to consolidate your learning and boost your reading skills.
