READING PART 2 - You are going to read an article about the growing amount of waste created by electronic goods. Seven
sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one
extra sentence which you do not need to use.
The problem of electronic waste
By Michael McCarthy
Recently, the United Nations issued a new report on electronic waste. It highlights the danger from 'rocketing' sales of mobile
phones, computers and electronic equipment, especially in the developing countries.
Modern electronic devices might look clean on the outside, but inside they contain a lot of materials used in manufacture which
may be dangerous to human health. Most of these substances can be removed safely, but a lot of investment in waste-handling
equipment is needed to do so. Many countries have refused to make the investment and instead taken the 'out of sight, out of
mind' attitude, and simply shipped their e-waste abroad, usually to developing nations. 1 ____
This happens because electronic goods don't just contain dangerous substances - they contain valuable substances, too. 2 ____
Mobiles and PCs are now thought to take up three per cent of the gold and silver mined worldwide each year, as well as
substantial amounts of very rare metals. But trying to recover these can create real dangers, as large amounts of toxic pollution,
for example, can be produced by uncontrolled burning. And the concern is that the stream of e-waste is growing ever bigger
around the world.
The latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report estimates that worldwide, electronic waste is increasing by
about 40 million tons a year. Globally more than a billion mobile phones were sold last year, with most of them likely to be
thrown away at the end of their lives. In many parts of Africa, telephone communications have skipped the landline stage and
gone from no phones to mobile phones in one step. 3 ____ “The issue is exploding”: says Ruediger Kuehr, of the United
Nations University in Tokyo.
So what can we do about it? The first thing to do is recognise the problem. The electronics revolution of the past 30 years has
seemed different in kind from the original industrial revolution, with its chimneys pouring out very obvious dirt. 4 ____ But we
have gradually come to realise that in two ways in particular, modern hi-tech can be bad for the planet too.
The first is its energy use; the worldwide scale of information technology is so enormous that electronics now produce fully two
per cent of global carbon emissions, which is about the same as the highly controversial emissions of aeroplanes. 5 ____ This,
increasingly, is pretty short. We have hardly noticed this important stream of waste, so much so that a Greenpeace report on ewaste two years ago referred to it as 'the hidden flow'. We need to be aware of it.
The European Union has recognised the problem by adopting a key principle: producer responsibility. 6 ____ In practice, an EU
regulation now means that electronics dealers must either take back the equipment they sold you, or help to finance a network of
drop-off points, such as council recycling sites. Its main feature is quite ambitious: it aims to deal with 'everything with a plug'.
The new UN report suggests that all countries should start to establish proper e-waste management networks, which could both
cut down on health problems and generate employment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and recover a wide range of valuable
substances from gold to copper. They could also do something about the problem with a change in design. Groups such as
Greenpeace have led the way in putting pressure on major manufacturing companies to find substitutes for the toxic chemicals
inside their products. 7 ____ This may be the real way forward.
A Encouragingly, they have had some success in forcing them to develop non-poisonous alternatives to these.
B In other words, making it the duty of manufacturers of electronic goods to ensure their safe disposal at the end of their lives.
C Compared with that, it has seemed clean and green.
D Much of this, such as the plastic covering on cables, is worth nothing at all.
E There, instead of being properly processed, items are either dumped in unmanaged landfills or broken up in unofficial
recycling facilities - often by children.
F Add to that the vast amounts of e-waste that are still being imported from rich countries, and you have an enormous e-waste
mountain in prospect, with its corresponding dangers for human health and the environment.
G For instance, a device such as a laptop may contain as many as 60 different elements - many worth money, some potentially
harmful, some both.
H The other is the hardware, when it comes to the end of its natural life.
KEYS: 1 E 2 G 3 F 4 C 5 H 6 B 7 A
Read the article about making friends online. For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think
fits best according to the text.
The benefits of forming friendships with those we meet online are obvious, so why do people still make fun of the idea?
Another week, another survey claiming to reveal great truths about ourselves. This one says that (shock horror!) people are increasingly turning 'online
friends' into people they'd think worthy of calling real-life friends. Well, that’s stating the obvious, I would have thought! If there's a more perfect place for
making friends, I have yet to find it. However, when surveys like this are reported in the media, it's always with a slight air of “It's a crazy, crazy world!”
ine 4 And whenever the subject crops up in conversation, it's clear that people look down on friends like these. In fact some members of my family still refer to
my partner of six years as my 'Internet Boyfriend.'
It's the shocked reaction that surprises me, as if people on the internet were not 'real' at all. Certainly, people play a character online quite often - they may
be a more confident or more argumentative version of their real selves - but what's the alternative? Is meeting people at work so much better than making
friends in a virtual world? Perhaps, but for some a professional distance between their 'work' selves and their 'social' selves is necessary, especially if they
ine 9 tend to let their guard down and might say or do something they will later regret. And are people really much more themselves at a party than online?
Those people disapproving of online friendships argue that the concept of 'friendship' is used loosely in a world driven by technology, in which you might
have a thousand online friends. They make a distinction between 'social connections' - acquaintances who are only a click away - and meaningful human
interaction, which they say requires time and effort. They note that for many Facebook 'friends', conversation is a way of exchanging information quickly
and efficiently rather than being a social activity. With its short sharp updates on what you're thinking 'right now', Facebook has been criticised for
encouraging rushed and therefore shallow friendships.
This may all have an element of truth. However, I've found that far from being the home of oddballs and potential serial killers, the internet is full of likeminded people. For the first time in history, we're lucky enough to choose friends not by location or luck, but by those who have similar interests and
senses of humour, or passionate feelings about the same things. The friends I've made online might be spread wide geographically, but I'm closer to them
than anyone I went to school with, by a million miles. They are the best friends I have.
And for people like me who might be a little shy - and there are plenty of us about - moving conversations from the net to a coffee shop is a much more
natural process than people might expect. After having already made friends online, you can get rid of the social awkwardness that comes with trying to
make a friend out of someone you don't know at all. You can enjoy their company when you eventually meet, knowing that you have enough in common to
sustain the friendship. The benefit is clear - you cut out all the boring small talk. What could be better?
Obviously, there will always be concerns about the dangers of online friendship. There are always stories buzzing around such as 'man runs off with the
woman he met on Second Life' or people who meet their 'soulmate' online and are never seen again. But people are people are people, whether online or
not. As for 'real' friendship dying out, surely social networking is simply redefining our notion of what this is in the twenty-first century? The figures - half
a billion Facebook users worldwide - speak for themselves. And technology has allowed countless numbers of these people to keep in close contact with
their loved ones, however far away they are. Without it, many disabled or housebound people might go without social contact at all. Call me naive, call me
a social misfit, I don't care. Virtual people make the best real friends.
1 The writer thinks the findings of the survey described in the first paragraph are
A amusing. B ridiculous. C predictable. D impressive.
1
2 What does the subject refer to in line 4 ?
2
A surveys B the media C real friends D online friends
3 What does the writer say about 'real' and 'virtual' friendships in the second paragraph?
3
A There is more chance of making friends online than at a party.
4
B The first impression is rarely accurate in either kind of friendship.
5
C There is less pressure to impress 'virtual' friends than 'real' friends.
6
D People should avoid spending free time with their work colleagues.
7
4 What does the phrase let their guard down mean in line 9?
8
A like being on their own B show dislike towards their colleagues
C prefer to spend time away from their work colleagues D speak or act without worrying about the consequences
5 According to the third paragraph, online friendships are often criticised because
A their purpose is functional rather than social. B the people have no shared history to hold them together.
C the more friends people have, the less each one is valued. D the friendship can't be genuine until people meet face to face.
6 According to the fourth paragraph, what are the advantages of online friendships?
A It's better to have friends that don't live nearby. B It's likely that these relationships will last a long time.
C It's valuable for those who don't have any old schoolfriends. D It's possible to find people with whom you have a lot in common.
7 How does the writer feel about meeting up with her online friends?
A It's a waste of time. B It can be difficult to arrange.
C It's easier than meeting complete strangers. D It can often lead to even stronger friendships.
8 What is the writer's reaction to fears and warnings about online friendships?
A She accepts there will always be dangers however you make friends.
B She is nervous about the risks but thinks the benefits make it worthwhile.
C She believes that online relationships are safer than face to face friendships.
D She recommends online friendships only for people who can look after themselves.
KEYS: 1C 2D 3B 4D 5A 6D 7C 8A