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Answer explanation - Paper Recycling
Go to the Reading Passage: Paper Recycling
GT Reading Test "Paper Recycling" Answer Explanation.
Paper Recycling
Questions 30-36:
Complete the summary below of the first two paragraphs of the Reading Passage.
Choose ONE OR TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
SUMMARY
Example:
From the point of view of recycling, paper has two advantages over minerals and .....oil.....
in that firstly it comes from a resource which is ...... (30) ......and secondly it is less threatening to our environment when we throw it away because it is ...... (31) ...... . Although Australia’s record in the re-use of waste paper is good, it is still necessary to use a combination of recycled fibre and ...... (32) ...... to make new paper. The paper industry has contributed positively and people have also been encouraged by ...... (33) ...... to collect their waste on a regular basis. One major difficulty is the removal of ink from used paper but ...... (34) ...... are being made in this area. However, we need to learn to accept paper which is generally of a lower ...... (35) ...... than before and to sort our waste paper by removing ...... (36) ...... before discarding it for collection.
Question 30: ...in that firstly it comes from a resource which is ...... (30) ......
Answer: sustainable / replaceable.
Explanation: For question 30, we need to find out the first advantage of paper recycling over mineral recycling. The second advantage is already given, which is "less threatening to our environment". Let's look at paragraph A first. The first two lines reveal the answer to this question. It says that paper comes from a sustainable resource and this resource is replaceable. So we understand from this text that recycling paper has two distinct advantages - it comes from sustainable resources and it is replaceable. So sustainable and replaceable both could be used to fill the gap.
Note: In your IELTS test, you do not need to write both answers. Just write either one and you will get the full mark for it.
Evidence sentence: Paper is different from other waste produce because it comes from a sustainable resource: trees. Unlike the minerals and oil used to make plastics and metals, trees are replaceable.
Question 31: ...and secondly it is less threatening to our environment when we throw it away because it is ...... (31) ......
Answer: biodegradable.
Explanation: The very next line contains the answer to question 31. It says that "Paper is also biodegradable, so it does not pose as much threat to the environment when it is discarded".
Evidence sentence: Paper is also biodegradable, so it does not pose as much threat to the environment when it is discarded.
Question 32: Although Australia’s record in the re-use of waste paper is good, it is still necessary to use a combination of recycled fibre and ...... (32) ...... to make new paper.
Answer: virgin fibre.
Explanation: If we read the next line, it says that "while 45 out of every 100 tonnes of wood fibre used to make paper in Australia comes from waste paper, the rest comes directly from virgin fibre from forests and plantations." It explains that despite the re-use of paper waste Austria still uses 55% virgin fibre from forest and plantation. So can be sure that the answer to this question is virgin fibre.
Evidence sentence: While 45 out of every 100 tonnes of wood fibre used to make paper in Australia comes from waste paper, the rest comes directly from virgin fibre from forests and plantations.
Question 33: The paper industry has contributed positively and people have also been encouraged by ...... (33) ...... to collect their waste on a regular basis.
Answer: Governments/ the government.
Explanation: The last two lines of paragraph 'A' says that "Governments have encouraged waste paper collection and sorting scheme...". Paper waste is collected from the end-users (which is people or citizens of a country). So we can say that people have also been encouraged by governments or the government to collect their waste on a regular basis.
Evidence sentence: Governments have encouraged waste paper collection and sorting schemes and at the same time, the paper industry has responded by developing new recycling technologies that have paved the way for even greater utilization of used fibre. As a result, industry’s use of recycled fibres is expected to increase at twice the rate of virgin fibre over the coming years.
Question 34: One major difficulty is the removal of ink from used paper but ...... (34) ...... are being made in this area.
Answer: advances.
Explanation: We have already finished reading paragraph A, and it is clear by now that the answer to question 34 could not be found in this paragraph. So we will proceed and start reading paragraph B.
The very first line of paragraph B talks about a problem while recycling used papers, which is removing ink from used paper. However, it also mentions that advances in technology to remove ink from used paper have allowed a higher recycle control in newsprint and writing paper. So "advances" is the world we have been looking for to fill the gap for question 34.
Evidence sentence: Already, waste paper constitutes 70% of paper used for packaging and advances in the technology required to remove ink from the paper have allowed a higher recycled content in newsprint and writing paper.
Question 35: However, we need to learn to accept paper which is generally of a lower ...... (35) ...... than before ...
Answer: quality.
Explanation: The answer to this question could be found on the line - "We need to accept a change in the quality of paper products; for example, stationery may be less white and of a rougher texture."
It explains that we need to accept the fact that recycled papers would be lower in quality than before. So "quality" is the answer to this fill-in the gap question.
Evidence sentence: We need to accept a change in the quality of paper products; for example, stationery may be less white and of a rougher texture.
Question 36: ...and to sort our waste paper by removing ...... (36) ...... before discarding it for collection.
Answer: contaminants.
Explanation: The last line of paragraph B says that we also need to be sorted from contaminants like staples, paperclips, string and other miscellaneous items. So "contaminants" is the word we should use to answer question 36.
Evidence sentence: Not only do we need to make the paper available to collectors but it also needs to be separated into different types and sorted from contaminants such as staples, paperclips, string and other miscellaneous items.
Questions 37-41
Look at paragraphs C, D, and E and, using the information in the passage, complete the flow chart below.
Write your answers in boxes 37-41 on your answer sheet. Use ONE OR TWO WORDS for each answer.
Question 37:
Waste paper collected from:
Factories
Retail stores
(37) ................
Paper converters and printers
Households
Answer: offices.
Explanation: To find the answer to questions 37 to 41, we need to read paragraphs C, D & E as instructed in the question.
For question 37, we need to find out from which sources the waste papers are collected for recycling purposes, as we will read paragraph C first. As we read paragraph C, we notice that the answer to question 37 lies in the third line. It says common sources of paper recycling are - factories, retail stores, offices, paper converters and printers & lastly households. From this information, we can be sure that the answer we are looking for is "offices".
Evidence sentence: The four most common sources of paper for recycling are factories and retail stores which gather large amounts of packaging material in which goods are delivered, also offices which have unwanted business documents and computer output, paper converters and printers and lastly households which discard newspapers and packaging material.
Question 38:
The paper is then
(38) ....................
Answer: sorted.
Explanation: Since question 37 to 41 are part of a flow chart, we can expect that the answers to these questions would come sequentially i.e. one after another. So for the answer to question 38, we will be looking at the text that comes immediately after the text where we found our answer to question 37.
The very first line of paragraph D says that "once collected, the paper has to be sorted by hand by people trained to recognise various types of paper". So the word "sorted" will be the answer to question 38.
Evidence sentence: Once collected, the paper has to be sorted by hand by people trained to recognise various types of paper.
Question 39:
(39) ....................
by adding water
Answer: repulped.
Explanation: We can expect to find the answer to question 39 at the text which is immediately after the text where we found our answer to question 38 since questions 37 to 41 are part of a flow chart.
Just by reading one or two more lines, we can find that "The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibres" is mentioned in paragraph D. It reveals that sorted waste papers are repulped by adding or mixing water in it. So, "repulped" is the answer to this question.
Evidence sentence: The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibres.
Question 40:
Chemicals are added in order to
(40) ....................
Answer: de-ink/ remove ink.
Explanation: Let's look at the remaining text of paragraph D and try to find out if it says anything about adding chemicals to the repulped mixture or paper. We need to find out why the chemicals are added.
After reading the last few lines of paragraph D, we can be sure that chemicals such as caustic soda or other alkalis, soaps and detergents are added to remove ink (which is called de-ink) from the paper. So 'de-ink' or 'remove ink' is our answer to this question.
Evidence sentence: After passing through the repulping process, the fibres from printed waste paper are grey in colour because the printing ink has soaked into the individual fibres. This recycled material can only be used in products where the grey colour does not matter, such as cardboard boxes but if the grey colour is not acceptable, the fibres must be de-inked. This involves adding chemicals such as caustic soda or other alkalis, soaps and detergents, water-hardening agents such as calcium chloride, frothing agents and bleaching agents.
Question 41:
The fibres are then
(41) ....................
Answer: refined.
Explanation: Question 41 asks "the fibres are then", which actually means "after de-inking, the fibres are then...". We will look at the text immediately after the line where de-inking and adding chemicals are mentioned, i.e. the last line of paragraph D. If we can't find the answer in this line, we will read paragraph E.
It is obvious that the last line of paragraph D mentions that recycled fibred are then needed to be refined or treated in such a way that they bond together. Since we have to write our answer using no more than two words, we will use "refined" as our answer.
Evidence sentence: Before the recycled fibres can be made into the paper they must be refined or treated in such a way that they bond together.
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