PeopleCert LanguageCert General Test (Reading)
Reading

Read the article about plastic from an English news magazine. Drag and drop the correct sentence (A-G) to complete the six gaps in the text. There is one extra sentence you will not need.

Is there a future for plastic?
When plastic was first invented, it initially seemed to be a miracle material that would solve many of the world’s problems. However, we now know it is a serious threat to the health of the planet. A new exhibition at the V&A museum in Dundee looks back at the history of plastic and asks us to think about its future.

‘Until the middle of the 19th century, people turned to the natural world for materials that would perform the functions that plastics now carry out,’ explains museum curator Charlotte Hale. . For this reason, attempts to create similar materials in the laboratory began. There were some scientific advances but early attempts were not commercially successful.

The breakthrough came in the early 20th century when Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented a type of plastic he called Bakelite. Bakelite was hard and strong, heat resistant, and attractive. It was used to make everything from telephones to jewellery to chess pieces. . This appreciation is easy to understand when you look at the stunning examples in the exhibition.

Soon nylon and polyethylene were invented, and in the 1940s companies began to use plastics to produce items for domestic use. . These had the desired effect, and soon homes were filled with radios, lamps, clocks and telephones in futuristic curved shapes and bright colours.

As the 1950s and 60s went on, the increased availability of cheaper items and plastic packaging marked a change in attitudes towards plastic. . It’s therefore unlikely to be a coincidence that around this time, marine biologists first published articles on the problem of plastic making its way into the sea.

Since then, the understanding of its environmental impact has grown. . For example, it is vital to modern telecommunications and medicine and many other essential aspects of life. When used to wrap food, it can help prevent food waste. It’s true that substitutes made from things like vegetable matter, paper or cotton do now exist. . This is why Charlotte Hale is not demanding a zero-plastic world. Instead, she asks governments to introduce strict laws to control its use so we can continue to benefit from this amazing material for decades to come.
A.
It began to be thought of as something to be thrown away and replaced, rather than cared for
B.
However, it’s becoming clear that the environmental costs attached to these alternatives are also significant
C.
These objects were highly valued at the time and many went on to become collectors’ pieces.
D.
That meant it could be used to create a wide range of luxury items
E.
But the rewards of plastic are still there, and in many ways it remains the wonderful material it always was
F.
The problem was that these were difficult to obtain, and therefore expensive
G.
At the same time, they ran huge marketing campaigns to promote the goods