Exam B4 LV

Choose the best word or phrase to complete each sentence.

Choose the best word or phrase to complete each short conversation.

9. Man: What kind of _______________ do you work for?

Woman: I work for a charity that is trying to protect the environment.

10. Woman: When did you _______________ the books you ordered?

Man: They arrived a few days ago.

11. Man 1: Your apartment looks different.

Man 2: There’s a new _______________ on the wall over there.

12. Woman 1: I took a lot of photos while I was on vacation, but they are not very good.

Woman 2: If you use special software, you can probably improve the quality of the _______________.

13. Man: How are we going to _______________ the problem?

Woman: To be honest, I don’t have any good ideas. How about you?

14. Man: I love your boots! What _______________ are they made of? Leather?

Woman: They’re actually made of recycled plastic!

Man: Wow. That’s amazing!

15. Woman 1: I’m proud of Chris. He’s really an amazing cook, don’t you think?

Woman 2: I agree. He can _______________ a delicious meal using just a few ingredients.

READING 1: GARBAGE ISLAND

A You can’t see it from the air. It’s almost impossible to see from a ship. But somewhere in the North Pacific is a giant island of garbage, floating just below the ocean’s surface.

How Did It Get There?

B The garbage island is not really an island. It’s a collection of millions of pieces of plastic and other objects that people have thrown away, such as shopping bags and water bottles. Pacific Ocean currents bring the objects together and cause them to spin around in a giant circle. The spinning movement stops the garbage from escaping. New objects enter the spinning water, and the island grows larger.

C No one really knows how big the island is. Some scientists say it is about 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers). Some studies report that it may be up to 20 times larger – twice the size of the continental United States.

What Problems Does It Cause?

D The larger pieces of garbage in the island are a problem for wildlife. For example, sea turtles often think plastic bags are jellyfish – their favorite food. They eat the plastic and die. Seabirds looking for food in the ocean may also die from eating plastic objects floating on the water.

E In addition, tiny pieces of plastic near the ocean surface block sunlight from reaching deeper water. The lack of sunlight kills very small sea organisms called plankton. As a result, there is less food for larger fish, such as tuna.

What Can We Do?

F Cleaning up a giant island of plastic garbage isn’t easy, but there may be some solutions. One method is to use technology to collect the trash and recycle it. Environmental engineer Cesar Harada is building a type of robot boat that gathers up trash. Harada hopes this robot technology will help reduce garbage in the Pacific.

G New approaches to recycling can also help make more people aware of the problem. For example, singer and songwriter Pharrell Williams works with a company that recycles plastic garbage to make denim for blue jeans. In this way, he combines his interest in fashion with his concern for the environment. If many people make small changes, it can have a big impact. As Williams says, “The ocean is just one part of the Earth … but the world is made up of 75 to 80 percent water. It’s a huge place to start.”

READING 2: THE ART OF RECYCLING

H Brazilian artist Vik Muniz uses everyday objects in unusual ways. Through his art, Muniz makes people think differently about their everyday lives – even their own garbage.

I In 2007, Muniz worked on a two-year project at one of the world’s largest landfills. Until its closure in 2012, Jardim Gramacho received about 70 percent of the garbage from Rio de Janeiro. About 3,000 garbage pickers, known as catadores, worked there. Their job was to hunt through the garbage for recyclable cans, bottles, and other materials. They then made money by selling the objects to recycling companies.

J The catadores’ work was dirty and dangerous, and most of them only received between $20 and $25 a day. Despite the hard conditions, many catadores were proud of their work. Valter Dos Santos, a worker at Jardim Gramacho for more than 25 years, told Muniz: “I am proud to be a picker. I try to explain to people [that recycling prevents] great harm to nature and the environment. People sometimes say, ‘But one single [soda] can?’ One single can is of great importance! [T]hat single can will make the difference.”

K Muniz became friends with Dos Santos and other catadores. They allowed him to take their photographs at the landfill, where they posed for artistic portraits. For example, Muniz photographed a landfill worker in the style of a famous French painting, The Death of Marat. The workers then helped Muniz create huge images of these photos on the floor of his studio. They used material from the landfill to add color and depth to the images.

L Why create such huge images using garbage? Muniz says he wanted to “change the lives of people with the same materials they deal with every day.” A photograph of his recreation of the French painting sold for £28,000 ($50,000) at a London art auction. Muniz gave the money to the catadores workers’ organization.

M In 2010, British-Brazilian director Lucy Walker created a movie about Muniz’s project called Waste Land. The film received many awards and helped make people aware of the garbage collectors’ lives. The catadores also began to see themselves differently. “Sometimes we see ourselves as so small,” says Irma, a cook at Gramacho, “but people out there see us as so big, so beautiful.”

The questions refer to Reading 1 and Reading 2 from Unit 4.

Review the two reading passages before. Then read each statement. Identify the paragraph(s) where can you find each piece of information.

16. the reason why garbage cannot escape the island (READING 1)

17. the way a musician is trying to make a difference (READING 1)

18. estimates about the size of the island of garbage (READING 1)

19. how the garbage can affect birds and sea creatures (READING 1)

20. technology that can be used to collect the garbage (READING 1)

21. the amount of money garbage pickers received daily (READING 2)

22. the process of creating some large pieces of art (READING 2)

23. a film that changed what some people think (READING 2)

Title: Waste Land Year: 2010 Director: Lucy Walker

MovieBuzz User Reviews:

The first time I saw this film, I didn’t know much about it. In fact, I almost watched a different movie instead, but I’m glad I didn’t because Waste Land changed my life. Seriously. Before I saw it, I didn’t care much about recycling. After watching it, I now recycle everything and try to produce less garbage. I also donate money to environmental charities and often go to local parks and beaches to pick up trash. The stories of the catadores made me feel good, too. All in all, this is an amazing movie that everyone should watch.

David, 2013-06-26

This is a great movie. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, where it was filmed, until 2002. Watching this film – and I’ve seen it three times – fills me with strong emotions. Sadness, happiness, surprise, love, and even hate. I think what Vik Muniz did to help the catadores is amazing. He should be proud of himself. I only wish I had the same power to improve people’s lives. The camerawork, directing, and music are all very powerful, too. Don’t be surprised if you cry when you watch this film!

Fabiana, 2013-05-19

I first became interested in the work of Vik Muniz when he was a sculptor. When he changed his medium and started taking photographs, at first I was disappointed because I’m usually not very interested in photography. However, Vik’s work is so powerful that he changed my mind, so when I heard this documentary was about him, I knew I had to watch it. It was really good, and I loved the incredible music by Moby, too. He’s another of my favorite artists, and I think his music made the film more powerful.

Anna, 2013-03-12

Before I saw Waste Land, I heard positive opinions of it from numerous people I like and respect, so I came into this film expecting it to be great. Sadly, it was good, but not as good as I had expected. There were some good points. The story was powerful. The characters were interesting. The directing was often good. I also enjoyed the music. However, for me, the message of the film was too obvious. I felt that it was trying too hard to make me feel emotional and I didn’t like that.

Anthony, 2012-12-28

Read the passage before.

Look at each statement and write in CAPITAL LETTERS:

TRUE if the statement agrees with information in the passage

FALSE if the statement contradicts information in the passage

NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

Title: Waste Land Year: 2010 Director: Lucy Walker

MovieBuzz User Reviews:

The first time I saw this film, I didn’t know much about it. In fact, I almost watched a different movie instead, but I’m glad I didn’t because Waste Land changed my life. Seriously. Before I saw it, I didn’t care much about recycling. After watching it, I now recycle everything and try to produce less garbage. I also donate money to environmental charities and often go to local parks and beaches to pick up trash. The stories of the catadores made me feel good, too. All in all, this is an amazing movie that everyone should watch.

David, 2013-06-26

This is a great movie. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, where it was filmed, until 2002. Watching this film – and I’ve seen it three times – fills me with strong emotions. Sadness, happiness, surprise, love, and even hate. I think what Vik Muniz did to help the catadores is amazing. He should be proud of himself. I only wish I had the same power to improve people’s lives. The camerawork, directing, and music are all very powerful, too. Don’t be surprised if you cry when you watch this film!

Fabiana, 2013-05-19

I first became interested in the work of Vik Muniz when he was a sculptor. When he changed his medium and started taking photographs, at first I was disappointed because I’m usually not very interested in photography. However, Vik’s work is so powerful that he changed my mind, so when I heard this documentary was about him, I knew I had to watch it. It was really good, and I loved the incredible music by Moby, too. He’s another of my favorite artists, and I think his music made the film more powerful.

Anna, 2013-03-12

Before I saw Waste Land, I heard positive opinions of it from numerous people I like and respect, so I came into this film expecting it to be great. Sadly, it was good, but not as good as I had expected. There were some good points. The story was powerful. The characters were interesting. The directing was often good. I also enjoyed the music. However, for me, the message of the film was too obvious. I felt that it was trying too hard to make me feel emotional and I didn’t like that.

Anthony, 2012-12-28

Scanning means to find important details quickly.

In which person’s review can you find the following details? You can use any answer more than once. Write the answer like this: “a. David’s review“

• a. David’s review
• b. Fabiana’s review
• c. Anna’s review
• d. Anthony’s review

Discussing problems and their solutions is common in academic writing.

Choose the best phrase to complete each sentence.

Most paragraphs have a topic sentence that explains the main idea. This idea is supported by other sentences that are related to it.

Look at these short paragraphs. Write T if the bold sentence supports the underlined topic sentence. Write F if the bold sentence is not related to the topic sentence.

A teacher has underlined five mistakes in this paragraph. Rewrite each sentence with the mistake corrected.

What is one problem in the world today? What are some ways that humans could solve this problem?

In my opinion, the world is facing several of problems today. One serious issue, in my opinion, is that humans produce too much garbages. One possible solution is for companies to find ways to produce less waste when they make products. An other solution is for companies to sell items with less packaging. I am feeling that both of these ideas would help to reduce the amount of garbage. In addition to things that companies can do, people can reducing the amount of waste they produce by buying only what they really need.

What is one problem in the world today? What are some ways that humans could solve this problem?

50. Write one paragraph in response to the question above. Before you start writing, you may wish to plan what ideas you will discuss.