Reading: school campaign against single-use plastic

Reading comprehension. Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions.

(1) How many times have you thrown away a plastic bottle without thinking of the environment? That is the question Sara Mansour, a secondary-school student and young campaigner, wants people to ask. The idea started in an environmental studies class when a film showed plastic waste harming oceans and coastal culture worldwide. Shocked that classmates treated the issue as distant, Sara began sharing facts about global pollution with teachers and anyone ready to listen.

(2) In 2022 she launched a petition to remove vending machines that sold only single-use water bottles from her school. Within weeks the petition gathered thousands of signatures from people around the world. Sara and friends collected bottles thrown into school bins for one week and built a tall display in the main hall. “We want students to see the damage,” she said. Posters invited everyone to “take back the tap” and protect the climate of daily habits on campus.

(3) Sara believes leaders in society must set an example. She asks public officials to join the movement and hopes high schools and colleges elsewhere will copy the campaign. “If we start locally,” she argues, “we can start a snowball effect nationwide — and remind our culture that the environment is a shared global duty.”

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (12 marks)

1. Tick (√) the most appropriate title for the text. (1 mark)

- a. A holiday guide to coastal resorts
- b. A school campaign for the environment
- c. A new technology for cleaning oceans

2. For each of the following false statements, pick out one full sentence (or clear detail) from the text showing that it is false. (2 marks)

a. Sara’s project is known only inside her own town. (paragraph 2)

b. Sara wants the campaign to stop at her school gate. (paragraph 3)

3. Complete the following paragraph with words from paragraph 2. One word per blank. (3 marks)

Sara’s __________ collected bottles from school trash to create a large __________. She also used posters that highlight the negative effects of __________ on the environment.

4. Find words or expressions in the text meaning nearly the same as: (2 marks)

- no longer needed / out of use in practice (sense of removing machines, paragraph 2): __________ (accept: remove / removed / petition to remove)
- things thrown away (paragraph 2): __________

5. What do the words refer to? (2 marks)

- That in “That is the question Sara Mansour…” (paragraph 1) refers to __________
- We in “We want students to see the damage” (paragraph 2) refers to __________

6. Give a personal justified answer to the following question. (1 mark)

Had you been a student in Sara’s school, would you have supported her campaign? Why or why not?

(Your answer must be plausible and justified / any personal and justified answer is accepted as long as there is no contradiction.)

7. Tick the TWO adjectives that best describe Sara. (1 mark)

☐ indifferent    ☐ persevering    ☐ unwilling    ☐ committed