SELF-STUDY ASSIGNMENT WEEK 23

A. READING COMPREHENSION
Exercise 1: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer to each of the questions
In the world today, particular in the two most industrialized areas, North America and Europe, recycling is the big
news. People are talking about it, practicing it, and discovering new ways to be sensitive to the environment.
Recycling means finding ways to use products a second time. The motto of the recycling movement is “Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle”.
The first step is to reduce garbage. In stores, a shopper has to buy products in blister packs, boxes and
expensive plastic wrappings. A hamburger from a fast food restaurant comes in lots of packaging: usually paper, a
box and a bag. All that packaging is wasted resources. People should try to buy things that are wrapped simply, and
to reuse cups and utensils. Another way to reduce waste is to buy high-quality products. When low-quality
appliances break, many customers throw them away and buy new ones - a loss of more resources and more energy.
For example, if a customer buys a high-quality appliance that can be easily repaired, the manufacturer receives an
important message. In the same way, if a customer chooses a product with less packaging, that customer sends an
important message to the manufacturers. To reduce garbage, the throw-away must stop.
The second step is to reuse. It is better to buy juices and soft drinks in returnable bottles. After customers
empty the bottles, they return them to the stores. The manufacturers of the drinks collect bottles, wash them, and
then fill them again. The energy that is necessary to make new bottles is saved. In some parts of the world, returning
bottles for money is a common practice. In those places, the garbage dumps have relatively little glass and plastic
from throw-away bottles.
The third step being environmentally sensitive is to recycle. Spent motor oil can be cleaned and used again.
Aluminum cans are expensive to make. It takes the same amount of energy to make one aluminum can as it does to
run a color TV set for three hours. When people collect and recycle aluminum (for new cans), they help save one of
the world’s precious resources.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. What is involved in the recycling movement
B. What people often understand about the term “recycle”
C. How to livesensitive to the environment

D. How to reduce garbage disposal

2. The word “sensitive” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _________.

A. responding
B. logical
C. cautious
D. friendly

3. People can do the following to reduce waste EXCEPT _________.

A. buy high-quality product
B. buy fewer hamburgers
C. buy simply-wrapped things
D. reuse cups

4. Why is it a waste when customers buy low-quality products?

A. Because they have to be repaired many times
B. Because they produce less energy.
C. Because customers change their ideas all the time.
D. Because people will soon throw them away

5. What is the best description of the process of reuse?

A. The bottles are collected, washed, returned and filled again.
B. The bottles are collected, returned filled again and washed.
C. The bottles are filled again after being returned, collected and washed.
D. The bottles are washed, returned, filled again and collected.

6. The garbage dumps in some areas have relatively little glass and plastic because _________.
A. each returned bottle is paid
B. people are ordered to return bottles
C. not many bottles are made of glass or plastic
D. returned bottles are few

7. The word “them” in paragraph two refers to _________.

A. high quality appliances
B. plastic wrappings

C. low quality appliances

D. wasted resources
8. The energy used to make a can is ________ the energy used to run a color TV set for 3 hours.
A. more than
B. less than
C. as much as
D. not worth being compared to

9. The word “precious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.

A. natural
B. substantial
C. first
D. invaluable

10. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. It's imppossible to recycle aluminum.
B. Aluminum is one resource that needs to be saved.
C. Aluminum is a lasting resource.
D. It's cheap to make aluminum cans.

Exercise 2: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer to each of the questions
Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department
of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational
experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be
growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not
attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the
responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many
parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of
funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are,
therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to
remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, homeschooling in the U.S. has become a multi-
million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and
conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children.
Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an
educational system that many believe is failing.

1. The past participle “homeschooled” in the first paragraph is best equivalent to “_____at home”.
A. taught B. self-learned C. untaught D. self-studied

2. According to some experts, the exact number of homeschooled children then must be ______.
A. 850,000
B. 1,600,000
C. 1,900,000
D. 1,700,000

3. More parents want their children homeschooled because they completely _______ the current educational
system.
A. appeal to
B. object to
C. please with
D. approve of

4. This estimated number was presented by _______.

A. the parents
B. school teachers
C. a government office
D. homeschooled children

5. The closest synonym of the participle phrase “accounting for” in the second paragraph is _______.
A. explaining
B. reasoning
C. calculating documents of
D. counting for

6. The word “arguments” at the beginning of the third paragraph can be best replaced by _______.
A. quarrels
B. rows
C. discussions
D. viewpoints
7. The attitude of the author towards homeschooling can be best described as _______.
A. unfavorable
B. favorable
C. remarkableacceptable
D. acceptable

8. Many parents stop their children from going to school because it is now too _______ for them.
A. dangerous
B. explosive
C. humorous
D. expensive

9. The noun “dissatisfaction” in this paragraph is best equivalent to _______.

A. disagreement
B. disappointment
C. discouragement
D. discrimination

10. The number of parents who want to teach their own children in the U.S. is _______.
A. remaining the same
B. remaining unchanged
C. going down
D. going up