Ejercicio A1 · Inglés PAU Valencia Ordinaria 2021

TEXT A/TEXTO A

DO YOU DRINK BOTTLED WATER?

Although water bottles are recyclable, Americans throw away about 80% of the bottles they use – and Americans use 1,500 plastic bottles of water every second. Plastic bottles contribute to global environmental crises, in part due to the fact that they disintegrate into microplastics, the presence of which are so ubiquitous that researchers recently discovered them in the placentas of unborn babies. The extraction and manufacturing processes used by bottled water corporations also have negative environmental and economic effects, and amount to the privatisation and commercialisation of a limited and invaluable resource to which all should have a universal right.

When clean, safe water is unavailable, drinking bottled water becomes a necessity. The average consumer, however, does not purchase bottled water out of need, but because it is often marketed as purer or tastier than tap water – despite the fact that it does not necessarily come from the appealing sources consumers think it does.

When it comes to the health qualities of bottled versus tap water, differences are negligible. Both tap and bottled water are required to meet quality requirements. Contamination is always possible in either but by prevailing standards both are generally fine to drink.

Prevailing standards, however, have not quite caught up to the threat of PFAS – a group of industrial chemicals used in a variety of consumer products. PFAS have been found in both tap and bottled water. There is currently no federal guidance on PFAS regulation, though there is evidence that most PFAS are carcinogenic.

Adapted from an article by Adrienne Matei, The Guardian, 28-1-2021

Part I. Reading Comprehension

A1. Answer the following questions using your own words but taking into account the information in the text. (2 points: 1 point each)

a.

What are the effects of bottled water manufacturing?

b.

Why do people consume bottled water?