Ejercicio B1 · Inglés PAU Valencia Extraordinaria 2022

TEXT B / TEXTO B

PLASTIC DISASTER

Plastic is cheap and durable and has revolutionized human activity. Modern life is addicted to and dependent on this versatile substance, which is found in everything from computers to medical equipment to food packaging. Unfortunately, an estimated 19 billion pounds of plastic waste ends up in our oceans every year. Much of this plastic comes from single-use packaging, such as soda bottles, and from other single-use products such as disposable diapers. One study suggested that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans than fish!

Plastic pollution is more than unsightly. It has a deadly and direct effect on wildlife. Many marine organisms get physically entangled in plastic trash. Others eat the plastics, mistaking the ubiquitous materials for food. Sea turtles often confuse plastic bags for their jellyfish prey and asphyxiate. Seabirds, especially albatrosses, and other birds that scoop food from the sea have been found dead on their nests, their bellies too full of plastics to survive. A recent study found plastic trash in 90 percent of seabirds, with pieces ranging from bottle caps to rice-sized fragments that look like seeds.

Perhaps even more worrisome is microplastic pollution. The vast majority of plastics are not biodegradable, meaning they break down into smaller and smaller particles but never leave the environment entirely. Pieces smaller than 5 mm are classified as microplastics. These particles are too small for waste management systems to filter and are directly discharged into the oceans.

Adapted from an article by Melissa Petruzzello, Britannica, 31-1-2022

Part I. Reading Comprehension

B1. Answer the following questions using your own words but taking into account the information in the text. (2 points: 1 point each)

a.

Why is modern life so dependent on plastic?

b.

What are microplastics?