Week 1 Quiz

Read the selection and answer each question.

Paper or Plastic?

1 Cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle have banned the use of plastic shopping bags because of their harmful effect on the environment. In response to this ban, many communities have returned to the use of paper bags. However, are paper bags the best solution to the plastic bag ban?

2 Interestingly, plastic bags replaced paper bags in the 1970s because they were cheaper to produce, resisted water, and kept contents clean and dry. The problem, though, is that people in the United States use over 100 billion plastic bags a year, and each family uses on average 1,500 bags a year. Unfortunately, only about 1 percent of those bags are recycled. The rest of the plastic bags end up in landfills or as trash on land or in the oceans. It can take over 500 years for plastic bags to break down in a landfill, and even then, small bits of plastic remain and damage the environment. If we continue throwing plastic bags in the garbage, our landfills will become towering mountains of trash.

3 Is it more progressive to require people to use paper shopping bags rather than plastic ones? Evidence suggests that paper bags are actually worse than plastic ones.

4 Shockingly, making paper bags is more harmful to the earth than making plastic bags. It is a wasteful process that uses about half of each tree that goes into the factory. The rest of the tree is discarded into water sources or landfills. Making paper bags involves the use of dangerous chemicals such as sulfur that are released into the air and water. Scientists estimate that it takes four times as much energy to make a paper bag than to make a plastic one. What’s more, paper bags take just as long to break down as plastic bags and fill more space in landfills than plastic.

5 The solution to these problems is not using one type of shopping bag over the other; instead, people need to change their habits. Shoppers need to reuse shopping bags as much as possible. Besides paper or plastic bags, people commonly use cloth or cotton ones. Stores often sell these sturdy bags to their customers. We can also be inventive about making or using our own shopping containers, from baskets to backpacks to homemade sacks. Whether homemade or made of plastic, paper, or cloth, reusing our bags means that new bags do not have to be made. When paper or plastic bags rip and there is no use for them anymore, people need to recycle them as opposed to throwing them in the trash. All of these small changes will make a big impact on the environment and will reduce energy use and harmful waste.

6 Encouraging people to be responsible about shopping bags may not be enough. Many cities such as Boulder, New York, and Portland now require stores to charge their customers for plastic bags if they forget to bring their own. Because people are eager to save a bit of money, this is a good way to encourage people to reuse their own bags. Even if customers are willing to buy bags, the fee will serve as a reminder that reusing bags is a good idea.

7 In an attempt to be more environmentally conscious, people have created bags that are more earth friendly. For example, many plastic bags are now made out of recycled materials that break down in landfills in a shorter amount of time, such as two to three months. While people continue searching for new methods to make bags safer for the earth, easy and effective solutions that everyone can follow are to reuse bags when possible and recycle bags when needed.

• Yes, I read the text. I am ready to answer the questions.

• No, I will not read the text, and I may not do well on answering questions.

Read the sentence from paragraph 2.

If we continue throwing plastic bags in the garbage, our landfills will become towering mountains of trash.

What does this sentence show?

• the author’s use of humor to change the tone of the passage

• the author’s use of exaggeration to make a point about landfills

• the author’s use of details to support his argument for paper bags

• the author’s use of description to provide personal experience on the topic

How does paragraph 2 support the author’s purpose?

2 Interestingly, plastic bags replaced paper bags in the 1970s because they were cheaper to produce, resisted water, and kept contents clean and dry. The problem, though, is that people in the United States use over 100 billion plastic bags a year, and each family uses on average 1,500 bags a year. Unfortunately, only about 1 percent of those bags are recycled. The rest of the plastic bags end up in landfills or as trash on land or in the oceans. It can take over 500 years for plastic bags to break down in a landfill, and even then, small bits of plastic remain and damage the environment. If we continue throwing plastic bags in the garbage, our landfills will become towering mountains of trash.

• It compares the advantages of plastic bags to paper bags

• It provides details about how plastic bags are manufactured.

• It explains how the way we use plastic bags harms the earth.

• It describes a new approach to solving problems caused by plastic bags.

Read the sentence from paragraph 3.

Is it more progressive to require people to use paper shopping bags rather than plastic ones?

Think about the meaning of the suffix -ive. What is the meaning of progressive above?

• needing help

• being popular

• growing larger

• becoming better

Read the sentence from paragraph 4.

Scientists estimate that it takes four times as much energy to make a paper bag than to make a plastic one.

Read the analogy.

Estimate is to measure as sketch is to ______.

Which word best completes the analogy?

• trace

• guess

• hurry

• look

What is the purpose of paragraph 5?

5 The solution to these problems is not using one type of shopping bag over the other; instead, people need to change their habits. Shoppers need to reuse shopping bags as much as possible. Besides paper or plastic bags, people commonly use cloth or cotton ones. Stores often sell these sturdy bags to their customers. We can also be inventive about making or using our own shopping containers, from baskets to backpacks to homemade sacks. Whether homemade or made of plastic, paper, or cloth, reusing our bags means that new bags do not have to be made. When paper or plastic bags rip and there is no use for them anymore, people need to recycle them as opposed to throwing them in the trash. All of these small changes will make a big impact on the environment and will reduce energy use and harmful waste.

• to help people decide which type of shopping bag will best fit their needs

• to list ideas about how the problem of shopping bag waste might be solved

• to introduce the problem that using paper bags is worse than using plastic ones

• to encourage stores to change the kinds of shopping bags they give to customers

“Paper or Plastic?” uses many facts and opinions to support its argument. Is the following sentence a fact or opinion?

It can take over 500 years for plastic bags to break down in a landfill, and even then, small bits of plastic remain and damage the environment.

• fact

• opinion

“Paper or Plastic?” uses many facts and opinions to support its argument. Is the following sentence a fact or opinion?

Making paper bags involves the use of dangerous chemicals such as sulfur that are released into the air and water

• fact

• opinion

“Paper or Plastic?” uses many facts and opinions to support its argument. Is the following sentence a fact or opinion?

Because people are eager to save a bit of money, this is a good way to encourage people to reuse their own bags

• fact

• opinion

“Paper or Plastic?” uses many facts and opinions to support its argument. Is the following sentence a fact or opinion?

In an attempt to be more environmentally conscious, people have created bags that are more earth friendly.

• fact

• opinion