IELTS® Academic Reading Practice 55

Paper Recycling

Paper is not quite the same as other waste humans create. This is, in part, due to the fact that trees are sustainable as a resource. The minerals and oil used to make plastics and metals are quite different, as trees are replaceable. Paper is additionally biodegradable, so it doesn't present as much danger to the earth after people dispose of it. While 45 out of each 100 tons of wood fiber used to make paper in Australia originates from waste paper, the rest comes specifically from virgin fiber from woodlands and ranches. This average compares favorably with the world average of 33 percent waste paper. Governments are now trying to encourage the collection of waste paper, as well as improving sorting techniques. At the same time, the paper business has reacted by trying to develop new innovations to more effectively reuse paper, such as making better use of recycled fiber. Subsequently, the industry's increased dependence on recycled fibers will likely double compared to the rate of virgin fiber over the coming years.

Already, waste paper represents 70% of packaging paper currently being used, and technological advancements have allowed ink from the paper to be removed more easily. This has led to more reused newspaper. To accomplish the advantages of reusing, whole communities should contribute as well, and accept changes in the nature of paper items. For instance, stationery might need to be less white and have a rougher texture. The community will also need to make an effort to improve waste paper collection. Paper must be made available to collectors, as well as be sorted by variety. Other items such as staples, paper clips, string and miscellaneous things on the paper must be removed, as well.

Technically, limitations exist concerning how much paper can be recycled, as well as restrictions on some paper products that can’t be collected to use again. Some of these are paper products such as books, permanent records, photo paper and heavily contaminated paper. There are four sources of paper for recycling which are seen most commonly. First, factories and retail stores may gather large amounts of packaging material in which goods are delivered. Secondly, offices have excess business documents and printed paper. Third are paper converters and printers, and fourth are households throwing away newspapers and packing materials. The paper manufacturer may need to pay to make the paper, as well as pay its collection cost.

Paper must then be sorted by hand after its collection. The sorters themselves are people trained to be able to recognize different kinds of paper. Sorting allows different types of paper which can only be made from particular kinds of recycled fiber to be separated. After sorting, the paper is repulped by being mixed with water and broken down to the individual fibers which formed it. This mixture, known as stock, could have many different kinds of contaminating materials within it, especially when made from poorly sorted waste paper. Some machines can be used to clean out contaminants from the stock. Once the repulping process is complete, printed waste paper fibers soaked with ink turn grey. Therefore, only products where the grey colour does not matter are able to make use of this type of recycled material, such as cardboard boxes. On the other hand, when the paper’s color matters, the ink must be removed from the fibers. This can be achieved by adding chemicals such as caustic soda or other alkalis, soaps and detergents, water-hardening agents such as calcium chloride, frothing agents and bleaching agents. To make the recycled fibers into paper, they must also first be refined to help the fibers bond together.

Most paper products are made with both some virgin fiber and some recycled fibres. Unlike glass, paper is limited in that it cannot be recycled infinitely. The majority of paper products are “down-cycled,” meaning that the recycled products derived from the original paper are of inferior quality. However, the process of recycling paper helps cut costs and reduce waste, saving in areas such as energy, labor and capital necessary to produce virgin pulp. But at the same time, the process of recycling also uses fossil fuel in order to collect waste paper and process it into new paper. This means that unfortunately, recycling requires the use of a non-renewable source of energy. In addition to that, the recycling process has continued to create emissions which must be dealt with properly before they are able to be safely released. But overall, the process of paper recycling remains a significant practice for both the economy and environment, even though it must be done in a rational and viable way to ensure that it is useful, and clean, for industries and the communities alike.

To get a high score on the IELTS reading section, you need to have a fast reading speed. To have a fast reading speed, you need to improve your vocabulary and practice dissecting sentences. One strategy to dissect a sentence is to look for the subject and verb of the sentence. Finding the subject and verb will help you better understand the main idea of said sentence. Keep in mind, a common feature of a IELTS reading passage is to join strings of ideas to form long compound sentences. This produces large chunks that students have a hard time absorbing. Do not get overwhelmed by its length, just look for the subject and verb, the rest of the ideas will flow.


Keep in mind, having a slow reading speed makes skimming or scanning a reading passage more difficult. The process of quickly skimming through a reading passage for specific keywords or main ideas is a requirement for you to employ successful reading strategies to improve your IELTS reading score. In other words, skimming and scanning are critical skills to ensure you complete all questions in the allotted time frame.

Once you can read and comprehend a passage with a rate of, at least, 220 words per minute, you'll be ready to start implementing our strategies. All too often, students spend too much time reading the passages and not enough time answering the questions. Here is a step by step guide for tackling the reading section.

1. Step 1: Read questions first

   One of the most common mistakes that candidates make when approaching the reading exam is reading every single word of the passages. Although you can practice for the exam by reading for pleasure, "reading blindly" (reading without any sense of what the questions will ask) will not do you any favors in the exam. Instead, it will hurt your chances for effectively managing your time and getting the best score.
   
   The main reason to read the questions first is because the type of question may determine what you read in the passage or how you read it. For example, some question types will call for the "skimming" technique, while others may call for the "scanning" technique.

   It is important to answer a set of questions that are of the same question type. You'll need to determine which question type you want to tackle first. A good strategy would be to start with the easier question type and move on to more difficult question types later. The Easiest question types are the ones where you spend less time reading. For example, the Matching Heading question type is an easier one because you only need to find the heading that best describes the main idea of a paragraph. An example of a difficult question type would be Identifying Information. For this question type, you'll need to read each paragraph to find out if each statement is TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN according to the passage.
   
   Here is a table that lists the difficulty levels for each question type. Use this table as a reference when choosing which question type you want to tackle first.

   
   

   Difficulty level	Question Type
   Easy	Sentence Completion Short answer
   Medium	Matching Features Multiple choice Matching Headings Summary, Table, Flow-Chart Completion
   Difficult	Matching Sentence Endings Matching Information Identifying Information (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN) Identifying Viewer's claims (YES/NO/NOT GIVEN)

   
   
2. Step 2: Read for an objective

   After you've read the questions for the passage, you will be able to read for an objective. What does this mean? For example, if you come across a question that includes the year "1896", you can make a note of when this year comes up in the text, using it to answer the question later on. There are two reading techniques that will help you stay on track with reading for an objective. The first one, skimming, is best defined as reading fast in order to get the "gist", or general idea, or a passage. With this technique, you are not stopping for any unfamiliar words or looking for specific details. The second technique, scanning, is best defined as reading for specific information. With this technique, you are not reading for the overall gist, but rather, specific information. Notice how each of these techniques has a specific objective in mind. This will help you find information more quickly.

3. Step 3: Take notes

   As you're reading for an objective, you should also be making notes on the margins of the passage, placing stars next to key information, or underlining things that you believe will help you answer the various questions. This will make it easier for you to check back when you are asked certain things in the questions. Choose whichever note-taking system is right for you - just make sure you do it!

4. Step 4: Answer wisely

   After you've read the questions, read the passage, and have taken any appropriate notes, you you should have located the part of the text where you where you need to read carefully. Then just read carefully and think critically to determine the correct answer.

The IELTS reading test contains many different question types:

Matching Headings	IELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Headings
Matching Information	IELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Information
Matching Features	IELTS Reading Lesson: Matching Features
Summary Completion	IELTS Reading Lesson: Summary Completion
Identifying Information	IELTS Reading Lesson: Identifying Information
Identifying Writer's claims	IELTS Reading Lesson: Identifying Writer's claims
Multiple Choice	IELTS Reading Lesson: Multiple Choice
Short Answer	IELTS Reading Lesson: Short Answer
Match Sentence Ending	IELTS Reading Lesson: Match Sentence Ending
Sentence Completion	IELTS Reading Lesson: Sentence Completion
Table Completion	IELTS Reading Lesson: Table Completion