Question

Read the passage carefully and answer all the questions that follow. Give the answers in your own words. All questions carry equal marks. (10 Marks)

In 2007, people in the United States drank more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water. The United States currently consumes the most bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil. Compared to sugary, caffeinated soft drinks, this seems a healthy choice. But is it a wise one? A single-serve water bottle offers great convenience. It can be bought almost anywhere, carried around for a while, and then thrown away. The impact of bottled water on the environment, however, is staggering. Approximately 2.7 million tons of plastic is turned into disposable bottles each year. This requires large quantities of crude oil and water. It also produces greenhouse gases. Bottled water is often shipped long distances to reach consumers, and this uses even more fossil fuels and creates more pollution. The bottles can be recycled though only at a minor fraction. The United States only recycles about 23 percent. The rest are part of a growing solid waste problem. Bottled Over Tap? Convenience isn’t the only reason for bottled water’s rise in popularity. Words like “pristine” and “pure,” together with images of mountains or glaciers, are used to market bottled water. Many people believe that it must be cleaner and more healthful than tap water from public water systems. But this is a misconception. In developed nations such as the United States and in Europe, regulations that ensure safe water are often stricter for tap than for bottled water. Armenian standards allow as much as 700 micrograms of arsenic per liter of water, but U.S. standards set the limit at 10 micrograms per liter. Before bottling, some companies filter it, and they might add minerals for taste. Despite its sometimes-humble origins, bottled water can cost anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water. “Back to the tap” movements are cropping up around the world. In order to save money, use fewer resources, and create less waste, they advocate using tap water and reusable “sports” bottles rather than bottled water. San Francisco and other cities across the United States no longer allow their governmental departments to buy single-serve water bottles.

i. What is the main purpose of the statistics given in the paragraph?

ii. Based on the passage, why are words such as “pristine” and “pure” used to sell bottled water?

iii. According to the passage, what is the main problem with bottled water?

iv. What conclusion can you draw about the use of bottled water supported by the information provided in the passage.

v. “In order to save money, use fewer resources, and create less waste, they advocate using tap water and reusable “sports” bottles rather than bottled water.” What do you understand by the term ‘advocate’?​

Answer 1

Explanation:

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