Page 134 - READING COMPANION TO ENGLISH EXAMS

Answer the questions 30–32 according to the
passage below.

The global production of plastic has reached 31. Which of the following is true according to the
dangerous levels, exceeding 380 million tonnes passage?
annually. This is causing significant harm to A) What sets the bacterium apart is its ability to
the environment and marine life, as 8 million consume plastics and use the carbon
tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans each by-product as an energy source.
year, resulting in a massive plastic debris patch
in the Pacific Ocean seven times the size of B) The extensive accumulation of plastic waste
Great Britain. In addition, it takes hundreds of in the Pacific Ocean is solely caused by the
years for plastics to decompose, and recycling lack of action by coastal nations.
them demands a significant amount of energy. C) Scientists have created two artificial
Scientists have been diligently working to enzymes, PETase and MHETase, mimicking
address this widespread issue. Fortunately, those found in Ideonella sakaiensis.
a major breakthrough occurred in 2001 when
Japanese scientists discovered Ideonella D) By combining PETase and MHETase,
sakaiensis, a type of bacteria capable of scientists have developed a powerful
consuming various plastics and utilising the super-enzyme that boosts bacterial growth
carbon content as a source of energy, at a by six times.
rubbish dump. Extensive research has been E) Scientists aim to boost bacterial populations
carried out on these bacteria to comprehend in natural ecosystems due to their limited
their mechanisms and improve their efficiency. production of plastic-targeting enzymes.
Furthermore, scientists have engineered
enzymes, such as PETase and MHETase,
derived from these bacteria for industrial
purposes, which facilitate the degradation and
recycling of plastic waste. Moreover, two of
these enzymes have been combined to create
a unique super-enzyme that expedites the
breakdown process sixfold compared to previous
techniques. These discoveries hold promise for
a cleaner and more sustainable future, offering
solutions to reduce plastic pollution.

30. One can understand from the passage that 32. The underlined word ‘expedite’ in the passage
Ideonella sakaiensis ----. is closest in meaning to ----.
A) is being examined to explore potential A) cultivate
solutions to plastic pollution in marine B) illuminate
ecosystems as an aquatic bacterium
C) dispatch
B) can produce a variety of enzymes; however,
researchers have successfully synthesised D) accelerate
only two of them
E) outstretch
C) is regarded as a viable solution to plastic
pollution, as it possesses enzymes that can
break down plastic bottles

D) could not survive under controlled laboratory
conditions despite its ability to survive in
waste disposal sites

E) is an artificial bacterium that has been
engineered in a laboratory by Japanese
researchers using sophisticated techniques

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