A. COOL B. FALL C. FREEZE D. DECREASEII. THE PASSAGE HAS EIGHT PHR...

14. A. cool B. fall C. freeze D. decrease

II. The passage has eight phrases left out. Decide which phrase (A-L) from the list should go in

each gap. Write the letter in the space provided. There are more phrases than gaps. Write your

answer in the box provided. (8 pts.)

RECYCLING PLASTICS

One of the most difficult wastes to recycle is mixed plastics, (1) __________. Plastic manufacturers

turn their own offcuts into granules that are melted down for reuse.They can also reuse any single,

pure thermoplastic materials, (2) ____________. The British firm Meyer-Newman of Gwent recycles

complete telephones into new ones. But mixed plastics have unpredictable properties and low

structural strength because (3) ___________. So it is difficult to make a material with good and

predictable properties from mixed plastic wastes.

One answer is compatibiliser. This is an octopus-like molecule in which each arm represents a section

of different polymer, that in turn (4) ____________. Stirred into a mixture of molten plastic, each arm

of the octopus grabs and reacts chemically with a molecule of the one polymer in the mixture. The

result is an alloy rather than a mixture. It is strong because of intra-molecular bonding and has highly

predictable properties, so it is potentially reusable.

During the past two or three years, many plastic manufacturers have (5) ___________. But perhaps

the most advanced, ‘Bennet’, was produced independently two years ago, after 15 years of research,

by the Dutch engineer Der Groep. His invention is already being used widely, largely in secret (6)

__________.

Bennet is made up of short sections of several polymers representing the arms of octopus, each is able

to link the molecules of a different polymer in the mixture. The reliable strength of the plastic ‘alloys’

made with Bennet suggests that (7) _____________.

The vehicle recycling industry is keen to recycle more plastics. Despite the environmental benefits,

they fear that the steady increase in the use of reclaimable plastics will make it uneconomic to recover

vehicles from the metals they contain. Some car manufacturers, such as BMW and Mercedes, are now

designing products and requesting components that are easier to recycle: (8)____________.

A. is characteristic of a different plastic

B. developed their own compatibilisers

C. which has never been achieved despite substantail government investment in research

D. often used in wrappers and containers

E. they could be used in high-grade, high-cost applications such as car bumpers

F. it does not have sufficient rigidity

G. for example, car bumpers made from one material instead of up to seven

H. always been sceptical about recycling plastics

I. as manufacturers do not want to be seen to be using recycled plastics in their quality products

J. for example, steel suspension systems and car bodies

K. such as polythene that are not chemically cross-linked

L. the different plastics in the mixture are not bonded at a molecular level

PART D: WRITING

I. Rewrite each of the following sentences using the word(s) given so that its meaning stays the

same. (8 pts.)