IELTS Vocabulary Topic: Plastic pollution

Reading newspaper articles is an excellent way to improve your vocabulary and reading skills.

Here’s a summary of an IELTS-related news article with useful words for IELTS Reading Texts in BOLD.

Read the summary, check you understand the meanings and then go back to the original text [Great Pacific garbage patch far bigger than imagined].

The VAST (giant, huge) collection of fishing nets, plastic containers and other DISCARDED (thrown away) items is worse than scientists thought.

They call it a ‘TICKING TIME BOMB’ because the problem will only get much worse as large items CRUMBLE (break up) into micro plastics in the next DECADES (=10 years).

Researchers who want to RID (clear, get rid of) the ocean of plastics were shocked by the DENSITY (thickness) of the DEBRIS | ˈdeɪbriː | (garbage) at the heart of the patch.

The DIMENSIONS (size) of the patch are continually MORPHING (changing) as the plastic is caught in ROTATING CURRENTS (circling sea movements).

It will soon be VISIBLE (you will be able to see it) from space.

A UN environmental programme called Ocean Cleanup aims to TACKLE (deal with) the problem by using a rubber barrier to suck up the rubbish.

But they point out that we need to PREVENT (stop) so much plastic getting into the ocean, by recycling more and better LEGISLATION (laws e.g. banning plastic carrier bags).

There has been a 20-FOLD (20 times more) increase IN the amount of plastic produced in the world since 1964.

It is expected to QUADRUPLE (increase by 4 times) by 2050.

One report predicted there would be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050 UNLESS URGENT ACTION IS TAKEN (if we don’t do something immediately).

Adapted from The Guardian Oliver Milman 04 October 2016

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