Plastic in Our Oceans
A balanced information text about plastic in the sea, with eight questions on word meaning, the writer’s viewpoint and summarising.
Read the passage
A growing problem
Plastic is cheap, light and strong, which is why it is used for everything from drinks bottles to toys. But those same qualities have created a serious problem. Scientists estimate that millions of tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year. Much of it is washed into the sea by rivers or blown from beaches and rubbish tips.
Plastic does not rot away like paper or food. Instead, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics, which can stay in the water for hundreds of years.
Hidden harm
Sea creatures often mistake plastic for food. Sea turtles, for example, may swallow floating plastic bags because they look like jellyfish. Seabirds and fish can also eat tiny pieces, which may make them ill. Researchers have even found microplastics in the deep sea and in Arctic ice. Fishing nets that are lost or thrown away at sea can also trap dolphins, seals and turtles, which is sometimes called ghost fishing.
The problem does not stop at the water’s edge. Microplastics are so small that they can travel up the food chain: tiny sea creatures eat them, larger fish eat those creatures, and eventually some of the plastic may end up on our own plates. Scientists are still studying what this might mean for human health, and they do not yet agree on how serious the risk is.
What can be done?
Many people believe that the solution begins with all of us. Using reusable bottles and bags, recycling carefully and avoiding single-use plastic can all reduce the amount of waste. Some engineers are also developing nets and barriers to collect rubbish from rivers before it reaches the sea. Several countries have already taxed or banned plastic carrier bags, and in the UK, volunteers now find far fewer bags on beaches than before the charge began. However, many experts argue that these efforts will not be enough unless governments and companies also make less plastic in the first place.
Answer the questions
- What are very small pieces of broken-down plastic called? (1 mark)
- The text says scientists “estimate” that millions of tonnes of plastic enter the sea each year. What does the word “estimate” suggest about this number? (2 marks)
- Give two reasons why plastic is used for so many things. (1 mark)
- The writer says, “those same qualities have created a serious problem”. What does this sentence mean? Which qualities is the writer talking about? (2 marks)
- Why is plastic that looks like food especially dangerous for sea animals? (2 marks)
- Summarise the section “What can be done?” in two sentences. (2 marks)
- Who does the writer seem to think must do most to solve the problem: individuals, or governments and companies? Use evidence from the text. (2 marks)
- Choose the statement that best sums up the whole text. Write its letter. (1 mark)A. Plastic is useful, so we should make more of it.B. Sea turtles are the only animals harmed by plastic.C. Plastic waste harms ocean life, and solving the problem needs action from individuals and from governments and companies.D. Recycling has already solved the problem.
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. Microplastics. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). Finding a key term in the first section, which the rest of the text builds on.
2. It is an approximate figure, a careful judgement rather than an exact count. (2 marks)
Word meaning (2a). Understanding how a single word shapes how much to trust a fact.
3. Any two of: cheap, light, strong (1 mark for two). (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). Finding a short list in the first sentence.
4. The things that make plastic useful (cheap, light, strong) also make it a problem, because it lasts for so long and is thrown away in huge amounts. (2 marks)
Language choices. Seeing the writer’s point that one fact can have two sides.
5. They swallow it by mistake, thinking it is food, and it can make them ill. (2 marks)
Inference (2d). Joining the cause (looks like food) to the effect (harm) across two sentences.
6. One mark for the actions people and engineers can take (reusable items, recycling, nets and barriers); one mark for the argument that governments and companies must make less plastic. (2 marks)
Summarising (2c). Reducing a paragraph to its main ideas.
7. Governments and companies, because the writer says experts argue individual efforts “will not be enough unless” they also make less plastic. (Accept a reasoned answer that says both are needed, if it uses that sentence.) (2 marks)
Giving a view with evidence. Working out what the writer thinks from how the arguments are ordered and weighted.
8. C (1 mark)
Summarising (2c). Choosing a best summary means testing each option against the whole text.
What this practises
Finding information (2b), Word meaning (2a), Language choices, Inference (2d), Summarising (2c), Giving a view with evidence. The codes in brackets are the reading content domains from the national curriculum test framework. Marks and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write a persuasive paragraph encouraging your school to use less single-use plastic.
Aim for eight to twelve sentences. Read it back aloud together and fix anything that does not sound right.
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Free to print and copy for your own family or classroom. Please do not sell or republish. The passage and questions were written for LiteracyLab AI.