Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 2...
Đề bài
Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 23 to 30.
UK plastic waste exports have soared this year, rising by 84% in the first half of 2025 compared with 2024, according to UN Comtrade analysis compiled by The Last Beach Cleanup. The surge has been concentrated in Malaysia and Indonesia, with consignments jumping to 28,667 tonnes and 24,006 tonnes respectively. While aggregate volumes remained above 317,000 tonnes, the portion routed directly to non-OECD destinations climbed from 11% to 20%. Campaigners brand this pattern “waste imperialism”, arguing that costs are being externalised onto jurisdictions with weaker enforcement capacity.
The EU has agreed to prohibit exports to non-OECD countries from November 2026 for two and a half years, extendable thereafter; the UK has no equivalent ban. Jan Dell accuses ministers of hypocrisy at global plastics talks. Although officials proclaim “high ambition”, the UK still refuses to fix a date for ending shipments to poorer nations, even as volumes pivot to south-east Asia. Advocates insist that responsibility should track origin: if Britain produces the packaging, Britain should process it – rather than offloading risks elsewhere.
Trade flows remain mercurial: after Malaysia’s tighter import rules, UK shipments there dipped to 2.8% (about 1,500 tonnes) in July. Yet, as after China’s 2018 restrictions, material is quickly re-routed – via the Netherlands or to Turkey – creating a shadow geography of disposal. Experts describe low oversight in parts of Turkey’s recycling sector, where licences are reportedly easy to obtain and fatalities have been documented. Such volatility, critics warn, rewards arbitrage while obscuring accountability along the transboundary chain.
Campaigners urge the UK to emulate the EU prohibition and close the loophole that makes exporting cheaper than domestic reprocessing. Industry voices argue that Britain should internalise the true costs of its packaging. Defra counters that exports are governed by strict legal controls and that forthcoming collection and packaging reforms will catalyse around £10bn of investment, boosting UK-based recycling capacity and, in principle, reducing dependency on offshore outlets over time if fully implemented.
(Adapted from Karen McVeigh, “UK plastic waste exports to developing countries rose 84% in a year, data shows,” The Guardian*, 8 Oct 2025.)*
Question 23. The word soared in paragraph 1 can be best replaced by ______?
A. dwindled B. meandered C. surged D. plateaued