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also involves dishonest activities, so gold extraction has a “murky’ reputation”. The diamond industry also has a poor reputation because many workers are treated very badly. What people believe about these processes are exactly what designers of sea glass jewellery want to avoid, so that they gain an advantage in the jewellery market because they recycle materials.
Reading and understanding
2 Choose the best answer to the questions. 1 What happens when Gina Cowen goes looking for glass on a beach? (a) She gets bitten by crabs. (b) She gets burnt.
(Yes, she says she burns her shoulders.)
(c) She always finds a better piece than the last time. (d) She finds time passes slowly.
(No, “she loses her sense of time” means that time passes very quickly so she is not conscious of how it passes.)
2 Why is red glass special compared to other types of glass? (a) It’s smoother.
(No, sea glass of any colour can be smooth over the years.) (b) It’s probably older.
(Yes, Cowen says there is a strong chance that it could be centuries old.) (c) It’s more beautiful. (d) It’s harder to find.
3 What does Cowen do with most of the jewellery she makes? (a) She sells it to private customers.
(Yes, the passage says “she works mostly to commission”.) (b) She exhibits it in galleries. (c) She keeps it in her room. (d) She sells it in a London shop.
(Well, some of her designs were sold in London Liberty, but she sells most of her designs privately.) 4 When did Cowen get interested in sea glass?
(a) When she wrote an article about it for a newspaper. (b) When she saw a collection in a glass cabinet. (c) While walking along a beach in South Africa.
(Yes, she found some glass there and started a collection.) (d) When she found out about the Victorian glass industry. (No, she found out about this later in Britain.) 5 Where does the best sea glass come from? (a) South Africa.
(b) Liberty in London. (c) Fiji and Majorca.
(Cowen has good sea glass from these islands, but it seems that the best is from British beaches.) (d) Beaches in England.
(Yes, Seaham Beach in Britain is her “favourite hunting ground” and her Victorian sea-glass collection from British beaches is “most stunning”, so the implication is that, for Cowen, British
beaches are where the best sea glass comes from.) 6 Why will sea glass become rarer than diamonds? (a) People will stop making glass.
(b) It will eventually be transformed into sand. (c) More and more glass is being recycled.
(Yes, this means that old glass is made into new glass instead of being dumped in the sea. As a result, sea glass will become rare.)
(d) People will be prepared to pay a lot of money for it. 7 What did a 15-year-old girl manage to do? (a) She sold her collection of sea glass on eBay.
(b) She sold photographs of her collection of sea glass.
(No, she took photos in order to illustrate the collection to help to sell the sea glass – she didn’t sell the photos.)
(c) She sold Cowen some sea glass for more than it was worth.
(Yes, the girl sold it on eBay and Cowen says she paid too much for it.) (d) She collected a lot of sea glass on a school trip.
8 Why is sea glass more ecological than diamonds and gold? (a) Getting it doesn’t damage the environment.
(Yes, the passage refers to serious ecological problems with extracting gold and mining diamonds, whereas because sea glass is waste material collecting and using it is actually clearing up the beach environment.)
(b) It can be used for a variety of purposes. (c) It is a naturally occurring product.
(No, sea glass does not occur naturally. it is glass that has been dumped into the sea by people as rubbish.)
(d) It can be recycled more easily.
Dealing with unfamiliar words
3 Match the words in the box with their definitions. 1 to become or to make something become active, successful, or popular again (revive) 2 very impressive or beautiful (stunning)
3 to hang something from something else (suspend) 4 a formal agreement to get married (engagement)
5 the way that the level of the sea regularly rises and falls during the day (tide) 6 to be in charge of something or to be in a position of power (preside) 7 the process of getting rid of something (disposal) 8 very bright (luminous)
4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in Activity 3. 1 To celebrate our engagement we had dinner in the best restaurant in Paris. 2 The lamp was suspended from an iron hook in the middle of the ceiling. 3 Someone needs to think about the disposal of all these waste products.
4 I’ve been asked to preside at next week’s meeting of the recycling committee. 5 The luminous object on the table turned out to be made of diamond.
6 I could spend hours here, just watching the seagulls flying past and the tides coming in and going
out.
7 When she walked into the restaurant she was wearing an absolutely stunning diamond necklace. 8 The President is likely to propose a stimulus plan that he believes will help revive the US economy. 5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the following words. 1 I had a period of time as a volunteer before getting a job in the jewellery trade. (stint) 2 You shouldn’t just throw that rubbish into the river! (chuck)
3 It’s sheer stupid and careless behaviour to go on using up the earth’s resources as we are doing. (negligence)
4 I looked carefully at the horizon, but couldn’t see anyone coming towards me. (scoured) 5 I think the accident was due to the driver’s lack of care. (folly)
6 The removal of minerals from the earth is usually an expensive and dangerous task. (extraction) 7 The red kite is one of the most rarely seen birds in the country. (elusive) 6 Answer the questions about the words and expressions. 1 If someone sidles up to you, are they moving (a) quickly and determinedly, or (b) slowly and casually?
2 Is a hard and fast rule (a) fixed, or (b) open to interpretation?
3 If someone has good eco-credentials, do they (a) care for the environment, or (b) show no interest in it?
4 If something has a murky reputation, is it (a) possibly dishonest or morally wrong, or (b) precious and highly respected?
5 If you play into the hands of someone, do you (a) approve of it, or (b) give them an advantage? 6 If you condone someone’s behaviour, do you (a) approve of it, or (b) disapprove of it?
7 If you pounce onto something, do you make a (a) quick movement to get hold of it, or (b) slow movement to get hold of it?
Reading and interpreting
7 Check () the writer’s main purpose in writing the passage. To paint a portrait of a woman with unusual passion.
(The writer does have this purpose to show Cowen’s strong interest.) To describe the process of making jewellery from sea glass.
(This is one purpose although there are not many details about this.) To make people think about the importance of recycling. (Yes, this is a strong point in the passage.) √ A mixture of all three.
(Yes, the writer seems to have all the above three purposes here.) 8 Find the quotations in the passage which illustrate the ideas: 1 why sea glass is special
“It has the ability to transform magically from something ordinary to luminous treasure after a stint in the sea.”
2 why colour is important
“The colour gives you a hint of age.”
3 how a thoughtless act can have a happy ending
“The creation of sea glass is a form of recycling, but more than that, it is an example of nature compensating for man’s folly.”
4 what will happen to sea glass
“Sea glass will eventually run our – one day, it will be rarer than diamonds.” 5 the mysterious appeal of sea glass
“You can imagine what object it might have been, where it traveled and how old it is.” 6 how almost anything can be made into jewellery
“People will find creative ways of working with whatever is available.”
Language in use word formation: -y
1 Write the adjectives which describe: 1 a jacket with a flower design (flowery) 2 a label that sticks onto something (sticky) 3 a suit which has rather a high price (pricy) 4 hair which shines (shiny)
5 someone who makes a lot of fuss (fussy)
6 a personality which makes you think of sun (sunny) word formation: over –
2 Replace the underlined words with verbs beginning with over- . You may need to make other changes. 1 I think you have made too big an estimate for the cost of the wedding. (overestimated) 2 They charged me too much money for that ring! (overcharged)
3 I slept too much last night and missed the flight to London. (overslept) 4 The flowers in her garden had grown everywhere. (overgrown)
5 It’s difficult to emphasize too greatly the importance of the fashion industry. (overemphasize) 6 I’ve got indigestion. I’ve eaten too much. (overeaten) see
3 Rewrite the sentences using see . 1 In 1987 there was a major stock market crash. 1987 saw a major stock market crash.
2 The early 1980s was a period of steady economic growth. The early 1980s saw a period of steady economic growth. 3 Long hair made a brief return in the 1990s. The 1990s saw a brief return to long hair.
4 On the first day of the sales there were hundreds of people queuing in the streets. The first day of the sales saw hundreds of people queuing in the streets.
5 There was great technological change during our grandparents’ generation. Our grandparents’ generation saw a great technological change. turn out to be
4 Rewrite the sentences using turn out to be . 1 I thought the ring was made of gold, but in the end it proved to be silver. I thought the ring was made of gold, but it turned out to be silver.
2 She looked like my cousin, but she was actually a complete stranger. She looked like my cousin, but she turned out to be a complete stranger.
3 The house needed a lot of work doing on it, but it proved to be a good investment.
The house needed a lot of work doing on it, but it turned out to be a good investment. 4 I saw smoke rising from the building, but it was a false alarm.
I saw smoke rising from the building, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
5 I didn’t want to move to England, but in the end it proved to be a wise decision. I didn’t want to move to England, but it turned out to be a wise decision.
collocations
5 Read the explanations of the words. Answer the questions. 1 hint A hint can be something you say to show your feelings without saying directly what they are, a small amount of something, or a piece of advice.
(a) If someone has a hint of a smile on their face, what do you see? You see just a small sign of a smile but not a proper smile.
(b) What helpful hints would you give someone starting their own business?
I’d suggest that they need to have a clear focus on what the business is about and exactly how it will work, eg the person should identify a niche in the market that the new business can fill.
(c) If you drop a hint about what you would like for your birthday, do you ask for it directly? No, of course not! You just find a way to join in with a normal conversation and say something about what you would like.
2 range This word can mean a number of things of the same general type, the distance or limits of something, or to move freely.
(a) What can you find in a shop which stocks a wide range of products? You can find products of all kinds, a good variety of them.
(b) What would be the best thing to do if you were within range of someone with a gun? Run quickly away out of range if there is time; if not, take shelter. (c) Which is the biggest mountain range in China?
Well, the Himalayas are the highest, but the Tian Shan or Kunlun mountain ranges are longer. (d) What have hens which lay free-range eggs been able to do?
They have been able to run and walk around freely, compared to hens which are kept in small cages or containers.
3 reflect This word can mean to be a sign of a situation, or to think carefully about something. (a) Whose image is reflected if you look in a mirror?
Your own image is reflected back to you when you look in a mirror.
(b) Do you believe that the state of the economy can be reflected in the height of hemlines? I wouldn’t have believed it before I read the passage, but I believe it now! (c) Do you ever reflect on the mistakes you make in English?
Yes, I do try to reflect on them because I know such reflection is a good way to improve my English. 4 rise This word can mean an increase in number, amount or value, or the achievement of success or power.
(a) Why was there a sharp rise in unemployment in the West in the 1930s?
The sharp rise in unemployment was due to the stock market crash and the financial crisis. (b) What do you know about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire?
I know that over several hundred years the Roman Empire expanded, but after a time it then
declined over a long period. There’s a famous book called The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. (c) Do you live in a high-rise block of flats?