Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder IELTS Reading Answers

Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder Reading Answers, is a IELTS Academic Reading passage that consists of 14 questions.

With diligent practice, the Reading Module can be the top-scoring category for IELTS aspirants. To score well, you must understand how to approach and answer the different question types in the Reading Module.

By solving and reviewing Sample Reading questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark. The question types found in this IELTS Reading  passage are:

The question types found in this passage are:

• IELTS Reading Matching Information (Q.27 – 29)
• IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q. 11-13)

If your target is a band score of 9 in IELTS Reading, check out the video below for some exclusive tips!

Reading Passage

Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder

Question 14 – 21 

14 An account of a typical day’s labor

15 Examples of cruelty and specific exploitation

16 An accusation that double standards are operating

17 A description of a hierarchical system

18 An allegation that wealthier people are not doing what they could

19 An assertion that the rich benefit from the hard work of the poor

20 A summary of how a business has changed over time

21 A claim that recycling is economically beneficial to the authorities

Questions 22-26

The notion of recycling in India has changed hugely. At one time, people 22_____________ everything from

newspapers to household containers. Now, with the 23 __________________ disposable products and plastic packaging, people simply throw things away instead of putting them aside for 24____________. The 25____________

takes care of the whole recycling process nowadays. Rag-pickers are at the bottom of a 26 _______________________ with

everyone from the various middlemen to the factory owners and their agents looking down.

Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder IELTS Reading Answer 

Have a look at the Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder IELTS Reading answer key with detailed explanation and answer location. It will help you tally your answers as well as give you an idea of which question type to focus to achieve a good IELTS Reading band score.

14 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph D, last line

Answer explanation: Paragraph D illustrates how a Rag-Picker begins their work as early as 4 am. The entire paragraph provides information on how the Rag-Picker has to work in order to earn his bread. The last line of the paragraph states that a rag-picker may be paid less if waste is substandard or wet, or if the buyer is temporarily cash strapped. Rag-pickers often take loans from buyers, and soon find themselves working simply to pay back debt. Thus, it is clear that paragraph D illustrates an account of the typical day’s labor of a Rag-Picker. Hence, the answer is D.

15 Answer: E

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph E

Answer explanation: In Paragraph E, it is mentioned that Rag-pickers generally live either in slums, often the shop or warehouse of a middleman, or outside in alleyways and on footpaths. Some sleep in dustbins. Their access to basic amenities and essential services is virtually non-existent. The police regularly beat them or burn their bags of waste, leaving them with nothing to show for a day’s work. Municipal workers charge rag-pickers to be allowed to forage in a bin, and if it is a lucrative bin, the rates gradually increase. Once ensconced, the municipal worker makes them do additional work, sweeping or loading trucks. It is not unknown for the police to pick up rag-pickers and force them to clean the police station. These lines indicate examples of cruelty and specific exploration of what all things a Rag-Picker has to undergo. Therefore, the answer is E.

16 Answer: G

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph G

Answer explanation: Paragraph G states that in India, the informal sector has an essential role because it is able to undertake to recycle, which the municipality cannot. However, although it is critical, especially for the handling of solid waste, the sector is unable to optimize its work. There is a stark lack of awareness and specific skills, as well as very poor working conditions. The services provided by this sector are poorly understood and ultimately free to consumers, so are currently unappealing to the private sector. Recycling, at least for now, must be seen as the flip side of urban middle-class consumption. These lines reveal that the informal sector in India alone plays an indispensable role as it undertakes recycling processes that the municipal government does not do. As a result, the paragraph depicts the accusation that double standards are operating. Thus, the answer is G.

17 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: In paragraph B, it is mentioned that all recycling in India is undertaken by and via the informal sector. This sector includes ragpickers, middlemen, transporters, and finally, reprocessors. In terms of human resources, this sector is arranged in a table-top pyramid with rag pickers at the base, forming the backbone of waste collection. At the thinner end of the wedge are the small middlemen, who buy the waste and sell it to larger middlemen, who usually specialize in particular items and materials. Above them are factory owners, who procure supplies from those beneath through a ubiquitous network of agents. These lines clearly indicate a description of a hierarchical system of Rag-Pickers. Hence, the answer is B.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder Reading Passage

Let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in the ‘Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder’ Reading passage.

Matching Information

Matching Information questions require test takers to match specific pieces of information, such as examples, reasons, descriptions, comparisons, summaries, or explanations, to paragraphs or sections within a reading passage. Here are some tips for Matching Information:

• Read Instructions Carefully: Understand exactly what type of information you need to match (e.g., examples, reasons).
• Identify Keywords: Highlight key terms in the statements and look for these or synonyms in the passage.
• Skim and Scan the Passage: Skim to get an overview and scan for specific keywords related to the statements.
• Understand the Context: Read around the keywords to ensure you match the correct paragraph or section.
• Eliminate Incorrect Options: Use the process of elimination to discard paragraphs that clearly do not match the information.

Summary Completion:

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer these questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentence carefully, hence this will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords in the sentence as they can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase, hence this will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer once you have filled in the gaps. Make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

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