Rag-Pickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder IELTS Reading Answers
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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
Reading passage 2 had seven sections, A-G. Which section contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes I4—2 I on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once
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
Complete the Summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS com the passage {or each answer. Write yow answers in boxes 22—26 on your answer sheet.
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.
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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.
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18 Answer: D
Question type: Matching Information
Answer location: Paragraph D, line 9
Answer explanation: In the 9th line of paragraph D, it is mentioned that hunched over for hours, the poor undertake what the privileged preach: segregation of waste. If the privileged had done this themselves, the poor would suffer less from backache, allergies, and respiratory disorders, and have fewer cuts, burns, and dog bites. The transaction at the selling point is complex and frequently unjust. These lines indicate allegations that the wealthier people are not doing what they could. Therefore, the answer is D.
19 Answer: F
Question type: Matching Information
Answer location: Paragraph F
Answer explanation: The initial lines of paragraph F states that the whole process subsidizes the consumption of various materials by the city’s wealthier citizens. The example of plastics is a good example. According to a report by the Ministry of Environment, the plastics industry is growing at 10% per annum, and almost 52% of this is expected to be used in the packaging sector. These lines illustrate an assertion that the rich people are being benefited from the hard work of the poor Rag-Pickers as the entire process is subsidized within the consumption of different materials by wealthier individuals. Thus, the answer is F.
20 Answer: A
Question type: Matching Information
Answer location: Paragraph A, last line
Answer explanation: Paragraph A, illustrates how Recycling existed in one form or another for several years in India, even before the term seeped. The author writes, “As a 13-year-old, I was surrounded by baby food tins from my infancy, storing rice, dais, and chutneys. These habits are sadly dying out, superseded by the advent of the non-recyclable, non-reusable sachet and plastic packaging. Now, instead of being stored away for a rainy day, unwanted products are tossed carelessly into the dustbin. And this is where modern-day recycling begins. In Delhi, for every hundred residents, one person is engaged in recycling. These lines indicate a summary of how recycling has turned into a business and how the business has changed over the years. Thus, the answer is A.
21 Answer: C
Question type: Matching Information
Answer location: Paragraph C
Answer explanation: In paragraph C, the author gives an illustration of Delhi, introducing it as one of the largest and most vibrant recycling bases in the country. The 100,000 waste-pickers are the base of a huge recycling pyramid, handling something like 15% of the solid waste generated in the city. Since over 7,000 metric tonnes of waste is generated daily, this is a substantial business. A range of materials is processed within the sector, including plastics, metals, paper, and glass. Studies estimate that this informal labor force saves the three Delhi Municipalities a minimum of Rs. 6 lakhs (approx. 12,000 USD) every day. These lines suggest a claim that recycling is economically beneficial to the municipal authorities in Delhi. Therefore, the answer is D.
22 Answer: reused
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph A
Answer explanation: The introductory line of paragraph A states that recycling has existed in one form or another for many years in India and is complicated. Long before the term itself seeped into everyday vocabulary, women separated newspapers and sold them to weekend buyers, who cycled by with a weighing scale and loose change to pay with. Bottles were reused until they broke, and tins were simply never thrown away. These lines indicate how recycling existed in India even before the term, “Recycling” was coined. It is stated that Indian women would separate and sell the newspapers to the weekend buyers who cycled and sold them again. Even bottles were reused until they were broken. Thus, it is evident that people rescued everything from newspapers to household chores. So, the answer is reused.
23 Answer: the advent of
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph A, line 6
Answer explanation: The 6th line of paragraph A illustrates that these habits are sadly dying out, superseded by the advent of the non-recyclable, non-reusable sachet and plastic packaging. We can deduce from these lines that the old habits are dying out due to the advent of the non-recyclable, non-reusable sachet and plastic packaging. Thus, the answer is the advent of.
24 Answer: a rainy day
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph A, line 7
Answer explanation: The 7th line of paragraph A states that now, instead of being stored away for a rainy day, unwanted products are tossed carelessly into the dustbin. These lines reveal that the unwanted products are tossed away into dustbins rather than being stored away for a rainy day. Thus, the answer is a rainy day.
25 Answer: informal sector
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph B
Answer explanation: We can understand from the initial lines of paragraph B that all recycling in India is undertaken by and via the informal sector. This sector includes ragpickers, middlemen, transporters, and finally, reprocessors. Thus, it is clear that the informal sector takes care of the whole recycling process nowadays. So, the answer is the informal sector.
26 Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph B, line 2
Answer explanation: The 2nd line of paragraph B states that 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. These lines indicate that the rag pickers are at the bottom of a table-top pyramid with everyone from the various middlemen to the factory owners and their agents looking down. Hence, the answer is a pyramid.
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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