PART C. READING (35 POINTS)

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

Many of the major supermarket chains have come under fire with (51)………..of

various unethical acts over the past decade. They’ve wasted tonnes of food, they've underpaid their suppliers and they’ve contributed to (52) ………..plastic waste in their

packaging, which has had its impact on our environment.

But supermarkets and grocers are starting to sit up and take notice. In response to growing consumer backlash against the huge amounts of plastic waste generated by plastic packaging, some of the largest UK supermarkets have (53)………..a pact promising

to transform packaging and cut plastic wastage. In a pledge to reuse, recycle or compost all plastic wastage by 2025, supermarkets are now beginning to take some responsibility for the part they play in contributing to the (54) ………..to our environment, with one

major supermarket announcing their plan to eliminate all plastic packaging in their own­brand products by 2023.

In response to criticisms over food waste, some supermarkets are donating some of their food surplus. (55)……….., charities estimate that they are only accessing two per

cent of supermarkets' total food surplus, so this (56) ……….. seems to be solving the

problem. Some say that supermarkets are simply not doing enough. Most supermarkets operate under a veil of secrecy when asked for exact figures of food wastage, and without more transparency it is hard to come up with a systematic approach to avoiding waste and to (57)………..surplus food.

Some smaller companies are now taking matters into their own hands and offering consumers a greener, more environmentally friendly option. Shops like Berlin's Original Unverpakt and London’s Bulk Market are plastic-free shops that have opened in recent years, (58)………..customers to use their own containers or compostable bags. Online

grocer Farmdrop eliminates the need for large warehouses and the risk of huge food surplus by delivering fresh (59)………..from local farmers to its customers on a daily (60)

………..via electric cars, offering farmers the lion’s share of the retail price.

(adaptedfrom learnenglish.britishcounciLorg)

Many of the major supermarket chains have come under fire with (51)………..of various unethical acts over the past decade.