Question 3

Ban the glitter: scientists want to take the sparkle out of life

It's sparkly, it's sticky, it spreads everywhere, and it's the bane of clean-up squads at every festival and children's party. But now there are calls from scientists and environmentalists across the globe to ban glitter, because the shimmery particles do not break down and can be digested by animals, making its way into the food chain.

 Dr Trisia Farrelly told The Independent, "I think all glitter should be banned, because it's microplastic." Microplastics are bits of plastic debris that are less than five millimetres in length with glitter just one of many products that falls into this category.

Sherri A. Mason has done extensive research on plastic pollution in freshwater and says that glitter should be banned. Dr Mason said that glitter, like any other plastic particles, can carry chemicals that are ingested by small creatures and then make their way up the food chain. She said that people may just have to forego using glitter to celebrate over the holiday season. "Yes, there are going to be pains associated with reducing our use of plastic, but we have to think beyond ourselves," she said. "This isn't about your New Year's celebration. It's about humanity, and our ability to survive as a species."

Private bans have already started overseas with Tops Day Nurseries, a British child care provider, recently announcing through a blog post that it would stop using glitter in its arts and craft activities. 

"Glitter enters the environment by landfill, through the air being blown around," it said. "It sticks to people's hands and goes down the sink into the water system, it sticks to people's clothes or mops, which go through the washing machine, and out into the water system."

Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a)    Shining softly (par.1)

b)    forbid  (par. 2)

c)    thorough (par.3)

d)    take  (par.3)

e)    give up (par. 3)

f)     abroad (par.4)

g)    adhere (par.5)

KEY

a)    shimmery

b)    banned/ to ban

c)    extensive

d)    ingested / to ingest

e)    To forego

f)     overseas

g)    sticks / to stick