News feed：''One-cent-per-bottle''
【明報專訊】1.55 BILLION beverages in plastic containers were disposed of in 2019. In view of this, the authorities have released a consultation document on the ''Producer Responsibility Scheme on Plastic Beverage Containers'', suggesting that merchants selling such products let people return used containers and get a ''one-cent-per-bottle'' rebate. Some green groups proposed that the rebate be changed to $0.5, which they believed would increase the recycling rate to 70% or above. To complement the scheme, the Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) were set up.
Should housework be paid?
A JAPANESE DRAMA years ago challenged the view that housework done by a housewife is voluntary (無償的). In China the challenge has become a reality. A court hearing divorce case in Beijing has ordered that a husband pay his wife 50,000 yuan to compensate for the housework she did over the past five years. This is a landmark judgement as it provides Chinese women with greater protection. Globally speaking people have paid more attention to the disproportionate housework a wife needs to perform at home.
An overgrown sheep
IN AUSTRALIA, a Merino (美麗諾羊), a member of a kind of sheep known for Merino wool (美麗諾羊毛), a fine and soft fibre in textiles, wandered alone with a heavy and huge wool coat weighing 27kg, and was later discovered and shorn by rescuers. Its fleece was estimated to be able to produce about 61 sweaters and 490 pairs of socks.
■Gear up
According to the passages on this page, circle the correct answers.
(1) An RVM sells consumers plastic beverages.
( True / False / Not given )
(2) The Chinese woman was paid 50,000 yuan for her housework during her marriage.
( True / False / Not given )
(3)The Merino sheep was shorn because people wanted to sell its fleece.
( True / False / Not given )
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
beverage (n) 飲料
rebate (n) 回贈
fleece (n) 羊毛
landmark (n) 里程碑
[Smarties' Power English 第305期]
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