Examen resuelto de Inglés — Ordinaria 2026

How a city feeds people and cuts waste

Every day, hungry people arrive at India’s first Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur in the hope of getting a hot meal. But they don’t pay for their food with money. Instead, they hand over packs of plastic such as old carrier bags, food wrappers and water bottles. There, people can trade a kilogram of plastic waste for a full meal that includes rice, two vegetable curries, dal, roti, salad and pickles.

The Garbage Cafe was launched in 2019 using the slogan “more waste, better taste” and the purpose was simple: to encourage low-income people, especially the homeless, to collect plastic waste from streets and landfills, and give them hot meals in return.

Rashmi Mondal is a local woman who brings plastic to the cafe. Every morning, she sets out early on the streets of Ambikapur in a search for abandoned plastic and, for her, collecting such rubbish is a means of survival.

The cafe has also had an impact on the amount of plastic waste going to landfill. Almost 23 tonnes of plastic have been collected in total since 2019, contributing to a wider fall in the amount of plastic going to landfill from 5.4 tonnes per year to 2 tonnes in 2024.

The plastic collected in the Garbage Cafe is sent to specialised local waste collection centres. Ambikapur now has 20 of these decentralised centres, which sort collected waste into more than 60 categories. The centres employ 480 women called swachhata didis or “cleanliness sisters”, to do this waste segregation as well as going door to door each day to collect household waste.

Staff at the waste collection centres are provided with gloves, masks and other sanitary facilities to reduce health risks while handling waste. In contrast, those collecting the waste on the streets are not provided with this hygiene support, so they have to face daily exposure to bacteria, sharp objects and toxic waste leading to a risk of illness.

However, such schemes have not always run smoothly. The city of Delhi also launched a plastic waste collection initiative using garbage cafes, but the operation has slowly collapsed. The lower enthusiasm might be due to the fewer people being on low incomes than in Ambikapur.

And while the plastic waste collection cafes have had an impact, they are not able to tackle problems such as the overproduction of plastic, non-recyclable plastics and lack of proper segregation in most Indian households. It is more like a quick fix that deals with the surface issues rather than the root causes of the plastic problem.

Abridged and adapted from: Hazra Khatoon (2025, August 19). Rice, two curries and dal: The Indian Cafes where you pay in rubbish. BBC.

I.- a) Answer 4 out of the following 6 questions according to the information given in the text. Write complete sentences using your own words. Do not copy from the text. (Choose 4 out of the 6 questions) (4 x 0.5 = 2 points)

I.- b) Indicate whether the following statements are True or False according to the text. Copy the part (and ONLY the part) of the text which justifies your answer using quotations marks. (Choose 2 out of the 3 statements) (2 x 0.5 = 1 point)

I.- c) Find the words or expressions in the text that mean: (Choose 4 out of the 6 questions) (4 x 0.25 = 1 point)

II.- a) Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in brackets. Do not change the word given and do not use contractions. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. (6 x 0.25= 1.5 points)

II.- b) In this text, fill in the gaps with the most suitable option from the four options given for each gap. (10 x 0.15 = 1.5 points)

I still remember my first day (1) _______________ (in, to, on, at) work. I had just graduated from university and was excited to start my career. The office was located (2) _______________ (in, on, beside, over) the city centre, so I had to take the train every morning. I arrived early and waited nervously at the reception. The manager greeted me politely and showed me around. Everyone was friendly, and I quickly felt (3) _______________ (like, very, such, quite) part of the team.

I was surprised by how busy the office was; people were working (4) _______________ (hard, hardly, fastly, slower) and talking quietly. My tasks were simple at first, but they became more challenging (5) _______________ (until, while, during, for) the first few weeks. I had to write reports, attend meetings, and help with customer service. I didn’t know (6) _______________ (much, many, few, some) about handling complaints, but my supervisor was very supportive. (7) _______________ (Nevertheless, Unless, Although, Since) I made a few mistakes, I learned quickly and improved my skills. I also discovered that working in a team is very different (8) _______________ (so, with, as, from) studying alone. You need to communicate clearly and respect others’ opinions. There were only (9) _______________ (a few, plenty, much, little) people in my department, so we got to know each other well. If I hadn’t taken that job, I (10) _______________ (would, will, should, must) have missed a great opportunity to grow professionally.

SECTION III: Write a composition of about 150 words on one of these topics. Specify your option. (3 points)