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Where Does a Can Go?

3rd grade reading

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Where Does a Can Go?

You finish a fizzy drink and drop the empty can into the recycling bin. That is not the end of the can's story. It is the start of a new one. First, a truck collects the recycling and takes it to a sorting centre. There, machines separate the materials. A giant magnet pulls out steel cans. Aluminium cans (aluminum in the US) are not magnetic, so a different machine pushes them aside. Next, the aluminium cans are squashed into huge blocks and taken to a factory. The cans are shredded into small pieces, cleaned, and melted in a furnace. The hot liquid metal is poured into moulds and cooled into long bars. Then the bars are rolled out into thin sheets, like dough under a rolling pin. The sheets are cut and shaped into brand-new cans, filled with drinks, and sent to the shops. A recycled can can be back on a shelf in about sixty days. Recycling aluminium is a big help to our planet. Making a can from old cans uses about 95 percent less energy than making one from new metal dug out of the ground. Aluminium can be recycled again and again without getting worse, so the can in your hand might once have been part of hundreds of other cans.
  1. Question 1

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". What is this text mostly about?

    • A. how an aluminium can is recycled into a new can
    • B. how magnets work
    • C. how to build a factory
    • D. why fizzy drinks are bad for you
  2. Question 2

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". How are steel cans separated from the other recycling?

    • A. A giant magnet pulls them out.
    • B. Workers pick them out by hand.
    • C. They float in water.
    • D. They are melted first.
  3. Question 3

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". What happens to the cans just before they are melted?

    • A. They are rolled into sheets.
    • B. They are sent to the shops.
    • C. They are filled with drinks.
    • D. They are shredded and cleaned.
  4. Question 4

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". Why is a different machine needed for aluminium cans?

    • A. Aluminium is too heavy.
    • B. Aluminium is not magnetic.
    • C. Aluminium cans are too small.
    • D. Aluminium melts in the sun.
  5. Question 5

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". The text says the metal is melted in a "furnace". What is a furnace?

    • A. a very hot oven
    • B. a type of truck
    • C. a giant fridge
    • D. a recycling bin
  6. Question 6

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". Why does recycling aluminium help the planet?

    • A. It needs more trucks.
    • B. It uses much less energy than making new metal.
    • C. It makes drinks taste better.
    • D. It makes cans heavier.

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Answer key: Where Does a Can Go?

  1. 1. A. how an aluminium can is recycled into a new can

  2. 2. A. A giant magnet pulls them out.

  3. 3. D. They are shredded and cleaned.

  4. 4. B. Aluminium is not magnetic.

  5. 5. A. a very hot oven

  6. 6. B. It uses much less energy than making new metal.