Objective Proficiency p 16. Welcome to India. Extra Listening

This observational BBC series explores what life is really like in some of the densest neighbourhoods on the planet: the backstreets of India's megacities. A popular tactic for people here, so adept at operating in a crowded world, is turning the stuff others would call waste into an opportunity.


Fill in the gaps with a word or expression

The fact that our planet supports seven billion of us is 1._____________ Learning to survive in a highly populated world is a major challenge. However,  in India we are already 2.________/ _______/ ______/ _________ to adapting.
More than one in six people in the world live in India. And believe it or not we are 3. ________/  _________ it. We are 4.___________. We're ambitious. We are the 5.___________ pragmatists. And one of our most basic ways of making money is "waste". In India it's one of our greatest opportunities. So, if you think that in the West you are doing well with your recycling, have a look at what we do in India. We'll 6.________/ ________/ __________/ __________ how we, with so little, can do so much.
Johora is one of our millions of 7.________/ _________. She lives and works on a railway 8.__________ on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Johora has built her house, and a 9.____________ business classifying "waste". She started out  as a 10. ________/ ___________ here 23 years ago, when she got married.
Three years ago, Johora 11._________/ _______/ ____________ and began specialising in plastic bottles. She bought a 12.__________ for her eldest son to collect them. As head of 13.______________, he's built up a network of suppliers who collect bottles from local 14.___________/ __________, shops and restaurants.
There is a lot of competition since the demand for bottles is consistently 15.__________ local supply.
At the warehouse Johora and four employees remove the labels and classify the bottles. They are sold on by weight. And Johora cheats a little in order to get more money.
The bottles are 16.__________/ _________ huge balls that weigh up to 100 kilos. Each of these 17.__________ around 50 pounds when they are sold on to the next 18.___________ in the recycling chain.
Johora uses what she earns with her 7 children. She also pays her employees and she still makes a profit.
Thanks to these opportunistic entrepreneurs, we recycle more than 60% of our plastic bottles. And by the way, this is a 19._________you in the UK intend to arrive at in 2020.
Trash is for us a 20.___________ and we don't just 21.___________ ourselves to small things.
Kanhaialal is one of 6,000 workers in Mumbai who 22.___________/ ___________ ships from around the world... by hand.

KEY
1. astounding


2. well on our way


3. thriving on
Thrive on something to enjoy something or be successful at something, especially something that other people would not like. E.g. He thrives on hard work (Sp. el trabajo duro le da alas)


4. resourceful



5. ultimate (best, greatest)



6. let you in on
Let somebody in on something/ let somebody into something (informal) to allow somebody to share a secret. E.g. Are you going to let them in on your plans?


7. backstreet entrepreneurs
Backstreet acting or happening secretly, often dishonestly or illegally. E.g. backstreet dealers. Backstreet abortions

8. embankment
Embankment:
A. a wall of stone or earth made to keep water back or to carry a road or railway/railroad over low ground. 

B. a slope made of earth or stone that rises up from either side of a road or railway/railroad

9. Thriving (prosperous, successful)


10 rag picker
Rag picker - an unskilled person who picks up rags from trash cans and public dumps as a means of livelihood.
Rag: a piece of old, often torn, cloth used especially for cleaning things. E.g. I wiped the window with a damp rag. Use a piece of old rag.

11. took a punt
Take a punt at something: take a chance. To have an attempt or try at (something). Gamble, speculate.


12. rickshaw (/ˈrɪkʃɔː/ a small light vehicle with two wheels used in some Asian countries to carry passengers. The rickshaw is pulled by somebody walking or riding a bicycle.)


13. acquisitions
Acquisition /ˌækwɪˈzɪʃn/ something that somebody buys to add to what they already own, usually something valuable. E.g. His latest acquisition is a racehorse. The money will be spent on acquisitions for the university library.


14. rubbish tips
Tip: a place where you can take rubbish/garbage and leave it. Rubbish dump.


15. outstripping
Outstrip something to become larger, more important, etc. than somebody/something. E.g. Demand is outstripping supply.


16. crammed into
Cram: to push or force somebody/something into a small space; to move into a small space with the result that it is full. E.g. He crammed eight people into his car. I could never cram in all that she does in a day.


17. fetches
Fetch something to be sold for a particular price. Sell for. E.g. The painting is expected to fetch $10000 at auction.


18. link
Link in the chain: one of the stages in a process or a line of argument. Sp eslabón. E.g. Food production, processing and marketing are different links in the chain from farmer to consumer. Death is the last link in the chain.


19. stat
Stat (statistic) a piece of information shown in numbers. E.g. An important statistic is that 94 per cent of crime relates to property. I felt I was no longer being treated as a person but as a statistic.


20. livelihood (a means of earning money in order to live)


21. confine
Confine somebody/something to something [often passive] to keep somebody/something inside the limits of a particular activity, subject, area, etc. Restrict. E.g. The work will not be confined to the Glasgow area. I will confine myself to looking at the period from 1900 to 1916.


22. butcher discarded
Discard to get rid of something that you no longer want or need. E.g. The room was littered with discarded newspapers.


Transcript
Don't you think it's astounding that our planet supports seven billion of us and counting? Learning to survive in a crowded world is our biggest challenge. But there's one corner where we're already well on our way to adapting. Welcome to India.
Over one in six in the world live here. And do you know what? We are thriving on it. We're resourceful. We're ambitious. We're the ultimate pragmatists. And do you know one of our most basic ideas? Take that thing you call "waste". Around here, it's one of our top opportunities. So, if you think you're doing well with your recycling, come and take a look over here. We'll let you in on how we, with so little, can do so much.
Let me introduce you to one of our millions of backstreet entrepreneurs. Johora lives and works on a railway embankment on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Johora has built her home, and a thriving business, from sorting this stuff- what you'd call "waste". She started out  as a rag picker here 23 years ago, when she married her husband, Hanan.
Three years ago, Johora took a punt and started specialising in plastic bottles. She bought her eldest son, Nawab, a rickshaw to collect them. As head of "acquisitions", he's built up a network of suppliers who collect bottles from local rubbish tips, shops and restaurants.
It is a highly-competitive market, with demand for bottles consistently outstripping local supply.
Back at base, Johora and four employees strip off the labels and sort the bottles by colour. They're sold on by weight. And Johora has a little trick to make sure she gets the best price.
The bottles are crammed into huge balls weighing up to 100 kilos. Each of these fetches around 50 pounds when sold on to the next link in the recycling chain.
Johora relies on this income to support her seven children, pay her four full-time employees 2 pounds a day, and make her a profit.
The opportunism of our backstreet entrepreneurs means we recycle over 60% of our plastic bottles. Now, that's a stat you in the UK hope to achieve by 2020.
Where you see trash, we see a livelihood and we don't just confine ourselves to the small stuff.
Kanhaialal is one of 6,000 workers in Mumbai who butcher discarded ships from around the world... by hand.

Vocabulary
Grease somebody's palm: to give somebody money in order to persuade them to do something dishonest. Bribe.
To hand: that you can reach or get easily. E:g. I'm afraid I don't have the latest figures to hand. Keep a pen and paper to hand for details of this week's competition.
Set-up: a way of organizing something; a system. E.g. I've only been here a couple of weeks and I don't really know the set-up. What's the set-up in your family—who does the cooking?
Thump (somebody/something) (+ adverb/preposition) to hit somebody/something hard, especially with your closed hand. E.g. he thumped the table angrily. She couldn't get her breath and had to be thumped on the back. (Informal) I'll thump you if you say that again.
Cut something up: to divide something into small pieces with a knife, etc. E.g. He cut up the meat on his plate.
Scrap: things that are not wanted or cannot be used for their original purpose, but which have some value for the material they are made of. Sp. chatarra. E.g. We sold the car for scrap (= so that any good parts can be used again). A scrap dealer (= a person who buys and sells scrap).