Study Buddy (Explorer): Chinese schools turn empty milk cartons into second-hand market

[2] The behaviour initially sparked curiosity until some parents revealed that the market was created by their children’s primary schools, which require pupils to submit empty milk boxes as homework. It aims to cultivate students’ awareness of environmental protection.

[3] One primary school in eastern China’s Zhejiang province even set up a competition. Those who submitted the most milk boxes won a free tour of a recycling factory. On the mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu, some people also said they had to “crazily drink milk” to finish their children’s unusual homework.

[4] A mother, surnamed He, told Beijing Youth Daily she needed to submit 60 milk boxes for her two children monthly. The second-hand market was a “relief” for her before she started selling the boxes herself. She said she collected empty milk boxes from cleaners in her residential area and could sell up to 20,000 per month during the summer holidays.

[5] Some criticised the schools for taking an across-the-board approach to their schemes, which did not consider the circumstances of individual pupils. However, some schools that distribute daily free boxes of milk to students require the cartons to be handed in on the same day to ensure the pupil consumes the beverage.

[6] In poor areas where milk is distributed, pupils are asked to give back the empty boxes to ensure their parents do not give their milk to their male siblings, one person said on the social media platform Douban.

[7] On Xianyu, empty pen cartridges are another popular recycled product, especially among students. They cost 0.2 to 0.3 yuan each. Buyers are primarily secondary school students who are asked by schools to hand in empty pen cartridges to prove how hard-working they are.

[8] A man surnamed Du said he was asked to submit one empty pen cartridge every three days in secondary school. He recalled the teacher lecturing them: “How is a hard-working student not able to finish even one pen in three days?” Discovering the second-hand market helped free him from the task.

[9] One student in an underdeveloped region in Guangdong province said she was also asked to hand in empty pen cartridges. “When the quality of education is lacking, policies [like these] are one of the few ways that schools like mine can ensure student motivation,” she said.

Source: South China Morning Post, August 18

Questions

1. What are some schools in China asking students to do according to paragraph 1?
___________________________________________________

2. In paragraph 2, the purpose of the empty milk box homework is to …
A. teach students about the milk production process.
B. raise funds for the school’s recycling projects.
C. encourage environmental protection.
D. motivate students to drink more milk.

3. Who are the “some people” mentioned in paragraph 3?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Where does He get her empty milk boxes according to paragraph 4?
___________________________________________________

5. What does the “beverage” in paragraph 5 refer to?
___________________________________________________

6. Decide whether the following statements based on paragraphs 5 and 6 are True, False or the Information is Not Given. Fill in ONE circle only for each statement. (4 marks)
(i) In some poor places, young students get three boxes of milk every day.
(ii) Some schools give free milk to students and ask them to return the empty boxes on the same day.
(iii) In some poor places, parents take their children’s free milk for themselves.
(iv) Students will be fined if they do not return their empty milk boxes.

7. In paragraph 7, which group of people are buying empty pen cartridges?
A. secondary school students
B. secondary school teachers
C. bookshop owners
D. pen manufacturers

8. How does the teacher mentioned in paragraph 8 define a hard-working student?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. The student mentioned in paragraph 9 thinks that submitting empty pen cartridges is a … idea.

A. brilliant
B. ridiculous
C. funny
D. none of the above

1. hand in empty milk cartons
2. C
3. parents of the students who had to submit the empty milk boxes as homework (accept all similar answers)
4. from cleaners in her residential area
5. milk
6. (i) NG; (ii) T; (iii) F; (iv) NG
7. A
8. A hard-working student is able to finish using one pen every three days.
9. B