Listening: The True Cost of a Cheap T-Shirt

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B2 | Listening from video | 11 min

The True Cost of a Cheap T-Shirt

Watch the whole video. You can watch more than once. Then answer the questions below. (5:04)

Choose the best answer.

1. What is the main point of the video?

____ Bangladeshi factories are now safe, so cheap clothes no longer cost lives.____ Shoppers should boycott Bangladesh until its factories pay higher wages.____ A very cheap t-shirt hides costs paid by workers and the environment.

2. According to the video, what is still a problem in Bangladesh's garment factories?

____ Repairs are running late and labor inspectors have too much work.____ Dangerous wiring and missing fire exits are still common.____ Too few factories have been inspected since the Accord began.

3. Why does the video say that boycotting clothes made in Bangladesh would be a bad idea?

____ Factories in other countries are even more dangerous for workers.____ Many families would fall into extreme poverty if factories closed.____ Shoppers would have to pay much higher prices for t-shirts.

4. What simple choice does the video recommend at the end?

____ Buying clothes made in Bangladesh instead of in Europe.____ Buying only from brands that have signed the Accord.____ Buying fewer clothes of better quality and wearing them longer.

True, False or Not Given? Choose Not Given if the video does not say.

5. More than a hundred fashion brands signed the Accord.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

6. Worker unions said the new minimum wage was too low to cover a family's basic needs.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

7. Between 2000 and 2015, people wore each garment more times before throwing it away.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

Complete each sentence with the words you hear.

A NUMBER from the video.

8. Rana Plaza, the commercial building that fell down near Dhaka, had ____ floors.

A NUMBER from the video.

9. After the Accord, engineers had more than ____ risky factories closed straight away.

A NUMBER from the video.

10. Of all the old clothes that people throw away, under ____ percent become new clothes again.

The True Cost of a Cheap T-Shirt

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