Look at these two comments about supermarkets
Document One
Supermarkets are ace!
I love supermarkets! They really are the best thing since sliced bread!
When I was a child, I had to follow my mum as she went from shop to shop to pick up the week’s necessities – bread from the baker, fish from the fishmonger, fruit and veg from the green grocers and then finally to the little co-op for everything else. The baker, fishmonger and grocer wouldn’t even let you pick your own goods; you had to wait to be served. It took ages!
Now I park in the car park of the Tesco superstore; go in with my trolley, and an hour later I’ve got everything I need – whether it’s loo roll for the bathroom or lobster for my dinner guests! I can even pick up a new clothes for myself or the kids; fill out my prescription, and get bath towels.
The fact that supermarkets also deliver online has been a Godsend for older people like my parents, who cannot carry heavy bags home. My Mum tells me what she needs and I make the order for her; on the delivery day, the driver takes the bags right up to the kitchen and puts them on the table. This means she and my dad are able to pack things away without bending and stooping.
Supermarkets have better prices and way more choice – how did we ever manage without them?
Sarah, Southamptom
Document 2
Supermakets are parasites!
Last summer, my kids decided to save the world. They wanted to, stop using plastic bags, avoid flying around the world and end world poverty. After doing some research, they realised the best way to start was to ditch the supermarket.
Supermarkets contribute to landfill and plastic pollution. Fruit and veg used to sit loose at the green grocers until taken home in paper bags. However, supermarkets pack everything in plastic cartons which then need to be binned. In 2018, the Guardian revealed that supermarkets create 1 million tons of plastic packaging each year.
Supermarkets contribute to air pollution. For thousands of years we ate seasonally. Strawberries were summer treats whilst in winter we enjoyed apples and clementines. Now we can get cherries in November. How? Because supermarkets fly them in from all corners of globe!
Supermarkets contribute to impoverishing food producers. An investigation in 2011 revealed that farmers were being paid less than the cost of production. If this happens in the UK, what do you think happens in the developing world? Even worse, an government investigation in 2014 revealed that supermarkets regularly asked food manufacturers to give them million pound ‘contributions towards profits’ in order to secure future orders.
We now use the local butcher, fishmonger and farm shop for most of our food, and have developed really good relationships with the proprietors of these family businesses. We know they are being paid what they deserve and are treating their suppliers properly. The food tastes better and there is much less packaging to throw away at the end of the week. Result!
Imran, Kent.
Now answer this question.
Compare the views of Sarah with those of Imran, and how these views are conveyed.
You must write at least 3 sentences.
When you’ve finished, click to the next post ————————->
English for Level 2 