Plastic is everywhere: in our streets, in the countryside, in rivers, in seas and in oceans. In the UK, over 13 billion plastic bottles are used every year. The good news is that more and more people are recycling plastic and there are also some clever ways to use it.
Roads are usually made of asphalt, but in some countries like the USA and the UK, engineers have started to use plastic to make new roads. First, they collect the plastic, wash it and dry it. Then they cut it into small pieces and heat it to about 170°C. After that, they mix it with hot asphalt and use it to make the road surface. This way of making roads is more difficult than the usual way, but the plastic and asphalt mixture is harder and better than asphalt only.
How about wearing a pair of trainers made from recycled plastic bottles? Some well-known sports companies use six to eleven plastic bottles to make one pair of trainers. This means that fewer plastic bottles are thrown away, and they end up on people's feet, not in the ocean.
Plastic can be recycled in other clever ways too. It is used to make several things such as rubbish bins, toys, tables and chairs, sleeping bags, and backpacks. One clothes company cuts it into very small pieces to make clothes. Believe it or not, the England women's national football team wear the kit made from recycled bottles.

Many people have dogs for pets, but did you know that the dog was the first animal to be domesticated? That means it was the first animal (22) was kept and cared for by humans. Dogs have been kept as workers, hunters, and friends for much of human history.
Dogs were originally gray wolves, but domestication gradually (23) this. Humans have selectively bred dogs for traits that they believed were good. That's how many varieties of dogs came to exist today.
Dogs come in all (24) and sizes. Dogs also have different kinds of coats. Some of them have long hair, while others have short. This hair can come in (25) different colors and patterns. Dogs also have different skills. Some varieties are good at hunting wild animals, while others are good at herding cattle or (26) people.
Because dogs are closely related (27) wolves, it might seem like they would be violent. (28) some dogs are violent, 15,000 years of domestication has made most dogs friendly to human. Today's dogs are much easier to train than wild wolves. They respond well to human training: learning to sit, roll over, and even (29) dog shows. Training dogs is a practice that has been improved for many, many years.