Practice mode Reading Comprehension

In the passage about aluminium recycling, what does the word ‘virtually’ most nearly mean?

Read the passage: Aluminium is one of the most valuable materials found in household rubbish. Producing new aluminium from bauxite ore requires enormous amounts of electricity, but melting down used cans and foil needs only around five per cent of that energy. Better still, aluminium can be recycled again and again without losing its strength or quality, so a drinks can thrown into a recycling bin today could be back on a shop shelf as a new can within a few months. Because scrap aluminium is so useful, collectors in many cities pay for it by weight. Despite this, large numbers of cans still end up buried in landfill sites, where the metal remains virtually unchanged for a very long time.

Correct answer B. Almost

Explanation

Virtually unchanged means almost completely unchanged; the passage stresses that buried aluminium hardly breaks down, so 'almost' fits the context.

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Answer checked 11 October 2026 How we write and check questions

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In the passage about aluminium recycling, what does the word ‘virtually’ most nearly mean?

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