An Ordinary Miracle Reading Answers

Oct 8, 2024

An Ordinary Miracle Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. An Ordinary Miracle Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set there are questions where you have to choose the correct option from the given choices. In the next part you have to fill in the blanks with correct answers.

The passage titled "An Ordinary Miracle" is an excellent resource for individuals preparing for the IELTS exam, specifically for the IELTS reading section. It offers valuable insights into sustainable agriculture practices across different regions, making it a compelling example for IELTS reading practice questions. By working through the detailed analysis of the passage, test-takers can enhance their reading comprehension skills, which are crucial for achieving a high band score in the IELTS reading test.

Section 1

AN ORDINARY MIRACLE

Bigger harvests, without pesticides or genetically modified Crops? Farmers can make it happen by letting weeds do the work. Across East Africa, thousands of farmers are planting weeds in their maize fields. Bizarre as it sounds, their technique is actually raising yields by giving the insect pests something else to chew on besides maize. "It's better than pesticides, and a lot cheaper," said Ziadin Khan, whose idea it is, as he showed me round his demonstration plots at the Mbita Point research station on the

shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. "And it has raised farm yields round here by 60 to 70 per cent."

His novel way of fighting pests is one of a host of low-tech innovations boosting production by 100 per cent or more on millions of poor Third World farms in the past decade. This "sustainable agriculture" just happens to be the biggest movement in Third

World farming today dwarfing the tentative forays into genetic manipulation. In East Africa, maize fields face two major pests and Khan has a solution to both. The first is an insect called the stem borer, whose larvae eat their way through a third of the regions maize most years. But Khan discovered that the borer is even fonder of a local weed, napier grass. By planting napier grass in their fields, farmers can lure the stem borer away from the maize - and into a honey-trap. For the grass produces a sticky substance that traps and kills stem borer larvae. The second pest is Striga, a parasitic plant that wrecks $10 billion worth of maize crops every year, threatening the livelihoods of 100 million Africans. "Weeding Striga is one of the most time-consuming activities for millions of African women farmers," says Khan. But he has an antidote: another weed called Desmodium. "It seems to release another sort of chemical that Striga doesn't like. At any rate, where farmers plant Desmodium between rows of maize Striga won't grow."

"The success of sustainable agriculture is dispelling the myth that modern techno-farming is the most productive method," says Miguel Altieri of the University of California, Berkeley. "In Mexico, it takes 1.73 hectares of land planted with maize to produce as much food as one hectare planted with a mixture of maize, squash and beans. The difference," he says, "comes from the reduction of losses due to weeds, insects and diseases and a more efficient use of the available resources of water, light and nutrients. Monocultures breed pests and waste resources," he says. Researchers from the Association Tefy Saina, a Madagascan group working for local farmers, were looking for ways to boost rice yields on small farms. They decided to make the best use of existing strains rather than track down a new breed of super-rice. Through trial and error, a new system was developed that raises typical rice yields from three to twelve tonnes per hectare. The trick is to transplant seedlings earlier and in smaller numbers so that more survive; to keep paddles unflooded for much of the growing period; and to help the plants grow using compost rather than chemical fertilisers. The idea has grown like wildfire, and 20,000 have adopted the idea in Madagascar alone. Few countries have switched wholesale to sustainable agriculture. But Cuba has. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 cut off cheap supplies of grain tractors and agrochemicals. Pesticide use halved overnight, as did the calorie intake of its citizens. The cash-strapped country was forced to embrace Low-input farming or starve. "Today," says Fernando Funes of the Country's Pasture and Fodder Research institute "teams of oxen replace the tractors, and farmers have adopted organic methods, mixing maize with beans and cassava and doubling yields in the process, helping average calorie intake per person rise back to pre-1990 levels."

Worldwide, one of the most widely adopted sustainable techniques has been to throw away the plough, the ultimate symbol of the farmer. Ploughing aerates the soil, helping rot weeds and crop residues. But it can also damage soil fertility and increase erosion

Now millions of Latin American farmers have decided it isn't worth the effort. A third of Argentina's farms no longer use the plough instead, they fight weeds by planting winter crops, such as black oats, or by spraying a biodegradable herbicide such as glyphosate

The farmers saw results in a short time - reduced costs, richer soils, bigger grain yields and increased income, says Lauro Bassi of EPAGRI, the agricultural research institute in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, which has been promoting the idea.

Zero-tillage also benefits the planet in general. Unploughed soils hang on to carbon that would otherwise escape into the air as carbon dioxide when organic matter rots. "A one-hectare field left unploughed can absorb up to a tonne of carbon every year," says

Pretty, "making soils a vital element in preventing global warming." Sustainable agriculture is no magic bullet for feeding the world. It is an approach rather than a blueprint. Small farms with low yields stand to gain the most and agribusiness the least. But it does offer an alternative for the millions of small farms that have plenty of hands to work the land, but not the skills or financial resources to adopt conventional mechanized farming.

Questions 14-18

Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-l.

14. Napier grass .......

Answer: G

Supporting statement: “.........The grass produces a sticky substance that traps and kills stem borer larvae.......”

Keywords: grass, stem

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 9

Explanation: Napier grass is used to attract stem borer insects, which are pests that damage maize crops. It produces a sticky substance that traps and kills the larvae of the stem borer, thus acting as a natural pesticide.

15. The plant called Striga .......

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “.......Striga, a parasitic plant that wrecks $10 billion worth of maize crops every year.........”

Keywords: parasitic, maize

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 12

Explanation: Striga is a parasitic plant that affects maize crops, causing substantial financial damage. Each year, it destroys crops worth billions, leading to losses for farmers and threatening the livelihoods of millions of Africans.

16. Growing single crops ........

Answer: I

Supporting statement: “.........Monocultures breed pests and waste resources," he says. Researchers from the Association Tefy Saina, a Madagascan.......”

Keywords: Association, Madagascan

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 6.

Explanation: Growing a single type of crop in a field (monoculture) leads to the rapid spread of pests. This is because pests can easily infest large areas of their preferred crop, leading to an increase in their population and a greater likelihood of damage.

17. Ploughing the land .......

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “........But it can also damage soil fertility and increase erosion

Now millions of Latin American farmers have decided........”

Keywords: damage, farmers

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 2

Explanation: While ploughing is a traditional farming technique used to aerate the soil, it also comes with negative consequences. Over time, ploughing can degrade soil quality by increasing erosion, where the top layer of fertile soil is washed or blown away.

18. Sowing black oats .......

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “........ they fight weeds by planting winter crops, such as black oats, or by spraying a biodegradable herbicide such as glyphosate........”

Keywords: weeds, herbicide

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 7

Explanation: Farmers plant black oats as a winter crop to suppress weed growth. This practice helps prevent weeds from taking over the fields by occupying the space and resources that weeds would normally use.

A. reduces losses due to plant diseases.

B. can lead to soil erosion.

C. causes major financial losses.

D. increases soil fertility.

E. discourages the growth of weeds.

F. helps to retain carbon dioxide.

G. destroys harmful insect larvae.

H. helps prevent global warming.

I. encourages pests to breed.

Questions 19-26

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each.

AREA	STRATEGY	BENEFITS TOFARMERS
East Africa	19……with food crop.	Lower costsHigher yields
20………	Growing mixed crops together.	Higher yields
Madagascar	Transplanting seedlings earlier.Leaving paddy fieldsunflooded. Replacing chemicalfertilisers with21.....	Higher yields
Cuba	Reducing 22…….. Using 23...........instead of farmVehicles. Growing mixedcrops together.	Yields doubled Citizens’ 24……. increased
Latin America	Zero-tillage	Lower costs Improved 25……. Higher yields Higher 26......

Q.19

Answer: PLANTING WEEDS

Supporting statement: “........By planting napier grass in their fields, farmers can lure the stem borer away from the maize........”

Keywords: napier, maize

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 7

Explanation: Farmers in East Africa are using a method called "push-pull" by planting Napier grass alongside maize. The napier grass attracts harmful pests, such as the stem borer, away from the maize, providing protection for the food crops and increasing yields without relying on expensive pesticides.

Q.20

Answer: MEXICO

Supporting statement: “........In Mexico... the difference comes from the reduction of losses due to weeds, insects, and diseases........”

Keywords: comes, insects

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 2

Explanation: In Mexico, farmers plant mixed crops like maize, squash, and beans together. This diversified planting reduces the losses caused by pests and diseases and increases overall production.

Q.21

Answer: COMPOST

Supporting statement: “.......and to help the plants grow using compost rather than chemical fertilisers. The idea has grown like wildfire, and 20,000 have adopted the idea in Madagascar alone.........”

Keywords: wildfire, alone

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 11

Explanation: In Madagascar, farmers have adopted a method where they transplant rice seedlings earlier and use compost instead of chemical fertilizers. Compost improves soil fertility naturally, leading to better plant growth and higher yields without the need for chemical inputs, making the farming system more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Q.22

Answer: PESTICIDE USE

Supporting statement: “.......Pesticide use halved overnight, as did the calorie intake of its citizens. The cash-strapped country was forced to embrace Low-input farming or starve.........”

Keywords: strapped, embrace

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 2

Explanation: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba lost access to affordable pesticides and was forced to reduce its pesticide usage. This led to a shift toward organic farming practices. Although initially challenging, this change helped improve the sustainability of Cuba's agriculture by relying less on chemical pesticides and more on natural methods of pest control.

Q.23

Answer: TEAMS OF OXEN

Supporting statement: “........Fodder Research institute "teams of oxen replace the tractors, and farmers have adopted organic methods, mixing maize........”

Keywords: adopted, organic

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 3.

Explanation: Due to the shortage of tractors and other machinery after losing support from the Soviet Union, Cuban farmers began using oxen to plow their fields. This shift to more traditional methods allowed them to continue farming despite the lack of modern equipment

Q.24

Answer: CALORIE INTAKE

Supporting statement: “........doubling yields in the process, helping average calorie intake per person rise back to pre-1990 levels.........”

Keywords: yields, rise

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 8

Explanation: The adoption of sustainable farming practices in Cuba, such as using oxen and mixed cropping, helped increase food production. As a result, the average calorie intake of Cuban citizens returned to the levels seen before the economic collapse of the Soviet Union

Q.25

Answer: SOILS

Supporting statement: “........ reduced costs, richer soils, bigger grain yields and increased income, says Lauro Bassi of EPAGRI, the agricultural research institute ........”

Keywords: reduced, income

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 9

Explanation: Farmers in Latin America have adopted a zero-tillage approach, which involves not plowing the land. This method improves soil fertility by preserving soil structure and reducing erosion.

Q.26

Answer: INCOME / EARNINGS

Supporting statement: “........The farmers saw results in a short time - reduced costs, richer soils, bigger grain yields and increased income, says Lauro Bassi of EPAGRI, the agricultural research institute ........”

Keywords: bigger, institute

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 9

Explanation: Farmers who adopted zero-tillage methods saw an increase in their income. By reducing the need for expensive inputs like chemical fertilizers and improving yields, they were able to boost their earnings, making farming more profitable and sustainable.

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