Saving the Soil- IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation

The reading section of IELTS tests the reading proficiency of the candidates. It tests the candidates through comprehensive passages and its related questions. There are different question types in the Reading section of IELTS. The candidates need to answer 40 questions. It will help understand the candidate’s grasp on the reading ability via different task types.

This IELTS Reading sample - The Wheel of Fortune contains three question types:

1. Matching Headings
2. Choose One Word Answer
3. Fill in the Blanks

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Section 1

Read the passage below to answer the following questions

Saving the Soil IELTS Reading Sample ​

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Section 2

Solution with Explanations

Question 14-17
Complete the summary below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
Why soil degradation could be a disaster for humans

Healthy soil contains a large variety of bacteria and other microorganisms, as well as plant remains and 14 ………………………..

It provides us with food and also with antibiotics, and its function in storing 15 …………………………. has a significant effect on the climate. In addition, it prevents damage to property and infrastructure because it holds 16……………………………

If these microorganisms are lost, the soil may lose its special properties. The main factor contributing to soil degradation is the 17………………………….. carried out by humans.

Answer 14: Minerals

Supporting Sentence: A single gram of healthy soil might contain 100 million bacteria as well as other microorganisms, viruses and fungi iving amid decomposing plants.

Keyword: microorganisms, viruses and fungi, living amid decomposing plants

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 4-6

Explanations: As referred in the passage plants amongst other microorganism also contain minerals. The writer points out that healthy soil contain bacteria, virus, fungi (microorganism), decomposing plants as well as minerals.

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Answer 15: Carbon,

Supporting Sentence: Soil is only an ally against climate change as microorganisms within soil digest dead bodies and plants, they lock in their carbon content, holding three times the amount of carbon as does the atmosphere.

Keyword: Digest dead animals and plants, they lock in their carbon content, holding three times the amount

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 9-11

Explanation: The writer points out that that high level of carbon deteriorates the environment. As dead plants and animals within the soil absorb three times the carbon content thus it significantly has an effect on the environment.

Answer 16: Water,

Supporting Sentence: Soil also stores water, preventing flood damage, damage to buildings, roads, and bridges from flood caused by soil degradation.

Keyword: Preventing flood damage, damage to buildings, roads, and bridges

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 11-13

Explanation: The writer points out how water retention by soil prevents flood damage. Also, water retention in plants also plays an important role in preventing damage to property and infrastructure.

Answer 17: Agriculture,

Supporting Sentence: Agriculture, the biggest problem, the soil gradually becomes less fertile.

Keyword: Agriculture

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 5-9

Explanation: soil degradation is caused by the different agricultural activities carried out by humans. The unused part of the harvested crop must be returned to the soil to enrich however it is not practiced on a large scale thus causing the soil to become less fertile.

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Questions 18-21
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet.

18. Nutrients contained in the unused parts of harvested crops
19. Synthetic fertilizers produced with Haber-Bosch process
20. Addition of a mixture developed by Pius Floris to the soil
21. The idea of zero net soil degradation

1. may improve the number and quality of plants growing there.
2. may contain data from up to nine countries.
3. may not be put back into the soil.
4. may help governments to be more aware of soil-related issues.
5. may cause damage to different aspects of the environment.
6. may be better for use at a global level.

Answer 18: C

Supporting Sentence: Not to return unused parts of harvested crops, the soil gradually becomes less fertile.

Keyword: harvested crops

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 8-9

Explanation: Nutrients that are not utilized cannot be utilized in any way. Humans avoided returning the unused parts of the plant back to the soil to enrich, making it less fertile.

Answer 19: E

Supporting Sentence: Chemical fertilizers can release polluting nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, indiscriminate use of fertilizers hurts the soil itself, and degrading the soil.

Keyword: atmosphere, indiscriminate

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 3

Explanation: Synthetic fertilizers created by the Haber-Bosch Process released nitrous oxide into the atmosphere released nitrogen into rivers. It can lead to harmful effect on the environment as well as cause degradation of soil.

Answer 20: A

Supporting Sentence: When they applied Floris’s mix to the desert-like test plots, a good crop of plants emerged

Keyword: Floris’s mix, desert-like

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 1

Explanation: Pius Floris created a mixture of fungi, bacteria, and humus to take care of the soil, to ensure that the trees flourished.

Answer 21: D

Supporting Sentence: We need ways of presenting the problem that brings it home to governments and the wider public, have proposed a goal of ‘zero net land degradation

Keyword: zero net land degradation

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 1-7

Explanation: Chasek and her colleagues proposed the idea of zero net land degradation to help understand targets, expectations, and encourage subsequent actions.

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Questions 22-26
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

Author Image

22. a reference to one person’s motivation for a soil-improvement project
23. an explanation of how soil stayed healthy before the development of farming
24. examples of different ways of collecting information on soil degradation
25. a suggestion for a way of keeping some types of soil safe in the near future
26. a reason why it is difficult to provide an overview of soil degradation

Answer 22: E

Supporting Sentence: One of the people looking for a solution to this problem is Pius Floris, who started out running a tree-care business in the Netherlands.

Keyword: One of the people, is Pius Floris, who started out running a tree-care business

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 1-3

Explanation: Pius Floris starting looking for a solution for the soil degradation problem. He came up with the idea of saving the soil degradation by creating a mixture of bacteria, fungi and humus to ensure flourishing of the trees.

Answer 23: C

Supporting Sentence: In the wild, when plants grow they remove nutrients from the soil, but then when the plants die and decay these nutrients are returned directly to the soil.

Keyword: In the wild, plants grow, remove nutrients from the soil, when the plants die, these nutrients are returned directly to the soil.

Keyword Location: Paragraph C

Explanation: With the growing agricultural activities soil loses its nutrients. The dead decayed plants once return to the soil enrich it further. However as humans have a tendency to avoid using the unused parts of the soil becomes less fertile.

Answer 24: F

Supporting Sentence: Researchers from nine countries are working together to create a map linked to a database that can be fed measurements from field surveys, drone surveys, satellite imagery, lab analyses and so on to prove real-time data on the state of the soil.

Keyword: Create a map linked to a database, be fed measurements from field surveys, drone surveys, satellite imagery, lab analyses

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 6-8

Explanation: To address the problem correctly creating solutions based on the accurate picture need to be drawn. Types of soils that are out there and the problems that they face are to be taken care of. However it is difficult to do so as there is agreed system on classifying soils.

Answer 25: G

Supporting Sentence: Chasek and her colleagues have proposed a goal, ‘zero net land degradation’.

Keyword: Proposed a goal, ‘zero net land degradation’.

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 2-4

Explanation: Researches are pressing on creating protective zones for the endangered types of soil. Moreover, there is an uncertainty what these zones should conserve soil diversity or the unspoiled soils?

Answer 26: F

Supporting Sentence: To assess our options on a global scale we first need to accurate picture of what types of soil, and the problems they face.

Keyword: An accurate picture of, types of soil, and the problems they face.

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 2-4

Explanation: It is difficult to provide an overview of soil degradation as there is no agreed policy or an approach to define the types of soil out there are what are the kind of soil degradation problems that they face.