Saving the soil reading answers

There are many strategies involved in performing the saving the soil reading answers. To know that, you need to first understand the IELTS academic reading section format and question types involved in that. The AC reading module usually carries a passage which you need to read and questions - for which you need to write the answer.

The IELTS reading section will not be that difficult if you start improving your reading ability like skimming, scanning and time management, keyword and location identification. You can utilise our IELTS reading tips curated by IELTS experts to attempt the saving soil reading answers easily.

Cambridge 13 test 4 reading answers - Saving the soil

Note: If you have not attempted the saving the soil reading practice test, then skip this answer section. First, do the practice test and then check saving the soil reading answers.

Reading passage - 2 - Saving the soil reading answers

14. minerals	18. C	22. E	26. F
15. carbon	19. E	23. C
16. water	20. A	24. F
17. agriculture	21. D	25. G

Also check: Cambridge 13 test 4

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Reading passage 3 - Book review reading answers

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Saving the soil IELTS reading passage

This saving the soil IELTS reading passage contains 7 paragraphs, which you can use to practice your skimming and scanning skills and qualify in the IELTS academic reading section easier.

Saving the soil

More than a third of the Earth’s top layer is at risk. Is there hope for our planet’s most precious resource?

A
More than a third of the world’s soil is endangered, according to a recent UN report. If we don’t slow the decline, all farmable soil could be gone in 60 years. Since soil grows 95% of our food and sustains human life in other more surprising ways, that is a huge problem.

B
Peter Groffman, from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York, points out that soil scientists have been warning about the degradation of the world’s soil for decades. At the same time, our understanding of its importance to humans has grown. A single gram of healthy soil might contain 100 million bacteria, as well as other microorganisms such as viruses and fungi, living amid decomposing plants and various minerals.

That means soils do not just grow our food, but are the source of nearly all our existing antibiotics, and could be our best hope in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Soil is also an ally against climate change: as microorganisms within soil digest dead animals and plants, they lock in their carbon content, holding three times the amount of carbon as does the entire atmosphere. Soils also store water, preventing flood damage: in the UK, damage to buildings, roads, and bridges from floods caused by soil degradation costs £233 million every year.

C 
If the soil loses its ability to perform these functions, the human race could be in big trouble. The danger is not that the soil will disappear completely, but that the microorganisms that give it its special properties will be lost. And once this has happened, it may take the soil thousands of years to recover.

Agriculture is by far the biggest problem. 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. Humans tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil to enrich it, meaning that the soil gradually becomes less fertile. In the past, we developed strategies to get around the problem, such as regularly varying the types of crops grown, or leaving fields uncultivated for a season.

D 
But these practices became inconvenient as populations grew and agriculture had to be run on more commercial lines. A solution came in the early 20th century with the Haber-Bosch process for manufacturing ammonium nitrate. Farmers have been putting this synthetic fertiliser on their fields ever since.

But over the past few decades, it has become clear this wasn’t such a bright idea. Chemical fertilisers can release polluting nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and excess is often washed away with the rain, releasing nitrogen into rivers. More recently, we have found that indiscriminate use of fertilisers hurts the soil itself, turning it acidic and salty, and degrading the soil they are supposed to nourish.

E 
One of the people looking for a solution to his problem is Pius Floris, who started out running a tree-care business in the Netherlands, and now advises some of the world’s topsoil scientists. He came to realise that the best way to ensure his trees flourished was to take care of the soil, and has developed a cocktail of beneficial bacteria, fungi, and humus to do this. Researchers at the University of Valladolid in Spain recently used this cocktail on soils destroyed by years of fertiliser overuse. When they applied Floris’s mix to the desert-like test plots, a good crop of plants emerged that were not just healthy at the surface, but had roots strong enough to pierce dirt as hard as a rock. The few plants that grew in the control plots, fed with traditional fertilisers, we're small and weak

F 
However, measures like this are not enough to solve the global soil degradation problem. To assess our options on a global scale we first need an accurate picture of what types of soil are out there, and the problems they face. That’s not easy. For one thing, there is no agreed international system for classifying soil. In an attempt to unify the different approaches, the UN has created the Global Soil Map project. 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, lad analyses, and so on to provide real-time data on the state of the soil. Within the next four years, they aim to have mapped soils worldwide to a depth of 100 meters, with the results freely accessible to all.

G 
But this is only a first step. We need ways of presenting the problem that brings it home to governments and the wider public, says Pamela Chasek at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, in Winnipeg, Canada. ‘Most scientists don’t speak the language that policy-makers can understand, and vice versa.’ Chasek and her colleagues have proposed a goal of ‘zero net land degradation’. Like the idea of carbon neutrality, it is an easily understood target that can help shape expectations and encourage action.

For soils on the brink, that may be too late. Several researchers are agitating for the immediate creation of protected zones for endangered soils. One difficulty here is defining what these areas should conserve: areas where the greatest soil diversity is present? Or areas of unspoiled soils that could act as a future benchmark of quality?

Whatever we do, if we want our soils to survive, we need to take action now.

Saving the soil IELTS reading questions

The saving the soil IELTS reading questions is asked in the Cambridge 13 test 4 test. There are 13 questions involved in saving the soil reading passage. To provide solutions for these questions, you need to first practice all the IELTS reading question types in the AC reading module. Following question types are involved in the saving the soil Cambridge passage.

• IELTS reading summary completion
• IELTS reading matching sentence endings
• IELTS reading locating information

Question 14-17

Summary Completion

Complete the summary below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers 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.

Start testing your skills by answering more of the IELTS reading summary completion questions.

Question 18-21

Matching sentence endings

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

Write the correct letter, A-F, 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

A   may improve the number and quality of plants growing there.
B   may contain data from up to nine countries.
C   may not be put back into the soil.
D   may help governments to be more aware of soil-related issues.
E   may cause damage to different aspects of the environment.
F   may be better for use at a global level

Practice IELTS reading matching sentence endings with other frequently asked passages.

Question 22-26

Locating information

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G, 22-26 on your answer sheet.

NB  You may use any letter more than once.

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

Don’t limit your practice! Use our IELTS reading locating information article to practice more.

Saving the soil reading answers with explanation

The given saving the soil reading answers with explanation will help you to figure out to locate the keyword in the paragraph and provide a respective answer.

14. Minerals

Keywords: Bacteria, microorganisms, plant remains
Location: Paragraph B - Line 4 to 6
Explanation: A single gram of healthy soil might contain 100 million bacteria, as well as other microorganisms such as viruses and fungi, living amid decomposing plants and various minerals

15. Carbon

Keywords: food, antibiotics, storing, climate
Location: Paragraph B - Line 9 to 11
Explanation: Soil is also an ally against climate change: as microorganisms within soil digest dead animals and plants, they lock in their carbon content, holding three times the amount of carbon as does the entire atmosphere.

16. Water

Keywords: prevents, damage, property and infrastructure, holds
Location: Paragraph B - Line 11 to 13
Explanation: Soils also store water, preventing flood damage: in the UK, damage to buildings, roads and bridges from floods caused by soil degradation costs £233 million every year.

17. Agriculture

Keywords: main factor, degradation, humans
Location: Paragraph C - Line 5 to 9
Explanation: Agriculture is by far the biggest problem……Humans tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil to enrich it, meaning that the soil gradually becomes less fertile.

18. C 

Keywords: nutrients, unused, harvested crops
Location: Paragraph C - Line 7 to 8
Explanation: When the plants die and decay these nutrients are returned directly to the soil. Humans tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil to enrich it, meaning that the soil gradually becomes less fertile.

19. E 

Keywords: synthetic fertilisers, Haber-Bosch
Location: Paragraph D - Line 3
Explanation: A solution came in the early 20th century with the Haber-Bosch process for manufacturing ammonium nitrate. Farmers have been putting this synthetic fertiliser on their fields ever since.

20. A

Keywords: addition, mixture, Pius Floris
Location: Paragraph E - Line 7 to 10
Explanation: When they applied Floris’s mix to the desert-like plots, a good crop of plants emerged that were not just healthy at the surface, but had roots strong enough to pierce dirt as hard as rock.

21. D

Keywords: idea, zero, degradation
Location: Paragraph G - Line 7
Explanation: We need ways of presenting the problem that bring it home to governments and the wider public’, says Pamela Chasek at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, in Winnipeg, Canada. The idea of zero net soil degradation may help governments to be more aware of soil-related issues.

22. E

Keywords: motivation, soil-improvement project
Location: Paragraph E - Line 1 to 3
Explanation: He came to realise that the best way to ensure his trees flourished was to take care of the soil, and has developed a cocktail of beneficial bacteria, fungi and humus to do this.

23. C

Keywords: explanation, soil, healthy, before, farming
Location:  Paragraph C - second part - Line 3. 
Explanation: Humans tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil to enrich it, meaning that the soil gradually becomes less fertile. In the past we developed strategies to get around the problem, such as regularly varying the types of crops grown, or leaving fields uncultivated for a season.

24. Yes

Keywords: ways, collecting information, soil degradation
Location: Paragraph F - Lines 6 to 8
Explanation: 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 provide real-time data on the state of the soil.

25. G

Keywords: soil, safe, near future
Location: Paragraph G - Lines 2 to 4
Explanation: Chasek and her colleagues have proposed a goal of ‘zero net land degradation’.

26. F

Keywords: difficult, overview, soil degradation
Location: Paragraph F - Lines 2 to 4. 
Explanation: To assess our options on a global scale we first need an accurate picture of what types of soil are out there, and the problems they face. That’s not easy. For one thing, there is no agreed international system for classifying soil.

Strategies to solve saving the soil reading answers

• First, be clear about the core concept of saving the soil reading passage which makes you locate the keyword for the questions.
• Write down the saving the soil reading answers with location for the review purpose so that you can change the response if it’s gone wrong in the last-minute.
• To make you get clear understanding, we’ve given saving the soil reading answers with location and keywords. Practice more by using it.
• Time management is one important skill you need to take into consideration while practising your saving the soil cambridge reading test.
• Read the instructions carefully to identify the IELTS academic reading question types you’re about to answer.
• Notice the technical words, names, places involved in the saving the soil reading passage to answer related questions.

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Summary 

Frequently practising the academic reading passages will make you understand the entire reading section and be able to present the “saving the soil reading answers” appropriately. Also, don’t miss practicing the Cambridge 13 test 4 reading passage 1 and reading passage 3.