Reading Comprehension

PT135 · S3 · P4 · Q21 Confronting Agricultural Overproduction in Europe

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As part of an international effort to address environmental problems resulting from agricultural overproduction, hundreds of thousands of acres of surplus farmland throughout Europe will be taken out of production in coming years.

Topic

Restoring plant and microbial diversity to overfarmed European lands

Framework

Problem / Solution

Main Point

Restoring plant diversity to overused farmland is challenging due to depleted soils and problematic weeds, but recent research suggests that success depends on restoring both a diverse mix of native plant seeds and beneficial soil microorganisms ("diversity underground fosters diversity aboveground"—final sentences of the last paragraph).

P1: The Challenge of Restoring Overfarmed Land

Europe is trying to take lots of farmland out of production for environmental reasons, but it’s hard to bring back natural plant life because years of farming deplete soil nutrients and create weed problems. You could replace the topsoil, but that’s just not possible at the scale needed. Typically, people assume nature will (very slowly) fix things on its own, but researchers are now testing ways to speed things along.

P2: Experimental Approaches to Plant Diversity

Researchers in the Netherlands set up a big experiment: they cleared a cornfield and divided it up, testing different combinations of native plant seeds. Where they planted a diverse mix of seeds, troublesome thistles disappeared, but if they did nothing, thistles took over. So, planting a broader range of native species helps keep out bad weeds.

P3: The Role of Microorganisms in Restoration

They also tested whether adding soil (full of microbes) from healthier land would help. Plots with the added soil did better than plain ones, but still not as well as untouched, long-restored land. The problem? Old farmland has too many disease organisms but not enough beneficial ones like mycorrhizal fungi, which protect the plants. In short, you need a good underground ecosystem to support a healthy one above. The researchers now think the best bet is to actively add both native seeds and beneficial microbes to the soil to speed up restoring these lands.

21.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

  1. A study is described, the

    Unsupported: inconclusive Less Complete

    This is somewhat tempting, and might ultimately be wrong because it's not the best expression of the organization (it never even references the Problem). But we also have a weak match for "results are judged to be inconclusive". In that last paragraph, we get ideas like: - Researchers have concluded that this is because X - These preliminary results suggest that Y. - Researchers now believe that B can happen if we do A. Yes, the 2nd idea there sounds suggestive, not conclusive, but the 1st and 3rd sound pretty conclusive!

    2% picked this

  2. A hypothesis is presented, evidence

    Bad Last Ingredient

    If we skip to the ending and see "a modification of the hypothesis is argued for", we don't need to read the rest. A hypothesis is a causal explanation for something that transpired or is transpiring. This passage isn't focused on solving the causal mystery of how this soil got depleted. It is forward-looking, trying to come up with a plan to fix this problem. So in the last paragraph, the author is definitely not saying, "I think we should somewhat modify the causal story you're telling for why X happened."

    2% picked this

  3. A study is evaluated, a

    Less Complete

    The last ingredient is a great match, so it seems worth reading. The first ingredient, "a study is evaluated", would match up with the beginning of the last paragraph. That would be where we realize this answer can't be right. There's no way the first ingredient in describing the organization of the passage should be something that doesn't occur until the final paragraph. This answer must be leaving out an account of what went down in the first 3 paragraphs.

    3% picked this

  4. A goal is stated, studies

    Trap

    Bad Last Ingredient Out of Scope: revised goal The last few sentences are all about assessing conclusions from this Dutch study and sort of looking forward to the future of implementing these ideas to fix our problem. We haven't revised our goal at all. Our goal is still to restore the natural balance of flora / fauna to the overused soil. And there's no detailed methodology (a step-by-step plan of what we're going to do) in the final sentences. There is only the final sentence which sounds like a plan to achieve the (original) goal: if we sow beneficial microorganisms systematically into the soil along with a wide variety of native plant seeds, then we can more quickly restore diversity aboveground and underground to damaged land. That sentence doesn't qualify as a detailed methodology.

    5% picked this

  5. Correct

    A problem is presented, a

    Why this is right

    We match all this up, and it takes us on a journey from the beginning to the end of the passage. A problem is presented This covers the whole 1st paragraph up until its final sentence. A study addressing the problem is described This covers the final sentence of the 1st paragraph all the way until the final sentence of the passage. A course of action based on the study's findings is given This is the final sentence. Sometimes Organization answers are really imbalanced like this, as in the amount of lines covered by each ingredient are wildly different. That's why it's critical to think about Framework, and to be picky only when it comes to the first / last ingredient. This is the only answer that sounds like Problem + Solution!

    Skill tested: Organization · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    87% picked this

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