Super Soil: The Mystery of Terra Preta

1 Read the sentence from paragraph 8.

Picture a village enclosure in the jungle about 2,000 years ago.

Think about the suffix -ure. What is the meaning of enclosure as it is used above?

• A a busy space

• B a distant place

• C a separate area

• D a crowded town

2 “Super Soil: The Mystery of Terra Preta” explains the effects of slash-and-burn and slash-and-

char methods. Mark the box that shows whether the effect is caused by slash-and-burn. There is more than one answer.

• turns wood to ashes

• turns wood to biochar

• locks carbon into charcoal in the soil

• releases large amounts of carbon into the air

2 “Super Soil: The Mystery of Terra Preta” explains the effects of slash-and-burn and slash-and-

char methods. Mark the box that shows whether the effect is caused by slash-and-char. There is more than one answer.

• turns wood to ashes

• turns wood to biochar

• locks carbon into charcoal in the soil

• releases large amounts of carbon into the air

3 What role does paragraph 15 play in the structure of the passage?

• A It introduces a new problem about the source of TPI.

• B It summarizes a theory about human history in the Amazon.

• C It clarifies that early explorers knew about the benefits of TPI.

• D It explains why large cities have disappeared from the Amazon.

4 What are the benefits of using biochar?

• Biochar can help improve poor soil conditions and air quality, help solve the problems of poor soil conditions, and global warming.

• Scientists believe that adding oxisol to poor soil can be environmentally friendly to produce since the carbon is released into the air and is not instead kept inside the charcoal.

• Biochar is harmful to the atmosphere.

• Biochar is the main cause of global warming.

5 According to the passage, what is the result of using biochar when planting?

• A Carbon is released into the air.

• B People can settle around the farms.

• C Living matter is changed into charcoal.

• D More crops are produced from the rich soil.

6 How does the diagram support the information in the passage?

• A It shows why TPI is a better soil to use than oxisol.

• B It reveals why farmers burned down forests to produce biochar.

• C It explains how oxisol can be turned into TPI by adding biochar.

• D It makes clear why oxisol is the best soil for supporting rainforests.

From: It’s Not Only a Game

1 What change should be made in sentence 3?

• A Add First, to the beginning of the sentence.

• B Add Soon, to the beginning of the sentence.

• C Add Besides, to the beginning of the sentence.

• D Add Moreover, to the beginning of the sentence.

From: It’s Not Only a Game

2 What change should be made in sentence 5?

• A Change So to Later.

• B Change So to However.

• C Change So to Although.

• D Change So to As a result.

From: It’s Not Only a Game

3 What change should be made in sentence 8?

• A Change For example to Finally.

• B Change For example to Especially.

• C Change For example to Furthermore.

• D No change is needed.