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TOEFL-GMAT READING PASSAGE -7

Read the following paragraph carefully, take your time, then answer the comprehension questions below.

Reading Comprehension Paragraph

Erosion is regarded not merely as the physical removal of soil by water and wind, but rather as the deterioration of all the component parts of the habitat in which man and his crops and livestock have to exist. Since there is no conclusive evidence for any major climatic change in historic times to explain this deterioration, we must conclude that the eroding of the total environment has been due primarily to thoughtless destruction of the vegetative cover. This has led to deterioration of the microclimate above and below the surface, generally in the direction of a general drying out of the soil which has exposed it to erosive action of wind and rainfall of high intensity or frequency, and to the loss of organic matter in the soil, thus reducing its capacity to resist erosion by conserving the water that falls on the surface. If everything possible is done within the total environment to conserve the naturally planted or cultivated vegetation, this will also ensure optimal conservation of soil and water.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. It is argued in the passage that the impoverishment of the world's habitat .......... .

A) is first and foremost due to man's irresponsible abuse of the vegetable cover of the earth
B) is largely due to gradual changes in climate over long years
C) became inevitable as soon as agricultural and animal husbandry developed
D) cannot be remedied
E) has been needlessly exaggerated

2. The definition of erosion given in this passage ............ .

A) is a strictly regional one
B) disregards man's role in it
C) concentrates on flooding
D) assumes that the process is inevitable
E) is a broad one

3. It is pointed out in the passage that the loss of organic matter in the soil ............ .

A) led to the destruction of the world's vegetative cover
B) is a direct result of insufficient rain
C) is an irreversible process
D) has made the soil more susceptible to erosion
e) came about through over planting which robbed the soil of nutrients

Answers..