Cambridge IELTS 13 · Academic · Test 4 · Passage 2
Saving the Soil — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for Saving the Soil, Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic Reading Test 4 Passage 2, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Saving the Soil answer key at a glance
Questions 14–26. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Summary Completion (Q14–17), Matching Sentence Endings (Q18–21), Matching Information (Q22–26). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 14–17: Summary Completion
Strategy: Read the summary as a paragraph first to establish the logic, then locate the missing idea in the passage. With a lettered list, confirm the grammar fits.
“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”
Healthy soil holds bacteria, viruses and fungi 'living amid decomposing plants and various minerals', so minerals is the missing material.
“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”
Microorganisms 'lock in their carbon content', and soil holds three times the carbon found in the entire atmosphere.
“Soils also store water, preventing flood damage”
The summary needs what soil stores to prevent flooding; the text says 'Soils also store water, preventing flood damage'.
“Agriculture is by far the biggest problem”
Asked what the biggest cause of soil damage is, the passage answers 'Agriculture is by far the biggest problem'.
Questions 18–21: Matching Sentence Endings
Strategy: Complete the grammar first, then check the meaning. The ending must follow logically from the stem as well as appear in the passage.
Nutrients contained in the unused parts of harvested crops
“Humans tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil to enrich it”
C: humans 'tend not to return unused parts of harvested crops directly to the soil', so nutrients are lost rather than recycled.
Synthetic fertilisers produced with Haber-Bosch process
“Chemical fertilisers can release polluting nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and excess is often washed away with the rain, releasing nitrogen into rivers”
E: chemical fertilisers 'release polluting nitrous oxide' and excess is 'washed away with the rain', polluting rivers — the drawback in E.
Addition of a mixture developed by Pius Floris to the soil
“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 rock”
A: Floris's mix produced 'a good crop of plants' with roots 'strong enough to pierce dirt as hard as rock', the success described in A.
The idea of zero net soil degradation
“We need ways of presenting the problem that bring it home to governments”
D: the zero-degradation idea answers the need for 'ways of presenting the problem that bring it home to governments'.
Questions 22–26: Matching Information
Strategy: Scan for the idea, not the exact words. The answer is a paragraph letter, and one paragraph may be used more than once unless the instructions say otherwise.
a reference to one person’s motivation for a soil-improvement project
“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”
E: a man realised 'the best way to ensure his trees flourished was to take care of the soil', which motivated his soil-improvement project.
an explanation of how soil stayed healthy before the development of farming
“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”
C: past strategies included 'regularly varying the types of crops grown, or leaving fields uncultivated for a season', keeping soil healthy before modern farming.
examples of different ways of collecting information on soil degradation
“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”
F: a map and database can be fed 'field surveys, drone surveys, satellite imagery, lab analyses', a range of data-collection methods.
a suggestion for a way of keeping some types of soil safe in the near future
“Several researchers are agitating for the immediate creation of protected zones for endangered soils”
G: researchers are 'agitating for the immediate creation of protected zones for endangered soils', a near-future way to safeguard them.
a reason why it is difficult to provide an overview of soil degradation
“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.”
F: the passage says 'there is no agreed international system for classifying soil', which makes a global overview difficult.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Saving the Soil passage come from?
It is Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic Reading Test 4, and it covers Questions 14–26.
What question types appear in Saving the Soil?
The passage is tested with Summary Completion, Matching Sentence Endings, Matching Information. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.