As Part of an International Effort to Address Environmental Problems Resulting from Agricultural Overproduction

Reading Passage Question

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. Restoring a natural balance of flora to this land will be difficult, however, because the nutrients in soil that has been in constant agricultural use are depleted. Moreover, much of this land has been heavily fertilized, and when such land is left unplanted, problem weeds like thistles often proliferate, preventing many native plants from establishing themselves. While the quickest way to restore heavily fertilized land is to remove and replace the topsoil, this is impractical on a large scale such as that of the European effort. And while it is generally believed that damaged ecological systems will restore themselves very gradually over time, a study underway in the Netherlands is investigating the possibility of artificially accelerating the processes through which nature slowly reestablishes plant diversity on previously farmed land.

In the study, a former cornfield was raked to get rid of cornstalks and weeds, then divided into 20 plots of roughly equal size. Control plots were replanted with corn or sown with nothing at all. The remaining plots were divided into two groups: plots in one group were sown with a mixture of native grasses and herbs; those in the other group received the same mixture of grasses and herbs together with clover and toadflax. After three years, thistles have been forced out of the plots where the broadest variety of species was sown and have also disappeared from mats of grass in the plots sown with fewer seed varieties. On the control plots that were left untouched, thistles have become dominant.

On some of the plots sown with seeds of native plant species, soil from nearby land that had been taken out of production 20 years earlier was scattered to see what effect introducing nematodes, fungi, and other beneficial microorganisms associated with later stages of natural soil development might have on the process of native plant repopulation. The seeds sown on these enriched plots have fared better than seeds sown on the unenriched plots, but still not as well as those growing naturally on the nearby land. Researchers have concluded that this is because fields farmed for many years are overrun with aggressive disease organisms, while, for example, beneficial mycorrhiza— fungi that live symbiotically on plant roots and strengthen them against the effects of disease organisms—are lacking. These preliminary results suggest that restoring natural plant diversity to overfarmed land hinges on restoring a natural balance of microorganisms in the soil. In other words, diversity underground fosters diversity aboveground. Researchers now believe that both kinds of diversity can be restored more quickly to damaged land if beneficial microorganisms are “sown” systematically into the soil along with a wide variety of native plant seeds.

“As part of an international effort to address environmental problems resulting from agricultural overproduction” - this is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 8 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the central idea of the passage?

(A) The rehabilitation of land damaged by agricultural overproduction can be accelerated by means of a two-pronged strategy aimed at restoring biological diversity.
(B) Restoring plant diversity to overused farmland requires many years and considerable effort.
(C) The damaging effects of long-term agricultural overproduction argue for the modification of current agricultural practices.
(D) Soil on farmland damaged by overproduction will gradually replenish and restore itself over time if left untouched.
(E) Agricultural overproduction tends to encourage the proliferation of disease organisms in the soil as well as problem weeds.

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

(A) A study is described, the results of the study are scrutinized, and the results are judged to be inconclusive but promising.
(B) A hypothesis is presented, evidence both supporting and undermining the hypothesis is given, and a modification of the hypothesis is argued for.
(C) A study is evaluated, a plan of action based on the study’s findings is suggested, and conclusions are drawn concerning the likely effectiveness of the plan.
(D) A goal is stated, studies are discussed that argue for modifying the goal’s objectives, and a methodology is detailed to achieve the revised goal.
(E) A problem is presented, a study addressing the problem is described, and a course of action based on the study’s findings is given.

3. The passage offers which one of the following as an explanation for why native plant varieties grew better when sown on land that had been out of production for 20 years than when sown on the plots enriched with soil taken from that land?

(A) Land that has been farmed for many years lacks certain key nutrients.
(B) Land that has been farmed for many years is usually overrun with harmful and aggressive organisms.
(C) Land that has been farmed for many years has usually been subjected to overfertilization.
(D) The soil that was taken from the land that had been out of production was lacking in fungi and other beneficial organisms.
(E) The soil that was taken from the land that had been out of production contained harmful organisms that attack plant roots.

4. Based on the passage, which one of the following is most likely to be true of any soil used to replace topsoil in the process mentioned in the first paragraph?

(A) Thistles cannot grow in it.
(B) It does not contain significant amounts of fungi.
(C) It contains very few seeds of native grasses and herbs.
(D) It does not contain large amounts of fertilizer.
(E) It was never used for growing corn or other commercial crops.

5. The author’s reference to the belief that “damaged ecological systems will restore themselves very gradually over time” (Highlighted) primarily serves to

(A) introduce a long-held belief that the Netherlands study is attempting to discredit
(B) cite the justification generally used by people favoring intense agricultural production
(C) suggest that the consequences of agricultural overproduction are not as dire as people generally believe
(D) present the most common perception of why agricultural overproduction is problematic
(E) describe the circumstances surrounding and motivating the Netherlands study

6. In which one of the following circumstances would it be LEAST advantageous to use the methods researched in the Netherlands study in order to restore to its natural state a field that has been in constant agricultural use?

(A) The field’s natural nutrients have been depleted through overproduction.
(B) The field’s topsoil can easily be removed and replaced.
(C) The field has been heavily fertilized for many decades.
(D) The field has the potential to support commercial grass plants such as rye.
(E) The field is adjacent to other fields where corn is growing and will continue to be grown.

7. It can be inferred from the passage that if the disease organisms mentioned in highlighted text were eliminated in a plot of land that had been in constant agricultural use, which one of the following would be the most likely to occur?

(A) Populations of symbiotic mycorrhiza that live in the soil would initially decline.
(B) Unwanted plant species like thistles would be unable to survive.
(C) The chance of survival of a beneficial native plant would increase.
(D) The number of all types of beneficial microorganisms would increase in the long term.
(E) Populations of other types of disease organisms would increase proportionally.

8. Which one of the following is most analogous to the process, described in the last paragraph, by which the spread of thistles can be curtailed?

(A) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials encouraging that party’s supporters to switch their allegiance and vote for candidates from a rival party.
(B) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials defending candidates from a rival party against attacks by certain broadcast journalists.
(C) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials intended to discourage supporters of Party A from voting in the upcoming election.
(D) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials attacking certain public figures who support candidates from Party A.
(E) A newspaper works to prevent Party A from winning a majority of seats in the legislature by publishing editorials intended to create antagonism between two factions within that party.

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