Comprehension - Intermediate . [ 14 ]

[ 14 ] Comprehension 

[  14  ] Intermediate

Read the following , then answer the questions below :

                   It does not take long to turn farmland into desert . American farmers found this out in the 1930s . They planted wheat in large areas of grass land in the south central United States . For a few years there was plenty of rain and lots of wheat . Then the rains stopped , as they often do in this dry region . The wheat dried up and the top soil turned to dust . Before long , it had all blown away in great dust storms . The area became known as the “ Dust Bowl”. What happened in the Dust Bowl is a perfect example of erosion caused by modern farming methods. Erosion is the loss of top soil . Top soil blows away more easily when it is no longer protected by grasses or trees .

                   Unfortunately , it seems that farmers have not learned from the example of the Dust Bowl . In the US alone , five billion tons of top soil are lost every year .Farmers continue to use the same destructive methods . They plant the same crops and use tons of chemical fertilizers . The total loss of top soil world wide is 24 billion tons a year . In developing countries this often leads to hunger and death . The recent history of one part of Africa , the Sahel is a good example in the 1960s and 1970s . The grass and bushes were gone , eaten by cattle , sheep and other animals . Animal manure was used for burning instead of for fertilizing the soil . The ruined top soil quickly blew away . The Sahara Desert advanced in some areas as much as 100 kilometers . Now millions of people have no way to make a living . Many have died of hunger , while others have moved to the already crowded cities . But again the lesson has been ignored . More and more people are hungry on our planet , but farmland countries continues to be ruined .

A-] Answer the following questions :

1-] What is meant by “ Dust Bowl” ?

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2-] Why the problem of erosion is dangerous world wide ?

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3-] How did people in the Sahel face hunger and death ?

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4-] What is the result of ignoring erosion ?

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B-] Choose the correct answer :

1-] The “Dust Bowl”

A-] is a naturally dust area . B-] used to be desert . C-] was always green farmland . D-] used to be grassland .

2-] We can infer from this passage that chemical fertilizers

A-] help keep the top soil . B-] help destroy the soil . C-] do not have any effect on the soil . D-] are not used much by American farmers .

3-] The problem of erosion is worst in

A-] the central United States . B-] the desert . C-] Africa . D-] the dry region of the world .