The Importance of Soil to Life on Earth: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “Beneath our feet lies a thin, dark layer that most of us rarely notice and even more rarely value. Soil is treated as little more than dirt, something to be scraped away before building or washed off before dinner.”
- Passage length: about 801 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: Yes / No / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Importance of Soil to Life on Earth” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Importance of Soil to Life on Earth answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: Yes / No / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer? Write YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer, NO if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks.
- 1
The way modern societies dismiss soil is a serious mistake.
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Answer: YES
Why: The writer's view here agrees with the statement, so the answer is YES.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “Yet in my view this casual dismissal is one of the most dangerous blind spots in the way modern societies think about the natural world.”
- 2
Adding more chemical fertiliser can fully make up for soil that has been lost.
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Answer: NO
Why: The writer's view here contradicts the statement, so the answer is NO.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “I do not accept the common assumption that we can simply pour on more fertiliser to make up the difference; artificial nutrients cannot replace the complex living structure that has been lost.”
- 3
Farming methods that keep fields covered deserve more support than they currently get.
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Answer: YES
Why: The writer's view here agrees with the statement, so the answer is YES.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “In my judgement these approaches deserve far more support than they currently receive, and the fact that they remain the exception rather than the rule reflects how little value we still place on the ground beneath us.”
- 4
Governments have recently made protecting soil a legal requirement.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that governments have recently made protecting soil a legal requirement, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, only emphasizing the importance of soil and the need for protective actions.
- 5
Soil can be replaced quickly once it has been lost.
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Answer: NO
Why: The writer's view here contradicts the statement, so the answer is NO.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “We are spending a resource far faster than it can be replaced, and treating something irreplaceable as though it were endlessly abundant.”
- 6
Losing fertile soil is as serious a threat to human wellbeing as losing forests or animals.
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Answer: YES
Why: The writer's view here agrees with the statement, so the answer is YES.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “But the quiet loss of fertile land is, I would argue, just as serious a threat to human wellbeing.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. They make the soil heavier and denser.
- B. They break down organic matter and release nutrients that plants need.
- C. They stop rainfall from soaking into the ground.
- D. They remove the need for plants to have roots.
- 7
According to the passage, why are the organisms living in soil important?
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Answer: B — They break down organic matter and release nutrients that plants need.
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — They break down organic matter and release nutrients that plants need..
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “They break down dead leaves and other organic matter, releasing the nutrients that plants need to grow, and they bind loose particles together into the crumbly structure that allows roots to spread and water to soak in.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Less than the atmosphere holds on its own
- B. About the same as the world's forests
- C. More than all the world's plants and the atmosphere combined
- D. Almost none compared with living plants
- 8
How much carbon does soil hold, according to the passage?
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Answer: C — More than all the world's plants and the atmosphere combined
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — More than all the world's plants and the atmosphere combined.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…soil holds vast amounts of carbon, more than is stored in all the world's plants and the atmosphere combined.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. The mismatch between how slowly soil forms and how fast it is destroyed
- B. The high cost of chemical fertilisers
- C. The lack of interest among scientists
- D. The difficulty of feeding a growing population
- 9
What does the writer identify as 'the heart of the problem'?
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Answer: A — The mismatch between how slowly soil forms and how fast it is destroyed
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports A — The mismatch between how slowly soil forms and how fast it is destroyed.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “This mismatch between the slow pace of formation and the speed of destruction is, to my mind, the heart of the problem.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. It is permanently locked away underground.
- B. It escapes into the air and adds to warming.
- C. It is turned into useful fertiliser.
- D. It is filtered out of the water supply.
- 10
According to the passage, what happens to carbon when soil is damaged?
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Answer: B — It escapes into the air and adds to warming.
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — It escapes into the air and adds to warming..
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “When soil is damaged, much of that carbon escapes into the air, adding to the very warming that threatens us.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What is the term for the process by which wind and rain carry away fertile soil particles?(max 2 words)
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Answer: erosion
Why: The answer “erosion” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “This process, known as erosion, is stripping productive land across much of the world.”
- 12
What does soil act as, absorbing rainfall and releasing it slowly?(max 3 words)
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Answer: sponge (also accepted: an enormous sponge)
Why: The answer “sponge” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “It acts as an enormous sponge, absorbing rainfall and releasing it slowly, which reduces the risk of both flooding and drought.”
- 13
Besides worms and insects, name one type of organism found in a handful of healthy soil.(max 2 words)
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Answer: bacteria (also accepted: fungi)
Why: The answer “bacteria” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “It is home to bacteria, fungi, tiny insects, worms and countless other organisms, many of them too small to see.”
- 14
According to the final paragraph, we must abandon the idea that soil is merely what?(max 2 words)
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Answer: dirt
Why: The answer “dirt” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 8 “But the starting point must be to abandon the idea that soil is merely dirt.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Yes / No / Not Given
- Identify the claim in the statement and, crucially, whose opinion it represents — these passages often quote several people, so track who is speaking.
- Scan the passage for opinion signals: verbs like "argues", "believes", "suggests", "claims", and phrases such as "in the author’s view".
Common trap: Treating a reported opinion (someone else’s view mentioned by the writer) as the writer’s own conclusion.
Full Yes / No / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “The Importance of Soil to Life on Earth” under exam conditions
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