If the text says "highly toxic elements like lead and cadmium," the question will simplify it to "heavy metals." Beware the "Not Given" Trap
Because the land was toxic, builders could not use it for normal brick-and-mortar housing. It sat abandoned for over a decade. Cleaning up the soil using standard mechanical methods would have cost more than £30 million, which was far too expensive. The Pioneering Low-Cost Rescue Plan
These live on the soil surface in the litter layer. They break down organic mulch rapidly but do not burrow deeply.
: To create a financially productive site that serves as both a woodland and a renewable energy source. Course Hero For more practice materials, you can explore resources like IELTS Online Tests Worms put new life into derelict site Reading Answers
When answering questions about this passage, test-takers often confuse these points:
Without earthworms, the natural soil regeneration process would take up to . With them, the timeline reduces to just 5-10 years.
Enter a team of scientists from the University of Reading, who proposed an unorthodox solution to restore the site's ecological vitality. The researchers turned to worms, specifically the humble earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris), to help revitalize the area. These invertebrates, often underappreciated, play a crucial role in ecosystem health, and their potential for environmental remediation was about to be put to the test.
| Question | Answer | Question | Answer | |----------|--------|----------|--------| | 1 | C | 8 | nitrogen | | 2 | B | 9 | trees | | 3 | B | 10 | G | | 4 | A | 11 | H | | 5 | C | 12 | B | | 6 | soil recomposition | 13 | D | | 7 | natural processes | | |