PT65.S3.Q22 (P4): Is there a contradiction in Paragraph 3?

Comments

• mesposito886 Member

  October 2021 254 karma

  I think you misread answer choice D, which says, "The soil that was taken from the land that had been out of production was lacking in fungi and other beneficial organisms." The land they're talking about in answer choice D is the land that hasn't been farmed for 20 years. Line 45 of the passage says that "fields farmed for many years" are the ones where beneficial fungi are lacking and that are overrun with aggressive disease organisms.

  Answer choice B says just that: "Land that has been farmed for many years is usually overrun with harmful and aggressive organisms."
• Ashley2018-1 Alum Member

  October 2021 edited October 2021 2249 karma

  But I thought "out of production" was referring to land that hasn't been farmed for 20 years. Like the land was farmed for a long time and then there was no more farming. So the first sentence states outright that soil taken from this type of land has beneficial microorganisms so I'm just wondering what Lines 45-50 is referring to.
• mesposito886 Member

  October 2021 254 karma

  Like I said above, lines 45 onward are referring to the lands in the study that haven’t been taken out of production, hence why it says “fields farmed for many years.”

  In the experiment, they can take land that has been out of production for 20 years, and two plots of land that have still been farmed. They enrich the land that hasn’t been farmed for 20 years, as well as one of the farmed plots. Then the passage discusses how both enriched plots did better than the unenriched plot, but that the land that hasn’t been farmed for 20 years did the best because it has beneficial fungi. Fields that have been farmed lack those fungi are also usually overrun with harmful disease organisms.

  If you’re having difficulty identifying these ideas I really recommend watching JY’s analysis for this passage!
• mesposito886 Member

  October 2021 254 karma

  Couple of typos above; that’s what I get for commenting when I wake up.
• Ashley2018-1 Alum Member

  October 2021 edited October 2021 2249 karma

  lol. Before I post my questions I always watch his videos first.

  But the comparison was between plots that had soil from out of production land, those that did not, and those that were growing on native land. I don’t see anything about land that was out of production recently
• mesposito886 Member

  October 2021 edited October 2021 254 karma

  The plots discussed are the land taken out of production for 20 years, and land that has been farmed for many years. They don’t talk about “native land” - they are sowing these plots with seeds from native plant species. They also don’t talk about land that has been out of production “recently.”
• CEOofgettinga170 Member

  October 2021 128 karma

  @Ashley2018 said:
  lol. Before I post my questions I always watch his videos first.

  But the comparison was between plots that had soil from out of production land, those that did not, and those that were growing on native land. I don’t see anything about land that was out of production recently

  Hey I'm still at work and haven't looked at the passage closely, but I remember struggling the same exact question with the passage. I think the land that was "out of production recently" was referring to those land they're talking about in the first paragraph, like those in the first or second sentences. The land that they're trying to "restore a natural balance."