Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Soil is found on the upper most layer of the Earth. It is made up of a mixture of rock, minerals, plants, and some living/ dead animals (mostly insects). This nutrient – rich layer of soil extends downward a few feet. This is about how far the roots of plants grow. Soil is made up of all the nutrients needed by plants to live. Some areas of the world like desert regions have very poor soil. Here, it is difficult for complex plant life to take hold.

Tropical rainforests also have poor soil. Yes, the rainforest region gets enough rainfall to grow plants, but the poor soil found in rainforests is caused by so many living plants. These plants have the nutrients right inside themselves, so nutrients are not abundantly found in the soil.

For over a million years, the soil of the Earth has been developing. Weather has played an important role in shaping the soil. The top rocky layer of the Earth has been ground down into smaller and finer grains. Plants and animals ( mostly insects) have helped to deposit nutrients.

An important part of the soil is the living part. Bacteria ( any microscopic plant that lives in soil, water, or organic matter), algae ( any plant as seaweed of a group that forms the lowest division of the plant kingdom and includes mostly plants growing in water that are usually brown or red coloring), and fung ( any group of flowerless plants like molds, rusts, mildews, and mushrooms that lack chlorophyll and live on dead or decaying organic matter) are living parts of the soil. They help more complex life forms live.

The soil under our feet has a darker color than the dirt. This dark color is caused by the plants and animals (living and dead) that are found within it. Soil is formed from geology, climate, topography, biology, and by passing time. (Geology is the land, Climate is the temperature and weather conditions, is the type of landform, Biology deals with the living organisms and their life processes, and, time is the period of an action.)

Maybe the next time when you sit on the grass to have a picnic, get your shoes dirty or walk barefoot, you will be reminded of the importance that soil has on life in this world.

I. READING COMPREHENSION . /10 marks
Basing on the passage above, answer true (T) or false (F).
1) The primary composition of soil is plants and animals.
2) Some desert regions have poor soil because they limited nutrients.
3) The main reason for poor soil in tropical rainforests is abundance of living plants.
4) Weather has contributed to development of soil over a million years by breaking down rocks into smaller grains.
5) A living part is Fungi.
6) The soil its darker color gives excessive rainfall.
7) The factors contribute to the formation of soil are geography and temperature, biology and topography, weather and climate.
8) Biology deals with the living organisms and their life processes in relation to soil.
9) The role of bacteria, algae, and fungi in the soil is to help more complex life forms live.
10) Geology is the temperature and weather conditions.
II. GRAMMAR./30 marks
1. Change the following sentences into the present perfect tense. /10marks
a) John read the passage frequently.
b) The students arrived in the library.
c) I read China Achebe’s Things Fall Apart before.
d) Aline borrowed the book.
e) Who threw the book away?
2. Copy the following sentences and then underline the modal verbs and the first conditional./10marks
a) If the child is not vaccinated, he will suffer from polio.
b) If I don’t eat enough vegetables, i will suffer from vitamin- deficiency diseases.
c) If i don’t sleep under a treated net, i will suffer from malaria.
d) If i don’t use clean water for drinking and cooking, i will suffer from water borne diseases.
e) If i do not eat enough potatoes, i will suffer from lack of energy.
3. Identify the time clauses in the following sentences./5marks
a) When the men went to fight, their families stayed without fathers for years.
b) Many farms were deserted when the war broke out.
c) Many men were killed when they went to war.
d) When the Germans arrived in Rwanda, king Rwabugiri welcomed them.
e) Africans rebelled when they realized the intentions of the colonialists.
4. Put in plural these nouns./5marks
a) rubbish
b) monkey
c) goose
d) church
e) axe

III. WRITING COMPOSITION./10 marks
Give the main parts of composition then explain what can you do in every part.

END