DIRECTIONS:
In the passage that follows, certain words and phrases are bolded and numbered. And you will find alternatives for the bolded part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is best, choose “NO CHANGE.” You will also find questions about a section of the passage, or about the passage as a whole. These questions do not refer to an bolded portion of the passage, but rather are identified by a number or numbers in a box.

PASSAGE The Compost Pile

Part 1

I never met a true gardener who won’t (1) break into philosophical rapture when the topic of conversation (2) was compost. To avid gardeners, the compost pile—a heap of decomposing kitchen scraps and yard waste—is at once the most profound and practical of beasts.

A compost pile may look like just a mound of decaying muck—apple cores, coffee grounds, and grass clippings, for example—but they are (3) host to a community of living things. Indeed, it teems with microscopic beings whose business it is to eat and excrete. By doing things to (4) a variety of dead organic matter, these microbes supply the nutrients plants need to grow.

1
A. NO CHANGE
B. didn’t
C. doesn’t
D. will not

2.
F. NO CHANGE
G. subject of controversy
H. reason to be alarmed
J. topic of dispute

3.
A. NO CHANGE
B. their
C. it is
D. its

4.
Which choice best helps the reader conceptualize a specific process?
F. NO CHANGE
G. digesting
H. modifying
J. altering