Small, localised enterprises are becoming ever-more imaginative in identifying opportunities to boost tourism for their areas. A more unusual attraction is the Old Man of the Lake, which is the name given to a 9-metre-tall tree stump that has been bobbing vertically in Oregon’s Crater Lake since at least 1896. For over one hundred years, it has been largely ignored but recently it has become a must-see item on the list of lake attractions. Since January 2012, tour boats regularly include the Old Man on their sightseeing trips around the lake.

At the waterline, the stump is about 60 centimetres in diameter, and the exposed part stands approximately 120 centimetres above the surface of the water. Over the years, the stump has been bleached white by the elements. The exposed end of the floating tree is splintered and worn but wide and buoyant enough to support a person’s weight.

Observations indicated that the Old Man of Crater Lake travels quite extensively, and sometimes with surprising rapidity. Since it can be seen virtually anywhere on the lake, boat pilots commonly communicate its position to each other as a general matter of safety.

Which of the following are true of the Old Man of the Lake according to the passage?

a) It has been a tourist attraction for decades.
b) It is a drifting piece of wood.
c) It is close to the edge of Crater Lake.
d) It is owned by a local businessman.
e) It can quickly move about the lake.
f) It can be a danger to boat users.
g) It is too small for someone to stand on.

To find it, you have to go digging in rainforests, and to the untrained eye, it does not seem special at all – just a thick layer of dark earth that would not look out of place in many gardens. But these fertile, dark soils are in fact very special, because despite the lushness of tropical rainforests, the soils beneath them are usually very poor and thin. Even more surprising is where this dark soil comes from.

‘You might expect this precious fertile resource to be found in the deep jungle, far from human settlements or farmers,’ says James Fraser, who has been hunting for it in Africa’s rainforests. ‘But I go looking for dark earth round the edge of villages and ancient towns, and in traditionally farmed areas. It’s usually there. And the older and larger the settlement, the more dark earth there is.

Such findings are overturning some long-held ideas. Jungle farmers are usually blamed not just for cutting down trees but also for exhausting the soils. And yet the discovery of these rich soils – first in South America and now in Africa, too – suggest that, whether by chance or design, many people living in rainforests farmed in a way that enhanced rather than destroyed soils. In fact, it is becoming clear that part of what we think of as lush pure rainforest is actually long-abandoned farmland, enriched by the waste created by ancient humans.

What is significant about the ‘dark soil’ that the writer is referring to?

a) It indicates the presence of good soil below it.
b) It is not present in rainforests.
c) It has resulted from agricultural activity.
d) It is more common in South America than Africa.
e) It is being found near where humans have lived.
f)  It has confirmed what people have believed for a long time.
g) It is less productive than people once thought.