Question

Comprehension: In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Erosion of America's farmland by wind and water (1)_____ a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands (2)______ the plow in the 19th century. By the 1930s, more than 282 million acres of farmland were (3)______ by erosion. After 40 years of conservation efforts, soil erosion has (4)________ due to new demands placed (5)____ the land by heavy crop production. Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 1.

• A. have been
• B. had been
• C. was been
• D. has been

Answer 1

Answer:

D. has been

To find the correct verb tense for blank (1), we need to look at the timeline and the subject of the sentence: Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject is "Erosion" (singular). Even though it mentions "wind and water," those are just describing how the erosion happens. Since "Erosion" is singular, we must use a singular verb (has), not a plural one (have). Tense (Present Perfect): The sentence uses the word "since," which indicates an action that started in the past (19th century) and continues up to the present day. Has been is the Present Perfect tense, used for ongoing situations. Had been (B) would imply the problem ended a long time ago. Was been (C) is grammatically incorrect in English.