TPO-1 Groundw ater Paragraph 1: Groundwater is the word used to describe water that saturates the ground, filling all the available spaces. By far the most abundant type of groundwater is meteoric water; this is the groundwater that circulates as part of the water cycle. Ordinary meteoric water is water that has soaked into the ground from the surface, from precipitation (rain and snow) and from lakes and streams. There it remains, sometimes for long periods, before emerging at the surface again. At first thought it seems incredible that there can be enough space in the ‘solid’ ground underfoot to hold all this water. 2. The word ‘incredible’ in the passage is closest in meaning to ○ confusing ○ comforting ○ unbelievable ○ interesting Paragraph 4: In lowland country almost any spot on the ground may overlie what was once the bed of a river that has since become buried by soil; if they are now below the water’s upper surface (the water table), the gravels and sands of the former riverbed, and its sandbars, will be saturated with groundwater. 7. The word ‘overlie’ in the passage is closest in meaning to ○ cover ○ change ○ separate ○ surround Paragraph 5: So much for unconsolidated sediments. Consolidated (or cemented) sediments, too, contain millions of minute water-holding pores. This is because the gaps among the original grains are often not totally plugged with cementing chemicals; also, parts of the original grains may become dissolved by percolating groundwater, either while consolidation is taking place or at any time afterwards. The result is that sandstone, for example, can be as porous as the loose sand from which it was formed. 9. The word ‘plugged’ in the pa...
