Nonfiction · Level 3 · 178 words

Why a Trail Zigzags

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

A steep hillside may offer a short line from bottom to top, yet a well-built trail often crosses it in long turns called switchbacks. The added distance reduces the grade, so walkers climb more gradually. It also keeps water from rushing straight down the route with as much speed. Fast runoff can carry loose soil away and cut a narrow trail into a deep channel.

Trail builders do more than draw zigzags. They shape the walking surface so water can leave it, place turns where the slope can support them, and protect the inside corner from repeated cutting. These choices must fit the local soil, plants, and rainfall. A design that works on firm, dry ground may fail on a wet bank.

A shortcut across a switchback looks efficient to one person. Repeated feet, however, crush vegetation and open a steep strip of bare soil. Rain can then follow that strip, making the shortcut wider and harder to repair. Staying on the built turn is not pointless obedience; it preserves the drainage system hidden in the trail's shape.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. Which sentence best states the passage's main idea?

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D. Switchbacks reduce steepness and manage runoff, so cutting across them can damage the trail's whole design.
The passage connects long turns to gentler climbing and slower runoff, then explains how shortcutting crushes plants and opens a channel that defeats the drainage design.

2. What is likely to happen after many people use the same steep shortcut?

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A. Rain will follow the bare strip and increase erosion there.
Repeated feet create a steep strip of bare soil, and the next sentence says rain can follow it. Together those details predict widening erosion, not recovery.

3. What does "grade" mean in the first paragraph?

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B. The steepness of the trail's rise
The added distance reduces the grade, and the result is that walkers climb more gradually. That cause and effect defines grade as steepness.

4. What work besides drawing zigzags do trail builders perform?

Show answer for question 4

C. They shape drainage, choose supported turns, and protect inside corners.
The middle paragraph lists shaping the walking surface for drainage, placing turns where the slope supports them, and protecting the inside corner.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.