Question

⑥ we found that the amount of bacteria transferred to either kind of food didnt depend much on how long the food was in contact with the contaminated surface - whether for a few seconds or for a whole minute. ⑦ the overall amount of bacteria on the surface mattered more, and this decreased over time after the initial inoculation. ⑧ it looks like whats at issue is less how long your food languishes on the floor and much more how infested with bacteria that patch of floor happens to be.

⑥-⑧ we found that the amount of bacteria transferred to either kind of food depended on the 3) __________________________________ on the surface, showing that 4)* __________________________________
____________________________________.

• marking box for 4)

key words -10 | composition -10

Explanation:

Based on the provided text, sentence (7) states that "The overall amount of bacteria on the surface mattered more," which directly fills in blank 3). Sentence (6) and (8) explain that the duration of contact (how long the food was in contact or languishes on the floor) does not matter much compared to how infested with bacteria the surface is, which forms the basis for the conclusion in blank 4).

Answer:

1. overall amount of bacteria
2. how long food is in contact with a surface matters less than how contaminated that surface is.