Main Idea and Supporting Details 2nd Attempt

Every day for four years, I would drive to my job, and every day at the same time, on the same route, I would notice the city bus. It would pull up next to me, and I would see all the people on board. Some would be reading. Some would be sleeping. Some would stare back at me. Every day, at the same time, it would follow me right to work. As I pulled into my parking space at work, I would see it around the corner, about a block away from my job. Then, one day, my car broke down. I had no way to get to work, and then, I remembered the bus. I decided to take it since I knew it was on the same schedule as I was. Since then, I have never driven to work again. Taking the bus is a useful method with which to travel because you can save a lot of money by using public transportation.

One reason public transportation is useful is because it saves money. My commute to work was long, and it required a lot of gas. When I drove to work, I was spending $30 a week on gas. There are 52 weeks in a year. That translates to $1,560.00 a year I was spending on gas to get to work. When I started taking the bus, it cost $2 ($1 to get to work and another $1 to get home). Another way to save money is to use the toll road. That translates to $10 a week. That means that it cost me $520 a year to get to work. That's less than a third of what it cost to drive. It saved me $1,040.00. The funny part is that the reason my car broke down in the first place was because I was driving it constantly.

Cars are not the most reliable way to get to work. Which sentence best supports this idea?

• Cars tend to break down after they have been driven a lot.

• The toll road is another inexpensive way to get to work.

• The bus also has to deal with traffic, and it moves slower.

• People can sleep, read, or just think while riding on the bus.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

Wednesday morning, the Frankfurt Book Fair opened its doors. Over 280,000 visitors from all over came to Frankfurt, Germany for this event. This is the biggest book fair in the world. It also has the most visited book publishing website in the world. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association runs the fair. The association says that the book market is doing very well. Over 100 countries and almost 7,500 people are showing books at the fair this year. There are over 100,000 new books being shown out of nearly 400,000 books at the fair. Prizes are given to authors and publishers at the fair. There are also meetings about new ways to present books to the public.

This paragraph is mainly about ?

• the new ways to sell books to the public

• the prizes given at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

• the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

• the popularity of book fairs in the world.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Some people think that listening to country music is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Others would much rather jam out to hip-hop or rap music. And, of course, there will always be those who think rock music is king. Even though most people have the opportunity to listen to many types of music, they usually end up with a favorite. No one knows exactly why people have particular music tastes. Of course, the environment has something to do with it. If a girl’s big brother loves hip-hop, then she will often hear it. She may end up liking it, or she may end up hating it. People often say, “There is just no arguing taste.” In the case of music, this is definitely true.

What is this passage mostly about?

• different types of music

• different musical tastes

• which music is the best

• a brother's favorite music

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Most people want to think that they are in control of their pets. However, a study by Karen McComb at the University of Sussex found that cat owners are controlled by their cats. Cat owners probably won’t have too much trouble believing this. Cats make a fairly loud noise by mixing a purr with a cry. The sound seems to be less annoying to humans than straight meowing. Using this sound, cats tell humans when they want to eat and when they want the door opened. The purr part of the sound keeps humans from becoming too annoyed, so the cat gets exactly what he or she wants.

Which sentence from the paragraph supports the idea that cats have a smart way of getting what they want?

• Most people want to think that they are in control of their pets."

• "The purr part of the sound keeps humans from becoming too annoyed."

• "Cat owners probably won't have too much trouble believing this."

• "Cats make a fairly loud noise by mixing a purr with a cry."

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Most people want to think that they are in control of their pets. However, a study by Karen McComb at the University of Sussex found that cat owners are controlled by their cats. Cat owners probably won’t have too much trouble believing this. Cats make a fairly loud noise by mixing a purr with a cry. The sound seems to be less annoying to humans than straight meowing. Using this sound, cats tell humans when they want to eat and when they want the door opened. The purr part of the sound keeps humans from becoming too annoyed, so the cat gets exactly what he or she wants.

What is the main idea presented in this paragraph?

• Cats like to purr and meow

• Humans control their cats

• Cats are smarter than humans

• Cats control their owners

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The Adopt-a-Highway Program

Imagine a beautiful painting or portrait of the Grand Canyon. The morning light rolls in from the east, and a purple haze eats away at the horizon. There is a gold line where the sun is cutting its way into the empty gorge that seems to go on forever. Now imagine the same beautiful image where the landscape is riddled with Styrofoam plates, empty aluminum cans and water bottles, and clusters of fast food bags blowing onto the foreground. Suddenly, the Grand Canyon doesn't look nearly as majestic. The way something is presented can change someone's perspective on something. In order for America to protect its beautiful scenery, more individuals need to adopt highways.

The population of the U.S. is growing all the time. A growing population means more cars on our roadways. That means more trash. One way to reduce the amount of trash on roads is for more people to adopt highways. Several states have "adopt-a-highway" programs. The programs allow people or groups to "adopt" a section of a highway. That person or group is responsible for making sure that section of the highway stays clean. This helps the state save money. That money can then be used to make landmarks and monuments beautiful. This is money that the state would have had to pay someone to clean the highway.

Research has also shown that highways that have "adopt-a-highway" programs are usually less littered than those cleaned by road crews. The South Carolina Litter Patrol statistics state that of the 250 miles from Gaffney to Macedonia, 100 of the miles were part of the state's adopt-a-highway program. 100 of the 250-mile stretch had 18,285 fewer pounds of garbage. This shows that the programs work.

Finally, adopting a highway doesn't take up nearly as much time as hiring an outside group to clean up a highway. People complain about time, well, all the time. Time is precious to everyone, but cleaning up an adopted highway doesn't take up any time at all. Think about how much time it takes to cut the grass in your front lawn. Think about the time it takes to spend an afternoon shopping. If more people knew that volunteering to clean up the highways they use took up less time than they think, most would jump at the chance to do it.

Which statement in paragraph 4 should be supported with facts or statistics?

• "Think about the time it takes to spend an afternoon shopping."

• "People complain about time, well, all the time"

• "Think about how much time it takes to cut the grass in your front lawn."

• "Time is precious to everyone, but cleaning up an adopted highway doesn't take up any time at all."

Every day for four years, I would drive to my job, and every day at the same time, on the same route, I would notice the city bus. It would pull up next to me, and I would see all the people on board. Some would be reading. Some would be sleeping. Some would stare back at me. Every day, at the same time, it would follow me right to work. As I pulled into my parking space at work, I would see it around the corner, about a block away from my job. Then, one day, my car broke down. I had no way to get to work, and then, I remembered the bus. I decided to take it since I knew it was on the same schedule as I was. Since then, I have never driven to work again. Taking the bus is a useful method with which to travel because you can save a lot of money by using public transportation.

One reason public transportation is useful is because it saves money. My commute to work was long, and it required a lot of gas. When I drove to work, I was spending $30 a week on gas. There are 52 weeks in a year. That translates to $1,560.00 a year I was spending on gas to get to work. When I started taking the bus, it cost $2 ($1 to get to work and another $1 to get home). Another way to save money is to use the toll road. That translates to $10 a week. That means that it cost me $520 a year to get to work. That's less than a third of what it cost to drive. It saved me $1,040.00. The funny part is that the reason my car broke down in the first place was because I was driving it constantly.

Which statement best supports the main idea of the passage?

• Cars break down when they are not driven all the time.

• Driving the toll road to work costs much less than driving in traffic.

• Toll roads are convenient, fun ways to drive to work and miss traffic.

• The bus costs $10 a week, while driving a car costs $30 a week.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Today, young people have less contact with senior citizens than in years past. What a shame! One reason for this situation is that families often live far apart. In the past, aging family members were commonly cared for by their kids. As a result, grandkids and grandparents had more opportunity to spend time together. Nowadays, senior citizens often live in assisted living communities when they need care. Instead of their families taking care of them, medical professionals do. The result is that children have less opportunity to spend time with senior citizens. More importantly, children are denied the wisdom of their grandparents. Grandparents also experience negative effects by this separation. They are being denied the company of youth. In turn, senior citizens can lose touch with the current world.

Which sentence from the paragraph supports the idea that young people suffer when they do not spend time with the elderly?

• "In turn, senior citizens can lose touch with the current world."

• "Instead of their families taking care of them, medical professionals do."

• "More importantly, children are denied the wisdom of their grandparents."

• "Grandparents also experience negative effects by this separation."

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

(1) After a few unsuccessful bids at having a singing career, Willie Nelson focused on being a songwriter. (2) He went on to write songs for many well-known country and pop musicians. (3) Nelson's success as a singer began in the 1970s. (4) His style of music became known as "Outlaw Country" because it did not conform to the standards of the country music coming out of Nashville at the time. (5) During the 70s, Nashville was producing boring music that offered the listener nothing new.

Which sentence supports the main idea of the passage the least?

• sentence 5

• sentence 1

• sentence 3

• sentence 2

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

A whale is different from a fish in many ways. One thing that makes a whale different is that it is a mammal. This means that it is similar to humans in that it needs air to breathe. Fish do not use air. They use their gills to breathe. This means that a whale has to come up for fresh air every few minutes. It holds its breath and can hold its breath for many minutes because of its large lungs.

Which sentence would best support the main idea?

• Sounding is the term used for whale diving.

• Being a mammal also means that whales are warm-blooded, and they have at least a few hairs on their bodies.

• Over 70 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises live in the world's oceans.

• A flipper or fluke slapping is when a whale slaps the water with its flipper or fluke.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.8.2