Finding Main Ideas (Series A)

Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachussets, by the name of James Naismith. Because of the terrible weather in winter, his physical education courses were indoors rather than outdoors. The students really hated the idea of boring, repetitive excercises and preferred the excitement and challenge of a game. Naismith figured out a team sport that could be played indoors on a gymnasium floor, that involved a lot of running, that kept all team members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and physical contact of American-style football.

What is the main idea of the passage? (A1)

• The life of James Naismith

• The history of sports

• Physical education and exercise

• The origin of basketball

• Basketball

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In the first half of the nineteenth century, a New York newspaper. The New York Sun, successfully carried out a hoax to the American public. Because of this trick, readership of the paper rose substantially.

On August 25, 1835, the Sun published reports that some wonderful new discoveries had been made on the moon. The article described strange, never-before-seen animals and temples covered in shining jewels. Many people were fooled by the story, including some prominent members of scientific community.

The effect of the false story on sales of the paper was dramatic. Paper sales increased considerably as people eagerly searched out details of the new discoveries. Later, the newspaper company announced that it had not been trying to trick the public; instead, the company explained the moon stories as a type of literary satire.

Which of the following best states the topic of the passage? (A2)

• A nineteenth-century discovery on the moon

• The New York Sun

• A hoax and its effect

• The success of a newspaper

• A newspaper called The New York Sun

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In the first half of the nineteenth century, a New York newspaper. The New York Sun, successfully carried out a hoax to the American public. Because of this trick, readership of the paper rose substantially.

On August 25, 1835, the Sun published reports that some wonderful new discoveries had been made on the moon. The article described strange, never-before-seen animals and temples covered in shining jewels. Many people were fooled by the story, including some prominent members of scientific community.

The effect of the false story on sales of the paper was dramatic. Paper sales increased considerably as people eagerly searched out details of the new discoveries. Later, the newspaper company announced that it had not been trying to trick the public; instead, the company explained the moon stories as a type of literary satire.

The main point of the passage is that... (A2)

• The New York Sun was one of the earliest American newspaper

• The Sun increased sales when it tricked the public with a false story

• A newspaper achieved success by writing about the moon

• In 1835 some amazing new dicoveries were made about the moon

• The newspaper drew public attention on the article about the hoax

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Most of the ice on the Earth, close to 90 percent of it, is covering the surface of the Antartica. It does not snow very much, but whatever snow does fall, it remains there and gets thicker and thicker. In some areas of the southern continent, the ice has possibly been around for as long as a million years and now is more than two miles thick.

The main idea of the passage is... (A3)

• The Earth is a cold planet

• Most of the Earth’s ice is found in Antartica

• It snows more in Antartica than in other places on Earth

• Antartica is only two miles wide but it consists 90% ice

• The ice in Antartica

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Most of the ice on the Earth, close to 90 percent of it, is covering the surface of the Antartica. It does not snow very much, but whatever snow does fall, it remains there and gets thicker and thicker. In some areas of the southern continent, the ice has possibly been around for as long as a million years and now is more than two miles thick.

The best title for the passage is...(A3)

• Snowfall in Antartica

• The Icy Earth

• The Cold, Cold Snow

• The Causes of Antartica’s Ice

• Ice on The Earth

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The term ‘primitive art’ has been used in a variety of ways to describe works and styles of art. One way that this term has been used is to describe the early period within the development of a certain style of art. Another way that this term has been used is to describe artists who have received little professional training and who demonstrate a non-traditional naiveté in their work.

A wonderful example of this second type of primitive artist is Grandma Moses, who spent all her life living in a farm and working at tasks normally associated with farm life. She did not begin painting until she reached the age of seventy-six, when she switched to painting from embroidery because the arthritis in her hands made embroidery too difficult. Totally without formal education in art, she began creating panoramic images of everyday life on the farm that have achieved international fame.

The subject of the second paragraph is... (A4)

• An example of one of the types of primitive art

• Grandma Moses life on the farm

• How primitive art differs from formal art

• Grandma Moses primitive lifestyle

• A wonderful example of artwork

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The term ‘primitive art’ has been used in a variety of ways to describe works and styles of art. One way that this term has been used is to describe the early period within the development of a certain style of art. Another way that this term has been used is to describe artists who have received little professional training and who demonstrate a non-traditional naiveté in their work.

A wonderful example of this second type of primitive artist is Grandma Moses, who spent all her life living in a farm and working at tasks normally associated with farm life. She did not begin painting until she reached the age of seventy-six, when she switched to painting from embroidery because the arthritis in her hands made embroidery too difficult. Totally without formal education in art, she began creating panoramic images of everyday life on the farm that have achieved international fame.

Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? (A4)

• Grandma Moses spent her life in a farm

• Art critics cannot come to any agreement on a definition of primitive art

• Grandma Moses is one type of primitive artist because of her lack of formal training

• Many artists receive little professional training

• Grandma Moses received professional training, but preferred living in a farm

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The extremely hot and humid weather that occurs in the United States in July and August is commonly called ‘dog days’ of summer. This name comes from the star Sirius, which is known as the Dog Star. Sirius is the brightest visible star, and in the hot summer months it rises in the east at appoximately the same time as the Sun. As ancient people saw this star rising with the Sun when the weather was at its hottest, they believed that Sirius was the cause of the additional heat; they believed that this bright star added its heat to the Sun’s and these two together made summer so unbearably hot.

The topic of the passage is... (A5)

• How dogs like to play during the summer

• The causes of hot and humid weather

• Why the hot summer days are known as the ‘dog days’

• The days that dogs prefer

• The heat caused by the Sun and stars

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The extremely hot and humid weather that occurs in the United States in July and August is commonly called ‘dog days’ of summer. This name comes from the star Sirius, which is known as the Dog Star. Sirius is the brightest visible star, and in the hot summer months it rises in the east at appoximately the same time as the Sun. As ancient people saw this star rising with the Sun when the weather was at its hottest, they believed that Sirius was the cause of the additional heat; they believed that this bright star added its heat to the Sun’s and these two together made summer so unbearably hot.

The main idea of the passage is that... (A5)

• The name for the summer days came from Sirius, the Dog star

• Dogs generally prefer hot summer days

• The hottest days occur in the summer because of the movements of the Sun and stars

• Sirius rises at almost the same time as the Sun during the summer

• Sirius is the cause of the additional heat

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Jan Dibbets may someday have his work revered as much as his Dutch predecessors: Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Rembrant. At a time when the trends in art are toward abstraction and minimalism, Dibbets’ work integrates these two disparate trends into one remarkable whole. In one series of composite works he arranged section of architectural photographs into rounded pattern. Then, with a pen and ink and water colors, he connected the segment together unto 360-degree circular forms blending the abstract with the real and the imagined. The imaginary images resemble the views of ceiling in gothic, baroque, and neo-classical as they might be seen from the ground floor.

What is the main topic of the passage? (A6)

• The life of Jan Dibbets

• New form of art created by Jan Dibbets

• An exhibit of abstract art

• Art that follows the style of Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Rembrant

• All great Dutch artists

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