Main Ideas, Themes

Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

If you’re a fitness walker, there is no need for a commute to a health club. Your neighborhood can be your health club. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to get a good workout either. All you need is a well-designed pair of athletic shoes.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• a membership in a health club is a poor investment.

• walking outdoors provides a better workout than walking indoors.

• fitness walking is a convenient and valuable form of exercise.

• poorly designed athletic shoes can cause major foot injuries.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

One New York publisher has estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people in the United States want an anthology that includes the complete works of William Shakespeare. And what accounts for this renewed interest in Shakespeare? As scholars point out, the psychological insights he portrays in both male and female characters are amazing even today.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• a. Shakespeare’s characters are more interesting than fictional characters today.

• people today are interested in Shakespeare’s work because of the characters.

• academic scholars are putting together an anthology of Shakespeare’s work.

• New Yorkers have a renewed interested in the work of Shakespeare.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

Critical reading is a demanding process. To read critically, you must slow down your reading and, with pencil in hand, perform specific operations on the text. Mark up the text with your reactions, conclusions, and questions. When you read, become an active participant.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• critical reading is a slow, dull, but essential process.

• the best critical reading happens at critical times in a person’s life.

• readers should get in the habit of questioning the truth of what they read.

• critical reading requires thoughtful and careful attention.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

There are no effective boundaries when it comes to pollutants. Studies have shown that toxic insecticides that have been banned in many countries are riding the wind from countries where they remain legal. Compounds such as DDT and toxaphene have been found in remote places like the Yukon and other Arctic regions.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• toxic insecticides such as DDT have not been banned throughout the world.

• more pollutants find their way into polar climates than they do into warmer areas.

• studies have proven that many countries have ignored their own anti-pollution laws.

• DDT and toxaphene are the two most toxic insecticides in the world.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. No search of a person’s home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted.

This paragraph best supports the statement that the police cannot search a person’s home or private papers unless they have ...

• legal authorization.

• direct evidence of a crime.

• read the person his or her constitutional rights.

• a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

Mathematics allows us to expand our consciousness. Mathematics tells us about economic trends, patterns of disease, and the growth of populations. Math is good at exposing the truth, but it can also perpetuate misunderstandings and untruths. Figures have the power to mislead people.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• words are more truthful than figures.

• the study of mathematics is more important than other disciplines.

• the power of numbers is that they cannot lie.

• figures are sometimes used to deceive people.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

Human technology developed from the first stone tools about two and a half million years ago. In the beginning, the rate of development was slow. Hundreds of thousands of years passed without much change. Today, new technologies are reported daily on television and in newspapers.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• stone tools were not really technology.

• stone tools were in use for two and a half million years.

• there is no way to know when stone tools first came into use.

• in today’s world, new technologies are constantly being developed.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

Today’s postal service is more efficient than ever. Mail that once took months to move by horse and foot now moves around the country in days or hours by truck, train, and plane. If your letter or package is urgent, the U.S. Postal Service offers Priority Mail and Express Mail services. Priority Mail is guaranteed to go anywhere in the United States in two days or less. Express Mail will get your package there overnight.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• Express Mail is a good way to send urgent mail.

• Priority Mail usually takes two days or less.

• mail service today is more effective and dependable.

• mail was once delivered by horse and foot.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

Reality TV shows will have an adverse effect on traditional dramas and comedies. As Reality TV increases in popularity, network executives will begin canceling more traditional programs and replacing them with the latest in Reality TV.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• Reality TV is low quality.

• Reality TV shows get the highest ratings.

• more and more people love to watch and participate in Reality TV.

• as Reality TV gets more popular, more traditional television shows may be threatened.

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Read the following paragraph and carefully determine what the main idea is.

When writing business letters or memos, it’s not practical to be personal. Though the first-person point of view may make the reader feel close to the writer, it also implies a certain subjectivity. That is, the writer is expressing a personal view from a personal perspective.

This paragraph best supports the statement that ...

• effective business writing is one of the most important skills to have in an office environment.

• using the first-person point of view in business correspondence is not a wise choice.

• the first-person point of view expresses a personal view and a personal perspective.

• the first-person point of view is appropriate when writing a letter of thanks.

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