Floods can cause tremendous damage. They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. It often leaves mud, sand and debris behind. It can take months to clean up after a flood.

What is the main idea?

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.

Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

Soccer is known in some countries as football. It is a popular sport across the world, with over 200 countries playing the sport. It is estimated that over 250 million people, both men and women, play soccer. The sport has been part of the Olympic games from 1900 to 1928 and from 1936 to today.

What is the main idea?

Which sentence suggests that Joanna rode her bike to school?

Dolphins are very smart animals. They even have their own language. They talk to each other with clicks, whistles, and grunts. Scientists have been studying this dolphin language. They hope that in the future, people and dolphins will be able to talk to each other. This paragraph mainly tells:

Darin and Gary had worked all winter down in the basement putting together a model radio controlled airplane. Darin instructed Gary how to make every part, but he allowed Gary to do all the work himself. Gary had to cut out all of the balsa wood parts, glue the pieces together and attach the special skin onto the wooden body of the plane. They even practiced flying a radio controlled model plane on a computer program. Darin drove them to a field to test out the plane. When they returned home, Gary came home crying with his plane in a box. He never worked on a model plane again.

How old do you think Gary is?

Before the United States was a country, it was a group of English colonies. Until 1793, England didn't really bother the American colonists. The people handled their business the way they wanted. However, England had a lot of war debts to pay. Some of the money was owed because England had defended the colonies in the French and Indian War. Citizens who were living in England wanted taxes to be lowered. The king decided to take more control over the colonies to get the money to pay off the debts. He started a new tax for the colonies. After being left to make their own decisions for so long, some of the colonists did not want to give up control They did not want to pay high taxes. Why did England start demanding taxes in America?

The Periodic Table of Elements

The list of elements is arranged on a scientific chart. The chart is called the periodic table. Each element is grouped with other similar elements. Elements can be metals, nonmetals, or semimetals. Semimetals have some of the characteristics of metals, and some of the characteristics of nonmetals. Metals, nonmetals, and semimetals each have their own section on the table. What are the different types of elements?

Animals in the forest have a wide variety of adaptations. Monkeys have long tails. They can use them almost like another hand. This helps them swing quickly through the tops of trees. They can even do this while holding their babies or gathering food. Giraffes need to reach leaves at the tops of tall trees. Having a long neck is an adaptation that allows them to do this. How do monkeys use their tails as an adaptation?

Living things adapt to their environment so they can survive. An organism adapts when it develops a behavior that makes it more likely to survive. It can also adapt by forming a physical characteristic or body part that helps it survive. What does the word adapt mean in the first sentence?

All spiders spin webs. That's because webs help spiders. Webs help spiders do three things. Webs help spiders hold eggs. Webs help spiders hide and webs help spiders catch food. Webs help spiders hold eggs. Many spiders like to lay their eggs in their webs. The webs help keep the eggs together. Webs help spiders keep their eggs safe. Webs help spiders hide. Most spiders are dark. They are brown, grey, or black. But spider webs are light. They are white and cloudy. When spiders hide in their webs, they are harder to see. Webs help spiders catch food. Spider webs are sticky. When a bug flies into the web, it gets stuck. It moves around. It tries to get out. But it can't. It is trapped! Spiders can tell that the bug is trapped. That's because spiders feel the web move and the spider is hungry. The spider goes to get the bug. As you can see, webs help spiders hold eggs. Webs help spiders hide and webs help spiders catch food. Without webs, spiders would not be able to live like they do. Spiders need their webs to survive!

This passage is mostly about

Every day after work Paul took his muddy boots off on the steps of the front porch. Alice would have a fit if the boots made it so far as the welcome mat. He then took off his dusty overalls and threw them into a plastic garbage bag; Alice left a new garbage bag tied to the porch railing for him every morning. On his way in the house, he dropped the garbage bag off at the washing machine and went straight up the stairs to the shower as he was instructed. He would eat dinner with her after he was “presentable,” as Alice had often said. What type of job did Paul have?

Despite the relative reluctance of Americans to adopt it, soccer is the most popular sport in the world and has been for several decades. Soccer, which is called "football" in most places, has few rules compared with such sports as baseball. Also, in contrast to baseball and American football, soccer games have few pauses in the action. Soccer scores aren't as high as scores are in American sports, but many people consider that an exciting feature of the game, because the occasional goals are that much more thrilling.

Which of the following is true of the paragraph?

As I walked in the door, I was amazed at the beautiful colors and smells. I knew it would be hard to decide what I would buy with my $3. The chocolate truffles looked delicious, but they were expensive. The jelly beans were not only cheaper, but so colorful! With so much to choose from, I knew I would be here a long time. Where am I?

College tuitions are soaring, leaving many parents wondering if they will be able to afford higher education for their children. Cutbacks in government aid combined with skyrocketing tuition are making it unfeasible even for families of moderate wealth to fully fund their children's educations. In America, people say that you can be anything you want to be. But getting an education is crucial if you hope to achieve the American dream.

With which of the following statements would the author of this passage most likely agree?

College tuitions are soaring, leaving many parents wondering if they will be able to afford higher education for their children. Cutbacks in government aid combined with skyrocketing tuition are making it unfeasible even for families of moderate wealth to fully fund their children's educations. In America, people say that you can be anything you want to be. But getting an education is crucial if you hope to achieve the American dream.

In sentence 2, the word "unfeasible" means

When television writers get stuck for ideas, they always seem to turn to the same old gimmicks. One such gimmick is to get the main characters stuck somewhere, perhaps in an elevator, on an island, or on a plane that is going down. The plot always unfolds in the same way: the characters reveal all sorts of intimate information, only to be rescued before the show ends. Perhaps the most overused gimmick is the introduction of a celebrity into the cast of characters as someone's relative or love interest. This move is a sure sign that the writers and producers have run out of fresh material.

Which of the following conclusions can be based on the passage?

When television writers get stuck for ideas, they always seem to turn to the same old gimmicks. One such gimmick is to get the main characters stuck somewhere, perhaps in an elevator, on an island, or on a plane that is going down. The plot always unfolds in the same way: the characters reveal all sorts of intimate information, only to be rescued before the show ends. Perhaps the most overused gimmick is the introduction of a celebrity into the cast of characters as someone's relative or love interest. This move is a sure sign that the writers and producers have run out of fresh material.

Which of the following inferences can be made based on the passage?

When television writers get stuck for ideas, they always seem to turn to the same old gimmicks. One such gimmick is to get the main characters stuck somewhere, perhaps in an elevator, on an island, or on a plane that is going down. The plot always unfolds in the same way: the characters reveal all sorts of intimate information, only to be rescued before the show ends. Perhaps the most overused gimmick is the introduction of a celebrity into the cast of characters as someone's relative or love interest. This move is a sure sign that the writers and producers have run out of fresh material.

Which of the following inferences can be made based on the passage?

The Barton County School District plant to launch a new program for evaluating its teachers. BCSD is hoping that its pilot program can serve as a prototype for other districts across the state and even across the country. The committee wants its evaluation program to measure a teacher's knowledge of his or her subject matter, effectiveness in the classroom, and demeanor in and out of the classroom.

Which of the following will not be measured by the BCSD teacher evaluation program?

Blood is a miracle liquid. It flows to every part of the body. Some blood cells carry food and oxygen to body organs. Other blood cells kill germs and help stop cuts from bleeding. People can die if they lose a lot of blood or if their blood cells get sick. Doctors sometimes give people fresh blood to save their lives. This paragraph mainly tells:

Some people say that the White House has ghosts. The most famous ghost is Abraham Lincoln. He is often seen standing in his room looking out the window. Even Eleanor Roosevelt said that she saw him. There is a legend that old Abe walks back and forth all night before something terrible is about to happen. This paragraph mainly tells:

People do not really use music to charm snakes. Snakes have no ears, so the snake can't hear a flute. The snake charmer startles the snake by waving a hand near it. The snake lifts its head to look around. The charmer then says back and forth or moves the flute. The snake moves its head to keep an eye on the movement. This paragraph mainly tells:

Two young people set up an amazing domino tumble. They used more than a quarter of a million dominoes. They worked five weeks to arrange the little blocks in long rows, circles, and other patterns. It took almost an hour for all the dominoes to fall. But there were some fancy tricks in this clever show. The dominoes pushed eggs into hot frying pans and even set off rockets! This paragraph mainly tells:

Have you ever heard of a flea market? It's a shopping place where people may find bargain prices. Many markets are held outdoors. There are all kinds of surprise goodies for sale. A flea market can be a real adventure! This paragraph mainly tells:

A bat can fly at night or even with its eyes closed. But if you cover its ears, it can't fly very well. Bats make sounds that people can't hear. The bats find their way by listening to these sounds as they echo off things. Bats even locate insects to eat by following the sounds that bounce off the bugs. People use their eyes, but bats use their ears to know where they're going. This paragraph mainly tells:

Most children have an interest in learning to play a musical instrument at one point or another during their growing-up years. Parents need to take advantage of that urge to play when it appears. Some very small children become intrigued with music because they see their parents or their older siblings play. The Suzuki method of instruction capitalizes on that early willingness to learn by involving the parent and the child in the child’s instructions. Elementary-aged youngsters often are exposed to stringed instruments or band instruments in their school music classes. Because kids like to do what other kids do, parents who are not musicians themselves can take advantage of both instruction and enthusiasm. It is at the middle school level, however, that peer pressure can really work to the benefit of parents who want to hear the sound of music around the house.

What is the Main Idea?