WorksheetsSummarising (Finding the Main Idea)
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 2hrs 15mins
The Summary of this passage is:
The Elk River flows from the far northern part of the state all the way to the southern tip. All kinds of animals rely on it for drinking water, people eat the fish they catch in it, and farmers in the state depend on it for irrigating their crops. Since there is very little rain in this state, the Elk River gives animals and humans the water they need to stay alive. Even though the river is not nearly the biggest in the nation, it is very important to the people and animals that live near it.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?
The Summary of this passage is:
The Summary of this passage is:
Read the following passage:
There was a time in history when humans did not have the means to create fire. In the early history of the world, nature had to kindle all the fires, for humans were unable to produce a spark. The first method of getting fire was to light sticks of wood at a flame started by nature– by a volcano, perhaps, or by a stroke of lightning. These firebrands were carried home and used to kindle fires there. The fire had to be carefully guarded and kept burning as long as possible. Unfortunately, no matter how closely the flame was watched, it would sometimes go out. A sudden gust of wind or rain-shower would extinguish it. If the flame stopped burning, a new flame would have to be secured, which often meant a long journey and a great deal of trouble.
Which is the best summary for the passage above?
The only way that man could have fire is by getting it from a natural occurrence, like lightning or a volcano. The fire had to be watched, because if it went out, it wasn’t easy to light a new one.
A long time ago, man had to get fire from a natural occurrence, such as lightning or a volcano. The fire had to be brought home and used to light smaller fires there.
Long ago, nature had to create all of the fires, because man could not. A fire had to be brought home from far away and had to be kept burning, because it was difficult to get a new one.
Read the following passage:
There was once a boy who kept sheep not far from the village. He would often become bored and to amuse himself he would call out, "Wolf! Wolf," although there was no wolf about.
The villagers would stop what they were doing and run to save the sheep from the wolf's jaw. Once they arrived at the pasture, the boy just laughed. The naughty boy played this joke over and over until the villagers tired of him.
One day while the boy was watching the sheep, a wolf did come into the fold. The boy cried and cried, "Wolf! Wolf!"
No one came. The wolf had a feast of sheep that day.
Which is the best summary for the passage above?
The boy watching the sheep was bored. When the wolf came, he couldn’t save the sheep from the wolf.
The boy watching over the sheep often lied about seeing a wolf. When there really was a wolf, the villagers didn’t believe him, so many sheep were killed.
The villagers didn’t believe the boy, so the wolf ended up eating the sheep.
Summarize the following paragraph: While the benefit of a clinically appropriate X-ray imaging exam generally far outweighs the risk, efforts should be made to minimize this risk by reducing unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation. To help reduce risk to the patient, all exams using ionizing radiation should be performed only when necessary to answer a medical question, treat a disease, or guide a procedure. If there is a medical need for a particular imaging procedure and other exams using no or less radiation are less appropriate, then the benefits exceed the risks, and radiation risk considerations should not influence the physician’s decision to perform the study or the patient's decision to have the procedure. However, the "As Low as Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA) principle should always be followed when choosing equipment settings to minimize radiation exposure to the patient.
The risk of a x-ray radiation leading to cancer should be a consideration.
Because x-ray radiation is risky, it should only be used as a last resort
X-rays are useful medical tools but due to the radiation, should be used on the lowest settings possible to limit exposure.
There are benefits and drawbacks to using x-rays as a medical tool.
Choose the best "main topic" for the passage below:
Medical imaging has led to improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous medical conditions in children and adults.
There are many types - or modalities - of medical imaging procedures, each of which uses different technologies and techniques. Computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, and radiography ("conventional X-ray") all use ionizing radiation to generate images of the body. Ionizing radiation is a form of radiation that has enough energy to potentially cause damage to DNA and may elevate a person’s lifetime risk of developing cancer.
CT, radiography, and fluoroscopy all work on the same basic principle: an X-ray beam is passed through the body where a portion of the X-rays are either absorbed or scattered by the internal structures, and the remaining X-ray pattern is transmitted to a detector (e.g., film or a computer screen) for recording or further processing by a computer.
Medical imaging has benefited children and adults
When a medical x-ray beam is aimed at a body part, the different tissues and bones in the body absorb or scatter the x-rays in different way and the remaining x-rays are transmitted onto a film or detector.
There are three types of medical imaging that uses x-ray radiation: CT, radiography, and flouroscopy.
X-ray radiation has enough energy to potentially cause damage to DNA, increasing the risk of cancer in patients.
The storm that blew through Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped buckets of rain before turning more severe. Between 9 PM and 1 AM, Wichita Airport reported six inches of rain. Reports from residents in surrounding counties recorded the rainfall up as high as eight inches in the same time period. Reports of tornados were not correct. However, very strong winds were experienced all over the area.
Around 11 PM, some residents on the western edge of the city reported large hail. The hail was originally reported to be the size of dimes or nickels. Within an hour, reports were received describing hail the size of golf balls or tennis balls. Millions of dollars in damage are expected to be announced. This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses at several local car dealerships.
Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
The severe storm last night in Wichita, Kansas, brought hail that caused millions of dollars in damage and reports of tornadoes that were not correct.
Last night's severe storm caused millions of dollars in damage including hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at local car dealerships.
The severe storm that struck Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped between six and eight inches of rain and caused millions of dollars in damage.
A severe storm in Wichita, Kansas, last night brought strong wind, rain, and hail that caused millions of dollars in damage.
Bathing has been a part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years. However, bathing has not always been a common practice in the United States. Some early-19th century Americans believed that taking a bath was bad for their health. At the same time, other people were beginning to learn about the benefits of bathing. As they learned that bathing could help prevent the spread of disease, they demanded more clean water. Cities across the country heard this demand and began building water and sewer systems. Cities made water and sewer services available to the people who could pay for them. Because of this, most water and sewer lines were located in wealthy neighborhoods. By the middle of the century, many wealthy people had indoor plumbing. It would be many years before indoor plumbing was made available to people in poorer neighborhoods.
Which of the following best summarizes this passage?
Bathing has been a part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years. People started to demand more clean water after they began learning about the benefits of bathing during the 19th century. Water and sewer lines were built in American cities.
There was a time when people did not bathe regularly. People did not know that bathing could prevent diseases from spreading. Then, people started to demand clean water. Cities had to build water and sewer systems in the richest neighborhoods first.
Bathing has not always been a common practice in the United States. In the 19th century, people found out that bathing helps prevent the spread of disease. Cities built water and sewer systems. Wealthy people had better access to indoor plumbing.
About two hundred years ago, people used to think that bathing was bad for their health. Cities across the country started to build water and sewer systems to prevent the spread of disease. It was many years before poorer neighborhoods got plumbing.
. Many places will have record levels of pollen this spring. This is just one reason Americans are expected to spend $4.7 billion this year on prescription allergy medicines. The top three medications are Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec. A new study finds that almost two-thirds of those people who take these drugs do not need them.
"It is very obvious to anyone in the allergy field that many patients are being misdiagnosed," said Dr. Beth Corn. Corn is an allergist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
Which statement best summarizes this passage?
Americans are expected to spend billions of dollars on allergy medication. Many of these people taking the medicine do not actually need it.
Dr. Beth Corn is an allergist in New York. She works at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She often gives her patients Zyrtec, Allegra, and Claritin.
Americans could spend well over $4 billion this year on different allergy medications. Zyrtec, Claritin, and Allegra are three kinds of medication.
Record amounts of pollen aggravate the allergies of people each year. Some people take Claritin, while others take Allegra to ease their allergies.
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
Jet lag is a problem suffered by many flight attendants, pilots, and frequent flyers. When people travel rapidly across numerous time zones, as they do when flying long distances, they sometimes develop a condition called jet lag. These long trips disturb normal body rhythms. After a trip, travelers may have trouble falling asleep at night and staying awake during the day. Experts advise travelers flying eastbound to go to bed later than usual before traveling and those flying west to go to bed earlier than usual. These changes should help minimize the effects of jet lag.
Which statement best summarizes this paragraph?
Flight attendants, pilots, and frequent flyers often suffer jet lag. Experts have many tips for travelers that will help prevent jet lag.
Jet lag is a problem for people who fly a lot. To prevent jet lag, people can change the time they go to sleep before they take a trip.
People who suffer jet lag have trouble falling asleep and staying awake. This is because people's body rhythms get thrown off by travel.
Long-distance travel is unsafe because of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag happens when people travel across many time zones.
In the mountainous rain forest of Peru sits one of the world's greatest treasures: Machu Picchu. Known as the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is an ancient stone village built sometime in the 1400s. When the Spanish conquered the Incan empire, they missed Machu Picchu. It was too well hidden in the jungle. The Incas abandoned the city, but it was not destroyed. Eventually, the jungle grew over the city, and the city was forgotten for over 400 years.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham was led to Machu Picchu by Peruvian natives. Bingham was a historian at Yale University in the United States. Though the jungle had taken over, Bingham knew that he had found something spectacular. He led the excavation and restoration of the city and took away many items for study.
The architecture is what Machu Picchu is most known for. The buildings were constructed of heavy stones brought from far below up to the top of the mountain. They were designed according to the location of the Sun, stars, and the Moon at certain times of the year. A visit to Machu Picchu amazes most visitors, thinking about the abilities of such an ancient civilization.
Which of these is the best summary of the first paragraph?
Machu Picchu was not conquered by Spanish invaders because of its location, but it was later abandoned by the Incas.
Machu Picchu is an important treasure that was built in the 1400s high in the mountains of Peru and was lost in the jungle.
Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city in Peru that was abandoned, overlooked by invaders, and lost for over 400 years.
Machu Picchu was forgotten for over 400 years because it was so well hidden in the mountains and jungle.
Walker Evans was a photographer. He is best known for the photographs he took while working for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression. His photos documented the effects of the Dust Bowl on average Americans. Evans’ best photographs do not include images that people often find in many Dust Bowl photographs. There are no dirty, starving children. There are no sad adults who look as though they have lost the will to live. There are no families gathered in filthy, collapsing shacks. Instead, people see something that is often missing from Dust Bowl photographs: dignity.
Evans does not use his art to enforce ideas. He does not use his art to show that the people he takes pictures of are different from the people who see the pictures at museums. He uses his photographs to show the dignity of his subjects to the viewer. He shows his subjects’ run-down shacks for what they are—simple, well-kept homes. He does this to remind the viewer that shacks may look different, but they are similar to the viewer’s home. The families who live in these shacks are similar to the viewer’s own family.
What is the best summary of this passage?
Walker Evans was a photographer who worked for the U.S. government. He used his camera to document the effects that the Dust Bowl had on families across America.
Walker Evans worked as a photographer during the Great Depression. He took photographs of the effects of the Dust Bowl on people. His pictures were very popular.
Walker Evans used his camera to document the Dust Bowl. He took pictures of poor people. His photographs have a lot in common with the work of other photographers.
Walker Evans was a photographer who photographed the effects of the Dust Bowl. In his photographs, he focuses on how people kept their dignity during hard times.
