Reading Comprehension Main Ideas

Respuesta correcta: B) Mangroves were cleared for construction and the coast is now eroding

• A) Developers should be allowed to build on any landThe text reports a consequence without taking a position on what developers should be allowed to do.
• B) Mangroves were cleared for construction and the coast is now erodingThe text names the clearing of the mangroves and the consequence for the shoreline, and those two facts make up the whole argument.
• C) Hotels on the coast are more expensive than those inlandNo price of any hotel appears in the text, so the sentence adds information that is not there.
• D) Shorelines always change shape over long periodsThe general statement is true but it does not capture what this particular text is about.

Respuesta correcta: A) The recorded fall in bee colonies

• A) The recorded fall in bee coloniesThe decline in colonies is the piece of evidence that connects pollination to the risk described in the text.
• B) The fact that bees live in coloniesLiving in colonies is background knowledge about bees and does not appear as a claim in the text.
• C) The variety of crops people cultivateThe text mentions crops that are eaten daily but does not list or classify varieties.
• D) The number of people who eat food every dayThe number of eaters is not mentioned anywhere in the text.

Respuesta correcta: A) The cycle lane was followed by lower traffic and more visitors to local shops

• A) The cycle lane was followed by lower traffic and more visitors to local shopsBoth results named in the text follow from the building of the lane, and the text presents them together as an outcome.
• B) Cars were banned from the town centre after 2018Nothing in the text mentions a ban; a fall in numbers is not the same as a prohibition.
• C) The town decided to build more bicycle lanes in other districtsThe text reports one intervention and its results without announcing future plans.
• D) Local shops suffered because fewer people drove to themThe shops reported more customers, which is the opposite of the last option.

Respuesta correcta: C) The second sentence contrasts with the first

• A) The second sentence repeats the first in other wordsA restatement would use 'in other words', and the sentence adds new information rather than repeating.
• B) The second sentence lists a final conclusionA conclusion would gather the whole paragraph, and this sentence continues the argument instead.
• C) The second sentence contrasts with the first'However' introduces a contrast, and the contrast between salary and interest is what the paragraph is built on.
• D) The second sentence gives an example of the firstAn example would be introduced by 'for example', which does not appear here.

Respuesta correcta: D) Which subject students would choose to give up

• A) How well students performed in historyNo grades or performance data are mentioned anywhere in the text.
• B) How many students wanted to study historyThe twelve per cent figure shows who wanted to keep the subject, which is the reverse question.
• C) Why students found history difficultThe text gives no reasons for the students' preferences.
• D) Which subject students would choose to give upThe survey asked which subject to drop, so its result concerns willingness to give a subject up.

Respuesta correcta: C) A large share of the food bought in the country is thrown away, mostly in homes.

• A) The organisation published a report about food.The report is mentioned but nothing in the sentence carries the finding it contains.
• B) Households in the country buy less food than they need.The text says food is wasted, not that households buy more than they need.
• C) A large share of the food bought in the country is thrown away, mostly in homes.The option combines the two findings of the report, which is what a main idea must do.
• D) Restaurants waste more food than private homes do.The text states the opposite, since most of the waste occurs in private homes.

Respuesta correcta: B) The library offers a wider range of services and receives many more visitors

• A) Visitors now arrive only to see the exhibitionExhibition is one of several services, not the only reason visitors come.
• B) The library offers a wider range of services and receives many more visitorsBoth the increase in visitors and the added services appear in the text and follow from the move.
• C) The library has stopped lending books to the publicLending is listed among the services the library now offers, so the sentence contradicts the text.
• D) The old building was sold to pay for the new oneNothing in the text mentions the sale of the old building.

Respuesta correcta: B) Two opposing views on the same question

• A) A step-by-step guide for parentsThere is no instruction aimed at parents anywhere in the passage.
• B) Two opposing views on the same questionThe two sentences present a view and its opposite, joined by the explicit contrast between them.
• C) A chronological account of a school policyNo dates or sequence of events appear in the text.
• D) A description of the benefits of one optionThe text gives one advantage and one disadvantage, so it does not promote a single option.

Respuesta correcta: C) Four consecutive years of rainfall below average, which lowered the reservoirs

• A) The fact that restrictions had never been applied beforeThe novelty of the measure is a fact about the past, not a cause of the restriction.
• B) The presence of water in the northern provinceRainfall rather than the presence of water explains why usage was limited.
• C) Four consecutive years of rainfall below average, which lowered the reservoirsThe low rainfall is the cause; the reservoir level and the restrictions are both consequences of it.
• D) The record low reached by the reservoir in MarchThe reservoir level is the immediate consequence of the drought, not the cause of the decision.

Respuesta correcta: C) The driver stopped an overcrowded bus and the company split the group between two vehicles.

• A) Passengers complained about a four-hour delay to the departure.The delay is mentioned as a consequence and is not the main event of the text.
• B) Tour buses in the region are frequently found to be over capacity.The text describes one specific incident and makes no claim about how often the problem occurs.
• C) The driver stopped an overcrowded bus and the company split the group between two vehicles.The summary contains both central facts, the refusal and the replacement of the bus, without adding anything absent from the text.
• D) The bus company failed to provide enough vehicles for a tour group.The summary is plausible but shifts the emphasis to company failure, which the text does not claim.

Respuesta correcta: D) The researchers have not yet proved their explanation of the pattern

• A) The sensor network has already ended the pollution in the riverThe text reports improved readings after rain but never claims the pollution has ended.
• B) Heavy rain always improves the quality of water everywhereGeneralising from one river to everywhere is not supported by any sentence in the text.
• C) River quality has got worse every year since 2021The pattern described is an improvement after rain, not a year-on-year decline.
• D) The researchers have not yet proved their explanation of the patternThe word 'suspect' signals a hypothesis that has not been confirmed, which is exactly what an inference should reflect.

Respuesta correcta: A) The cause has not been established

• A) The cause has not been establishedPresenting two competing explanations without choosing between them tells the reader the question is still open.
• B) The first explanation has been proved correctThe text gives no verdict, so the first explanation is not presented as proved.
• C) The maintenance of the building was the only relevant factorThe second explanation is one of two options rather than the single relevant factor.
• D) Historians rarely study events of this kindThe passage shows historians engaged with the event, not avoiding it.

Respuesta correcta: A) A visitor who wants to be certain of entry should book online in advance.

• A) A visitor who wants to be certain of entry should book online in advance.Because the booking window shuts at nine that morning, booking earlier is the only way to guarantee a place.
• B) Visitors can book online at any hour of the day of the visit.The stated closing time contradicts the claim that booking is possible at any hour.
• C) Free admission is available every Sunday of the month.The free day is the first Sunday, not every Sunday of the month.
• D) Online booking removes the need to arrive early on the first Sunday.The restriction on the online window remains, so booking does not remove the need for planning ahead.

Respuesta correcta: C) Sleep improved for all eleven athletes while technique improved for ten, with training time unchanged.

• A) The researchers found that sleep improved for ten athletes and technique for all eleven.The numbers are swapped: all eleven reported better sleep.
• B) The study showed that more training produced better sleep.The study reports no link between training time and sleep, since training hours did not change.
• C) Sleep improved for all eleven athletes while technique improved for ten, with training time unchanged.The option keeps the two different numbers and the unchanged training hours exactly as the text states them.
• D) All eleven athletes changed both their technique and their training hours.No athlete changed training hours, and ten rather than eleven improved technique.

Respuesta correcta: D) It has not been abandoned and may return in a revised form

• A) It has been permanently rejected by the committeeWithdrawal is not rejection; the authors gave a reason and the committee planned further steps.
• B) It will be voted on again next month without changesThe text says nothing about a vote next month, and a consultation would come first.
• C) The public has already approved the proposalThe consultation has not yet taken place, so no public approval exists.
• D) It has not been abandoned and may return in a revised formThe intention to consult the public and present it again indicates the authors expect to return to it.

Respuesta correcta: D) They cover the same event from different angles

• A) They contradict each other about the cause of the shortageThe second report contains no claim about the cause, so there is nothing to contradict.
• B) The second report corrects an error in the firstNo correction is mentioned, and a correction would require the second text to name the error.
• C) The first report is an editorial and the second is an advertisementNothing in the description marks either piece as an editorial or an advertisement.
• D) They cover the same event from different anglesThe common subject with different content shows two angles on a single event.

Respuesta correcta: D) The claim is broader than the evidence provided supports

• A) The claim is fully supported because the commuter is a real witnessThe presence of a real witness does not make the evidence sufficient for a general claim.
• B) The argument should be rejected because one interview is always worthlessWeighing evidence is about adequacy rather than worthlessness, and one interview is not nothing.
• C) The text should be read as a neutral summary of both sidesThe author defends one position, so the text is argumentative rather than a neutral summary.
• D) The claim is broader than the evidence provided supportsA general prediction about traffic requires more than one interview, so the evidence and the claim do not match in scale.

Respuesta correcta: A) By marking it explicitly as an opinion

• A) By marking it explicitly as an opinionThe phrase 'in our opinion' and the attribution to the writers both mark the claim as their own judgement.
• B) By giving the statement a dateA date fixes when something was said and does not convert opinion into fact.
• C) By placing it in the final paragraphPosition in the text has no effect on whether a statement is verifiable.
• D) By attributing it to a named expertAttribution to the writers themselves, rather than to an expert, is what makes the claim personal.

Respuesta correcta: B) The aim and the result can be judged without reading the method section

• A) The result depends only on the aim, not on the methodThe method is what supports the result, so the last option misrepresents the logic of research.
• B) The aim and the result can be judged without reading the method sectionPlacing the two decisive elements at the ends lets a reader assess relevance before investing time in the details.
• C) The method section is short and can be skipped entirelyThe method is described in detail, so the text does not suggest it can be skipped.
• D) The abstract repeats the full argument of the paperAn abstract is a summary, not a reproduction of the whole argument.

Respuesta correcta: B) The summary that repeats the other sources

• A) The source that gives personal impressionsImpressions add colour rather than data, but they may still contain timing information; the summary by definition carries nothing original.
• B) The summary that repeats the other sourcesA summary that adds nothing cannot contribute information the reader has not already obtained elsewhere.
• C) The source that gives datesA source with dates is exactly what a question about timing requires.
• D) The source that gives numbersFigures support a factual question about the size or frequency of the event.