Reading Main Idea

Respuesta correcta: A) A volunteer project changed the river bank

• A) A volunteer project changed the river bankBoth sentences describe the same project and the change it produced, which is the central idea.
• B) Plastic and glass are dangerous for riversThat is a general claim the text never makes; it only mentions the collection of waste.
• C) Local schools dislike planting treesThe text shows the opposite: the schools took part in the planting effort.
• D) Spring is the best season for plantingThe season is mentioned once and is not the point the text develops.

Respuesta correcta: B) The library lends books and organises reading clubs

• A) Reading clubs are more useful than borrowing booksThe text describes both without ranking them, so this adds a judgement it does not make.
• B) The library lends books and organises reading clubsThis names both activities the text describes, which is what a main idea must do.
• C) Saturdays are busy at the libraryThat is a single detail about one day rather than the idea the whole text supports.
• D) Libraries should not lend books on SaturdaysThe text gives no recommendation of that kind, so this contradicts the information.

Respuesta correcta: C) Ana keeps a daily morning routine with her dog

• A) The park is empty in the early morningThe text says she knows the regulars, which implies the opposite of an empty park.
• B) Ana dislikes walking in the parkKnowing the regulars by name suggests she enjoys the routine, which is the opposite.
• C) Ana keeps a daily morning routine with her dogThe habit of three years is the point of the passage, and both sentences support it.
• D) Dogs should not be walked before schoolThe text makes no comment on whether the habit is appropriate.

Respuesta correcta: D) The school managed to use less water

• A) Water is a natural resourceThat is a general fact stated anywhere, not the specific point the text develops.
• B) Students should wash less oftenNo such recommendation appears; the text reports measures the school took itself.
• C) Schools in the region use a lot of waterThat would be a generalisation about many schools rather than this one's achievement.
• D) The school managed to use less waterThe purpose of such a text is to report a change achieved, which is the central idea.

Respuesta correcta: D) 'Solar panels now supply the school's electricity'

• A) 'The panels were installed in April by a local company'The date and the company support the main point but do not constitute it themselves.
• B) 'The roof of the building was rebuilt'This is a background fact about the building that does not express the point of the text.
• C) 'The school has about six hundred students'The number of students is context, not the central message about the panels.
• D) 'Solar panels now supply the school's electricity'This statement carries the purpose of the whole text and is not limited to one part of it.

Respuesta correcta: C) Roads were closed to keep fans safe on the way to the stadium

• A) Thousands of fans came to the stadium that dayThat is a fact mentioned in passing, not the point the sentence is serving.
• B) Cars are dangerous in city centresThe text does not generalise about cars; it reports one specific measure on one occasion.
• C) Roads were closed to keep fans safe on the way to the stadiumThe action and its purpose are stated in one sentence, which makes it the central point.
• D) The stadium should be moved out of the cityNo such proposal appears anywhere in the text.

Respuesta correcta: B) The topic names the subject; the main idea states what is said about it

• A) They are two words for exactly the same thing.The topic is narrower than the claim the text makes, so they are not identical.
• B) The topic names the subject; the main idea states what is said about itA topic is broad and a main idea is a complete claim about that subject.
• C) The main idea is always the title of the text.A title often hints at the topic, but the main idea is a statement, not a title.
• D) A text has a main idea but never a topic.Every text has a topic; the main idea is the extra step of stating a claim.

Respuesta correcta: A) Small farmers changed their methods for better results

• A) Small farmers changed their methods for better resultsThe cause and its two effects together form the central point of the passage.
• B) Chemical fertilisers should be banned everywhereThe text reports a change of practice, not a general prohibition it advocates.
• C) Farming is the most important activity in a countryThat broad claim is not made anywhere in the passage.
• D) Soil exhaustion is impossible to repairThe passage shows the opposite, since the harvests improved after the change.

Respuesta correcta: B) The text explains how the old theatre was restored

• A) The roof of the theatre leaked for yearsThis covers only one part of the text and would leave the rest unexplained.
• B) The text explains how the old theatre was restoredEvery part of the text would contribute to that explanation, which is the test of a main idea.
• C) The city restored several old buildingsThis is broader than the text and would not identify what this particular text is about.
• D) Restoration work can be very expensiveThat is a general comment the text does not necessarily make at all.

Respuesta correcta: D) Adding tablets brought older readers to the library

• A) Printed books are no longer worth readingThe library kept its printed books, so the text does not argue for abandoning them.
• B) Tablets are cheaper than printed booksNo comparison of cost appears anywhere in the passage.
• C) Elderly people cannot learn to use new technologyThe text shows them using the tablets with ease, which contradicts the claim.
• D) Adding tablets brought older readers to the libraryThe change and its effect on visitors form the connected central point.

Respuesta correcta: C) Planting trees lowered the temperature along the avenue

• A) Avenues are usually wider than side streetsThe sentence compares widths, which the text never discusses.
• B) Summer is hotter than every other seasonThe text mentions only one summer and makes no such comparison.
• C) Planting trees lowered the temperature along the avenueThe action and its measured effect together form the central claim.
• D) The council ignored the views of residentsNothing in the passage suggests any disagreement with the public.

Respuesta correcta: A) A school library gives students access to resources they cannot easily find elsewhere.

• A) A school library gives students access to resources they cannot easily find elsewhere.It names the subject and opens a claim that several sentences can develop.
• B) I went to the library on Tuesday afternoon at about four.It reports one personal visit, which is too narrow to govern a paragraph.
• C) The word library comes from the Latin word for books.The etymology introduces a different subject from the paragraph's point.
• D) Books are made of paper that comes from trees.The sentence changes the subject to the raw material of books.

Respuesta correcta: D) Falling enrolment led to a review of how the course was advertised

• A) Computing is not useful for most studentsThe text never evaluates the subject, only its uptake.
• B) Teachers should stop offering optional coursesNo such recommendation appears in the passage.
• C) Advertising for courses is always ineffectiveThe text describes one case and draws no general conclusion.
• D) Falling enrolment led to a review of how the course was advertisedThe decline and the resulting decision form the connected central point.

Respuesta correcta: B) The colour of the bins placed on the street

• A) That most households now separate their wasteThis shows how the scheme worked, which supports the main point.
• B) The colour of the bins placed on the streetThis is incidental information that the argument does not need.
• C) That the amount collected each week has risenThe result confirms the scheme's success and belongs with the main idea.
• D) That the council spent money on new vehiclesThis explains how the scheme was carried out and supports the claim.

Respuesta correcta: A) It presents several practical ways of cutting food waste

• A) It presents several practical ways of cutting food wasteThe summary captures what all three methods have in common.
• B) The first method involves storing bread in the freezerThat is one detail of one method, which a summary must generalise.
• C) The third method was suggested by a shop nearbyThe source of one suggestion is a detail, not the shared point.
• D) Food waste has increased in the last ten yearsThat is a background claim the text does not necessarily make.

Respuesta correcta: C) Introductory sessions were added to prepare new players

• A) The orchestra performed better than other orchestrasNo comparison with other orchestras appears anywhere in the text.
• B) Learning music is easier than learning a languageThe text draws no comparison between music and language learning.
• C) Introductory sessions were added to prepare new playersThe problem and the measure taken together make the point of the passage.
• D) The conductor did not enjoy working with beginnersNothing in the passage expresses the conductor's feelings about beginners.

Respuesta correcta: B) Whether the rest of the text is needed to explain it

• A) Whether it appears more than twice in the passageRepetition of a word or phrase is not the test of a main idea.
• B) Whether the rest of the text is needed to explain itIf the sentence needs all the others to make sense, it is the main idea.
• C) Whether it is longer than the other sentencesLength has no bearing on whether a sentence states the central point.
• D) Whether it contains the word used in the titleA text can name its topic in the title without repeating it word for word.

Respuesta correcta: A) A closed cinema was repaired and reopened by local effort

• A) A closed cinema was repaired and reopened by local effortThe transformation and the people behind it form the central narrative.
• B) Small theatres are more popular than large onesThe passage draws no general conclusion about the size of venues.
• C) Cinemas in the region have all closedOnly one building is discussed, so no regional claim is made.
• D) Roof repairs are always expensiveThe cost of repairs is not mentioned in the text at all.

Respuesta correcta: C) Members can borrow up to eight books at a time without paying anything.

• A) Knowledge is one of the most discussed ideas in education.The general claim would sit better as a topic sentence than as support for one.
• B) Libraries usually have more books than bookshops.The comparison of stock levels does not illustrate free access to knowledge.
• C) Members can borrow up to eight books at a time without paying anything.The sentence shows how the free access described actually works in practice.
• D) Some libraries close during the afternoon.This describes opening hours and does not support the claim about free access.

Respuesta correcta: D) A second design was approved after fixing the leaking roof

• A) Building committees should always meet in publicThe text says nothing about how the committee conducts its meetings.
• B) Steep roofs are more expensive to buildThat detail about cost is never mentioned in the passage.
• C) The first design was better than the second oneThe text reports the opposite, since the second design was approved.
• D) A second design was approved after fixing the leaking roofThe rejection, the change and the approval form the connected central point.