Reading Main Ideas

Respuesta correcta: A) The text explains how a coastal community manages its water supply.

• A) The text explains how a coastal community manages its water supply.Correct! This option covers the whole text without adding anything it does not contain.
• B) The text lists the names of the wells dug in the region.The names of the wells are only a detail inside one section of the text.
• C) The text compares two families who live by the sea.The two families appear in a single paragraph and are not the subject of the whole text.
• D) The text describes a storm that damaged a village in 1998.The storm is one episode, and the text uses it only to introduce the wider problem.

Respuesta correcta: B) Saving Water in a Dry Region

• A) A Village Lost in a StormThe storm is one event in one paragraph and cannot represent the whole text.
• B) Saving Water in a Dry RegionCorrect! The title covers the topic of the whole text in a few words.
• C) The Names of Old WellsThe names of the wells are a detail that appears briefly.
• D) Two Families of the CoastThe two families are a short episode and do not represent the subject of the text.

Respuesta correcta: C) The first paragraph, which presents the shortage.

• A) The last paragraph, which gives a list of figures.The last paragraph gives figures, which are details rather than the statement of the problem.
• B) The fourth paragraph, which describes a family.The fourth paragraph describes a family, which is an episode and not the framing of the text.
• C) The first paragraph, which presents the shortage.Correct! The first paragraph presents the shortage, which is the problem the rest of the text addresses.
• D) The sixth paragraph, which mentions an old custom.The sixth paragraph mentions a custom, which is a closing detail.

Respuesta correcta: D) That the solution is older than the crisis it responds to.

• A) That the committee has no members today.The text does not say that the committee has no members.
• B) That the region has no wells at all.The text says the opposite, since the wells are the source of the system.
• C) That the community rejected the idea of saving water.The text describes the opposite, since the committee exists precisely to save water.
• D) That the solution is older than the crisis it responds to.Correct! The date places the committee before the drought, so the response predates the crisis it solves.

Respuesta correcta: A) That tourism should be limited in the region.

• A) That tourism should be limited in the region.Correct! The text never argues about tourism, so that argument does not appear in it.
• B) That every drop must be counted.Counting every drop is one of the recommendations the text makes.
• C) That rules are needed to share the supply.Clear rules for sharing the supply are a central proposal of the text.
• D) That rainwater storage must be improved.Improving rainwater storage is described as the practical solution.

Respuesta correcta: B) A dry region solved a water shortage by combining storage, filtration and community rules.

• A) Several paragraphs describe the weather of a coastal plain.The weather is not the subject of the text and appears only as background.
• B) A dry region solved a water shortage by combining storage, filtration and community rules.Correct! This summary keeps the problem, the three measures and the result, and omits the illustrations.
• C) The text lists the different wells dug since 1996.The wells are listed as a detail, not as the substance of the text.
• D) Two neighbouring villages argued about how to share a well.The disagreement between two villages is a short episode, not the topic.

Respuesta correcta: C) It explains how the collected water is treated before it is used.

• A) It concludes the whole argument with a final recommendation.The conclusion is in the last paragraph, not in the second.
• B) It introduces the problem the text is about.The introduction of the problem is in the first paragraph.
• C) It explains how the collected water is treated before it is used.Correct! The second paragraph develops the text by explaining how the water is treated.
• D) It presents a personal opinion of the author.The author reports a community process and does not give a personal opinion.

Respuesta correcta: D) The rules work only if the whole community follows them.

• A) Most families keep the water for their own use.The text says the opposite, since hoarding water would defeat the shared system.
• B) The wells have dried up completely.The text describes wells that still work, not wells that have dried up.
• C) The region has more water than it did in the past.The region is described as having less water than before, not more.
• D) The rules work only if the whole community follows them.Correct! The closing paragraph generalises by stating the condition on which the system works.

Respuesta correcta: A) To show how a decision was agreed by the community.

• A) To show how a decision was agreed by the community.Correct! The meeting is included to show that the rules were agreed by the people who follow them.
• B) To prove that the water committee was a failure.The text presents the meeting as a success, not as a failure.
• C) To describe the personal life of a committee member.Nothing about a member's personal life is described there.
• D) To fill the paragraph with an unrelated anecdote.The anecdote is directly related to the main argument, so it is not filler.

Respuesta correcta: B) The name of the school that visited the wells.

• A) The need to store rainwater.Storing rainwater is one of the three measures the text describes.
• B) The name of the school that visited the wells.Correct! The school visit is a passing mention and removing it would leave the argument intact.
• C) The shortage of water in the dry months.The shortage is the problem the whole text exists to address.
• D) The rules for sharing the supply.The rules for sharing the supply are the central recommendation.

Respuesta correcta: C) That saving water depends on both engineering and community agreement.

• A) That wells are more useful than rainfall.The text does not rank wells above rainfall but treats both as parts of the system.
• B) That one family solved the problem alone.No single family is presented as having solved the problem.
• C) That saving water depends on both engineering and community agreement.Correct! The conclusion reinforces that the solution combined physical works with community agreement.
• D) That the region has no need for new rules.The text argues for exactly such new rules.

Respuesta correcta: D) Only a few hours of water

• A) A pleasant surpriseA pleasant surprise contradicts the serious tone of the text.
• B) A minor inconvenienceA minor inconvenience understates a shortage that closed public buildings.
• C) An unexpected holidayAn unexpected holiday has no connection to the water problem.
• D) Only a few hours of waterCorrect! A quantified expression such as 'only a few hours' shows the severity of the shortage.

Respuesta correcta: A) By moving from the problem to the measures and ending with their condition of success.

• A) By moving from the problem to the measures and ending with their condition of success.Correct! The text follows the standard order of problem, measures and conclusion.
• B) By listing the wells in the order in which they were dug.The wells appear as examples inside the text, not as its organisational principle.
• C) By presenting three unrelated anecdotes in order.The paragraphs are connected and build one argument, so they are not unrelated.
• D) By comparing the region with two other countries.The text stays within the region and does not compare it with other countries.

Respuesta correcta: B) That simple household changes also reduce the pressure on the supply.

• A) That the problem can be solved without any change in behaviour.The text argues the opposite, since behaviour change is part of the solution.
• B) That simple household changes also reduce the pressure on the supply.Correct! The text gives specific household measures, so this idea is supported with evidence.
• C) That only large companies are responsible for the shortage.The text focuses on households and the local committee, not on companies.
• D) That the wells produce more water than they used to.The text describes a decline in the yield of the wells, not an increase.

Respuesta correcta: C) It shows the rules are checked regularly, not only once.

• A) It proves that the committee is inactive most of the time.Meeting twice a month is a normal working rhythm, not inactivity.
• B) It indicates that nobody attends the meetings.The text says nothing about attendance at those meetings.
• C) It shows the rules are checked regularly, not only once.Correct! A regular schedule shows that the rules are applied continuously, not as a single decision.
• D) It suggests the committee has run out of funds.Nothing in the sentence concerns the funds of the committee.

Respuesta correcta: D) How much a new roof costs in the capital.

• A) Why the region suffers from a water shortage.The causes of the shortage are explained in the opening of the text.
• B) How the community stores and treats water.The storage and treatment of water are described in the middle sections.
• C) What rules the community agreed to follow.The agreed rules are set out in the later paragraphs.
• D) How much a new roof costs in the capital.Correct! The text says nothing about the price of roofs, so that question remains unanswered.

Respuesta correcta: A) There are twenty-four different species of parrot in the region.

• A) There are twenty-four different species of parrot in the region.Correct! The number of parrot species has no connection to water management and does not belong.
• B) The committee meets twice a month to review the supply.The meeting schedule is part of the account of how the rules are applied.
• C) Storage tanks were built on the roofs of the oldest houses.The storage tanks are one of the measures the text describes.
• D) The rules were accepted after a public meeting in the village.The public meeting is the example that shows how the rules were agreed.

Respuesta correcta: B) Positive, because the text presents them as the element that makes the works succeed.

• A) Hostile, because the text criticises the people who break them.The text does not criticise the community, and the writer's tone is approving.
• B) Positive, because the text presents them as the element that makes the works succeed.Correct! The writer supports the rules, since the text closes by presenting them as the decisive element.
• C) Indifferent, because the writer never mentions them.The rules occupy a central part of the text, so they are not ignored.
• D) Doubtful, because the text says they failed completely.The text presents the programme as working, not as a complete failure.

Respuesta correcta: C) The programme will last only if the agreements are kept by everyone.

• A) The wells are located near the river that feeds them.The location of the wells is a fact that belongs in the body of the text.
• B) The committee was created in the year 1996.The date of the committee is a piece of information, not a conclusion.
• C) The programme will last only if the agreements are kept by everyone.Correct! This sentence generalises the lesson of the text rather than adding a new detail.
• D) Rainfall in the region has decreased over the last decade.The decrease in rainfall belongs in the section on the causes.

Respuesta correcta: D) To explain and justify a local response to an environmental problem.

• A) To entertain the reader with an account of a long journey.There is no narrative journey to entertain the reader with.
• B) To list the personal details of several committee members.No personal details of members are given.
• C) To persuade readers to visit the region as tourists.The text never addresses tourism and does not invite a visit.
• D) To explain and justify a local response to an environmental problem.Correct! The text explains a response and defends it, which is an informational and persuasive purpose.