156 READINGCOMPREHENSION

Srcrr 1: MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

Almost every reading passage on the TOEFL test r,iill have a question about the
main idea of a passage. Such a question mav be worded in a variety of ways; you
may, for example, be asked to identify the topic, sttbject, title, primnry idea, or ttnilt
idea. These questions are all reallv asking rvhat primarv point the author is trv-
ing to get across in the passage. Since TOEFL passages are generallv rvritten in a
traditionallv organized manner, it is not difficult to find the main idea bv studying
the topic sentence, u,hich is most probabll' found at the beginning of a paragraph.
If a passage consists of onlv one paragraph, vou should studv the beginning of
that paragraph to determine the n-rain idea.

Example I
The passage:
Basketball uras invented in 1891 bv a nhvsical education
inst@rsachusetts, tyin" name of James
Naismith. Because of the terrible rr,eather in u'inter, his phvsical
Line edtcation students were indoors rather than outdoors. They
(5) reallv did not like the idea of boring, repetitirre exercises and
preferred the excitement and challenge of a game. Naismith
figured out a team sport that could be piayed indoors on a
gvrnnasium floor, that invoh,ed a lot of running, that kept all
team members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and
(10) phvsical contact of American-stvle football.

The question:
What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) The life of James Naismith
(B) The histor-1,- of sports
(C) Phl,sical education and erercise
(D) The origin of basketball

The first sentence of this passage discusses the inveriion of'basketball, so this is
probably the topic. A quick check of the rest of the sentences in the passage con-
firms that the topic is in fact the beginnings of the sport of basketball. Now vou
should check each of the ansrt'ers to determine which one comes closest to the
topic that you have determined. Ansrru,er (A) mentions James Naismith but not
basketball, so it is not the topic. Ansu,'er (B) is too general; it mentions sports but
does not mention basketball. Ansrver (C) is also too general; it mentions physical
education but does not mention basketball. The best ansr,ver is therefore ansu,er
(D); the origin of basketball n-reans that the invention of basketball is going to be
discussed.
 READING COMPREHENSION 157

Ifa passage consists of more than one paragraph, vou should studv the begin-
ning of each perragraph to determine the main idea.

Example II
The passage:
Earl)' maps of the North American continent showed a
massivt' rivcr that began in the RlrcLI Mountair.rJl,r*"d into
tt-re Creat Silt Lake, and from there continued r,r,estr,vard into
Line the Percific Ocean. This rir,er, named the Buenaventura River, on
(5) some maps rivaled the great Mississippi River.
Ihi:g:th&g!_ifqrg1[q,I{se does not exist. Perhaps zrn
ea.h-rru.p-aker hr,'fx,thJsizrd ihat strcn a river probablv
existed; perhaps a smaller rir.er u,as seen and its patlr from the
Rockies to the Pacific \\,as assumed. As late as the middle of the
(10) nineteenth centuln', this river rr",as still on maps and explorers
u,erc still searchins for it.

The question:
Which of the following r,r'ould be the best title for this passage?
(A) Earlv M:rps of Norlh America
(B) A \qlEtitt"lt $\'cr on 41pt
(C) A Comparisorr of the Buenaventura and the Mississippi
Rir,ers
(D) Rivers in Mvthologv

In a passage r,vith more than one paragraph, you should be sure to read the first
sentence of each paragraph to determine the subject, title, or main idea. In this
example, the first sentence of the first paragraph indicates that the first paragraph
is about a river on earlv nnps of North Arnerica. If you look at onlv the first para-
graph, you might choose the incorect answer (A). The first sentence of the second
paragraph indicates the river does not eri.s/. Answer (C) is incorrect because a com-
parison with the Mississippi River is onlv one small detail in the first paragraph.
Ansrver (D) is incorrect because this passage is not about mythologv. The best
answer to this question is anslr,er (B); the first paragraph sa-vs that the ritter is ort
ntaps, and the second pzrragrapl-r savs that Ihe river does trct exist.
158 READINGCOMPREHENSION

The following charl outlines the kev information that you should remember about
main idea questions.

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

HOW TO IDENTIFY What is the topic of the possage?
THE QUESTION What is the subject of this passage?
What is the main idea of the passageT
What is the author's main point in the passage?
With what is the author primarily concerned?
Which of the followinq would be the best title?

WHERE TO FIND The answer to this type of question can generally be determined
THE ANSWER by looking at the first sentence of each paragraph.

HOW TO ANSWER
'1. Read the first line of each paragraph.
THE QUESTION
2. Look for a common theme or idea in the first lines.
3. Pass your eyes quickly over the rest of the passage to check
that you really have found the topic sentence(s).
4. Eliminate any definitely wrong answers and choose the best
answer from the remaininq choices.

1: Studv each of the passages, and choose the best answers to

the questions that follow. In this exercise, each paragraph is follorved bv rrlo main
idea, topic, or title questions so that voll can practice this type of question. On
the TOEFL test, one passage u,ould probably not have trvo such questions because
thev are so similar.

PASSAGE ONE (Qtrcstions 1*2)

Most of the ice on the Earth, ciose to 90 pelcent of it, is covering the surface of the
continent Antarctica. It does not snow very much in Antarctica, but vnhatever snow does
fall remains and grorvs deeper and deeper. In some areas o{'Antarctica, the ice has perhaps
been around for as much as a million vears ancl norv is more than two miles deep.

1. The main iclea of the passage is that 2. 'f he best title for the passage is
(A) the Earth is a cold planet (A) Snorvfall in Antarctica
(B) most of the Earlh s ice is found in (B) The Ic1' Earth
Antarctica (C) The Cold, Cold Snor,r,
(C) it snows more in Antarctica than (D) The Cattses of Antarctica's Ice
in anv other place on E,arth Pack
(D) Antarctica is onlv trvo nriles rvide
but is 90 oercent ice