FINDING THE MAIN IDEA

In the TOEFL® Reading Comprehension section, there are questions about the topic, the
title, or the main idea of a passage. All of these questions essentially ask about the
same thing. The topic is what the passage discusses; the title represents what the passage
is all about; and the main idea is the main point the writer wants to convey. The main
idea of a passage can be either stated or unstated (implied) in the passage. This unit
discusses explicitly stated main ideas. To answer questions about the main idea, you
should carefully read the first line of each paragraph of the passage and look for a
common theme throughout these lines.

Example 1
Line Of the various tribes living in the Ituri rain forest of Africa, Pygmies are the
most unusual. They are perfectly formed people except that they weigh only about
eighty pounds with a height of not more than four feet. Pygmies are great travelers,
capable of moving in the treetops almost as expertly as monkeys. Often they travel
5 great distances through tree branches without touching the ground.
Pygmies are also renowned as great hunters as they can shoot three or four
arrows one after another so rapidly that often the last one leaves the bow before the
first has reached its target. If an arrow misses its target, the impatient Pygmy may
fly into a rage, breaking his arrows and stamping on them. Regardless of their
10 extraordinary little bodies, Pygmies can consume a large amount of food. One
Pygmy can finish a stalk of sixty bananas at a single meal, in addition to quantities
of meat. After eating, he will lie on his hard earth bed and groan in pain all night.
In the morning, he is ready to eat the same amount of food all over again.
Adapted from SRA Reading Laboratory 3b by Don H. Parker

Sample questions

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

The Pygmy is _______.
(A) a unique tribe in the Ituri rain forest of Africa
(B) a very skillful forest people
(C) the African tribe best in hunting
(D) a tribe in Africa living in isolation

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2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
(A) Civilizing the Pygmy
(B) Living in the Forest of Africa
(C) The Wonders of Nature
(D) The Incredible Pygmy

Explanation
1. The first sentence of paragraph one shows that the paragraph talks about how
unusual the Pygmies are. The first sentence of paragraph two also supports the
unusualness of the tribe. Option (B) is too general; option (C) is too specific, used in
support of the main idea in the first sentence; and option (D) is not correct because
the passage does not tell about isolation at all. Therefore, the correct answer is (A).
2. To answer question 2, find a common idea that covers all the details of the passage.
Since the passage tells about the uniqueness of the Pygmies, the correct answer is (D)
The Incredible Pygmy.

Example 2
Line Dew, the thin film of water that has condensed on the surface of objects near
the ground, forms when radiational cooling of these objects during the nighttime
hours also cools the shallow layer of overlying air in contact with them. It then
causes the condensation of some water vapor. This condensation occurs if the
5 capacity of air to hold water vapor lessens as the air is cooled. Dew forms most
readily on those surfaces that lose heat through radiation most efficiently but are
insulated from external heat sources. Dew is easily formed if humidity in the lowest
layers of air is high. The humidity either supplies the moisture or at least inhibits the
evaporation of the dew already deposited. Strong winds reduce dew formation
10 since they mix a larger layer of air, creating a more homogeneous distribution of
heat and water vapor. Under such conditions, it is unlikely that a sufficiently cool
and damp layer of air can form near the ground.
Adapted from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2003, Columbia University Press

Sample question
What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The condensation of water vapor
(B) The impact of humidity on dew formation
(C) How dew is formed
(D) Where dew is formed

Explanation
The question asks about the topic or subject of the passage. Read the first sentence that
says Dew … forms when …. The next sentences give details of how dew is formed.

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
Options (A) and (B) refer to details and option (D) is also too specific, not reflecting the
general idea of the passage. The correct answer is (C) How dew is formed.

Strategies

1. Read the first line of the paragraph, or, if the passage consists of more than one
paragraph, the first sentences of all the paragraphs.
2. Look for a common theme or general idea that covers the supporting details.
3. Go over the rest of the passage to check if you have found the correct common
theme or idea.
4. Choose the answer that has the same idea as that found in the passage.

Exercise 1
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.

Line Migration, very common among insects and birds, is driven by weather
changes. During the cold winter period, food is incredibly inadequate for the
animals to carry on, so they make remarkable migrations to find warmer places
and to forage. Although most migrating insects only go short distances, particular
5 insects fly very long distances. For example, monarch butterflies spend the summer
in Canada and the Northern U.S., and afterward migrate as far south as Mexico for
the winter. Many birds migrate in the fall and fly extremely far. For instance, arctic
terns nests near the North Pole in the summer. In autumn, they fly south all the way
to Antarctica and return to the north each spring. Since the journey can be
10 dangerous, some travel in large flocks like geese that fly in noisy, V-shaped groups.
Adapted from www.sciencemadesimple.com

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

(A) Insects and birds migrate to keep alive.
(B) Animal migration can cover long distances.
(C) Insects and birds migrate in large flocks.
(D) Animals can stay alive during winter.

2. What is the topic of the passage?

(A) Harsh weather
(B) Food insufficiency
(C) Insects’ and birds’ migration
(D) Severe winter

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Exercise 2
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.
Line DNA fingerprinting is any of several techniques used to analyze and
compare DNA from separate sources. Law enforcement officers use DNA
fingerprinting to identify suspects. Hair, blood, semen, and other biological
materials found at the scene of a crime are used for DNA fingerprinting. No two
5 people, even identical twins, have exactly the same DNA sequence. Thus, although
only partial segments of a person’s DNA are studied in the procedure, those
segments will be unique. Next, the DNA fingerprint of a suspect’s blood or other
body materials are compared to that of the evidence from the crime scene to see
how closely they match.
Adapted from reference.allrefer.com

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The confirmation of a crime suspect
(B) The use of DNA fingerprinting in law enforcement
(C) The uniqueness of DNA fingerprints
(D) The procedure to use DNA fingerprinting
2. What is the subject of the passage?
(A) DNA fingerprinting
(B) Law enforcement
(C) Identical twins
(D) Biological materials

Exercise 3
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.
Line Hibernating animals that preserve energy and survive in the winter with little
or no food can be put into two categories. The first category is that of the true
hibernators. They go into such a deep sleep that they may appear dead. Their
body temperature drops near the freezing point; breathing and heartbeat slow
5 down significantly. For example, a hibernating woodchuck's temperature drops
from 980 F to as low as 380 F, and its heart rate slows from 80 to 4 beats per
minute. If its temperature continues to fall, it will awaken slightly and shiver to
warm up a bit. Other true hibernators include jumping mice, little brown bats,
eastern chipmunks, and some species of ground squirrels.
10 The other class of hibernators does not experience major changes in
temperature, breathing and heart rate. Animals such as skunks, raccoons and
some chipmunks are light sleepers during the harshest weather and wake for a day
or so every two to fourteen days to roam and eat during milder weather. But
hibernating bears, unlike other hibernators of this class, do not eat or drink or
15 excrete at all. They get their energy by burning their stored fat and the metabolic
rate is reduced by only 50%. They can wake up quickly although they breathe less
and their heartbeats are slower.
Adapted from www.sciencemadesimple.com

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Hibernation is a deep sleep in the winter.
(B) There are two kinds of hibernators.
(C) Body temperature drops during hibernation.
(D) The aim of hibernation is to survive during winter.
2. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
(A) What Is Hibernation?
(B) Why Do Animals Hibernate?
(C) Hibernator Classification
(D) Hibernating Process

REVIEW

Review 1
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.
Line That a human being sees the world in three dimensions is made possible
because human eyes are about three inches apart. The separation of the eyes
presents two slightly different views of every image a person encounters. In the
brain's visual cortex, these views are compared, and the overlap is translated into a
5 stereoptic picture. To estimate relative distances, the brain takes a reading of the
tension in eye muscles.
A person sees in three dimensions only up to about 67 meters. Beyond that,
he might as well be one-eyed because his eyes cannot provide two extraordinarily
different views over long distances. Instead, he relies on experience to determine
10 where an object is while at the same time the brain searches for clues and makes its
finest assumption. For example, the brain realizes that near objects overlap far
ones; that bright objects are closer than dim ones; and that large objects are nearer
than small ones.
These “monocular cues” are what painters use to trick the eyes into thinking
15 that a flat canvas is three-dimensional and miles deep. For that reason, paintings
are much more convincing if one closes his eyes and tries to imagine the pictures.
His brain captures all the clues the painter has used. But when both eyes are open,
the brain gets more information and mixed signals. The paint may say miles, but
the eye muscles say inches.
Adapted from www2.gsu.edu

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) What three-dimensional view is in human eyes
(B) How human eyes see objects in three dimensions
(C) The wonders human eyes have
(D) The monocular cues a painter uses

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2. What makes human eyes see in three dimensions?
(A) The separation of the eyes
(B) The stereoptic picture of the brain
(C) The visual part of the brain
(D) The estimation of distances

3. The word “its” in line 10 refers to _______.

(A) experience
(B) object
(C) time
(D) brain

4. The word “dim” in line 12 is closest in meaning to _______.

(A) fixed
(B) faint
(C) sealed
(D) aged

5. Where in the passage does the author mention the limit that human eyes can see
objects in three dimensions?
(A) Lines 1-2
(B) Lines 5-6
(C) Lines 7-9
(D) Lines 14-15

6. When can the eyes see paintings best?

(A) When the eyes are closed
(B) When the eyes are open
(C) From far away
(D) From a short distance

Review 2
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.

Line The Academy Awards, granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, are the most prominent film awards in the United States. They have
great impact on the film industry since an award winning or nomination can give
both prestige and profit to a studio or a performer. The award ceremony and
5 the extravagant parties afterwards such as the Academy’s Governor’s Ball are
broadcast all over the world.
The award statuette is called The Academy Award of Merit. The small
statue’s nickname, the Oscar, is used as often as its formal name, even by the
Academy itself. The Academy’s domain name is oscars.org and the official
10 website for the Academy Awards is at oscars.com. The origin of the name has
never been determined. Many claimed to have given the name Oscar. They

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
 include actor Bette Davis, academy librarian Margaret Herrick, and columnist
Sidney Skolsky.
The Academy first awarded the Oscars at a banquet in the Hollywood
15 Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929. The awards were given to the films shown in
1927 and 1928. Since 1934 the qualification period of a film nomination has
been matched with the calendar year. The Academy Award ceremony on
February 27, 1935 honored the Oscars to films released from January to
December 1934.
Adapted from www.wikipedia.org and www.filmsite.org

1. What does the first paragraph discuss?

(A) The parties after the award ceremony
(B) The benefits an award winner earns
(C) The most important film awards in the United States
(D) The influence of the film industry around the world

2. The word “impact” in line 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

(A) effect
(B) concern
(C) need
(D) advantage

3. The word “its” in line 8 refers to _______.

(A) statuette
(B) the Academy
(C) nickname
(D) the Oscar

4. The word “claimed” in line 11 is closest in meaning to _______.

(A) proved
(B) defended
(C) admitted
(D) accepted

5. When were the Academy Awards presented for the first time?
(A) In 1927
(B) In 1929
(C) In 1934
(D) In 1935
6. Where in the passage does the author mention the origin of the name Oscar?
(A) Lines 7-9
(B) Lines 10-11
(C) Lines 14-16
(D) Lines 17-19

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 SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES

Supplementary Exercise 1
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.

Line The term Third World refers to the technologically less advanced or
developing nations. These nations are in general portrayed as poor nations.
Their economies depend on the export of main products to the developed
countries. In return, the Third World nations will import finished products. They
5 also tend to have high rates of illiteracy, disease, and population growth.
Politically, the Third World sprang from the Bandung Conference in 1955.
At the conference, the concept of a third world force emerged, and as a result, in
1961, Yugoslavia, India, and Indonesia initiated the founding of the Non
Aligned Movement. Its members were nations that formed a force through a
10 policy of nonalignment with the United States and Soviet Union. The term Third
World was at first intended to set apart the nonaligned nations, which gained
independence from colonial rule after World War II, from the Western nations
and from those that made up the former Eastern bloc. More specifically, it was
distinguished from the first world (the United States) and the second world (the
15 former Soviet Union). By the late 1990’s, the movement’s 113 members, mainly
countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, represent more than half of the
world's people, including true neutrals and nations that were in fact aligned with
either the first or the second world during the cold war.
With its many members today, the Third World is now economically diverse
20 although numerically the group dominates the United Nations. The oil-rich
nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya, and the newly emerged
industrial states such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore have little in
common with desperately poor nations such as Haiti, Chad, and Afghanistan.
Adapted from reference.allrefer.com

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The Third World
(B) The Non Aligned Movement
(C) The true-neutral nations
(D) The United Nations

2. The word “portrayed” in line 2 can best be replaced by _______.

(A) classified
(B) proved
(C) described
(D) criticized

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
3. Where in the passage does the author mention the problem of the Third World
nations on education?
(A) Line 2
(B) Lines 3-4
(C) Line 4
(D) Lines 4-5

4. The word “emerged” in line 7 is closest in meaning to _______.

(A) arose
(B) originated
(C) existed
(D) continued

5. When was the Non Aligned Movement founded?

(A) In 1955
(B) In 1961
(C) During World War II
(D) By the late 1990’s

6. The word “it” in line 13 refers to _______.

(A) the Non Aligned Movement
(B) Soviet Union
(C) the term Third World
(D) the former Eastern bloc

7. What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

(A) The United Nations has many members.
(B) The Third World makes up the biggest part of the UN.
(C) The third World now has both rich and poor members.
(D) Industrial states are members of the Third World.

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
Supplementary Exercise 2
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions.

Line Hara-kiri is the traditional Japanese form of honorable suicide. Originally, it

was practiced by the Japanese feudal warrior class. When someone was almost
caught by his enemy, he would commit hara-kiri in order to avoid falling into the
hands of enemy. Around 1500, it became an honored alternative to execution,
5 given to daimyo and samurai if they were found guilty of disloyalty to the emperor.
Daimyo were great feudal landholders or territorial barons and samurai were
warriors, usually at the service of daimyo. The condemned man received a jeweled
dagger from the emperor. Then, he chose as his second a faithful friend. The man
would also have another person as an official witness. He would plunge the
10 dagger into the left side of his abdomen, draw it across to the right, and make a
slight cut upward. His second then beheaded him with one stroke of a sword. After
that, the dagger was sent back to the emperor. Around 1700, it became
permissible to go through a semblance of disembowelment prior to beheading.
Obligatory hara-kiri was put to an end in 1868, but its voluntary form has
15 continued. Forty military men did hara-kiri in 1895 as a protest against the return
of a conquered territory, the Liaotung peninsula, to China. In 1912, General Nogi
committed hara-kiri out of loyalty to follow Emperor Meiji into death. Many
Japanese soldiers also chose hara-kiri instead of surrendering to enemy in World
War II. Voluntary hara-kiri has been done after a private bad luck, out of loyalty to
20 a dead master, or to protest the conduct of a living superior.
Adapted from reference.allrefer.com

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

(A) Hara-kiri has been a respectable form of suicide in Japan.
(B) Hara-kiri is a disagreed act of suicide by the Japanese.
(C) Hara-kiri is a hot issue among the Japanese.
(D) Hara-kiri has been a life long Japanese tradition.

2. What were daimyo?

(A) They were landholders.
(B) They were warriors.
(C) They were condemned people.
(D) They were samurai’s subordinates.

3. The word “it” in line 10 refers to _______.

(A) dagger
(B) side
(C) abdomen
(D) cut

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Unit 20–Finding the Main Idea
4. When did hara-kiri become an alternative to death penalty?
(A) Around 1500
(B) Around 1700
(C) In 1868
(D) In 1895

5. What was the function of the second man?

(A) To show his friendship to the condemned man
(B) To behead the condemned man
(C) To witness the execution
(D) To report to the emperor

6. What has happened since obligatory hara-kiri was put to an end?

(A) Only daimyo and samurai have done it.
(B) Only the beheading has been done.
(C) It has been practiced as a preferred way of suicide.
(D) It has been a debatable issue among the Japanese.

7. The word “conquered” in line 16 can best be replaced by _______.

(A) divided
(B) shared
(C) industrialized
(D) occupied

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