Unit 4- Locating the stated main ideas

Identify the topic and locate the main idea sentence in each of the following paragraphs

1 On May 22, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced to the American public his
determination to create a “Great Society” that would forever eliminate poverty and injustice. 2 In
pursuit of his Great Society, President Johnson decided to implement two new programs (Medicare
and Medicaid), which would guarantee basic health insurance to all older adult and low-income
Americans. 3 Initially, Johnson’s proposal met with opposition from interest groups like the
American Medical Association. 4 Thus Congress was nervous about approving funding for the
programs and angering special interest groups. 5 But Johnson, whose powers of political persuasion
were legendary on Capitol Hill, persuaded Congress to pass the necessary legislation. 6 Medicare
was authorized by the Social Security Act of 1965. 7 Medicaid came into being through Title XIX
of the Social Security Act. 8 Both programs are still in existence today and, for many, they are
the only sources of basic health care coverage.
Topic: the development of Great Society

2. 1The letters and journals of America’s early Pilgrims are filled with complaints about food or,
more precisely, about the lack of it. 2The first settlers, so adventurous when it came to travel,
were amazingly slow to recognize that seventeenth-century America offered almost every
kind of food imaginable; it just wasn’t the same food they were used to eating at home. 3No,
there wasn’t much mutton, or lamb, to be had, but there were lobsters in abundance, along with
oysters, duck, salmon, scallops, clams, and mussels. 4There were also sweet and white potatoes,
peanuts, squash, green beans, strawberries, and tomatoes. 5Luckily for the settlers, the Indians in
the New World grew and relished all of these foods and taught the Pilgrims to do the same. 6Still it
took a while for the Pilgrims to develop a taste for the new fare. 7During their first years in New
England, for instance, the English settlers refused to eat clams or mussels. 8Because they hadn’t
eaten them in the Old World, in the new one they fed them to the pigs. 9No wonder their Native-
American neighbors often looked on in amazement or maybe it was amusement.
Topic:
The letters and journals about settlers in america’s early Pigrims.

3. 1Obesity is viewed as a serious health problem for a number of different reasons. 2For one
thing, researchers have discovered that body fat produces proteins that trigger inflammation, thus
contributing to the development of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 3In fact, gaining just 10
pounds increases one’s risk of heart disease and stroke considerably. 4And gaining 11 to 18 pounds
actually doubles an individual’s risk of developing diabetes. 5Also, fat cells secrete estrogen, a
hormone that contributes to the development of breast cancer. 6Research has shown that women
who gain more than 20 pounds double their risk of getting breast cancer. 7Weight gain also
increases the risk of developing colon, kidney, and gallbladder cancer. 8Clearly, fat does not just lie
harmlessly inert in the body. 9On the contrary, fat cells pump out substances that alter the body’s
chemistry, affect major organs, and contribute to disease.
Topic: the reasons why obesity is viewed as a serious health problem

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4. 1Desperately in need of more soldiers in 1863, two years before the Civil War ended, the Union
government issued a new and stricter draft law. 2However, although Union officials knew that the
new law would cause grumbling among the country’s male citizens, they never expected New York
City, a center of abolitionist support, to explode in five days of rioting, now known as the Civil War
Draft Riots. 3According to the new law, all white American males between ages 20 and 35 were
eligible for the draft; so too were all unmarried men between 35 and 45. 4The catch was that those
who could afford it could buy their way out of the draft. 5Anyone who could come up with three
hundred dollars—for the time, an enormous sum—could escape the draft’s clutches. 6For members
of the poor and working classes, this was another way of saying that poor men would be drafted
while rich ones would remain safely at home. 7Those who couldn’t afford to buy their way out of
the draft had their names entered into a lottery. 8If their names were selected, they would be
marched off to battle, no excuses accepted. 9On July 11, 1863, the first draft lottery took place in
New York City, and for twenty-four hours the city remained quiet. 10Then suddenly on Monday,
July 13, the poorer neighborhoods exploded. In the first day of rioting, urban mobs targeted only
government buildings considered to be symbols of the draft law’s injustice. 11But as the mobs grew
bigger and more furious, they harassed, beat, and, in some cases, lynched any black male who
crossed their path. 12They also attacked those white men and women known to support the
abolitionist cause. 13Abby Hopper Gibbons, the daughter of abolitionist Isaac Hopper, had her
house torched.

*inert: without moving; lifeless.

*abolitionist: refers to those men and women who challenged the institution of
slavery.

5. 1George W. Bush is only the second man after John Quincy Adams to follow in the footsteps of
his father and serve as president of the United States. 2John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth
president, was the son of second president John Adams. 3As a matter of fact, the elder George Bush
calls his son “Quincy.” 4George W. Bush and John Quincy Adams share other similarities, too.
5Both men are their fathers’ oldest sons. 6Both men held public office before being elected
president. 7Adams was a U.S. senator and served as secretary of state, while Bush was governor of
Texas. 8Both men were in their fifties when they successfully ran for president. 9Both men also
achieved the presidency in a contested election because neither of them had won the popular vote.

6. 1On the surface, effective listening might seem to require little more than an acute sense of
hearing. 2But, in fact, there’s a big difference between hearing and listening. 3Hearing occurs when
sound waves travel through the air, enter your ears, and are transmitted by the auditory nerve to
your brain. 4As long as neither your brain nor your ears are impaired, hearing is involuntary. 5It
occurs spontaneously with little conscious effort on your part. 6Listening, in contrast, is a voluntary
act that includes attending to, understanding, and evaluating the words or sounds you hear. 7If you

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sit through a lecture without making an effort to listen, there’s a good chance that the speaker’s
words will become just so much background noise.

(Flemming and Leet, Becoming a Successful Student, p. 93.)

SUY RA: DANG LIET KE

7. 1When we are extremely fearful or angry, our heartbeat speeds up, our pulse races, and our
breathing rate tends to increase. 2The body’s metabolism accelerates, burning up sugar in the
bloodstream and fats in the tissues at a faster rate. 3The salivary glands become less active, making
the mouth feel dry. 4The sweat glands may overreact, producing a dripping forehead, clammy
hands, and “cold sweat.” 5Finally, the pupils may enlarge, producing the wide-eyed look that is
characteristic of both terror and rage. 6In effect, strong emotions are not without consequences;
they bring about powerful changes in our bodies. (Rubin et al., Psychology, p. 370.)

8. 1Scientists believe that the probable maximum human life span is about 150 years; the record of
the oldest person to date is Shigechiyo Izumi (1865–1986) of Japan, who lived to be 120 years and
237 days. 2There are two theories as to why all living things grow old and die. 3The free-radical
theory states that free radicals, certain chemicals produced as a by-product of biological activity, are
particularly harmful to healthy cells. 4As a person ages, free radicals gradually destroy cells until
they can no longer function properly, causing the entire body (especially whole organ systems such
as the kidneys or heart) to break down and die. 5The programmed senescence theory suggests that
the rate at which we age is predetermined, and that our genetic makeup controls the aging and death
of the cells. 6After enough of the cells die, the organs cease to function and death occurs.

(Barnes-Svarney, ed., “Theories on Aging,” New York Public Library Science Desk Reference, p.
161.)

9. 1Do you make time to exercise on a daily basis? 2Exercising has many physical and emotional
benefits. One benefit of daily exercise is toned muscles. 3Toned muscles provide support for the
skeletal system and also help to burn calories more efficiently. 4Another benefit of exercise is
increased flexibility. 5Flexibility can help to prevent injuries while participating in daily life
activities. 6A third benefit of daily exercise is it can serve as a stress reliever. 7Exercise increases
serotonin, a hormone that increases feelings of well-being and overall happiness. 8Weight loss is a
final benefit of exercise. 9Walking one mile at a brisk pace burns about one hundred calories.
10Exercising on a daily basis can help a person to live longer and enjoy an overall better quality of
life.

10. Congratulations. You’re in college. But why? Although it seems as if it should be easy to
answer why you’re continuing your education, for most students it’s not so simple. The reasons that
people go to college vary. Some people want to go to college for practical reasons (“I want to get a
good job”). Other reasons range from to the lofty (“I want to learn about people and the world”), to

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the unreflective (“Why not? I don’t have anything better to do”).