GRE care: Reading Comprehension Questions and answer Part - 4 [Main Ideas, Themes]
Main Ideas, Themes
Finding the main idea or theme of a written piece is one of the most important aspects of good reading comprehension. It is, however, easy to confuse the main idea or theme with the subject. Basically, the subject of a piece of writing is what that piece is generally about, plain and simple— the facts and information. However, when you look past the facts and information to the heart of what writ¬ers are trying to say, and why they are saying it, that’s the main idea or theme. For example, the subject of this introduction is about distinguishing between a subject and a main idea or theme; the main idea or theme is why it’s important to be able to recognize that difference.
Question 101 to 110:
Read the following paragraphs and carefully determine what the main idea is for each. The best way to approach these questions is to first read the paragraph and then, in your own words, restate what you think the author is trying to say. From the five choices, select the one statement that best supports the author’s point.
If you’re a fitness walker, there is no need for a commute to a health club. Your neighborhood can be your health club. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to get a good workout either. All you need is a well-designed pair of athletic shoes.
101. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. fitness walking is a better form of exercise than weight lifting.
b. a membership in a health club is a poor investment.
c. walking outdoors provides a better workout than walking indoors.
d. fitness walking is a convenient and valuable form of exercise.
e. poorly designed athletic shoes can cause major foot injuries.
One New York publisher has estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people in the United States want an anthology that includes the complete works of William Shakespeare. And what accounts for this renewed interest in Shakespeare? As scholars point out, the psychological insights he portrays in both male and female characters are amazing even today.
102. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. Shakespeare’s characters are more interest¬ing than fictional characters today.
b. people today are interested in Shakespeare’s work because of the characters.
c. academic scholars are putting together an anthology of Shakespeare’s work.
d. New Yorkers have a renewed interested in the work of Shakespeare.
e. Shakespeare was a psychiatrist as well as a playwright.
Critical reading is a demanding process. To read critically, you must slow down your reading and, with pencil in hand, perform specific operations on the text. Mark up the text with your reactions, conclusions, and questions. When you read, become an active participant.
103. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. critical reading is a slow, dull, but essential process.
b. the best critical reading happens at critical times in a person’s life.
c. readers should get in the habit of question¬ing the truth of what they read.
d. critical reading requires thoughtful and careful attention.
e. critical reading should take place at the same time each day.
There are no effective boundaries when it comes to pollutants. Studies have shown that toxic insec-ticides that have been banned in many countries are riding the wind from countries where they remain legal. Compounds such as DDT and toxaphene have been found in remote places like the Yukon and other Arctic regions.
104. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. toxic insecticides such as DDT have not been banned throughout the world.
b. more pollutants find their way into polar climates than they do into warmer areas.
c. studies have proven that many countries have ignored their own anti-pollution laws.
d. DDT and toxaphene are the two most toxic insecticides in the world.
e. even a worldwide ban on toxic insecticides would not stop the spread of DDT pollution.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. No search of a person’s home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted.
105. This paragraph best supports the statement
that the police cannot search a person’s home
or private papers unless they have
a. legal authorization.
b. direct evidence of a crime.
c. read the person his or her constitutional rights.
d. a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.
e. requested that a judge be present.
Mathematics allows us to expand our conscious-ness. Mathematics tells us about economic trends, patterns of disease, and the growth of populations. Math is good at exposing the truth, but it can also perpetuate misunderstandings and untruths. Fig¬ures have the power to mislead people.
106. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. the study of mathematics is dangerous.
b. words are more truthful than figures.
c. the study of mathematics is more impor¬tant than other disciplines.
d. the power of numbers is that they cannot lie.
e. figures are sometimes used to deceive people.
Human technology developed from the first stone tools about two and a half million years ago. In the beginning, the rate of development was slow. Hundreds of thousands of years passed without much change. Today, new technologies are reported daily on television and in newspapers.
107. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. stone tools were not really technology.
b. stone tools were in use for two and a half million years.
c. there is no way to know when stone tools first came into use.
d. In today’s world, new technologies are con-stantly being developed.
e. none of the latest technologies are as signif¬icant as the development of stone tools.
Today’s postal service is more efficient than ever. Mail that once took months to move by horse and foot now moves around the country in days or hours by truck, train, and plane. If your letter or package is urgent, the U.S. Postal Service offers Priority Mail and Express Mail services. Priority Mail is guaranteed to go anywhere in the United States in two days or less. Express Mail will get your package there overnight.
108. This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. more people use the post office for urgent deliveries than any other delivery service.
b. Express Mail is a good way to send urgent mail.
c. Priority Mail usually takes two days or less.
d. mail service today is more effective and dependable.
e. mail was once delivered by horse and foot.
Reality TV shows will have an adverse effect on traditional dramas and comedies. As Reality TV increases in popularity, network executives will begin canceling more traditional programs and replacing them with the latest in Reality TV.
109. This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. Reality TV is low quality.
b. Reality TV shows get the highest ratings.
c. more and more people love to watch and participate in Reality TV.
d. as Reality TV gets more popular, more traditional television shows may be threatened.
e. network executives make hasty and unwise decisions.
When writing business letters or memos, it’s not practical to be personal. Though the first-person point of view may make the reader feel close to the writer, it also implies a certain subjectivity. That is, the writer is expressing a personal view from a personal perspective.
110. This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. writing a first-person business correspon¬dence will prevent the writer from getting promoted.
b. effective business writing is one of the most important skills to have in an office environment.
c. using the first-person point of view in busi¬ness correspondence is not a wise choice.
d. the first-person point of view expresses a personal view and a personal perspective.
e. the first-person point of view is appropriate when writing a letter of thanks.
Answer to the question number 101 to 110
101. d. The author stresses the convenience of fitness
walking, by stating that it does not require a commute to a health club. The paragraph also implies that fitness walking will result in a good workout. Choice a is incorrect because no com-parison to weight lifting is made. Choice b may seem like a logical answer, but the paragraph only refers to people who are fitness walkers, so for others, a health club might be a good investment. Choice c is not in the passage. Although choice e seems logical, the paragraph does not indicate that the wrong shoes will pro-duce major injuries.
102. b. The last sentence in the paragraph clearly sup¬
ports the idea that the renewed interest in Shakespeare is due to the development of his characters. Choice a is incorrect because the writer never makes this type of comparison. Choice c is wrong, because even though schol-ars are mentioned in the paragraph, there is no indication that the scholars are compiling the anthology. Choice d is wrong because there is no support to show that most New Yorkers are interested in this work. There is no support for choice e either.
103. d. This answer is implied by the whole paragraph.
The author stresses the need to read critically by performing operations on the text in a slow and specific manner. Choice a is incorrect because the author never says that reading is dull. Choices b, c, and e are not supported by the paragraph.
104. a. The support for this choice is in the second
sentence, which states that in some countries, toxic insecticides are still legal. Choice b is incorrect because even though polar regions are mentioned in the paragraph, there is no support for the idea that warmer regions are not just as affected. There is no support for choice c. Choice d can be ruled out be¬cause there is nothing to indicate that DDT and toxaphene are the most toxic. Choice e is illogical.
105. a. The second and third sentence combine to give
support to choice a. The statement stresses that there must be a judge’s approval (i.e., legal authorization) before a search can be con¬ducted. Choices b and d are wrong because it is not enough for the police to have direct evi¬dence or a reasonable belief—a judge must authorize the search for it to be legal. Choices c and e are not mentioned in the passage.
106. e. This answer is clearly stated in the last sen¬
tence of the paragraph. Choice a can be ruled out because there is no support to show that studying math is dangerous. Words are not mentioned in the passage, which rules out choice b. There is no support for choice c. Choice d is a contradiction to the information in the passage.
107. d. The last sentence states that new technologies
are reported daily, and this implies that new technologies are being constantly developed. There is no support for choice a. With regard to choice b, stone tools were first used two and a half million years ago, but they were not neces¬sarily in use all that time. Choice c is clearly wrong because the paragraph states when stone tools first came into use. Although some may agree that choice e is true, the author of the paragraph does not give support for this opinion.
108. d. Choices a and c are not supported by the
paragraph. Choices b and e only tell us about particular parts of the paragraph and are too specific to be the main idea. Choice d, however, is general enough to encompass all the sentences and the paragraph as a whole. Every sentence supports the idea asserted in choice d.
109. d. Both sentences in the paragraph support this
choice. Choices a and e are opinions and are not in the paragraph. Choices b and c may be true, but they are also not supported by the paragraph.
110. c. The first sentence points out that it is not prac¬
tical to use the first-person point of view in business correspondence. Choices a, b, and e are not in the paragraph. Choice d is in the paragraph and although it does tell us some-thing about the first-person point of view, it is too narrow to represent the main idea, which has to do with the first-person point of view as it is related to writing in a business environment.
