READING COMPREHENSION

(http://www.toeflskill.com/2011/05/main-idea-questions-skill-1.html)

TOEFL EXERCISE 1:
Study each of the passages, and choose the best answers to the questions that follow. In this
exercise, each paragraph is followed by two main idea, topic, or title questions so that you can
practice this type of question. On the TOE FL test, one passage would probably not have two
such questions because they are so similar.
PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1 - 2)
Most of the ice on the Earth, close to 90 percent of it, is covering the surface of
the continent Antarctica. It does not snow very much in Antarctica, but whatever snow does
fall remains and grows deeper and deeper. In some areas of Antarctica, the ice has perhaps
been around for as much as a million years and now is more than two miles deep.
1. The main idea of the passage is that
(A) the Earth is a cold planet
(B) most of the Earths ice is found in
Antarctica
(C) it snows more in Antarctica than
in
any other place on Earth
(D) Antarctica is only two miles wide
but

is 90 percent ice
2. The best title for the passage is
(A) Snowfall in Antarctica
(B) The Icy Earth
(C) The Cold, Cold Snow
(D) The Causes of Antarcticas Ice
Pack

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3 - 4)

The extremely hot and humid weather that occurs in the United States in July and
August is commonly called the dog days of summer This name comes from the star
Sirius, which is known as the Dog Star. Sirius is the brightest visible star, and in the hot
summer months it rises in the east at approximately the same time as the Sun. As
ancient people saw this star rising with the Sun when the weather was at its hottest,
they believed that Sirius was the cause of the additional heat; they believed that this
bright star added its heat to the heat of the Sun, and these two together made summer
weather so unbearably hot.

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3. The topic of this passage is

(A) how dogs like to play during the
summer
(B) the causes of hot and humid
weather
(C) why the hot summer days are
known as the dog days
(D) the days that dogs prefer

4. The main idea of this passage is that

(A) the name for the summer days
came from Sirius, the Dog Star
(B) dogs generally prefer hot summer
days
(C) the hottest days occur in the
summer
because
of
the
movements of the Sunand stars
(D) Sirius rises at almost the same
time as the Sun during the summer
months

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5 - 6)

The term primitive art has been used in a variety of ways to describe works and
styles of art. One way that this term has been used is to describe the early period within
the development of a certain style of art. Another way that this term has been used is to
describe artists who have received little professional training and who demonstrate a
nontraditional naivete in their work.
A wonderft.il example of this second type of primitive artist is Grandma Moses, who
spent all her life living on a farm and working at tasks normally associated with farm
life. She did not begin painting until she reached the age of seventy-six, when she
switched to painting from embroidery because the arthritis in her hands made
embroidery too difficult. Totally without formal education in art, she began creating
panoramic images of everyday life on the farm that have achieved international fame.
5. The subject of this passage is
(A) an example of one of the types of
primitive art
(B) Grandma Mosess life on the farm
(C) how primitive art differs from
formal art
(D) Grandma Mosess primitive
lifestyle

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6. Which of the following best expresses

the main idea of the passage?
(A) Grandma Moses spent her life on
a farm.
(B) Art critics cannot come to any
agreement on a definition of
primitive art.
(C) Grandma Moses is one type of
primitive artist because of her lack
of formal training.
(D) Many artists receive little
professional training.

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PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 7 - 8)

In the first half of the nineteenth century, a New York newspaper, the New York Sun,
successfully carried out a hoax on the American public. Because of this trick, readership
of the paper rose substantially.
On August 25, 1835, the Sun published reports that some wonderful new discoveries
had been made on the moon. The article described strange, never-before-seen animals
and temples covered in shining jewels. Many members of the American public were
fooled by the story, even some prominent members of the scientific community.
The effect of the false story on sales of the paper was dramatic. Paper sales
increased considerably as people eagerly searched out details of the new discoveries.
Later, the newspaper company announced that it had not been trying to trick the public;
instead, the company explained the moon stories as a type of literary satire.
7. Which of the following best states the
topic of the passage?
(A) A nineteenth-century discovery on
the moon
(B) The 1ew York Sun
(C) A hoax and its effect
(D) The success of a newspaper

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8. The main point of the passage is that

(A) the New York Sun was one of the
earliest American newspapers
(B) the Sun increased sales when it
tricked the public with a false
story
(C) a newspaper achieved success by
writing about the moon
(D) in 1835 some amazing new
discoveries were made about the
moon

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Answer Keys
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

B
D
C
A
A
C
C
B

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