37684985 locating main ideas 1

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Reading for main ideas

Reading is the key to the door of knowledge and information. By reading a readercanfind a lot of information that he/she does not know before. However, reading hasseveraltechniques that a reader should know and apply in order to be able to grasp info

rmationeasily. One of the many techniques of reading is to locate the main ideas of thepassage.

The technique of locating the main ideas of the passage is to know how a paragraph isdesigned. A paragraph is made up of sentences that convey information about a topic.The writer usually introduces the topic of the paragraph in the first sentence of aparagraph. This is called a "topic sentence." The topic sentence states the main

idea; other sentences are supporting details which offer more information,rephrasing, clarifications, and examples to help the reader understand the mainidea.

For example, read the following paragraph and look for the topic sentence of theparagraph.

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the bestcountries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent healthcare system. All Canadians have access to medical services ata reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard ofeducation. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and

are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally,Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadiancities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

The topic sentence of the paragraph above is shown in blue.

Position of Topic Sentences

The topic sentence of a paragraph may be in the first or last sentence. The topicsentence may also be the fist and last sentence of the paragraphsandwichstyle. The

second topic sentence in thesandwich-style

paragraph also servesas a concluding sentence.

Notice the positions for the topic sentence in each. The topic sentences areunderlined1.

1 The three sample paragraphs are taken from Writing Academic English, 2nd edition by Alice Oshima andAnn Hogue, 1991 Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.


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Getting the main idea in reading iscentral to effective studying.

Australian is currently undergoing a period of significant

economic, educational and training reform. The catalyst for thereform has been falling inflation, increased unemployment andchanging world trading patterns in the period since 1981. Inresponse, the Australian government has focused attention on thefragility of the economy and the need to act urgently to reform, if itis to remain competitive on the world market. Under theOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), there is growing acceptance that vocational educationand training are an important component of economic recovery.2

Did you decide that the first line was the topic sentence that contained the

main idea? It sets the scene for what the whole paragraph is about. There areother details that surround the main idea or follow it logically. The otherdetails confirm the information that relates to the main idea and are calledsupporting information.

The structure of the paragraph can be broken down in the following way:

Topic sentence: 'Australian is currently undergoing a period of significant

economic, educational and training reform.'

Main idea: Australia is going through reform-the reform being economic,

educational and training.

A reading passage usually consists of a number of paragraphs, but in order tounderstand the passage you should be able to identify the topic sentence of eachparagraph. So, it is extremely important for you to understand the topic sentenceof each paragraph.

Now look at the following reading passage.

Activity 1: Identifying main idea of the paragraph

Although a bee sting and wasp sting can both be quitepainful, these two types of stings have one basicdifference. A bee sting is acidic, while a wasp sting isalkaline.

Because of this difference, these two types of stingsshould e treated quite differently. Because a bee sting

2 http://www.educ.utas.edu.au/users/lharriso/LESLEY/LITERACY/Gathering1.html


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is acidic, it should be treated with an alkaline solution,such as bicarbonate of soda. A wasp sting, on the otherhand, is alkaline, so it should be treated with an acidicsolution, such as vinegar.

The main idea of the passage is

(A) the pain of wasp stings(B) treating stings with acids(C) different treatments for bee and wasp stings(D) the difference between acids and basesThe fist sentence of the first paragraph mentions a bee sting and a waspsting and states that these two types of stings have one basic difference,and the first sentence of the second paragraph states that these two typesof stings should be treated quite differently. From this, it can bedetermined that the topic of the passage is different treatments for beeand wasp stings. Answer (C) is therefore the best answer to this question.3

You have learnt how to locate and determine the mainidea. Your task is to do some exercises on locating anddetermine the main idea.

Exercises:Passage 1:

So You Have Allergies?

Youre feeling wretched: Youre sneezing, your eyes are watery and you have a runnynose. You might recognize these symptoms as those of allergic rhinitis, also known as

hay fever, but are they? Many of the symptoms we experience that we believe to beallergies may in fact just be a cold, or some other non-allergic reaction to an irritant. But how do you know forsure?

There are many forms and types of allergies, and allergicrhinitis is considered to be the granddaddy of them allresponsible for the greatest misery in the most people. Itusually shows up before age 20. But it can develop at anyage, even in babyhood. Today, allergic rhinitis affectsover 15% of Canadians. A third of them are children.

3 Taken from Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL Test by DEducation, inc.

ps


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Hay fever used to be considered nothing more than an annoyance, not really worthtreating seriously and certainly not capable of inflicting much of an economic andphysical toll. But today we know that allergic rhinitis is associated with several other

respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and that it can significantly affect your ability towork or study. In fact, its estimated that people with allergic rhinitis miss more than400,000 days of work and school each yearand suffer through over three million daysof restricted activity.

Unfortunately, most of us, even those of us who do have allergies, underestimatetheconsequences. A national survey conducted by the American College of Allergy, Asthma,

and Immunology found that while 94% of allergy sufferers reported that allergiesaffected their quality of lifeincluding work productivity, sleep, concentration,and evensexjust half of them considered the disease to be a serious medical condition. Nearlytwo-thirds hadnt seen a doctor the last time their symptoms flared up.

Tomas DelamoAcclaim Images

(Taken from Readers digest:http://www.readersdigest.ca/health/n_health_have_allergies.html)

The main idea of the passage is

(A) consequences of allergic rhinitis according to a survey(B) sneezing, watery eyes and a runny nose are the symptoms of allergic rhinitis(C) the danger of allergic rhinitis(D) The symptoms, and effects of allergic rhinitis1. Correct Answer: DPassage 2:

Sweat: Its Good for What Ails You

If you are someone who needs serious incentive beforeputting on your sneakers and working up a sweat, its timeto listen up. Exercise is one of the most effectiveprevention and treatment strategies you can do againstmany common ailments.


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In fact, many health experts now advise everyone to be active at least 30 minutes everyday, from light activities, such as walking, to more intensive workouts, such asaerobics.For conditions like arthritis, depression, diabetes, heart disease and many more, exercise

is simply good medicine. If you have one of these conditions, even the thought ofexercise might seem daunting, but give it a tryyou wont regret it. (Taken fromReaders digest: http://www.readersdigest.ca/health/n_health_have_allergies.html)

The main idea of passage 2 is

(A) Exercise is simply good medicine for arthritis and depression(B) Exercise is one of the most effective prevention and treatment strategies againstmany common ailments.(C) serious incentive before putting on sneakers and working up a sweat

(D) Every body should get a sweat.2. Correct answer: BPassage 3:

Eating Right to Age Well

As you age, your energy needs change. Your body requiresfewer calories, but at the same time, it needs more of certainnutrientsnutrients that researchers are discovering mayactually slow the aging process.

While aging is inevitable, many of the degenerative changesthat prevail past middle age are notif preventive steps are

taken. Medical research confirms that good nutrition canprevent, or at least slow down, certain debilitating conditionssuch as osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, onereport estimates that one-third to one-half of the healthproblems of people over the age of 65 are related to diet.

(Taken from http://www.readersdigest.ca/food/home.html)


(A) One-third to one-half of the health problems of people over the age of 65 arerelated to diet(B) the effect of nutrition on age(C) Good nutrition can prevent or slow down certain debilitating conditions(D) old people should eat good nutrition3. Correct answer: C


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Passage 4:

Be Kind to Your Container Plants

Almost anyone who has grown container plantings hasexperienced the frustration of planters that look great for

the first couple of weeks, but then start to decline. Not toworry. With a little understanding of how plants grow incontainers, what to use for soil, and how to feed andwater properly, youll have the tools to keep yourcontainer plants looking great throughout their growinglifetimes.

Potting Soils

Unlike plants growing in the ground, container plantsdont have the luxury of endless soil in which to stretchout their roots. Containers only hold a small volume of

soil in a defined space. And we often further reduce this available space by putting anumber of plants in each container.

Success with container plantings, whether youre planting in window boxes or in oldwork boots, begins from the ground up. Garden soils or purchased topsoils intended forgarden beds arent appropriate for containers: they are too heavy, and tend to drainslowly, so roots confined to small spaces run the risk of rotting and dying. Additionally,

the gardener who fills large planters with soil from a garden bed will find theplantersexcessively heavy to move.

(Taken from http://www.readersdigest.ca/homegarden/home.html)


(A) The soil used in container plantings.(B) The management of container plantings(C) The effects of container for plants(D) The endurance of container plantings at homesJAWABAN: B


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Passage 5:

Used Car Buying Tips

Whether you go through a dealer or deal directly with aprivate owner, the simplest way to pay less for a car is to

buy a used car. But the lower price tag often carries somerisk with it. When it comes to buying used cars, themessage is definitely buyer-beware. Find out all you canabout the cars history and its condition before youpurchase it. And if you need to spend a little hard-earnedcash in the process, rest assured it is money well spent.Buying from a Dealer

Buying nearly new is often the easiest way to get yourmoneys worth. Many brand new models lose up to halftheir value in the first two years. So buying a two-year

old car gets you a half-price bargain that is still in good shape and unlikely to incur highrepair bills.

Buying from a dealer is usually more expensive than buying privately, but it mayprovide you with more recourse should there be problems down the road.


(A) Getting good used car with affordable price(B) Carefulness in buying used cars(C) Synchronization between buying vehicles and the allocation offund

(D) New car is better than old carPassage 6:

Passage 7:

Passage 8:

Passage 9:

Passage 10:


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Activity 2: For your additional exercises, please visit: Pearson LongmanLab Manual Online at: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_henry_er_1

The rain forest is home to many creatures. Monkeys,toucans and macaws live in the rain forest. Blue Morphobutterflies and anteaters also live in the rain forest.

Click on the main idea.

A) Sloths and tapirs are other creatures that live in the rain forest.

B) The rain forest is home to many creatures.

C) Monkeys, toucans and macaws live in the rain forest.

Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learnhow to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball sothey can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to

work together with their teammates.

Click on the main idea.

A) They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.

B) Soccer players learn how to dribble.

C) Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

There are many fun things todo at the beach. Swimming isone thing that can be done at

the beach. Snorkeling isanother thing that can beenjoyed. Playing beach

volleyball can be a lot of fun. It (A) There are many fun things to doat the beach.

is also fun to look for shells.


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Some people simply like to (B) It is also fun to look for shells.sunbathe. (C) Some people simply like tosunbathe.Click on the main idea.

1. Juan loves to play games. His favorite game is chess

because it requires a great deal of thought. Juan also likesto play less demanding board games that are based mostlyon luck. He prefers Monopoly because it requires luck andskill. If hes alone, Juan likes to play action video games aslong as they arent too violent.What is the main idea of this paragraph?

a. Juan dislikes violence.b. Juan likes to think.c. Juan enjoys Monopoly.d. Juan enjoys playing games.

2. Maria is watching too much television. A toddlershouldnt be spending hours staring blankly at a screen.Worse yet, some of her wild behavior has been inspired bythose awful cartoons she watches. We need to spend moretime reading books with her and pull the plug on the TV!What is the main idea of this paragraph?

a. Watching a lot of television isnt good for Maria.b. Books are good.


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c. All cartoons are bad.d. Some cartoons are bad for Maria.3. Samantha, I cant eat or sleep when you are gone. I needto hear your scratchy voice and see your lovely toothlesssmile. I miss that special way that you eat soup with yourfingers. Please come home soon!

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

a. Samantha, you have bad manners.b. Samantha, you should see a dentist.c. Samantha, I miss you.d. Samantha, I have lost my appetite.4. Someday we will all have robots that will be ourpersonal servants. They will look and behave much likereal humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanicalhelpers and they will be able to respond in kind.Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learnfrom experience. They will be smart, strong, and untiring

workers whose only goal will be to make our lives easier.Which sentence from the paragraph expresses the mainidea?

a. Someday we will all have robots that will be our personalservants.b. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers andthey will be able to respond in kind.


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c. They will look and behave much like real humans.d. Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learnfrom experience.Americans have always been interested in theirPresidents wives. Many First Ladieshave beenremembered because of the ways they have influenced

The Humanitarian work o

their husbands. Other First Ladies have made the history

American government.

books on their own.

Dolly Madison was the mo

At least two First Ladies, Bess Truman and Lady Bird

Eleanor Roosevelt transfo

Johnson, made it their business to send signals during

The First Ladies are impo

their husbands speeches. When Lady Bird Johnsonthought her husband was talking too long, she wrote anote and sent it up to the platform. It read, Its time tostop! And he did. Once Bess Truman didnt like whather husband was saying on television, so she phonedhim and said, If you cant talkmore politely than that inpublic, you come right home.

Abigail Fillmore and Eliza Johnson actually taught theirhusbands, Millard Fillmore and Andrew Johnson, thethirteenth and seventeenth Presidents. A schoolteacher,Abigail eventually married her pupil, Millard. When ElizaJohnson married Andrew, he could not read or write, soshe taught him herself.

It was First Lady Helen Tafts idea to plant the famouscherry trees in Washington,D. C. Each spring theseblossoming trees attract thousands of visitors to thenations capital. Mrs. Taft also influenced the malemembers of her family and the White House staff in astrange way: she convinced them to shave off theirbeards!

Shortly after President Wilson suffered a stroke, EdithWilson unofficially tookover most of the duties of thePresidency until the end of her husbands term. Earlier,during World War I, Mrs. Wilson had had sheep broughtonto the White House lawn to eat the grass. The sheepnot only kept the lawn mowed but provided wool for anauction sponsored by the First Lady. Almost $100,000was raised for the Red Cross.

Dolly Madison saw to it that a magnificent painting of


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George Washington was not destroyed during the War of1812. As the British marched toward Washington, D. C.,she remained behind to rescue the painting, even afterthe guards had left. The painting is the only object fromthe original White House that was not burned.One of the most famous First Ladies was EleanorRoosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

She was active in political and social causes throughouther husbands tenure in office. After his death, shebecame famous for her humanitarian work in the UnitedNations. She made life better for thousands of needypeople around the world.What is the main idea of this passage?Of the many kinds of vegetables grown all overthe world, which remains the favorite of youngand old alike? Why, the potato, of course.Perhaps you know them as taters,spuds, orKennebees, or as chips,Idahoes, or evgs. No matter, a potato by any othername is still a potato- the worlds most widelygrown vegetable. As a matter of fact, if you arean average potato eater, you will put away at leasta hundred pounds of them each year.Thats only a tiny portion of the amount grownevery year, however. Worldwide, the

annualpotato harvest is over six billion bags- each bagcontaining a hundred pounds ofspuds, some ofthem as large as four pounds each. Here in theUnited States, farmers fill about four hundredmillion bags a year. That may seem like a lot oftaters, but it leaves us a distantthird amongworld potato growers. Polish farmers dig up justover 800 million bags a year, while the Russianslead the world with nearly 1.5 billion bags.The first potatoes were grown by the Incas ofSouth America, more than four hundred yearsago. Their descendants in Ecuador and Chilecontinue to grow the vegetable as high asfourteen thousand feet up in the Andes


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Mountains. ( Thats higher than any other foodwill grow.) Early Spanish and English explorersshipped potatoes to Europe, and they found theirway to North Americain the early 1600s.

People eat potatoes in many ways-baked,mashed, and roasted, to name just three.

However, in the United States most potatoes aredevoured in the form of French fries. One fast-food chain alone sells more than $1 billion worthof fries each year. No wonder, then, that thecompany pays particular attention to the way itsfries are prepared.

Before any fry makes it to the people who eat atthese popular restaurants, it must pass manyseparate tests. Fail any one and the spud isrejected. To start with, only russet Burbankpotatoes are used. These Idaho potatoes haveless water content than other kinds, which canhave as much as eighty percent water. Once cutinto shoestrings shapes, the potatoe

s are partlyfried in a secret blend of oils, sprayed with liquidsugar to brown them, steam dried at high heat,then flash frozen for shipment to individualrestaurants.

Before shipping, though, every shoestring ismeasured. Forty percent of a batch must bebetween two and three inches long. Another fortypercent has to be over three inches. What aboutthe twenty percent that are left in the batch? Well,a few short fries in a bag are okay, it seems.

So, now that you realize the enormous size andvalue of the potato crop, you canunderstand whymost people agree that this part of the foodindustry is no small po

tatoes.

What is the main idea of this passage?

Potatoes from Ireland started the Potato

Revolution.

The average American eats 50 lbs of potatoes a

year.

French fries are made from potatoes.


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Potatoes are a key vegetable in America.The various terms for potatoes have a longhistory.What does the word patentmean to you? Does itstrike you as being something rather remote fromyour interests? If it does, stop and think amoment about some of the commonplace thingsthat you use every day, objects that you take forgranted as

part of the world around you. Thetelephone, radio, television, the automobile, andthe thousand and one other things (even thehumble safety pin) that enrich our lives todayonce existed only as ideas in the minds of men. Ifit had not been possible to patent their ideas andthus protect them against copying by others,these inventions might never have been fullydeveloped to serve mankind.If there were no patent protection there would belittle incentive to invent andinnovate, for once thedetails of an invention became known, hordes ofimitators who did not share the inventors risksand expenses might well flood the market withtheir copies of his product and rea

p much of thebenefit of his efforts. The technological progressthat has made America great would wither rapidlyunder conditions such as these.The fundamental principles in the U. S. patentstructure came from England. During the gloriousreign of Queen Elizabeth I in England, theexpanding technology wasfurthered by thegranting of exclusive manufacturing and sellingprivileges to citizens who had invented newprocesses or tools-a step that did much toencourage creativity. Later, when critics arguedthat giving monopoly rights to one personinfringed on the rights of others, an importantprinciple was added to the patent structure: TheLord Chief Justice of England stated that societyhad everything togain and nothing to lose bygranting exclusive privileges to an inventor,


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because a patent for an invention was granted forsomething new that society never had before.

Another basic principle was brought into lawbecause certain influential people in England hadmanaged to obtain monopoly control over suchage-old products as salt, and had begun chargingas much as the traffic would bear. The publicoutcry bec

ame so great that the government wasforced to decree that monopoly rights couldbeawarded only to those who created or introducedsomething really unique. Theseprinciples are themainstays of our modern patent system in theUnited States.

In colonial times patent law was left up to theseparate states. The inconsistency, confusion,and unfairness that resulted clearly indicated theneed for a uniform patent law,and the men whodrew up the Constitution incorporated one.George Washington signed the first patent law onApril 10,1790, and less than four months later thefirst patent was issued to a man named SamuelHopkins for a chemical process, an improvedmethod of making potash for use in soapmaking.

In 1936 the Patent Office was established as aseparate bureau. From the staff of eight that itmaintained during its first yearof operation it hasgrown into an organization of over 2500 peoplehandling morethan 1600 patent applications andgranting over 1000 every week.

The Patent Office in Washington, D. C., is theworlds largest library of scientific and technicaldata, and this treasure trove of information isopen for public inspection. In addition to morethan 3 million U. S. patents, it houses more than 7million foreign patents and thousands of volumesof technical literature. Abraham Lincoln patenteda device tolift steam vessels over river shoals,Mark Twain developed a self-pasting scrapbook,and millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt invented a

shoe-shine kit.

A patent may be granted for any new and usefulprocess, machine, article of manufacture, orcomposition of matter ( a chemical compound or


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combinations of chemical compounds), or anydistinct and new variety; of plant, includingcertain mutants and hybrids.The patent system has also helped to boost thewages of the American worker to anunprecedented level; he can produce more andearn more with the computer, addingmachines,drill press or lathe. Patented inventions also helpkeep prices down by increasin

g manufacturingefficiency and by stimulating the competition thatis the foundation of our free enterprise system.The decades of history have disclosed little needfor modification of the patentstructure. Ourpatent laws, like the Constitution from which theygrew, have stood the test of time well. Theyencouraged the creative processes, broughtuntold benefits to society as a whole, and enabledAmerican technology to outstrip that of the rest ofthecivilized world.What is the main idea of this passage?The patent system encourages free enterprise.The Constitution protects the patent system.The patent system in England has been influential

in American patent development.Patents are important tools for inventors.Patented inventions protect the inventor, freeenterprise, and the creative process.Most people think its fine to be busy as abeaver. Little do they know. Beavers mayworkhard, but often they dont get much done.Beavers are supposed to be great tree cutters. Itis true that a beaver can gnaw through a tree veryquickly. (A six-inch birch takes about tenminutes.) But then what? Often the beaver doesnot make use of the tree. One expert says thatbeavers waste one out of every five trees they


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cut.

For one thing, they do not choose their treeswisely. One bunch of beavers cut down acottonwood tree more than one hundred feet tall.Then they found that they could not move it.

In thick woods a tree sometimes wont fall down.It gets stuck in the other trees. Of course, doesntthink to cut down the trees that are in the way. Soa good tree goes to waste.

Some people think that beavers can make a treefall the way they want it to. Nottrue. (In fact, abeaver sometimes gets pinned under a fallingtree.) When beaverscut a tree near a stream, itusually falls into the water. But they do not planit that way. The fact is that most trees leantoward the water to start with.

Now what about dam building? Most beaverdams are wonders of engineering. The best onesare strongly built of trees, stones, and mud. Theyare wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.

Beavers think nothing of building a dam morethan two hundred feet long. One dam,inMontana, was more than two thousand feet long.The largest one ever seen was in NewHampshire. It stretched four thousand feet.Itmade a lake large enough to hold forty beaverhomes.

So beavers do build good dams. But they dontalways build them in the right places. They just

dont plan. They will build a dam across thewidest part of the stream. They dont try to find aplace where the stream is narrow. So a lot oftheir hard work is wasted.

Beavers should learn that its not enough to bebusy. You have to know what youre doing, too.For example, there was one Oregon beaver thatreally was a worker. It decided tofix a leak in aman-made dam. After five days of work it gaveup. The leak it was trying to block was the lockthat boats go through.



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Beavers may be hard working animals, but theydont always choose the most efficientmechanisms.

Beavers are excellent dam builders.

New Hampshire was the site of the largest beaverdam.Beavers are well developed tree cutters.Beavers are poor surveyors of aquatic

environments in some cases.

The raisin business in America was born byaccident. It happened in 1873 in the San JoaquinValley of California. Many farmers raised grapesin this valley. That year, just before the grapeharvest, there was a heat wave. It was one of theworst heat waves ever known. It was so hot thegrapes dried on the vines. When they werepicked, California had its first raisincrop.

People were surprised to find how good raisinswere. Everybody wanted more. So the SanJoaquin farmers went into the raisin business.Today, of course, they do not let the grapes dryon the vines. They treat them with much morecare.

In late August the grapes start to ripen. They aretested often for sweetness. The growers wait untilthe sugar content is twenty-one percent. Thenthey know the grapes are ripe enough to bepicked.

Skilled workers come to the vineyards. They pickthe bunches of grapes by hand. The workers filltheir flat pans with grapes. They gently empty thepans onto squares of paper. These squares liebetween the long rows of vines. They sit in thesun.

Here the grapes stay while the sun does its work.It may take two weeks or longer. The grapes arefirst dried on one side. When they have reached


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the right color, they are turned to dry on the otherside. The grapes are dried until only fifteenpercent of the moisture is left. Then they haveturned into raisins.The raisins are rolled up in the paper on whichthey have dried. Trucks take themfrom thefields. They are poured into big boxes calledsweatboxes. Each box holds one hund

red andsixty pounds of raisins. Here, any raisins that area bit too dry take moisture from those that have abit too much. After a while they are all just moistenough.The big boxes are trucked next to the packagingplant. They are emptied onto a conveyor belt thatshakes the raisins gently. This knocks them fromtheir stems. A blast of air whisks the stems away.The water bath is next. Then the plump brownraisins have a last inspection. Theyare againchecked for moisture and sugar. Then they go ona belt to packing machines. Here they are pouredinto packages, which are automatically weighedand sealed. The raisins are now ready for market.What is the main idea of this passage?

The creation of raisins in America was anaccident.The process of raisin development requiresmultiple steps.Raisins on the grocery store shelf undergo a brieffermentation process.Raisins are cleaned thoroughly at the packingplant.California has been the leader in American raisindevelopment.In 1976, Sichan Siv was crawling through thejungle, trying to escape from Cambodia. By 1989,however, Siv was working in the White House, inWashington D. C., as an advisor t

o the President


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of the United States. How did this strangejourney come about?

Like millions of Cambodians, Siv was a victim of abloody civil war. One of the sides in this war wasthe Cambodian government. The other was agroup called the Khmer Rouge. When the

KhmerRouge won the war, the situation in Cambodia gotworse. Many people were killed, while otherswere forced into hard labor. Sometimes entirefamilies were wiped out.

Siv came from a large family that lived in thecapital of Cambodia. After finishing high school,Siv worked for a while with a Cambodian airlinecompany. Later, he taught English. After that, hetook a job with CARE, an American group thatwas helping victims of the war.

Siv had hope to leave Cambodia before theKhmer Rouge took over the country.Unfortunately, he was delayed. As a result, heand his family were taken from their homes andforced to labor in rice fields. After a while, Sivmanaged to escape. He rode an old bicycle formiles, trying to reach Thailand where he would befree and safe. For three weeks he slept on theground and tried tohide from the soldiers whowere looking for him. Caught at last, he wasafraid hewould be killed. Instead, he was put intoa labor camp, where he worked eighteenhourseach day without rest. After several months, heescaped again; this time hemade it. The journey,however, was a terrifying one. After three days ofstaggering on foot through mile after mile of thickbamboo, Siv finally made his way to Thailand.

Because he had worked for an American charitygroup, Siv quickly found work in arefugee camp.Soon he was on his way to the states. He arrivedin June of 1976 and got a job-first picking applesand then cooking in a fast-food restaurant. Siv,however, wanted more than this; he wanted towork with people who, like himself, had sufferedthe hardship of leaving their own countriesbehind. Siv decided that the best way to preparefor this kind of workwas to go to college. Hewrote letters to many colleges and universities.


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They were impressed with his school recordsfrom Cambodia, and they were impressed with hisbravery. Finally, in 1980, he was able to study atColumbia Universityin New York City. Afterfinishing his studies at Columbia, Siv took a jobwith the United Nations. He married an Americanwoman and became a citizen. After several more

years, he felt that he was very much a part of hisnew country.

In 1988, Siv was offered a job in the White Houseworking for President Reagans closest advisors.It was a difficult job, and he often had to worklong hours. However the long hard work wasworth it, because Siv got the opportunity to helprefugees in his work.


Persistence and courage are global ideas.

Siv covered a large area during his life.

Siv persevered to become an American citizenSiv overcame numerous challenges to come toAmerican and help others.Siv persevered to become an American citizen.

When you want to hang the American flag overthe middle of a street, suspend it vertically withthe blue field, called the union, to the north andeast-west street. When the flag is displayed withanother banner from crossed staffs, the American

flag is on the right. Place the staff of theAmerican flag in front of the otherstaff. Raise theflag quickly and lower it slowly and respectfully.When flying the flag at half-mast, hoist it to thetop of the pole for a moment before lowering it tomid-pole. When flying the American flag withbanners from states or cities, raise the nationsbanner first and lower it last. Never allow the flagto touch the ground.


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What is the main idea of this passage?The American flag is the symbol of Americanfreedom.The American flag has fifty stars.Placing the American flag inappropriately willdraw government intervention.

American flag should be flown differently incertain situations.The flag should be lowered quickly andrespectfully.What if someone told you about a kind of grassthat grows as tall as the tallesttrees? A grassthat can be made as strong as steel? A grassfrom which houses, furniture, boats, andhundreds of other useful things can be made? Agrass that you would even enjoy eating? Wouldyou believe that person? You should, for thatgrass is bamboo, the woodof 1,001 uses.Bamboo may look like wood, but it is part of thefamily of plants that includes wheat, oats, andbarley. It is a kind of grass. This grass is not justa material f

or making useful products. Youngbamboo is eaten, often mixed with othervegetables, in many Asian foods.Bamboo grows in many parts of the world. In theUnited States it grows in an area from Virginiawest to Indiana and south to Florida, Louisiana,and Texas. Most bamboo, however, is found inwarm, wet climates, especially in Asia and on theislands of the South Pacific Ocean.In most Asian countries, bamboo is nearly asimportant as rice. Many Asians livein bamboohouses. They sit on bamboo chairs and sleep onbamboo mats. They fence their landwith bambooand use the wood for cages for chickens andpigs.


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Bamboo is used to build large buildings as wellas homes. When it is glued in layers, it becomesas strong as steel. On some islands in the SouthPacific, bamboo is even used for water pipes.This extraordinary material has many other uses.It is used to make musical instruments, such asflutes and recorders. Paper made from bamboohas been highly prized by artists fo

r thousands ofyears.

Bamboo is light and strong, and it bends withoutbreaking. It is cheap, floats onwater, almostnever wears out, and is easy to grow. Nothingelse on earth grows quite so fast as bamboo. Attimes you can even see it grow! Botanists haverecorded growths of more than three feet in justtwenty-four hours! Bamboo is hollow and has astrong root system that almost never stopsgrowing and spreading. In fact, only after itflowers, an event that may happen only onceevery thirty years, will bamboo die.

There are more than a thousand kinds of

bamboo. The smallest is only three inches talland one-tenth of an inch across. The largestreaches more than two hundred feet in height andseven inches in diameter. No wonder, then, thatthe lives of nearly half the people on earth wouldchange enormously if there were no longer anybamboo. No wonder, too, that to many peoplebamboo is a symbol ofhappiness and goodfortune.


Bamboo has at least 2,000 uses.

Bamboo grows at an amazing rate and is found

primarily in Asia.

Bamboo is an amazing grass that can be used in

multiple ways.

There are at least a 1,000 types of bamboo.

Bamboo could be considered a flower in some

cases.


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Every year since 1986, some of the worlds mostdaring runners have gathered in thedesert ofMorocco. They are there to take part in one of themost difficult racesin the world. The Marathon ofthe Sands, as it is called, covers over 125 miles ofdesert and mountain wilderness. The runnerscomplete the course in fewer than seven days,

and they run with their food, clothing, andsleeping bags on their backs.

The Marathon of the Sands was founded in 1986by Patrick Bauer. His idea was to give therunners, who come from all over the world, aspecial kind of adventure. Most of the runners inthis race have found that they form deepfriendships with the other runners during theirdays and nights in the desert. Facing terrible heatand complete exhaustion, they learn much aboutthemselves and each other.

For most of the runners, though, the challenge ofthe race is the main reason forcoming. On the

first day, for example, they run fifteen milesacross a desert of sand, rocks, and thornybushes. Few runners finish the day withoutblistered and raw feet. They also suffer from alack of water. (They are allowed less than ninequarts of waterduring each day of the race.)Most of all, they are exhausted when they arriveat the campsite for the night.

The second day, the runners are up at 6:00 A. M.Within a few hours, it is 100 degrees F, but therunners do not hesitate. They must covereighteen miles that day. That night, they rest.They must be ready for the next days run.

On the third day, the runners must climb giantsand dunes- the first they have fa

ced. Dust andsand mix with the runners sweat. Soon theirfaces are caked with mud. After fifteen miles ofthese conditions, the runners finally reach theirnext camp.

The race continues like this for four more days.The fourth and fifth days are the worst. On the


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fourth day, the runners pass through a levelstretch and a beautiful, tree-filledoasis, but then,on this and on the next day, they cross more thantwenty-one miles of rocks and sand dunes. Thetemperature soars to 125 degrees F, and manyrunners cannot make it. Helicoptersrush fallenrunners to medical help. Runners who make it to

the end of the fifth day know that the worst isover.

On the sixth day, heat and rocks punish theracers terribly. In the Valley of Dra, the windpicks up and, as the desert heat is thrust againstthem with great force, they grow more and moreexhausted.

The seventh day is the last, with only twelve milesto be covered. The dusty, tired, blistered runnersset out at daybreak. Near the finish line, childrenrace along with the runners, for everybody hascaught the excitement. The ones who have runthe whole marathon know they haveaccomplished what most people could not evendream of. During the hard moments, says onecontestant who has raced here tw

ice,Id think,Why am I here? Then Id realize I was there to

find my limits.


The Marathon of the Sands race tests the limits of

human endurance.

The runners run at their own pace.

The race causes the strong to stumble and the

weak to not finish.

The seventh day is the hardest day of the race.

Every runner runs the race to find their human

limits.

High in the Andes Mountains in Peru stands theancient city of Machu Picchu. No one knows why thisgreat city was built, nor is it likely that we will ever


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know. Nevertheless, the deserted city of MachuPicchu is important for what it reveals about theancient Inca people of South America.

The Incas once ruled a great empire that covered alarge part of the South American continent. Theempire was more than five hundred years old whenthe first Spanish explorers, looking for gold, went tothat continent in the sixteenth century.

The Incas were an advanced people. They wereskillful engineers who paved their roads and builtsturdy bridges. They plowed the land in such a waythat rains wouldnot wash away valuable soil. Theydug ditches to carry water into dry areas forfarming.

Even though they did not know about the wheel, theIncas were able to move huge stone blocks-some asheavy as ten tons- up the sides of mountains to buildwalls. The blocks were fitted so tightly, withoutcement of any kind, that it would be impossible to slipa knife blade between them! The walls have stoodfirm through great storms and earthquakes that havedestroyed many modern buildings.

The Incas were great artists, too. Today, Incan dishesand other kinds of potteryare prized for theirwonderful designs. Since both gold and silver werein greatsupply, the Incas created splendid objectsfrom these precious metals.

While it is true that the Incas had no written language,they kept their accounts by using a system of knottedstrings of various lengthsand colors. The sizes ofthe knots and the distances between themrepresented numbers.

At its height, the Incan empire included as many asthirty million people. The emperor ruled them with an

iron hand. He told his subjects where to live, what toplant, how long they should work-even whom theycould marry. Since he owned everything, the emperorgave what he wished when he wished- and in theamount he wished -to his people.

In 1533 Spanish explorers led by Francisco Pizarromurdered the emperor of the Incas. Earlier, the heirto the Incan empire had also been killed. The Incas,who had always been entirely dependent on their


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emperor, now had no recognized leader. TheSpaniards easily conquered the empire and plunderedits riches.

Have the Incas disappeared from South America?Not at all. In Peru alone, once the center of that greatempire, eighty percent of the twenty million peopleare descendants of the Inca people. Evidence of the

Incan empire can be found in many other places inSouth America as well. You caneven visit MachuPicchu. The remains of this ancient city still standhigh in the mountains of Peru, an awesome tribute tothis once powerful empire.


The Incas once inhabited the ancient city of MachuPicchu.Peru was the primary country of the Incas.The Incan empire can be found in ancient cities and

was plundered by the Spanish.Spanish conquerors destroyed the Incan empire in thethirteenth century.Machu Picchu was the capital of the Incan empire.http://testprepreview.com/modules/readingmainidea.htm

1. A number of recent books with titles like Raising Cain, Real Boys, and Lost Boys all focus onthe same issue: Todays teenaged boys are feeling more anxiety than ever before about theirphysical appearance. Bombarded by advertising featuring well-muscled, semi-cladyoung men,teenage boys are experiencing what teenage girls have been coping with for years

. They areafraid that they cannot possibly live up to the medias idealized image of their gender. Youngboys below the average in height, weight, or both suffer the most. Often, they are brutally teasedby their brawnier peers. Some react to the ridicule by heading for the gym and lifting weights. Yeteven those who successfully bulk up dont like feeling that they are considered worthless if theylose their hard-won muscle tone. Others, convinced that no amount of body building can help,often withdraw from social contact with their peers. This is their way of avoiding taunts about theirsize or shape. Still, they are understandably angry at being badly treated because of their bodytype. Although school psychologists generally recognize that boys today are having severe bodyimage problems, they are at a loss about what to do to solve those problems.Main Idea


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a. More than in previous generations, teenaged boys are getting into body building.b. Teenaged boys today are showing more anxiety about their physical appearancethan did boysof previous generations.2. In 1997, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission reported that skateboar

ding injurieswere up by 33 percent. Mountain climbing injuries were also up by 20 percent. Similarly,snowboarding injuries showed an increase of thirty-one percent. By all accounts,manyAmericans are having a love affair with risky sports; as a result, they are injuring themselves inever greater numbers. One reason for the growing participation in risky, or extreme, sports hasbeen put forth by Dan Cady, a professor of popular culture at California State University.According to Cady, previous generations didnt need to seek out risk. It was all a

round them inthe form of disease epidemics, economic instability, and global wars. At one time, just managingto stay alive was risky, but that feeling has all but disappeared, at least formembers of theprivileged classes. To a degree Cadys theory is confirmed in the words of adventure racer JoyMarr. Marr says that risk has been minimized in everyday life, forcing people to seek outchallenges in order to prove themselves. (Source: Karl Taro Greenfield. Life on the Edge. Time.September 6, 1999, p.29).Main Idea

a. According to Professor Dan Cady if California State, many Americans yearn forthe days whenjust staying alive was a difficult task.b. More and more Americans are taking up high-risk sports; as a result, injuriesfrom these sportsare increasing.Exercise 2

Directions: Read each passage. Then complete the main idea statement begun on the blanksthat follow the paragraph.

1. In several states across the nation, there has been successful drive to end social promotion.In other words, children who do not achieve the required score on a standardizedtest will nolonger be promoted to the next grade. Instead, they will have to repeat the grade they havefinished. Yet despite the calls for ending social promotion--many of them from politicians lookingfor a crowd-pleasing issue--there is little evidence that making children repeata grade has apositive effect. If anything, research suggests that forcing children to repeat

a grade hurts ratherthan helps their academic performance. In 1989, University of Georgia ProfessorThomas Holms


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surveyed sixty-three studies that compared the performance of kids who had repeated a gradewith those who had received a social promotion. Holms found that most of the children who hadrepeated a grade had a poorer record of academic performance than the children who had beenpromoted despite poor test scores. A similar study of New York City children in

the 1980srevealed that the children who repeated a grade were more likely to drop out upon reaching highschool. The call to end social promotion may have a nice ring to it in politicalspeeches. Yet thereis little indication that it does students any real good.Main Idea: Across the country, many states have abolished the policy of social promotion

2. During World War I, a number of severe shortages alerted the worlds scientiststo the need for

synthetic, or man-made materials. Thus by 1934, a research team headed by WallaceH.Carothers had developed the first synthetic fiber, called nylon. As it turnedout, thedevelopment of nylon had a surprisingly profound effect on world affairs. True,its first use was in


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fashion, and in 1939, the Dupont company began marketing sheer nylon hose for women. Nylonswere a spectacular hit and sold off the shelves almost immediately. But they disappeared with thecoming of World War II, as nylon became essential to the war effort. It was usedin everything

from parachutes and ropes, to insulation and coat linings. Sadly Carothers neverwitnessed theimpact of his creation. He committed suicide two years before the first pair ofnylons ever went onsale.

Main Idea: In 1934, Wallace H. Carothers developed nylon, the first synthetic fiber

Exercise 3

Directions: Each paragraph is followed by a statement of the main idea that is not quite accurateor precise enough. In other words, it almostbut not completelysums up the main idea. Reviseeach statement to make it more effectively express the main idea.

1. Over the last two centuries, Americas soldiers have been given several nicknames, amongthem yanks,grunts,doughboys, and Johnny Reb. However, none of those nicknames hahad the staying power of the nickname G.I. Derived from the words government issue,theterm G.I. emerged in World War II and gave birth to its own masculine and feminine

forms, G.I.Joe and G.I. Jane. It was even attached to one of the most famous educational billsinAmerican history, the G.I. Bill. At one point, the military tried to rid itselfof the name G.I. claimingthat it dehumanized the people to whom it referred. Military manuals and pamphlets begansubstituting the supposedly more favorable term service members. But the public would havenone of it. Newspapers, radio, television, and most importantly, World War II veterans themselvesclung to the nickname. Particularly for the veterans of World War II, being a G.I. was a badge ofhonor, and they were not about to give up the name.Imprecise Main Idea: Throughout the last two centuries, Americas soldiers have been givenmany different nicknames.

Revised Main Idea:

2. While she lived, the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was known mainly as the wifeof the famedmuralist Diego Rivera. Yet in the decades since her death, Kahlo has become hugely famous in

her own right and is probably now better known than her husband. In 1990, Kahlobecame thefirst Mexican artist to break the one million mark at an auction. The vivid, sel


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f-portraits that Kahlocreated in the thirties and forties continue to be widely sought after by collectors willing to payhigh prices for her paintings. Although Kahlo is often described as a painter intent on exploringher own personal reality, many of her paintings include references to Mexicos political and social

history. Its not surprising, then, that in 1985, the Mexican government publiclyproclaimed herwork a national treasure.Imprecise Main Idea: Unfortunately, the painter Frida Kahlo spent her life in the shadow of herfamous husband, the muralist, Diego Rivera.

Revised Main Idea:

Exercise 4

Directions: In the blanks that follow each paragraph, write out what you think is the main idea.


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1. In the 1870s, the Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley navigated the Congo river under thesponsorship of King Leopold of Belgium. Wherever he stopped, he made treaties with the Africanchiefs he encountered. As a result, when Stanley returned to Europe, King Leopold was able to

take possession of an area eighty times the size of Belgium. Leopold promptly called the area theBelgium Congo and turned it into his own private goldmine, almost destroying theCongo in theprocess. Under Leopolds rule, the Congolese were faced with impossibly high taxesand forcedinto slave labor. Agents of the Belgian government would give each Congolese family a basket tofill with rubber. If members of the family did not return the basket with the required number ofpounds of rubber, their home would be burned to the ground. Anyone who rebelledwould be put

in prison. Meanwhile, Leopold grew enormously rich, squandering his blood moneyon yachts,mansions, and mistresses. To keep the Belgian people quiet, he also expended enormous sumson public works. Nevertheless, public opinion against Leopold and his vicious ways grewstronger. Ultimately he was forced to give up his stranglehold on the Congo, butnot beforemillions of people had been imprisoned and thousands had died.Main Idea:

2. Computerized axial tomography, also known as the CAT scan, was developed in 1

971. In itsimportance, the development of the CAT scan ranks with Roentgens discovery of X-Rays. Theword tomography comes from the Greek word tomos meaning section or slice. In effect,theCAT scan allowed doctors to see into the body almost as if layers of it had beensliced away forbetter viewing. For the first time, it was possible to view soft tissue inside the skull, chest andabdomen without resorting to surgery. Thanks to the CAT scan, radiologists couldnow distinguishnormal from clotted blood. They could also examine the ventricles of the heart without inflictingpain. Prior to the creation of the CAT scan, it had been necessary to pump air into the ventriclesof the heart, causing the person undergoing the procedure intense pain.Main Idea:

http://dhp.com/~laflemm/reso/mainIdea.htm

To many parents, the infant's crying may be mainly an irritation, especially ifit continuesfor long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well asfor theparents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory s

ystem.Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry,they


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indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information forparents.

http://www.ccis.edu/departments/cae/studyskills/mainidea.html


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37684985 locating main ideas 1

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