Paragraph Reading

Main Idea

. exercise,
I n th 1s • you w1-11 practICe· fi10d mg
' the main idea of a. short text. dBeing
l able
I .to determine
. th e
main idea of a passage is one of the most useful reading skills you ca~ eve op. t Is a ski!l you can
apply to any kind of reading. For example, when you read fo~ enJoyment_ or to obtain general
information it is probably not important to remember all the details of a selection. In stead, you want
to quickly discover the general message-the main idea of the passage. For othe~ kinds of reading,
such as reading textbooks or articles in your own field, you need both to determme the main ideas
and to understand the way in which these are developed. . .
The main idea of a passage is the thought that is present from th~ begmm~g ~o the e~d. In a well-
written paragraph, most of the sentences support, describe, or explam the mam idea. It 1s sometimes
stated in the first or last sentence of the paragraph. Sometimes the main idea is only implied.
In order to determine the main idea of a piece of writing, you should ask yourself what idea is
common to most of the text. What is the idea that relates the parts to the whole? What opinion do all
the parts support? What idea do they all explain or describe?
When reading short passages, you need to be able to both recognize the main idea and ~;ome-
times ro express the main idea in your own words. Read the following short texts to discover the main
idea. After each of the first five passages, select the statement that best expresses the main idea. For
Passages 6 and 7, you will write a sentence that expresses the main idea. Finally, for Passage 8, Y,hich
is several paragraphs long, you will move to doing this task on a larger scale; you will be asked to both
identify the main idea and create a summary of the entire text.
When you have finished, your teacher may want to divide the class into small groups for
discussion. Study the example carefully before you begin.

Example

By the time the first European travelers on the American continent began to record som e -,f
their observations about Native Americans, the Cherokee people had developed an advan U:d
culture that probably was exceeded only by the civilized tribes of the Southwest: Mayan and
Aztec groups. The social structures of the Cherokee people consisted of a form of clan kin sh ip
in which there were seven recognized clans . All members of a clan were considered bl ood
brothers and sisters and were bound by honor to defend any member of that clan from wro ng.
Each clan , the Bird , Paint, Deer, Wolf, Blue, Long Hair, and Wild Potato, was represented i1 1
the civil council by a councillor or councillors. The chief of the tribe was selected from onr,
of these clans and did not inherit his office from his kinsmen . Actually there were two chi efs
a :eace chief and a War chief. The Peace chief served when the tribe was at peace, but th<·
minute war was declared , the War chief was in command.

Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passa
ge.
a. The Cherokee chief was different in wartime than · ·
m peacetime.
b. Before the arrival of the Europ th Ch k h ·
eans, e ero ees ad developed a well-organized society.
c. The Mayans and the Aztecs were part of the Cherokee tribe.
d. Several Native American cultures h d d 1 d d d · ·• · d
a eve ope a vance civilizations before Europeans arnve ·
22 , PARAGRAPH READING UNIT 1
 Explanation

a This is not the main idea. Rather, 1t. 1s

. one o f th e several exarnples the author uses to
· support his statement that the C h era kee peop Ie h ad d eve loped an advanced culture.
· statement expresses th e mam
This · I"d ea o f t h e paragrap h • All other sentences in the
paragraph are examples supporting the idea that the Cherok~es had developed an
advanced culture by the time Europeans arrived on the comment.
c. This statement is false, so it cannot be the main idea.
d. This statement is too general. The paragraph describes the social structure of the Chero;ee
people only. Although the author names other advanced Native American cultures, he oes
this only to strengthen his argument that the Cherokees had developed an advanced culture.

Passage 1

A remarkab le feature of Australian English is its comparative uniformity. Austra lia, a continent
roughly the size of Europe, has almost no regional variation of accent. A c itizen of Perth ca n
sound much like a citizen of Adelaide or Sydney, or like a station hand in Ali ce Spri ng~ or ,Bro-
ken Hill. In Britain or the United States, by contrast, even the outsider can probably dec id e rro m
the local acce nt whether he or she is in Scotland or Dorset, New England or Lou isian a.

Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage.

a. Regional accents are remarkably useful in deciding where someone is from .

6. In Britain or the United States, there are different accents in different regions.

c. English spoken across Australia is not very different from that spoken in Britain and in the
United States.

d. There are surprisingly few regional differences in Australian English.

Passage 2

At the University of Kansas art museum, in vestigators tested the effects of different co lored
w all s on two groups of visitors to an exhibit of pa intings . For the first group the room was
painted white ; for the second, dark brown. Movement of eac h group was fo ll owed by an elec-
trical system under the carpet. Th e experiment revea led that those who entered the dark brown
room walked more quickly, covered more area, and spe nt less time in the room than th e peo-
ple in the white environment. Dark brown stimu lated more activity, but the activity ended
sooner. Not only the choice of colors but also the general appearance of a room communicates
and influences those inside. Another experiment presented subjects w ith photographs of faces
that were to be rated in terms of energy and well-being . Three groups of subjects were used ;
eac h was shown the same photos, but each group was in a different kind of room . One group
was in an " ugly" room that resembled a messy storeroom . Another group was in an average
room-a nice office. Th e third group was in a tastefully designed living room with carpeting
and drapes. Results showed that the subjects in the beautiful room tended to give higher ratings
to the faces than did those in the ugly room. Other studies suggest that students do better on
tests taken in comfortable, attractive rooms than they do in ordinary-looking or ugly rooms.

UNIT 1 PARAGRAPH READING . 23

 Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage.

__ a. People in beautiful rooms tend to give higher ratings to photographs of faces than do
people in ugly rooms.
__ b. The color and general appearance of a room influence the behavior and attitudes of the
people in it.
__ c. The University of Kansas has studied the effects of the color of a room on people's
behavior.
__ d. Beautifully decorated, light-colored rooms make people more comfortable than ugly,
dark rooms.

Passage 3

Teac hing is supposed to be a professional acti vity req uiring long and complica ted training as well
as official certifi ca tion. The act of teac hing is looked upon as a flow of knowledge from a higher
source to an empty contai ner. The student's role is one of receiving information; the teacher's
role is one of sending ii. There is a clear di stinction assumed between one who is supposed 10
know (and therefore not capab le of being wrong) and anot her, usuall y younger person, who is
supposed not to kn ow. Howeve r, teaching need not be the province of a spec ial group of people
nor need it be looked upon as a tec hnica l sk ill. Teaching ca n be more like guiding and assisting
than forcing information into a supposed ly empty head. If you have a certain skill you should be
able to share it w ith someone. You do not have to gel certifi ed to convey w hat you know tooth-
ers or to help them in their attempt to teach themselves. All of us, from the very youngest chil-
dren to the oldest members of our cu ltures, should come to rea lize our own potential as teachers.
We ca n share what we know, however I ittle it might be, with someone w ho has need of that
knowledge or skill.

Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage.

a. The author believes that it is nor difficult to be a good teacher.

b. The author believes that every person has the potential to be a reacher.
c. The author believes that reaching is a professional activity requiring special training.
d. The author believes rhar reaching is the flow of knowledge from a higher source to an
empty container.

Passage 4

"The art ist," Alberto Giacometti once told his boarding school classmates, "must portray things
as he sees them, not as others show them." He was ju st 16, but those words would define and
hau nt him for the rest of hi s life. Giacometti beca me one of the titans of twentieth century sculp-
ture and painting, an artist w ho gave Picasso advice on sc ulpting and was picked to draw
Matisse's portrait for a medallion honoring the painter's ca reer. Yet to his la st days, Giacometti
was st ill trying to live up to those boyhood word s, and claiming that he'd failed.

24 . PARAGRAPH READING UNIT 1

Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage.

a. Giacometti believed he had fuiled co give Picasso good advice.

b. Giacometti was a major anise of the twentieth century.
c. Giacomecci was a beccer sculptor than Picasso.
d. Throughout his life, Giacometti was nor co nvinced he was a true anise.

Passage 5

Some tribes in Afri ca spea k to each other with a vocabu lary that includes sharp clicking sounds.
Genetic compari son of two such tribes suggests that the click langu ages, known as Khoisan lan-
guages, cou ld resembl e the ancestral tongue of all human kind . These tongues are most preva lent
in southwestern Africa where many tribes, including the San and !Kung tribes (the ! represents a
click sound) spea k them. The Hadzabe people and several other tribes in the East African coun-
try of Tanzani a also talk with cli cks. The geographical and geneti c diversity of Khoisa n spea kers
and Africa's apparent rol e as the birthplace of humanity have led some scientists to propose th at
all living humans descended from speakers of a click language.

Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage.

a. Several different African tribes speak languages with clicks.

b. Africa is the place where humans probably originated.
c. The earliest humans may have spoken a click language.

d. Click languages appear to be Khoisan languages.

Passage 6

There is widesp read fear among policymakers and the public today that the fami ly is disintegrat-
ing. Much of that anxiety stems from a basic misunderstanding of the nature of the fami ly in the
past and a lack of appreciat ion for its resiliency in response to broad social and economic
changes. The general view of the fa mily is that it has been a stabl e and relatively unchanging
institution through history and is onl y now undergoing changes ; in fact, change has always been
characteristi c of it.

Write a sentence that expresses the main idea of the passage. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

UNIT 1 PARAGRAPH READING , 25

 Passage 7

Enough is known aboul lhe ancienl MJya-lhose sophislica lecl arl isls and archilects, as1ronorners
and ca lendar keepers of Sou lh Am eri ca-lo rea lize Iha1 much remains lo be learned before all
lhe mysteri es ca n be unraveled. O nce considered peaceful slargazers, !hey are now suspecled of
being blood1hirs1y and wa rl ike. Dogged and bril lianl scholars have wreslled wilh lhe problems
for a cenlury and a half. There has been a steady revision of ideas, regul ar ex pJnsion of the
boundaries of kn owledge, and !here is cerl ai n lo be more.

Wnle a sen1ence that expresses th e main idea of the passa ge

Passage 8: Main Idea and Prose Summary

Read the pa ssage to 1dent1fy the most important ideas

Sc ientists believe th ey have found 1he answer to a question thal has been puzz ling bird lovers
and scientisls alike. Typica ll y, 1he common English robin is one of th e earli est birds lo begin
si ngi ng al th e dawn of eac h day and lhe last to slop si nging al ni ghlfall . Singing is the way male
robins allrac t a mate. Around some cities, however, it is now not unusual to hear robins singing
Jl nigh!. This phenomenon has been the subject of stud y of resea rchers al th e University of
Sheffie ld , in the U.K., who are interes1ed in the effects of urbaniza tion on biodiversily.
Unlil recen ll y. urban light pollulion wa s offered as the expl anation for w hy some robin s sing
at night. The th eory was th al light from slreel lamps, large office buildings, and automobiles
fooled robins into lhinking il was slill daylighl. According lo Ri chard Fuller, a scienli sl al lhe Uni-
versily of Sheffield, 1here was inadequale research 10 supporl 1his claim . He and his co lleagues
suspecled somelhing else was al pla y.
In a two-yea r sludy, Full er's resea rch leam visiled 121 sites in and around lhe city of
Sheffield . Al 67 of th e sites, 1hey heard robins singing during lhe day, and al 18 sites, nocturnall y.
Al each site where !hey heard birds, !hey measured nighllime lighl and daylime noise. Th e nighl-
lime lighl levels at lhe si les did have a small effect, bul the daylime noi se levels were much more
slrongly related lo nighllime singing. Th ey found that in areas where robin s sa ng al nigh!, the
noise levels during lhe day were on average lwice as loud as al 1he olher siles, loud enough 10
make ii difficuh for the birds' songs to be heard .
Th al birds' singing is affecled by urban noise is supported by several other sludies. European
researchers showed 1ha1 birds living in areas wi lh a 101 of lraffi c sing al a higher pilch 1han simi-
lar birds in quieler areas, 10 be heard over 1he low-frequency sound of lraffic. Anolher study sug-
gesled 1ha1 nighlingales in Germany sing louder in noi sy areas . Furiher sludies w ill be conducted
l o invesligate lhe effects of nighttime singing on birds. II is possible that 1he adaplalion is harm-
less; however, ii could also lire birds oul and lake lime away from feeding, which could 1hrea1en
thei r surviva l.

26 · PARAGRAPH READING UNIT 1

I. What was the main finding of Fuller's research'

a. Nighttime singing appears co be dangerous fo r robins.

b. A loud level of noise in the day appears to cause robins t0 sing at night.
c. Nighttime singing by robins appears not to be as common as was once thought.
d. English robins do not appear to sing as loud as German nightingales.

e. Urban light pollution does not appear to affect robins' singing.

2. Imagine you are part of a study group in an ecology class. You have agreed tO read this passage and
write a one-paragraph summary of Fuller's research for your study group. You will begin your sum-
mary with this topic sentence:

Richard Fuller and his colleagues investigated why some robins living near urban
areas sing at night.

Now, choose three more sentences from the choices below to complete your summary. Put a check
( next to the three sentences that express the most important ideas about the study. Do not check
the sentences chat express ideas not found in the passage or ones that are less important ideas for sum-
marizing the research study.

a. They theorized that the main cause was light pollution.

b. They studied places where robins sing at night and places where they do not.
c. They found that most robins sing during the day.
d. They measured light and noise levels at 121 sites.
e. They discovered it was noisier in places where robins sang at night.
f They found that robins sing louder at night than during the day.
g. They discovered that light pollution had less effect than people had theorized.
h. They proved that nighttime singing threatens the robins' survival.

UNIT 1 PARAGRAPH READING , 27