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Explain what main idea is...
What is the biggest idea of the text.
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Air plants, such as mosses and lichens, grow on buildings and stones and get their food and water from the air around them. Other plants such as mistletoe get their food and water from the trees they live on. Sometimes these trees die if the plants take away too much food or water.
What is this story mainly about? A. what kinds of plants grow on buildings B. why mistletoe sometimes kills trees C. how some plants don't live in soil D. how mosses and lichens get food and water
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Doctors think that wearing red-tinted glasses can relieve sadness. Some people get very moody and sad in the winter. They may be affected by brief days. Bright lights help some people but not everyone. The reddish light coming through rose-colored glasses seems to make people feel happy
What is a good title for this passage? A. Winter Sadness B. Winter Relief with Colored Sunglasses C. Rose-Colored Sunglasses D. Moody People
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Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.
What is this passage mainly about? A. who uses pemmican today b. what can be put into pemmican c. how pemmican is prepared and used d. why people eat and store pemmican today
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Frank likes to go swimming. He swims every day that he can. He likes to swim in Blue Lake. Many of Frank's friends go swimming there too. Frank is a good swimmer.
What is this mainly about? A. Frank does not swim alone. B. Frank is the best swimmer in town. C. Frank likes to swim often. D. Frank swims every Saturday.
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Tap dancing started in America. It began as folk dancing that had much kicking and stamping. Over time two kinds of dancing developed. In one kind the dancers wore hard shoes and danced very fast. In the other they wore soft shoes and danced slowly and easily. There wasn't really any tap in tap dancing until 1925. That's when someone put metal pieces on the toes and heels of tap shoes.
What is the main idea? A. how there are two kinds of tap dancing B. how tap shoes are made C. where some folk dances came from D. how tap dancing developed
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The diamond is a hard element that can cut through almost any metal. That is why it is often used for industrial purposes. Whole diamond stones are set into tools. Dust from crushed diamond stones is used for coating the edges of tools. Care must be taken when exposing diamonds to extreme heat because heat can turn them into graphite. Graphite is the soft material used in the manufacture of lead for pencils.
What is this paragraph mainly about? A. how to turn a diamond into a graphite B. how diamonds are used in industry C. how diamond dust coats tool edges D. when diamonds are used in pencils
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Doctors think that wearing red-tinted glasses can relieve sadness. Some people get very moody and sad in the winter. They may be affected by brief days. Bright lights help some people, but not everyone. The reddish light coming through rose-colored glasses seems to make people feel happy.
What is the main idea? A. how colored glasses may help people feel better B. when some people get sad C. how short the daylight in the winter is D. why happy people wear rose-colored glasses
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At the store we use coupons to save money. Coupons may come in the mail. Sometimes they are in the newspaper. You can get them in the store's ad, too. Usually you need to cut the coupon out.
What is this passage mainly about? A. Coupons save money. b. Coupons can be found in different places. c. You must cut coupons out of the ad. d. You may find a coupon at the store.
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Michael has a baby sister. He loves his sister very much. He helps dress her. He helps feed her. He likes to take her for walks. He helps her learn to talk.
What is the main idea? A. To tell about Michael and his baby brother b. To tell about Michael's big family c. To show why babies are nice d. To tell about Michael and his baby sister
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Dogs have been called our best friends, but they are also good helpers. They can be used in many ways. Some dogs hunt while others guard animals and property. Boxers and German sheperds are trained to lead people who are blind. A dog named Laika was the first animal in space.
What is the main idea of this passage? A. how many types of dogs there are B. what the name of the space dog was C. what kind of dogs can lead people who are blind D. how dogs are useful
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Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to help builders, but it was used for war, which made him feel very guilty about the misuse of his invention. He was a rich man, so he set up a $9 million fund. Today the fund is used to reward people who have improved human life. Nobel Prizes are awarded in six fields, including peace, medicine, and chemistry.
Which sentence from the passage supports the main idea of the passage? A. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to help builders B. but it was used for war, which made him feel very guilty about the misuse of his invention C. Today the fund is used to reward people who have improved human life. D. Nobel Prizes are awarded in six fields, including peace, medicine, and chemistry
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Probably the best-known rodeo cowboy in the world is Larry Mahan. Mahan was the national champion six times before he was 30. He was good at every event and was so successful that he had his own plane. When he got too old to be in the rodeo, he didn't stop doing rodeo work. He started a rodeo school.
What is a good title for this passage? A. How to become Successful B. Mahan National Champion C. Larry Mahan Career Biography D. None of the above
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Exercise correctly to avoid injuries. Movements should be slow and controlled, not fast and jerky. A set of 12 repetitions of one exercise is enough to be effective. Exercising also helps you stay in shape and helps keep your heart and body healthy.
What is the central idea? A. Exercise correctly. b. Exercise fast to be healthy. c. Don't exercise too long. d. Exercise 5 hours a day.
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Dolly Madison was the wife of President James Madison. She was quite a brave First Lady. When the White House burned down, Dolly rescued important government papers. She also saved the portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room today.
What is the main idea of this passage? A. who Dolly Madison's husband was B. how the White House burned down C. about Dolley Madison's courageous acts D. where the portrait of George Washington hangs
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Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to help builders, but it was used for war, which made him feel very guilty about the misuse of his invention. He was a rich man, so he set up a $9 million fund. Today the fund is used to reward people who have improved human life. Nobel Prizes are awarded in six fields, including peace, medicine, and chemistry.
What is the main idea? A. what the Nobel Prizes are awarded for B. why Nobel founded the Nobel Prize fund C. how much money was set aside for rewards D. what invention Alfred Nobel created
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Probably the best-known rodeo cowboy in the world is Larry Mahan. Mahan was the national champion six times before he was 30. He was good at every event and was so successful that he had his own plane. When he got too old to be in the rodeo, he didn't stop doing rodeo work. He started a rodeo school.
What is the main idea? A. where to ride bulls and rope calves B. about the most famous rodeo cowboy in the world C. how to get rich in the rodeo D. where to go to rodeo school
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Consider how many activities you do outside of school. Remember that school needs to be a priority. It's great to do extra things--as long as they don't rob you of needed energy for learning. If you feel like you are too busy, ask your parents if you can cut down to one or two favorite things. You may try one activity one semester (i.e. being in a play) and something different the next (playing a sport). We often feel we have to do everything at once, and that can wear us out!
What is the main idea? A. People often feel as if they are too busy. b. The author suggests trying activities at different times. c. We should try to do as much as we can at once. d. School should be a priority.
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The lack of gravity in space makes even simple tasks a challenge. Astronauts have to wear boots that hold their feet to the floor so that they can walk around. Eating is a real chore. Dried and frozen foods are stored in plastic bags. To eat chicken soup, the astronauts cut a hole in one end of the bag and squeeze the soup into their mouths.
What is the main idea? A. why there is little gravity in space B. why easy tasks are challenging in space C. why space food is stored in plastic bags D. how to eat chicken soup
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Some college teachers in Michigan have made a small computer that looks like an orange. It will be picked and handled like real fruit. Since much fruit is damaged on its way to market, this machine will measure shaking and temperature changes. The computerized orange will help people find ways to avoid damaging fruits during shipping.
What would a good title be for this passage? A. Michigan Oranges B. Computerized Oranges C. Fruity Technology
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Ages ago living things like bugs and leaves got trapped in soft tree resin. The resin hardened into what we know as amber. It kept the trapped bugs and leaves in perfect shape. Now scientists are learning much about the distant past from amber samples. Some scientists say they are more useful than fossils.
What is this passage mostly about? A.where bugs and leaves got trapped B. what hard resin is called C. why amber samples are important to scientists D. what scientists think of fossils
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Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Mississippi River. Marquette was born in France. He went to Catholic schools and planned to become a missionary. He came to America to teach the Indians about his church. He heard about the great river from the Indians. Jolliet was a French Canadian explorer. He was sent to the Mississippi in hopes of finding a good trade route. Although their goals were different, Marquette and Jolliet worked together to explore the river.
What is the central idea? A. It tells where Jolliet was born. b. It describes the Mississippi River. c. It tells who first discovered the Mississippi River. d. It compares the two explorers, Marquette and Jolliet.