Purpose Main Idea
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From 'Small Steps to a Walkable City' (2021), by Lila Moreno. Officials often announce 'transformative' plans such as subway expansions and car-free corridors, but the most durable gains in walkability usually come from smaller, repeated acts. Seville's quick-build bike lanes, laid with paint and plastic bollards, boosted ridership before any grand redesign. Paris's celebrated '15-minute city' emerged not from a single blueprint but from many trials such as school streets, widened corners, and pop-up plazas that persisted because residents used them. Not every place can spend billions or remake its map, and in any case, sweeping visions can falter under budget shortfalls and politics. Cities should start with what they can test: slow traffic near schools, fix crossings where crashes cluster, add benches on routes to clinics, measure results, and keep what works. Walking thrives when small improvements accumulate into a network people actually trust.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To recount the history of European walkability initiatives
To advocate for incremental, testable steps to improve urban walkability
To criticize the '15-minute city' as unrealistic
To argue that only major transit projects can reduce car dependence
Explanation
B is correct because the author argues that small, testable interventions build walkability more reliably than grand plans. A focuses narrowly on European examples, C misreads the stance as anti–'15-minute city,' and D states the opposite of the claim.
From 'The Tarnish' (2015) by Mara Das. I found my grandmother's spoon at the back of a drawer, its bowl bruised thin and its handle dulled to a soft shadow. I thought first of polish and a place on the shelf. Then, turning it in my hand, I felt the faint ridges where her thumb had worn the metal smooth. This spoon stirred tamarind stew through lean months and rich, tapped the side of a pot like a metronome while she listened for the right simmer. The shine I imagined suddenly seemed beside the point; the gray held the hours she could not spare and never counted. I rinsed it, dried it, and slid it beside my own ladle, leaving the tarnish to keep speaking.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
The narrator decides to learn their grandmother's recipes by cooking every weekend.
The narrator argues that antiques should be restored to their original shine.
The narrator describes the exact process used to make tamarind stew.
The narrator comes to value an heirloom's wear as a record of a grandmother's labor.
Explanation
D is correct because the narrator realizes the spoon's tarnish and wear embody the grandmother's work and time. A and C add actions or details not in the text, and B contradicts the narrator's choice.
City Parks Department Update (2022). Beginning in early May, crews will renovate Maple Square Park to make it more welcoming and accessible. Paths will be widened for wheelchairs and strollers, worn playground equipment will be replaced, and native shrubs will be planted to support pollinators. The lawn will be open most weekdays while work proceeds in sections, and completion is expected in about eight weeks. To help neighbors enjoy the park during construction, the department will host weekend music and story hours on the north lawn. Residents are invited to volunteer at a community planting day and to donate to the Friends of Maple Square for additional benches. For schedule updates, visit the Parks Department website.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To persuade residents to oppose the renovation timeline at Maple Square Park
To inform residents about upcoming renovations and invite them to participate
To compare Maple Square Park with other city parks in the region
To argue that native plants are more attractive than ornamental species
Explanation
The text announces the renovation schedule, describes changes, and invites volunteers and donors, so its purpose is to inform and encourage participation. The other choices either introduce arguments or comparisons the passage does not make or narrow the focus to one detail.
from The Quiet Aisle (2019) by Marisol Vega. I had not stepped into the Alder Street Library in years, but the smell of paper and dust met me like an old friend. The card catalog had vanished, replaced by patient screens, and the carpet no longer bore the constellation of coffee stains I once traced with my shoe. Yet a familiar squeak rose from the third stair, and sunlight still pooled in the reading room at four. I found my childhood corner and, without thinking, reached for a chair that seemed to remember the shape of my impatience. The shelves had shifted, and the books wore new jackets, but when I opened one, the room narrowed to a page and a pulse I knew. The place had changed; the welcome had not.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
To recount the sound of a particular stair that squeaked in the library
To argue that public libraries are essential to democracy
To celebrate the replacement of outdated systems with new technology
To reflect on how a familiar place has changed while its meaning endures
Explanation
The narrator acknowledges changes in the library while emphasizing that its welcome and personal significance remain. The other choices elevate a single detail, introduce an unsupported civic claim, or miscast the tone as technological celebration.
Memo: Urban Heat Initiative, City Sustainability Office (2021). Summer temperatures in the downtown core routinely exceed those in surrounding neighborhoods, in part because dark pavement absorbs and radiates heat. To address this problem, the city applied a reflective sealant to 20 blocks of asphalt last July. Sensors recorded afternoon surface temperatures 10 to 12 degrees lower on treated blocks compared with untreated ones, and residents reported more comfortable walks. The pilot also exposed challenges: the coating dulled under heavy traffic and required additional sweeping to manage glare-related debris. Based on these results, the office recommends a phased expansion prioritizing school routes and municipal lots with existing shade trees, along with a maintenance schedule to preserve performance. A report to the council will outline costs and timelines next month.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It introduces a problem, reports on a small-scale test solution, and outlines next steps.
It narrates the historical rise of urban heat from ancient times to today.
It compares two competing technologies and chooses the better one.
It lists budget items and explains their funding sources.
Explanation
The memo identifies a problem, summarizes a pilot program's results and challenges, and recommends phased expansion. The other choices describe structures not present, such as history, comparison, or budgeting.
Op-Ed by L. K. Sharma, 2020. We like to tell ourselves that breakthroughs arrive as happy accidents: a petri dish left uncovered, a signal mistaken for noise. Chance does visit the lab, but it rarely knocks twice on the same door, and only the prepared recognize the sound. Alexander Fleming noticed an unexpected bacteria-free halo because he had spent years observing cultures; Jocelyn Bell Burnell recognized an odd blip because she knew the sky's normal pulse. Luck brushed past many others, but training gave these researchers the grip to catch its sleeve. Gardeners cannot command rain, yet they can turn the soil, pull the weeds, and set out the seed so a surprise shower matters. If we want more discovery, we should invest less in waiting for miracles and more in the patience that makes them legible.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To narrate the career of Alexander Fleming in detail
To prove that chance never contributes to scientific discovery
To argue that disciplined preparation allows researchers to recognize and capitalize on chance events
To explain how gardening practices have evolved over time
Explanation
The op-ed argues that preparation enables scientists to notice and use lucky occurrences, supported by examples and an analogy. The other choices are too narrow, contradict the passage's acknowledgment of chance, or mistake the analogy for the main point.
From 'Keeping Trees Alive' (2019) by Maya Ortiz, city planner.
Our city loves planting-day photo ops, but the less glamorous work begins when the crowds leave. Last year we accepted a grant to put 5,000 new saplings in the ground; by summer, many browned for lack of watering and mulch. We budget generously for shovels and speeches, yet almost nothing for pruning crews, soil checks, and long-term care. Trees deliver shade, cooler streets, and cleaner air, but only if they survive. Instead of chasing big numbers, we should fund maintenance first: train residents to water young trees, schedule inspections, and replace broken containers. If we keep more trees alive, we will capture the benefits we already advertise—and our next ribbon cutting might celebrate survival, not just planting.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To recount a history of urban forestry in several cities
To argue that funding tree maintenance should take precedence over planting new trees
To describe the details of a federal grant received last year
To refute claims that trees provide no measurable benefits to air quality
Explanation
The author urges prioritizing maintenance over planting numbers throughout. A is too broad, C fixates on a single supporting detail, and D miscasts a brief acknowledgment of benefits as the central aim.
From 'The Margin Notes' (2021) by Elena Park.
I found my grandmother's cookbook under a rubber band, its pages tacky with vanilla and butter. The recipes are less instructions than conversations: 'add enough flour so the spoon stands,' 'taste until it reminds you of Sunday.' In the margins, she noted who visited, which cousin preferred more salt, the year the oven ran too hot. At first I wanted measurements; instead I inherited judgment—how batter should sigh when folded, how soup smells when ready. Reading her notes, I realize the book is not a manual but a map. It leads me back to a kitchen I never stood in, to voices I know only by stories. As I cook, the stains become landmarks, and I understand that memory is the missing ingredient.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
To explain that online recipes are more reliable than handwritten ones
To recount a single attempt to bake a cake that failed without exact measurements
To argue that family cookbooks should be preserved in museums rather than kitchens
To show how a worn family cookbook transforms cooking into a link between generations
Explanation
The narrator portrays the cookbook as a living inheritance that connects past and present. A, B, and C introduce claims not made in the passage or reduce it to a narrow scenario.
From an opinion column by Marta Reyes (2018): When our block first turned the vacant lot at Third and Willow into a community garden, we measured success by the pounds of tomatoes we hauled home. The numbers were fine, but they were also beside the point. Standing between the beds, neighbors lingered longer; teens learned to handle shovels and share them; someone started leaving seed packets in the little free library. Last spring, when a burst pipe flooded the lot, the same people who once avoided eye contact showed up with mops and hoses, already knowing one another's names and schedules. Critics dismiss the garden as symbolic, a patch of green that cannot fix the city. I agree it cannot, but the habit of showing up for one another is no symbol. It is infrastructure.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To describe how a burst pipe threatened a neighborhood garden
To argue that the garden's most important outcome is stronger social ties rather than produce totals
To propose citywide funding to expand community gardens across neighborhoods
To counter critics by proving the garden can fully solve the city's problems
Explanation
The author contends that the garden's real success is the community trust it builds, not the harvest numbers. The burst pipe is a supporting example, funding is not proposed, and the author explicitly says the garden cannot fix the city entirely.
From a personal essay by Amina Patel (2021). I was nine when my father announced that the afternoon wind was perfect for kites. He held the spool; I ran, the paper diamond shivering on its string, then nosediving into the grass. We tried again, and again. I can still feel the grit of tape on my fingers and the sting of not getting it right. Years later, on a late bus, my niece pressed her forehead to the window and said she was "bad at drawing" because her horse looked like a dog. I thought of the kite, of my father telling me to watch the sky instead of the string. Tomorrow I will sit with her, and we will draw badly for a while, and then a little better.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Presents multiple expert opinions on learning and then refutes them
Lists chronological steps for building a kite and concludes with a warning
Contrasts the narrator's childhood with the father's childhood
Relates a childhood experience, reflects on its lesson, and ends with a present-day plan to apply it
Explanation
The text recounts a kite-flying memory, draws a lesson from it, and concludes with a plan to help the niece. The other options misdescribe the content and organization.