Author's Main Point Practice Test

In 2007, historian Leena Chowdhury wrote in Letters from the Foundry: “The factory’s owner praised ‘discipline’ in speeches, and later readers assumed he meant only strict rules. Yet the workers’ letters describe something else: the owner paid wages on time even during shortages, kept a small clinic open after an influenza outbreak, and publicly posted promotion criteria to blunt favoritism. These actions did not eliminate exploitation, and the letters still complain of long hours, but they reveal why some workers defended him during a strike. Chowdhury argues that the owner’s authority relied as much on predictable care as on punishment.”

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

In 2003, art critic Nia Veldt wrote in Frames of Attention: “Museum visitors often praise ‘realism’ in a portrait, but Veldt argues that realism is frequently manufactured by the frame. She notes that gilded frames push viewers to read the subject as prestigious, while plain frames invite scrutiny of brushwork and flaws. In one exhibit, the same photograph was rehung weekly in different frames; visitors’ written comments shifted from ‘dignified’ to ‘clinical’ without any change to the image. Veldt concedes that lighting and wall color matter too, yet she insists the frame is an underappreciated tool that guides interpretation before viewers realize they are interpreting.”

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?