ESOL Reading Comprehension 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the main purpose of skimming a text?
- To quickly get the general idea or main topic (Correct answer)
- To find specific details like dates
- To understand every word
- To memorize the content
Correct answer: To quickly get the general idea or main topic
Skimming involves reading quickly through headings and key words to grasp main ideas without reading every detail.
Question 2: What does 'inferring meaning from context' mean?
- Using surrounding words to figure out an unknown word's meaning (Correct answer)
- Looking up every word in a dictionary
- Guessing randomly
- Skipping unfamiliar words
Correct answer: Using surrounding words to figure out an unknown word's meaning
Context clues help readers deduce vocabulary meaning without a dictionary.
Question 3: What is a topic sentence?
- The sentence stating the paragraph's main idea, usually at the beginning (Correct answer)
- The last sentence
- Any sentence with a keyword
- The longest sentence
Correct answer: The sentence stating the paragraph's main idea, usually at the beginning
A topic sentence expresses the paragraph's central idea, usually placed at the beginning.
Question 4: What reading strategy involves predicting what will happen next?
- Using text clues and prior knowledge to anticipate content (Correct answer)
- Summarizing the entire text
- Memorizing vocabulary
- Reading backwards
Correct answer: Using text clues and prior knowledge to anticipate content
Predicting uses textual clues and prior knowledge to form expectations about upcoming content.
Question 5: What is the purpose of scanning?
- To quickly locate specific information like a name or date (Correct answer)
- To read carefully for full understanding
- To appreciate writing style
- To practice pronunciation
Correct answer: To quickly locate specific information like a name or date
Scanning rapidly searches for specific information, moving eyes quickly looking for particular words.
Question 6: What does identifying the author's purpose mean?
- Determining whether the author writes to inform, persuade, entertain, or express opinion (Correct answer)
- Finding the author's nationality
- Understanding the publication date
- Identifying educational background
Correct answer: Determining whether the author writes to inform, persuade, entertain, or express opinion
Every piece of writing has an underlying purpose: to inform, convince, entertain, or express feelings.
ESOL Reading Comprehension 1
What is the main purpose of skimming a text?