GMAT Verbal: Reading Comprehension Main Idea and Detail 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage argues that a long-accepted theory about coral bleaching has overlooked the role of bacterial symbionts. Which choice best states the primary purpose of the passage?
- To propose that a neglected factor revises an established explanation (Correct answer)
- To catalog every known cause of coral bleaching
- To prove that earlier scientists committed deliberate fraud
- To recommend specific government conservation budgets
Correct answer: To propose that a neglected factor revises an established explanation
Primary purpose centers on introducing a previously ignored factor that revises the accepted theory.
Question 2: When a question asks for the 'main idea' of a passage, the correct answer most reliably reflects which feature?
- A minor example given in one paragraph
- The author's overarching point that spans the whole passage (Correct answer)
- A statistic quoted from a single study
- An opposing view the author later rejects
Correct answer: The author's overarching point that spans the whole passage
Main-idea answers must encompass the entire passage, not one supporting detail or a rejected view.
Question 3: A passage describes a problem in its first paragraph and a proposed solution in its second. The main idea most likely concerns which of the following?
- Only the technical specifications of the solution
- Both the identified problem and the suggested remedy (Correct answer)
- The biography of the person proposing the solution
- An unrelated problem mentioned in a footnote
Correct answer: Both the identified problem and the suggested remedy
When a passage moves from problem to solution, the main idea links the two.
Question 4: Which answer to a main-idea question should you be most suspicious of?
- One that paraphrases the topic sentence broadly
- One that is true but addresses only a single paragraph (Correct answer)
- One that captures the author's overall stance
- One that reflects the passage's scope accurately
Correct answer: One that is true but addresses only a single paragraph
A statement that is accurate but too narrow fails the main-idea test.
Question 5: A detail question asks what the passage states about a specific 18th-century trade route. Where should you primarily look for the answer?
- In your own prior knowledge of history
- In the specific lines of the passage discussing that route (Correct answer)
- In the passage's concluding generalization
- In the answer choices' wording alone
Correct answer: In the specific lines of the passage discussing that route
Detail questions are answered from the specific text, not outside knowledge.
Question 6: An author writes: 'While critics praised the novel's structure, its emotional impact was, at best, modest.' What is the author's main attitude toward the novel?
- Uniformly enthusiastic
- Mixed, acknowledging strengths but noting a weakness (Correct answer)
- Entirely dismissive and hostile
- Indifferent and without any evaluation
Correct answer: Mixed, acknowledging strengths but noting a weakness
Praising structure while limiting emotional impact signals a balanced, mixed view.
Question 7: Which strategy best helps identify a passage's main idea efficiently?
- Memorizing every statistic in the passage
- Focusing on the first and last sentences of each paragraph and the author's tone (Correct answer)
- Reading only the final paragraph
- Counting how often a keyword appears
Correct answer: Focusing on the first and last sentences of each paragraph and the author's tone
Topic sentences and tone reveal structure and thesis quickly.
GMAT Verbal: Reading Comprehension Main Idea and Detail 2
A passage argues that a long-accepted theory about coral bleaching has overlooked the role of bacterial symbionts.
Which choice best states the primary purpose of the passage?