ISAT - International Student Admissions Reading Comprehension: Main Idea 2

Question 1

A passage discusses how ancient Roman aqueducts used gravity to transport water over long distances, incorporating gentle slopes and arched bridges to maintain flow up to 100 kilometers.
What is the main idea?

Accepted Answer

Roman aqueducts demonstrated remarkable engineering by using gravity and precise gradients to deliver water across vast distances

Answer

Roman bridges were impressive

Answer

Romans had unlimited water

Answer

Gravity is useful for transporting liquids

Question 2

A passage explains that deep-sea hydrothermal vents support ecosystems using chemosynthesis rather than sunlight, including unique species found nowhere else. Scientists study these as models for extraterrestrial life. Main idea?

Accepted Answer

Vent ecosystems demonstrate that complex life can thrive without sunlight, expanding our understanding of where life can exist

Answer

Giant tube worms are important

Answer

Deep-sea exploration is most important

Answer

All life depends on the sun

Question 3

A passage describes how the printing press enabled mass book production, reduced costs, increased literacy, and democratized access to information previously controlled by elites. Main idea?

Accepted Answer

The printing press fundamentally transformed European society by democratizing knowledge and challenging existing power structures

Answer

Invented in the 15th century

Answer

Books became cheaper

Answer

Religious institutions lost all power

Question 4

A passage discusses honeybee waggle dance communication: direction relative to sun, duration indicates distance, precise to within a few degrees. Main idea?

Accepted Answer

Honeybees have evolved a sophisticated symbolic communication system conveying precise spatial information through dance

Answer

Bees like to dance

Answer

Bees use the sun for navigation

Answer

Insect behavior is simple

Question 5

A passage examines antibiotic resistance: overuse in medicine and agriculture accelerates resistant bacteria evolution. Without effective antibiotics, common infections could become deadly. Researchers explore alternatives. Main idea?

Accepted Answer

Antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat requiring urgent development of alternatives to prevent regression to the pre-antibiotic era

Answer

Doctors prescribe too many antibiotics

Answer

Agriculture should stop antibiotics

Answer

Phage therapy will replace antibiotics

Question 6

A passage describes neuroplasticity overturning the belief that adult brains are fixed. Research shows continuous neural connection formation, improving stroke rehabilitation and mental health treatments. Main idea?

Accepted Answer

Neuroplasticity has revolutionized our understanding of the brain by revealing its lifelong capacity to change, with significant implications for medicine

Answer

The brain stops developing in adulthood

Answer

Stroke patients can fully recover

Answer

Neural connections form only in childhood