Reading: academic passages
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| main idea | main idea |
| example/eɡˈzæmpl/ | example |
| reference word | reference word |
Who are "they"?
- "Arctic terns fly between the Arctic and the Antarctic every year. They travel more than 70,000 kilometres." Who travels? The terns, not the two poles.
- If you can find what they, it and this point to, you can answer many questions about an academic passage.
"Arctic terns fly between the Arctic and the Antarctic every year. They travel more than 70,000 kilometres." They refers to
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The poles do not travel; the terns do.
How an academic passage is built
- Academic passages are about science, history, nature or art. The first paragraph usually introduces the topic; each later paragraph has one main point.
- Questions come in a few types: main idea, detail, word meaning, reference, and why the writer mentions something.
Which question types appear with academic passages? Choose all that apply.
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Questions ask about the passage, never about your opinion.
In an academic passage, each later paragraph usually has one main point.
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The first paragraph introduces; each later one has one point.
Main idea and best title
- For a main idea 主旨 or best-title question, choose the option that covers the whole passage.
- An option about one paragraph or one example is too narrow. An option bigger than the passage (All about animals) is too wide.
A passage describes how honeybees find flowers, tell other bees where the flowers are, and store honey.
- Too narrow: How Bees Make Wax · Too wide: Insects of the World
- Best: How Honeybees Find, Share and Store Food
Too narrow, too wide or just right?
Identify the main idea of a short academic passage
A passage explains what volcanoes are, why some erupt and how scientists watch them. Which title is best?
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It covers what volcanoes are, eruptions and scientists. The others are too narrow or too wide.
A passage explains how honeybees find, share and store food. Match each title to its problem.
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The best title covers the whole passage, no more.
A passage: paragraph 1 says sleep helps memory; paragraph 2 says teenagers need 8–10 hours; paragraph 3 gives tips for better sleep. What is the main idea?
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The first option is one detail; the third is too wide.
Details: find the line
- Detail questions use words like According to the passage…. Find the sentence and compare it with each option.
- The correct option usually says the same thing in different words; the wrong ones change a number, a cause or a result.
"Most of a camel's hump is fat, not water. When food is hard to find, the camel's body uses this fat for energy." According to the text, what is in the hump?
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The text says most of the hump is fat, not water.
Which words usually start a detail question?
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"According to the passage" sends you to one line.
"The Great Wall is more than 20,000 kilometres long, including all its branches." Which option changes a number?
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Wrong options often change a number.
Reference words
- A reference word 指代词 (it, they, this, these, its, their) points back to something already named, usually the nearest noun that makes sense.
- Check by putting the noun in its place: "Owls hunt at night. Their large eyes collect light" → the owls' large eyes. ✓
"Coral looks like a plant, but it is an animal." What does it refer to?
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Coral is an animal. Putting coral in place of it keeps the meaning.
"Octopuses can change colour in less than a second. They do this to hide from enemies." What does this refer to?
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This points back to changing colour; hiding is the reason.
"Owls hunt at night. Their large eyes collect light." Their refers to
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The owls' large eyes.
"Many plants have thorns. These protect the plant from hungry animals." These refers to
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Thorns protect the plant.
Why does the writer say this?
- Some questions ask why the writer mentions something. Is it an example 例子, a comparison, a reason or a result?
- Signal words help: for example, such as (example); like, unlike, compared with (comparison); because (reason); so, as a result (result).
"Some trees share food through fungi under the ground. For example, an old tree can send sugar to young trees in its shade." Why mention the old tree? → To give an example of trees sharing food.
"Some deserts are very cold. For example, the Gobi Desert can be below minus 30 °C in winter." Why does the writer mention the Gobi Desert?
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For example signals an example of the general idea that some deserts are cold.
Match each signal with the writer's purpose.
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Signal words show why the writer includes the next idea.
"Unlike frogs, toads have dry, bumpy skin." Why does the writer mention frogs?
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"Unlike" signals a comparison.
"The river flooded every spring. As a result, the soil near it was very rich." What is the soil sentence?
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"As a result" introduces a result.
"Some trees share food through fungi. For example, an old tree can send sugar to young trees." Why mention the old tree?
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"For example" introduces an example.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an option that is true but does not answer the question (a detail for a main-idea question).
- Taking the first noun in the sentence as the reference instead of the one that makes sense.
If an option states a true fact from the passage, it must be the answer to a main-idea question.
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A true detail can still be the wrong answer if the question asks for the main idea.
A reference word always points to the first noun in the sentence.
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It points to the noun that makes sense; test by replacing.
Recap
- Main idea: covers everything, not one part, not more than the passage.
- Detail: find the line, then match the meaning.
- Reference: put the noun back in. Purpose: example, comparison, reason or result.
Official sources
- Checked on 15 November 2026: Reading Comprehension sample questions (ETS) and the Test Taker Handbook (ETS, PDF). All passages here are original.