Reading: academic passages
Introduzido| English | Significado |
|---|---|
| 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.