SKILL 1: ANSWER MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS CORRECTLY
Almost every reading passage on the TOEFL test will have a question about the main idea of a passage. Such a question may be worded in a variety of ways; you may, for example, be asked to identify the topic, subject, title, primary idea, or main idea. These questions are all really asking what primary point the author is trying to get across in the passage. Since TOEFL passages are generally written in a traditionally organized manner, it is not difficult to find the main idea by studying the topic sentence, which is most probably found at the beginning of a paragraph.
If a passage consists of only one paragraph, you should study the beginning of that paragraph to determine the main idea.
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Example I
The passage:
In the philosophy of John Dewey, a sharp distinction is made between "intelligence" and "reasoning." According to Dewey, intelligence is the only absolute way to achieve a balance between realism and idealism, between practicality and wisdom and life. Intelligence involves "interacting with other things and knowing them," while reasoning is merely the act of an observer, "--- a mind that beholds or grasps objects outside the world of things----" With reasoning, a level of mental certainty can be achieved, but it is through intelligence that control is taken of events that shape one's life.
The questions:
What is the topic of this passage?
(A) The intelligence of John Dewey
(B) Distinctions made by John Dewey
(C) Dewey's ideas on the ability to reason
(D) How intelligence differs from reasoning in Dewey's works
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The first sentence of this passage discusses a distinction between the ideas of "intelligence' and "reasoning" in the philosophy of John Dewey, so this is probably the topic. A quick check of the rest of the sentences in the passage confirms that the topic is in fact the difference between "intelligence" and "reasoning." Now you shoul check each of the answers to determine which one comes closest to the topic that you have determined. Answer (A) mentions only intelligence, so it not the topic. Answer (B) mentions distinctions that John Dewey makes, but it does not say specifically what type of distinctions. Answer (C) mentions only reasoning, so answer (C) is incomplete. The best answer is therefore (D); the idea of how intelligence differs from reasoning comes form the first sentence of the passage, which mentions a sharp distinction . . . between "intelligence" and "reasoning"
출처: LONGMAN TOEFL