Answer Main Idea Questions Correctly

Read each passage and choose the best answer to the questions that follow.
In this exercise, each passage is accompanied by several questions about the main idea, topic, or best title. This allows you to practice identifying the overall focus or purpose of a passage.
On the actual TOEFL ITP test, a passage typically includes only one question of this type.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1–2)

Fort Knox, Kentucky, is home to a U.S. Army post, but it is even more famous for the Fort Knox Bullion Depository—a heavily protected vault that contains most of the United States government’s gold reserves. Completed in 1936, the depository is housed in a two-story structure made of granite, steel, and concrete. The vault itself is also built of steel and concrete and is secured by a door weighing more than twenty tons. Fort Knox is equipped with the most advanced security technology available, and protection is further supported by the nearby military installation.

1. Which of the following best describes the topic of the passage?
(A) The city of Fort Knox, Kentucky
(B) The federal gold depository
(C) The U.S. Army post at Fort Knox
(D) Gold bullion

2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
(A) The Massive Concrete Vault
(B) Fort Knox Security
(C) Where the United States Keeps Its Gold
(D) A Visit to Kentucky

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3–4)

One important characteristic used to identify minerals is their relative hardness, which can be measured by scratching one mineral with another. A harder mineral can scratch a softer one, while a softer mineral cannot scratch a harder one. The Mohs hardness scale ranks minerals from 1 to 10 based on this property, with talc at the lowest hardness (1) and diamond at the highest (10). According to this scale, quartz (number 7) is harder than feldspar (number 6) and can scratch it, but feldspar cannot scratch quartz.

3. Which of the following best states the subject of this passage?
(A) The hardness of diamonds
(B) Identifying minerals by means of a scratch test
(C) Feldspar on the Mohs scale
(D) Recognizing minerals in their natural state

4. The main idea of this passage is that
(A) the hardness of a mineral can be determined by its ability to scratch other minerals
(B) diamonds, with a hardness of 10, can scratch all other minerals
(C) a softer mineral cannot be scratched by a harder mineral
(D) talc is the first mineral listed on the Mohs scale

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5–6)

Hurricanes typically form in the North Atlantic between May and November, with the peak of the season occurring in September. Only rarely do they develop between December and April in this region. The main reason hurricanes arise during this period is that the surface temperature of the ocean is warmest and the humidity of the air is highest.

Of all the tropical storms that form in the North Atlantic each year, only about five on average become strong enough to be classified as hurricanes. To receive this classification, a tropical storm must have wind speeds of at least 117 kilometers per hour, although hurricane winds often exceed this minimum. Intense hurricanes can produce winds surpassing 240 kilometers per hour.

5. The passage mainly discusses
(A) how many hurricanes occur each year
(B) the strength of hurricanes
(C) the weather in the North Atlantic
(D) hurricanes in one part of the world

6. The best title for this passage would be
(A) The North Atlantic Ocean
(B) Storms of the Northern Atlantic
(C) Hurricanes: The Damage and Destruction
(D) What Happens from May through November

PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 7–9)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was one of the most celebrated American poets of the nineteenth century. His clear writing style and his focus on the common values of the era made his works widely popular among general readers, though not always with critics. Longfellow was especially known for his longer narrative poems—Evangeline, The Song of Hiawatha, and The Courtship of Miles Standish—in which he retold stories from American history in a way that reflected the ideals of his time.

Evangeline is set during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), when British forces expelled French settlers from Nova Scotia. The poem follows the story of two lovers, Gabriel and Evangeline, who are separated during this conflict. Evangeline spends her life searching for Gabriel, and the poem’s themes of sentimental, enduring love made it extremely popular.

In The Song of Hiawatha, Longfellow portrays the noble life of the American Indian through the adventures of Hiawatha and his beloved wife, Minehaha. The poem traces both the triumphs and tragedies of Hiawatha’s life, ultimately concluding with Minehaha’s death and Hiawatha’s departure into the sunset in his canoe.

The Courtship of Miles Standish takes place during the early years of New England settlement, a period often viewed as a time of honor and romance. The poem centers on a love triangle: Miles Standish asks his friend John Alden to propose to Priscilla Mullins on his behalf, but Alden falls in love with her and eventually marries her himself. Despite this betrayal, Standish and Alden eventually repair their friendship. As with Longfellow’s other narrative poems, the focus on noble values and romantic themes contributed to its widespread appeal.

7. Which of the following best describes the main idea of the passage?
(A) American history is often depicted in poetry.
(B) Longfellow described American history even though people really did not enjoy it.
(C) The popularity of Longfellow's poems results from his emphasis on the values of the time.
(D) Longfellow wrote long narrative poems that were not always popular with the critics.

8. The best title for the passage is
(A) Longfellow's Popular Appeal
(B) Historical Narrative Poems
(C) The Lyric, Dramatic, and Narrative Poems of Longfellow
(D) Longfellow and the Critics

9. The subject of the fourth paragraph is
(A) nobility and honor in Longfellow’s poetry
(B) the love triangle involving Miles Standish
(C) the popular appeal of The Courtship of Miles Standish
(D) the early settlement of New England