Main Idea – II

Introduction to the topic:

The answers to the "main idea" questions can only be found in the answer choices. The main idea may be
stated by the author at various places in a variety of ways. The best way to accurately answer this type of
question is to familiarize yourself with the various arguments that the author has presented in the passage.
Try to understand author's purpose in writing the passage. Read the first and the last paragraphs carefully.
The author is most likely to outline his argument/main idea in these paragraphs, as these serve as the
introduction and conclusion, respectively, to the passage. When you have identified a question to be of this
type, make sure that you check back in the passage and eliminate the wrong choices and choose the right
one. Timing is not as important as accuracy, since anything less than 100% accuracy will lead to a
negative mark.

Session Reading Comprehension

The questions discussed in the session are given below along with their source.

Q1. Is it actually possible to speak of a single unique Roman culture imposed or maintained through
imperial power? How were culture, identity and power shaped in particular by social factors? Was
there such a society that had shared values? Is it possible to recognize a pattern of learned and
shared behavior among the people of the Roman Empire? We try to find out what the Roman Empire
may have meant across the multiplicity of cultures and identities that it covered.

What is the primary purpose of the author of the passage?

(a) To discuss the various aspects of the Roman culture.

(b) To highlight the Roman culture and the values shared by its people.
(c) To understand the Roman Empire through its multiple cultures, shared values and identities.
(d) To recognize Roman culture through its imperial power.
(CL material)

Q2. Unconsciously, right-handers associate good with the right side of space and bad with the left. But
this association can be rapidly changed, according to a study published online March 9, 2011 in
Psychological Science, by MPI researcher Daniel Casasanto and Evangelia Chrysikou (University
of Pennsylvania). Even a few minutes of using the left hand more fluently than the right can reverse
right-handers' judgments of good and bad, making them think that the left is the 'right side' of space.
Conceptions of good and bad are rooted in people's bodily experiences, and can change when
patterns of bodily experience change.

Which of the following best summarizes the paragraph?

(a) Left and right are hardwired into the human brain.
(b) The human body shapes human morality.
(c) Human conceptions of good and bad associated with spatial perception are based upon, and
change with, bodily experiences.
(d) Space and goodness are also associated in the unconscious mind, but not always in the same
way that they are linked in language.
(CL material)

Reading Comprehension Session

Q3. According to Natural Law, truth always conquers but to be firm in truth, do proper deeds constantly
by being in surrender and devotion. It is only through the penance of truth that divine power is
attained, which inspires us to make great sacrifices for the establishment of truth and becomes an
example and source of inspiration for others. When humans will be complementary to each other
completely, then only the true meaning of unity is understood and that would ignite bliss.

Which of the following is the essence of the paragraph?

(a) Truth is a source of inspiration and the driving force behind unity.
(b) Surrender to and confession of truth brings divine power and inspires others, leading to bliss.
(c) To attain divine power, man needs to be in surrender and devotion, confess the truth, and be
mutually exclusive with fellow humans.
(d) Mutual cooperation among humans is the true form of unity.
(CL material)

Q4. The birth and growth of writing have been the focus of more study than the death of scripts. Yet
much more is known about script death than about script birth. This knowledge shows that no
single theory can encompass why scripts flourish or vanish. Commerce, culture, language, politics,
prestige, religion, and technology, in varying combinations, are all implicated in the survival and
disappearance of scripts. 'Their loss may be just as revealing as their first appearance', comments
the Egyptologist John Baines in a recent collection of articles entitled The Disappearance of Writing
Systems.
Which of the following is the main idea of the paragraph?
(a) The study of origin of a script is a more fascinating subject than its birth.
(b) Even though more focus is accorded to a script's birth than its death, we know more about the
latter than the former.
(c) Both the death and birth of a script tell us something about it and about the times in which it
survived.
(d) It is not possible to completely study a script by studying only its death or its birth.
(CL material)

Session Reading Comprehension