Identifying Main Idea and Details Practice Questions

Last fall, the library at Westbrook Middle School surveyed students about how they used the building after classes. Many students said they needed a quiet place to finish homework while waiting for rides or activities to begin. In response, the library stayed open one hour later on Tuesdays and Thursdays and reserved one room for silent study. Teachers volunteered to answer questions, and the library added charging stations near the worktables. After eight weeks, attendance during the new hours was nearly twice as high as it had been during the same period the year before. The school decided to continue the schedule for the rest of the year.

• A. Students at Westbrook Middle School preferred studying at home.
• B. The library changed its after-school services to better meet students’ needs.
• C. Teachers required students to attend the library twice each week.
• D. The school replaced its library with an after-school activity center.

• A. The library stayed open later on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• B. One room was reserved for silent study.
• C. The cafeteria provided free snacks during the new hours.
• D. Teachers volunteered to help students.

The Oak Street Community Garden had struggled with high water use during the summer. To conserve water, volunteers installed rain barrels, covered the soil with mulch, and replaced overhead sprinklers with drip hoses. The drip hoses delivered water directly to plant roots, while the mulch slowed evaporation from the soil. By the end of the season, the garden had used substantially less tap water than it had the previous year. Even with the reduction, volunteers harvested about the same amount of produce.

• A. The garden stopped growing produce during the summer.
• B. Volunteers reduced water use without reducing the garden’s harvest.
• C. Rain barrels were the only effective way to conserve water.
• D. The garden replaced all of its plants with drought-resistant varieties.

• A. Mulch helped slow the evaporation of water from the soil.
• B. The garden doubled the amount of produce it harvested.
• C. Volunteers removed the rain barrels before the season ended.
• D. Overhead sprinklers used less water than drip hoses.

A local history museum recently changed the way it displays old fabrics and paper documents. Bright light can fade dyes and weaken paper over time, so the museum installed lower-intensity LED lighting in several galleries. It also began rotating fragile objects, displaying each one for a limited period before returning it to protected storage. Some visitors worried that fewer objects would be available at once, but the rotating schedule allows the museum to introduce different items throughout the year. The changes are intended to protect the collection while still giving visitors opportunities to see it.

• A. Museums should display every object in their collections at the same time.
• B. Visitors complained that the museum had removed all of its paper documents.
• C. The museum changed its displays to protect fragile objects while continuing public access.
• D. LED lights are brighter than every other type of museum lighting.

• A. Bright light can damage dyes and paper.
• B. Fragile objects are displayed for limited periods.
• C. Different objects can be introduced throughout the year.
• D. The museum closed every gallery while installing the new lights.

The town of Pine Ridge tested a new bus schedule on its busiest route. Instead of sending one bus every thirty minutes, the transit department ran buses every twenty minutes during the morning and evening rush periods. The department also moved one stop closer to a large apartment complex. During the three-month trial, weekday ridership increased, and fewer riders reported missing work because of long waits. Based on the results, the town made the rush-hour schedule permanent but kept the original schedule during the middle of the day.

• A. A trial bus schedule improved service, so part of the schedule became permanent.
• B. The town eliminated public transportation during the middle of the day.
• C. Bus ridership fell after a stop was moved near an apartment complex.
• D. The transit department replaced every bus on its busiest route.

• A. Buses ran every ten minutes throughout the entire day.
• B. The trial lasted for one full year.
• C. One bus stop was moved closer to an apartment complex.
• D. The town removed all stops from the busiest route.

A group of students preparing for a biology exam noticed that rereading the textbook made the material seem familiar, but it did not always help them recall details without looking. They changed their study routine by closing their books and writing down everything they could remember about each topic. They then checked their notes, marked missing information, and created short practice quizzes from their mistakes. Over the next month, the students became faster at recalling definitions and explaining processes in their own words. They concluded that actively retrieving information was more useful than repeatedly reviewing the same pages.

• A. The students stopped studying after discovering that the textbook was difficult.
• B. Practice quizzes prevented the students from learning definitions.
• C. Rereading was the only study method that improved the students’ memory.
• D. The students improved recall by replacing passive review with active retrieval practice.

• A. The students memorized every page of the biology textbook.
• B. The students created practice quizzes from information they had missed.
• C. The students stopped checking their notes after studying.
• D. The students studied only by listening to recorded lectures.