16Hit1600
Craft and StructureEasyMain purpose of correcting a reason

Craft and Structure practice question

Cooks salt the water for pasta, and many say they do it to make the water boil faster. In fact the salt raises the boiling point only by a fraction of a degree. Its real job is to season the pasta, which absorbs salt as it cooks. The habit is right; the reason usually given for it is wrong.

What is the main purpose of the text?

  1. A. To explain the real reason for a common cooking practice.Correct
  2. B. To argue that pasta should be cooked without salt.
  3. C. To describe how water comes to the boil.
  4. D. To compare the taste of salted and unsalted pasta.

Answer: A. To explain the real reason for a common cooking practice.

The text keeps the practice, dismisses the usual reason, and supplies the real one.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. To argue that pasta should be cooked without salt.
The text says the habit is right.
C. To describe how water comes to the boil.
Boiling is mentioned only to dismiss the faster-boiling claim.
D. To compare the taste of salted and unsalted pasta.
No comparison of taste is made.

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