Craft and StructureHardMain purpose of an argument about beach cleaning
Craft and Structure practice question
Every summer the beach is closed for a week while machines 'clean' the sand, sifting out litter. The machines also sift out the tangled seaweed on which the beach's sandhoppers depend — and the birds that feed on the sandhoppers. A clean beach, in the tourist's sense, is a dead one in the ecological sense.
What is the main purpose of the text?
- A. To argue that a practice meant to improve the beach harms its wildlife.Correct
- B. To describe how sand-cleaning machines are built.
- C. To praise the town's care of its beach.
- D. To explain what sandhoppers eat.
Answer: A. To argue that a practice meant to improve the beach harms its wildlife.
Litter out, seaweed out, sandhoppers and birds gone: the last sentence states the cost of 'cleaning'.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. To describe how sand-cleaning machines are built.
- The machines' construction isn't described.
- C. To praise the town's care of its beach.
- The text criticises the practice.
- D. To explain what sandhoppers eat.
- Sandhoppers' diet is a detail in the argument, not its purpose.
More Craft and Structure questions
- Hard
What is the main purpose of the text? - Hard
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined final sentence in the text as a whole? - Hard
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? - Hard
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word? - Hard
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word? - Hard
What is the main purpose of the text?
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