16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardMain idea about an inherited skill

Information and Ideas practice question

None of the harbour's rope-makers can explain how they judge when a strand is twisted enough; they say they feel it in the wrist. An engineer who measured them found that each stopped within two percent of the same tension, every time, without ever having seen a number.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. The rope-makers' unexplained skill is in fact remarkably precise and consistent.Correct
  2. B. The rope-makers use instruments to measure tension.
  3. C. The rope-makers' work varies widely in quality.
  4. D. The engineer taught the rope-makers to twist rope.

Answer: A. The rope-makers' unexplained skill is in fact remarkably precise and consistent.

Felt in the wrist, measured within two percent, without a number.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The rope-makers use instruments to measure tension.
They have 'never seen a number'.
C. The rope-makers' work varies widely in quality.
Within two percent every time is the opposite of wide variation.
D. The engineer taught the rope-makers to twist rope.
The engineer measured, not taught.

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