16Hit1600
Information and IdeasHardCentral idea of a literary text

Information and Ideas practice question

The following text is from a novel. Theo had inherited his uncle's workshop with everything in it, and for a month he did nothing but tidy: he could not bring himself to use the tools, only to arrange them, as though the old man might come back and want to find them where he had left them.

Which choice best states the central idea of the text?

  1. A. Theo's tidying is a way of keeping his uncle present rather than of taking over the workshop.Correct
  2. B. Theo intends to sell the tools.
  3. C. Theo is a skilled craftsman.
  4. D. Theo's uncle is expected to return.

Answer: A. Theo's tidying is a way of keeping his uncle present rather than of taking over the workshop.

Arranging, not using, 'as though' the uncle might return.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Theo intends to sell the tools.
Not suggested.
C. Theo is a skilled craftsman.
His skill is not mentioned.
D. Theo's uncle is expected to return.
'As though' marks the idea as a fiction Theo half-keeps.

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