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SAT Reading & Writing: Central Ideas and Details (Drill 3)

Drill 3 · Reading & Writing · Central Ideas and Details

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About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Central Ideas and Details (Drill 3) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Central Ideas and Details. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

Central Ideas and Details questions ask you to identify the main idea of a text and determine what a detail contributes to it. This drill uses longer, more complex passages where the central idea is developed gradually, requiring you to synthesize information across multiple paragraphs.

Questions & Explanations

Text
The following text is adapted from Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick. Ishmael describes the painting he sees upon entering the Spouter-Inn. On one side hung a very large oil-painting so thoroughly besmoked, and every way defaced, that in the unequal cross-lights by which you viewed it, it was only by diligent study and a series of systematic visits to it, and careful inquiry of the neighbors, that you could any way arrive at an understanding of its purpose. Such unaccountable masses of shades and shadows, that at first you almost thought some ambitious young artist, in the time of the New England hags, had endeavored to delineate chaos bewitched.

Question 1. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  • A) The painting is so damaged and obscured that its subject is extremely difficult to discern. ✓
  • B) The painting depicts a famous historical scene that Ishmael immediately recognizes.
  • C) The innkeeper has deliberately placed the painting in poor lighting to discourage guests from examining it.
  • D) The painting is the work of a well-known artist whose style Ishmael admires.

Explanation: Choice A is the best answer. The text describes the painting as ‘besmoked’ and ‘defaced,’ requiring ‘diligent study’ and ‘systematic visits’ to understand its purpose. It initially appears to depict ‘chaos bewitched.’ Choice B doesn't fit: Ishmael cannot determine what the painting depicts. Choice C is wrong because no deliberate concealment by the innkeeper is mentioned. Choice D doesn't work because the artist is described only hypothetically and is not identified.

Text
Ecologist Ramon Gallegos and his team have been studying the impact of artificial light on nocturnal pollination in desert ecosystems. The researchers installed experimental light sources near patches of night-blooming cereus cacti and monitored visits by hawkmoths, the cacti’s primary pollinators. They found that light-exposed plants received 62% fewer hawkmoth visits than control plants in natural darkness. Gallegos noted that the affected cacti also produced fewer fruits, suggesting that artificial light disrupts not only pollinator behavior but also the reproductive success of the plants that depend on them.

Question 2. What does the text most strongly suggest about the night-blooming cereus cacti exposed to artificial light?

  • A) They attracted a wider variety of pollinators than cacti in natural darkness did.
  • B) They experienced reduced reproductive success because their primary pollinators visited less frequently. ✓
  • C) They adapted to the artificial light by blooming at different times.
  • D) They were unaffected by the light because hawkmoths are not sensitive to artificial illumination, according to the passage's account.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer. The text states that light-exposed plants received 62% fewer hawkmoth visits and ‘produced fewer fruits,’ directly linking reduced pollinator visits to reduced reproduction. Choice A contradicts the text; fewer pollinators visited. Choice C is incorrect: no adaptation in blooming time is mentioned. Choice D contradicts the findings entirely.

Text
The following text is adapted from Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Mrs. Bennet has just learned that a wealthy young man has rented a nearby estate. “My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet made no answer. “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” This was invitation enough.

Question 3. Based on the text, how does Mr. Bennet respond to his wife’s news?

  • A) He expresses enthusiasm about having a new neighbor.
  • B) He is indifferent but allows his wife to share the information she clearly wants to share. ✓
  • C) He refuses to discuss the matter because he finds gossip distasteful.
  • D) He is worried that the new tenant will cause problems for the family.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer. Mr. Bennet replies that he ‘had not’ heard the news, makes ‘no answer’ to her follow-up, and then says ‘You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it’, showing polite indifference while letting her proceed. Choice A misses the mark: he shows no enthusiasm. Choice C is off because he does not refuse to listen. Choice D doesn't fit: no worry is expressed.

Text
A team of geologists led by Dr. Yuki Tanabe has discovered a layer of volcanic ash in sediment cores from the floor of the Pacific Ocean that dates to approximately 74,000 years ago. Chemical analysis of the ash matches it to the eruption of Mount Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, which is believed to have been the most powerful volcanic eruption of the last two million years. The ash layer’s presence more than 4,500 miles from Toba’s location indicates that the eruption dispersed material across an extraordinarily wide area. Tanabe’s findings contribute to an ongoing debate about whether the Toba eruption caused a prolonged global cooling event known as a volcanic winter.

Question 4. The text makes which point about the ash layer discovered by Tanabe’s team?

  • A) It was found closer to Toba than any previously discovered ash deposits from the eruption.
  • B) It provides evidence that the Toba eruption spread debris over a vast distance. ✓
  • C) It proves definitively that the Toba eruption caused a volcanic winter lasting several decades.
  • D) It contradicts earlier estimates of when the Toba eruption occurred.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer. The text states the ash was found ‘more than 4,500 miles from Toba’s location,’ indicating ‘extraordinarily wide’ dispersal. Choice A falls short because the text emphasizes the distance from Toba, not proximity. Choice C misses the mark: the text says the findings ‘contribute to an ongoing debate,’ not that they prove the volcanic winter definitively. Choice D is off because the dating aligns with existing estimates of approximately 74,000 years ago.

Text
The following text is adapted from Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel The Awakening. Edna Pontellier is learning to swim for the first time. But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over-confidence. She could have shouted for joy. She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water. A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the mastery of her body.

Question 5. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  • A) Edna is frightened by the experience of swimming and regrets entering the water as described in the passage.
  • B) Edna feels a powerful sense of joy and empowerment upon discovering she can swim. ✓
  • C) Edna’s swimming ability impresses the other people around her.
  • D) Edna realizes that swimming is more physically demanding than she expected.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer. Edna ‘shouted for joy’ and felt ‘exultation’ as if given power to ‘control the mastery of her body.’ The comparison to a child walking for the first time emphasizes the thrill of a new capability. Choice A contradicts the text; she feels joy, not fear. Choice C doesn't fit: no other people’s reactions are mentioned. Choice D is wrong because the text focuses on exhilaration, not difficulty.