Main Idea and Inferences Practice

Boost reading skills! Practice finding main ideas and making inferences with engaging ELA passages.

[Read the passage below to answer questions 1-3.] Are video games such a bad thing? Who doesn't like video games? We often hear about how playing video games can lead to serious health issues. But are there any benefits to video games? When children play games such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Bird, or Cut the Rope, they train their brains to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short periods of time. In order to be successful in most games, the young gamer needs to read to get instructions, follow story lines or games, and get information from the game texts. Also, kids use their math skills to manage available resources. The player learns to manage resources that are limited and decide the best use of resources, the same way as in real life. To benefit from playing video games, it is important to remember to limit screen time to no more than two hours a day. Otherwise, it will lead to many serious health problems. 1. What is the main idea of the passage? Everyone likes video games. There are many ways to play video games. There are many benefits to playing video games. Playing video games may lead to serous illnesses. 2. Which statement supports the main idea of the passage? "We hear many times how playing video games can lead to many serious health issues." "To benefit from playing video games, it is important to remember to limit screen time to no more than two hours a day." "Who doesn't like video games?" "In order to be successful in most games, the young gamer needs to read to get instructions, follow story lines of games, and get information from game texts." 3. Based on the information in the text, you can conclude that: The author wants readers to try a variety of different games. The author wants parents to prohibit their children from playing video games. The author wants video game creators to create more academically challenging games. The author wants the audience to consider the positive side to video games. [Read the passage below to answer questions 4-6.] Drinking Soda There was a time when soda was considered an occasional treat, but this beverage has become so common that many Americans don't go a day without one or more carbonated soft drinks. In fact, the average American drinks about 57 gallons of soda each year. One of the consequences of consuming too much soda is weight gain which may lead to obesity. Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Drinking a single 330 ml. can a day of sugary drinks turns into 1 lb. of weight gain every month. Diabetes is another consequence. Anything that promotes weight gain stresses the body's ability to process sugar. Also, acid and sticky sugars attack your teeth and wear them down. The impact of sugary drinks contributes to dental issues like tooth decay. Dental experts continue to urge people to drink less soda, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay. 4. The passage above is mainly about - The average American drinks about 57 gallons of soda per day. Drinking soda has negative effects. Soda drinking causes tooth decay. Why do people drink soda? 5. Which statement best supports the main idea of the selection? "There was a time when soda was considered an occasional treat." "One of the consequences of consuming too much soda is weight gain which may lead to obesity." "...but this beverage has become so common that many Americans don't go a day without one or more carbonated soft drinks." "Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink." 6. Based on the passage, you can conclude that: The author things that Americans drink more and more soda every year. The author wants to convince readers to drink less soda to stay healthy. The author is concerned about an increase in diabetes in the American population. The author wants to inform readers about how much sugar is in a large soda.