The main idea of this paragraph is 

In Egypt, people learn to eat grasshoppers partly by watching others enjoy themselves while eating grasshoppers. ________________________, we learn  patterns of speech, styles of dress, types of energy consumption, methods of rearing children, and many other kinds of behavior by observing others

Fill in each blank with an appropriate transition from the box. Use each transition once. Then, in the space provided, write the letter of the transition you have chosen.

Which of the following is the main idea?

Identify each item with the letter of its main pattern of organization.  

The main idea of the paragraph above is 

. The main pattern of organization of the paragraph is

In species such as the red-back spider, the black widow spider, the praying mantis, and the scorpion, the female commonly eats the male after mating. Another widespread form of cannibalism is size-structured cannibalism, in which large individuals consume smaller ones. Octopus, bats, toads, fish, monitor lizards, salamanders, crocodiles, spiders, crustaceans, birds, mammals, and a vast number of insects have all been observed to engage in size-structured cannibalism.  Yet another common form of cannibalism is infanticide. Classical examples include the chimpanzees, where groups of adult males have been observed to attack and consume their infants; and lions, where adult males commonly kill infants when they take over a new harem after replacing the previous dominant males. Also, gerbils and hamsters eat their young if they are stillborn, or if the mothers are especially stressed. Which of the following sentences is the implied main idea?

The placebo effect is an apparent cure or improved state of health brought about by a substance, product, or procedure that has no generally recognized therapeutic value.  For instance, it is not uncommon for patients to report improvements based on what they expect, desire, or were told would happen after taking simple sugar pills that they believed were powerful drugs. Although the placebo effect is generally harmless, it does account for the expenditure of millions of dollars on health products and services every year.  Megadoses ofvitamin C have never been proven to treat cancer. Mud baths do not smooth wrinkled skin, nor do electric shocks reduce muscle pain. People who mistakenly use placebos when medical treatment is urgently needed increase their risk for health problems.   The pattern of organization is ______________.

Words have two kinds of meanings—denotative and connotative. Denotative meaning is precise, literal, and objective.  It simply describes the object, person, place, idea, or event to which the word refers.   One way to think of a word’s denotative meaning is its dictionary definition.  For example, denotatively, the noun school means “a place, institution, or building where instruction is given.”  Connotative meaning is more variable, figurative, and subjective. Put simply, the connotative meaning is what the word suggests or implies. For instance, the connotative meaning of the word school includes the feelings, associations, and emotions that the word touches off in different people. For some people, a school might connote personal growth, childhood friends, and a special teacher. For others, it might connote frustration, discipline, and boring homework assignments.