The mаin ideаs оf the fоllоwing pаragraphs appear at different locations. Identify the sentence (number) that expresses the main idea of this paragraph. 1In the 1800s, the discovery of gold in California created images of “striking it rich.” 2Lured by these images, thousands of men moved west, dreaming of making their fortune by working in the mines. 3In reality, retrieving minerals from rock was difficult, expensive, and dangerous. 4A successful mine required a large labor force, industrial tools, and railroad links. 5Miners worked far below the earth’s surface in poorly ventilated tunnels, with no means for removing human or animal waste. 6Temperatures could reach as high as 120 degrees. 7Accidents were part of the job, which depended on blasting equipment and industrial machinery. 8In 1884, a Montana miner drilled into an unexploded dynamite charge and lost his eyes and ears. 9He received no compensation, for the court decided that the accident “was the result of an unforeseen and unavoidable accident incident to the risk of mining.” Main Idea is sentence number _____.
Answer the suppоrting-detаil questiоns thаt fоllow the pаssage below. 1The other day I heard someone say, "I wish I'd known then what I know now." 2The statement made me ask myself what I do know now that I didn't know when I was a teenager, still in high school, living at home with my parents. 3I eventually decided that I have learned several important lessons. 4The first is that almost any decision is better than no decision. 5Gather the best information you can, make a decision, and then show up and do your best. 6No matter what happens next, you will learn and grow from the experience. 7Another lesson I've learned is that life is not fair. 8Good people sometimes suffer unimaginable hardships; bad people sometimes live seemingly charmed lives. 9You can protest, "But that's not fair!" until you're blue in the face, but it won't change a thing. 10All you can do is to try to be fair and just in your own life and not be embittered by the reality around you. 11A final lesson I've learned is that people are very complex. 12The worst of us are capable of moments of generosity and compassion; the best of us can be petty, small-minded, and hurtful. 13To decide that you know everything about someone is to set yourself up for a shock. 14We are all full of surprises; we are wonderfully and maddeningly complicated. The major supporting details of this paragraph are _____________