Question 136·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
The passage below is from a memoir by the musician Carlos Rivera, describing afternoons he spent with his grandmother when he was ten years old.
My grandmother’s tiny apartment sat over a bakery that breathed out the warm smell of bread all afternoon. Each day after school, I climbed the narrow stairs, knowing exactly what awaited me. Abuela would lift the lid of her old record player, place a vinyl on the turntable, and invite me to sit on the faded couch beside her. We hardly spoke while the music played. Instead, she tapped the rhythm on the wooden armrest and nodded at every trumpet solo, teaching me—without a single lecture—how to listen. When the final note drifted away, she would smile and ask, “What did you hear this time?” I would stammer through an answer, and she would put on another record, guiding me deeper into the sounds she loved. Those afternoons were my real music lessons; the bakery’s scent, the scratches on the vinyl, and Abuela’s quiet patience became the studio where I first learned to be a musician.
Which choice best describes the main idea of the passage?
For main idea questions, read the entire passage and then especially focus on the first sentence (which often introduces the topic) and the last sentence (which often sums up the point). Briefly restate in your own words what the passage is mostly about and how the narrator feels, then choose the option that matches that overall idea without adding new details or focusing on minor background descriptions. Eliminate any choice that introduces events, feelings, or goals that the passage never mentions.
Hints
Look at the beginning and the end
Reread the first two sentences and the last sentence of the passage. What is introduced at the start, and how does the narrator sum it up at the end?
Track what happens on these afternoons
List the main actions: what does the grandmother do, and what does the narrator do, while they are together? How do these actions relate to music?
Check the narrator’s attitude
Ask yourself: Does the narrator seem to enjoy or dislike these visits? Is he focused more on the apartment/bakery or on something else?
Eliminate choices that add new ideas
Cross out any options that mention things not supported by the passage, such as specific kinds of lessons, public performances, or preferences that the narrator never states.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the focus of the passage
Notice who and what the passage is mainly about: a ten-year-old narrator and his grandmother, Abuela. The whole paragraph describes what they do together after school in her apartment, especially involving her record player and music.
Pay close attention to key descriptive details
Look at the actions during these afternoons: Abuela puts on records, taps the rhythm, nods at trumpet solos, and asks, “What did you hear this time?” The narrator tries to answer, and she plays more records. These details show a repeated routine centered on listening to and thinking about music together.
Use the final sentence to find the central idea
The last sentence often states or reinforces the main point. Here, the narrator calls those afternoons his “real music lessons” and says that Abuela’s “quiet patience” was the “studio” where he “first learned to be a musician.” This tells you how important these listening sessions are in his development.
Match the main idea to the answer choices
The main idea is that time with his grandmother, listening to records in a quiet, informal way, is how he begins to learn and love music. Among the choices, only A) The narrator's grandmother cultivates his passion for music through their quiet, shared listening sessions. captures both the musical focus and the nurturing, lesson-like nature of those afternoons.