target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_737a3fbf-0282-5d22-a7c6-7fe20f6bbd48.png" alt="Tip"/> Just because a statement is true doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the correct answer to the question, especially a main idea question. All the answer choices are typically true statements, though only one is the main idea.
8. According to the passage, the president wants the voluntary principles to be initiated by businesses rather than by politicians or human rights activists because
Find the word and read the sentence, and you’ve found the answer: “The president vociferously denies their charges, arguing that each situation is approached on its merits without prejudice, and hopes that all the groups can work together to develop principles based on empirical research rather than political fiat, emphasizing that the businesses with experience in the field must initiate the process of developing such guidelines.” You don’t even need to know what empirical (derived from observation or experiment) means. The reasoning of Choices (B), (C), (D), and (E) isn’t stated in the passage. Correct answer: Choice (A).
9. Select the sentence from the second paragraph that describes the human rights activists’ response to the president’s plan.
The passage contains only one mention of human rights activists, and it appears in the second sentence of the second paragraph. So the correct answer is “Human rights activists, incensed at the nebulous plans for implementing such rules, charge that their agenda is being given low priority by the State Department.”
10. Which of the following is a reason the author mentions the boycott of a corporation’s products by its customers? Consider each of the three choices separately and select all that apply.
Choice (A) makes a valid point. Difficulties may arise when corporations attempt to become involved in politics. However, the passage doesn’t give that as a reason for a boycott, so Choice (A) is wrong. Choice (B) seems logical because a company that ignores its customers will probably fail. The passage mentions corporate communications with customers in the first sentence but not the customer’s perspective, so Choice (B) is wrong. Choice (C) is also true, because according to the passage, multinational corporations run the risk of alienating any group and thus inciting a boycott, which is a reason given by the passage. Correct answer: Choice (C).
11. Which of the following statements about the Sullivan Principles can best be inferred from the passage?
Choice (A) is the trap here. Perhaps you assumed that because the companies seem to dislike the Sullivan Principles, they hurt company profits. However, the passage says nothing about profits. Maybe the companies still made good profits but objected to the Sullivan Principles, well, on principle. The companies just may not have wanted governmental intervention, even if profits weren’t decreased.
The key words to search for are Sullivan Principles; then read around them. The Principles appear in the last sentence, and just before that, the passage states that business leaders “fear such ‘voluntary’ concepts may someday be given the force of law.” Because business leaders fear that the adoption of voluntary guidelines will lead to forced legislation, the Sullivan Principles will have a chilling effect on the future adoption of voluntary guidelines. The correct answer is Choice (E).
The humanities passage
A humanities passage may be about art, music, philosophy, drama, or literature. It typically places its subject in a positive light, especially if it’s about a person who was a pioneer in his or her field, such as the first African American astronaut or the first female doctor. Use this to your advantage: If someone is worthy of mention historically or in a Reading Comprehension passage, then he or she probably was an amazing person or did something truly noteworthy. Look for this sense of admiration from the author to create the context in which to frame the passage.
