Question

Read this paragraph.

1Over forty years ago a doctor at the Mayo Clinic wrote that four out of five times he'd find out what was wrong sooner if he started by examining the patient's home life, his job, and his bank account instead of his heart, his digestive system, and his kidneys. 2Many of his colleagues thought he was crazy or was at least playing a joke on them. 3He was neither crazy nor was he playing a joke. 4He had come to understand what few doctors at that time did: that bodily functions are affected by spiritual and emotional phenomena as well as by physical influences.

The main idea of the paragraph is best expressed in what sentence?

1
2
3
4

Answer 1

4

Step-by-step explanation:

In this passage, the author introduces the main idea by telling us a story about a doctor. He tells us that the doctor had a controversial saying, and that many of his friends did not support him. However, the story is included in order to support the main idea that is introduced in sentence 4. This idea is that "bodily functions are affected by spiritual and emotional phenomena as well as by physical influences." The main idea refers to the message that a text wants to convey to the reader.

Answer 2

The correct answer is sentence 4: "He had come to understand what few doctors at that time did: that bodily functions are affected by spiritual and emotional phenomena as well as by physical influences." In this sentence the author is expressing the main idea of the paragraph in which emotions affect body functions.

The opening sentence in the paragraph gives an example of a doctor's experience. Sentence 2 and 3 provide the context and how people would not agree on the doctor's examining results.

Therefore, sentence 4 is putting together all the details and background in order to state the topic of the paragraph.