Question

Maria had been raised in the flat farmland of Indiana. Her new job in New York City was great, but there were lots of things she had to get used to. The first thing she had to deal with was noise. The sound of traffic never ceased. Sirens wailed suddenly at all hours. Garbage trucks backed into the alley beneath her apartment and made a terrible noise. They always seemed to arrive at 5:00 in the morning. The second thing she had to deal with was getting to work. The crush of the crowded sidewalks made her feel as if she was being swept by a tide of people. Everyone seemed to know where they were going and they walked fast. Maria felt that she had to walk fast too, just to keep from getting lost in the crowd. Soon after beginning her new job in downtown Manhattan, Maria had to deal with a third thing. Walking on concrete and standing on the subway were hard on her feet. Soon, she learned to imitate her fellow workers. She came to work in sneakers, carrying her dress shoes in her tote bag.

Once you’ve read this paragraph, look over the following ideas to see which one best describes its topic.

a. Maria was raised in Indiana.

b. Maria had to get used to living in New York City.

c. New York is noisy and crowded.

d. Maria soon learned to imitate her fellow workers.

Answer 1

While there’s no topic sentence in Maria’s story, the main idea isn’t hard to figure out. As you probably guessed, the main idea is b, Maria had to get used to living in New York City. That’s the implied topic of the paragraph.

My first time on horseback was embarrassing.

He realized that Sally wasn’t fooled. She knew he had no experience with horses and chose a gentle mare for him.

Step-by-step explanation: