Question

Choose the number of the sentence that expresses the main idea in each selection.

(1) In the language of botanists (scientists who study plants), the fruit has a different meaning than in everyday talk about food.
(2) To most of us, fruit refers to sweet or tart foods like apples, peaches, and lemons.
(3) To botanists, however, fruit also includes seed-containing "vegetables" such as cucumbers, eggplant, olives, peas, squash, string beans, and tomatoes (which are berries).
(4) Botanically speaking, cashews and other nuts are single-seed fruits.
(5) Many plants that we don’t eat—for example, milkweeds and azaleas—also are fruits.
(6) So, a mix of milkweeds and azaleas is a fruit cup; a package of dried fruit and nuts is a package of fruit and more fruit; and parents who scold, "Eat your vegetables!" when their children refuse to eat string beans or peas could, instead, coax, "Don’t you want to eat your fruit?"
a) Sentence 1
b) Sentence 3
c) Sentence 5
d) Sentence 6

Answer 1

Sentence 1, which mentions that the definition of fruit differs between botanists and common usage, best expresses the main idea of the selection.

Step-by-step explanation:

To answer the question, the sentence that best expresses the main idea in the selection is (1) 'In the language of botanists (scientists who study plants), the fruit has a different meaning than in everyday talk about food.' This sentence introduces the concept that there is a difference between the botanical definition of a fruit and the common use of the word in daily conversation. It sets the stage for the explanation of what constitutes a fruit in botany, distinguishing it from the common perception, and all other sentences provide supporting details for this main idea.