Passage Reference: Despite many efforts to control them, rabbits have overrun Australia and are causing blight, erosion and extinction wherever they go. On an island off the Australian coast, scientists had been testing a deadly rabbit virus to see whether it could serve as a weapon against the long-eared pests. The virus escaped from the island and is now spreading, uncontrolled, through the Australian outback. The unplanned viral outbreak — together with another experiment involving pollen — raises concerns about the ability of scientists to control the spread of organisms that they introduce into the environment.

Tips: For headings, ask yourself what message the writer wants you to remember from the paragraph.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Rabbits and their habitat: Rabbits are mentioned, but the paragraph is mainly about scientific responsibility, not habitats. This is a context shift trap.
• Be cautious before you add something to the environment: Although the paragraph mentions being cautious with the environment, its main message is about the virus escaping control unexpectedly. The caution theme is a broader conclusion, not this paragraph's focus. This is a context shift trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• blight = serious damage
• outbreak = sudden spread

Question Focus: Main idea - introduction of RCD and why it looked useful

Passage Reference: B. The offending bug causes rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD). First identified in China in 1984, the virus surfaced in Europe in 1986. The only animals affected by the virus are European rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, which usually die within two days of contracting the disease. Australians and New Zealanders soon noticed RCD’s potential as an anti-rabbit agent, and the Australia and New Zealand .Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Program was born. Funded by the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization (CSIRO), among other agencies, the programme set up a test site at Wardang Island off the coast of South Australia to evaluate the disease for an eventual release, probably in 1997.

Why this is correct: The paragraph explains what the virus is and why scientists wanted to use it to control rabbits.

Tips: If a paragraph explains background and purpose, choose a heading that introduces the topic.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Different approaches to get rid of the unwanted: Only one approach is discussed here, not several. This is a partial truth trap.
• The success of a similar effort half a century ago: That idea appears later with myxomatosis, not here. This is a wrong section trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• potential = possible usefulness
• agent = tool or method

Question Focus: Main idea - virus escaped despite precautions

Passage Reference: C. Officials foresaw little possibility of the virus's escaping from the island, but escape it did. In October, CSIRO announced that RCD had spread beyond the quarantine area despite "strict surveillance" and “comprehensive micro security measures". Within a week a rabbit had died of RCD at Point Pearce on Yorke Peninsula near the island. Scientists speculate that bush flies may have transmitted the virus to the mainland.

Why this is correct: The paragraph shows that the virus escaped from quarantine on an island and spread beyond the quarantine area to the mainland. Scientists had thought escape was unlikely, but the virus made its passage from an island to the continent.

Tips: Do not choose a heading based on the last sentence only.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Possible spreading routes: Spreading routes are mentioned, but the main idea is loss of control, not transport details. This is an example-as-main-idea trap.
• An unexpected loss of control of the virus: The idea of losing control was introduced earlier. This paragraph specifically describes how the virus physically moved from the island to the mainland, not the concept of loss of control. This is a wrong section trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• quarantine = isolation
• speculate = guess

Question Focus: Main idea - how the virus may have spread

Passage Reference: .

D. A frantic attempt to contain the virus followed. Scientists were stunned when the virus appeared at Yunta, 260 kilometres from Point Pearce, and then at Blinman, another 200 kilometres away. Officials suspect that humans may have been responsible for the disease’s spread. A reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald may have unintentionally carried the virus from Point Pearce to Yunta; farmers, whose animosity toward rabbits runs deep, may also be helping the virus along, possibly by releasing infected animals.

Why this is correct: The whole paragraph explores how the virus travelled, especially through human involvement.

Tips: Headings with words like how, why, or routes usually focus on explanation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• From an island to the continent: That movement is already established earlier. This paragraph explains how, not where. This is a context shift trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• contain = control
• animosity = strong dislike

Question Focus: Main idea - change from control to observation

Passage Reference: ls.

E. By the end of October, officials gave up trying to control the spread of RCD and instead concentrated on measuring the disease’s effect. The virus spread rapidly, reaching Broken Hill in New South Wales by early December. “In broad terms, where the virus has been present for four to five weeks, there is over a 95 per cent kill rate,” said Niall Byrne of CSIRO. This is enough to reduce the population, despite rabbits’ legendary fecundity.

Why this is correct: Scientists changed their focus from stopping the virus to studying its effects.

Tips: Words like instead and gave up often signal a change in direction.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Devastating damages to the local plants and animals: That topic appears in the next paragraph. This is a wrong section trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• fecundity = ability to reproduce
• concentrated = focused

Question Focus: Main idea - scale of environmental damage caused by rabbits

Passage Reference: dity.

F. Rough estimates put the current rabbit population at 200 to 300 million. At these numbers, they can devastate the flora of the countryside and drive other plant-eaters into starvation. “The scale of rabbit damage is just vast," Byrne says. “Twenty-five per cent of native mammals in New South Wales have been rendered locally extinct, and the major factor is rabbits."

G.

Why this is correct: This paragraph focuses entirely on the environmental destruction caused by rabbits.

Tips: Statistics often support a damage or impact heading.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Rabbits and their habitat: The focus is on damage, not where rabbits live. This is a partial truth trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• devastate = destroy
• extinct = no longer existing

Question Focus: Main idea - past virus control and its limits

Passage Reference: bbits."

G. RCD is not the first anti-rabbit virus released in Australia. In 1950, myxomatosis was introduced, and the initial success was astounding. A premyxomatosis rabbit population of about 600 million crashed to about 50 million. But the virus failed to control the rabbit population for long, because a co-evolution between the virus and rabbits followed. According to Edward M. Berger, a biologist at Dartmouth College, “a less virulent strain of virus evolved, and the (rabbit) survivors became more resistant,” enabling both the virus and the host to survive.

Why this is correct: The paragraph looks back at an earlier virus, showing early success but long-term failure.

Tips: Dates often signal historical background paragraphs.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Different approaches to get rid of the unwanted: Only one historical approach is discussed. This is a partial truth trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• co-evolution = change together
• virulent = strong

Question Focus: Main idea - models failed to predict spread

Passage Reference: survive.

H. RCD is not the only organism that is difficult to control. A recent Scottish study shows that a previously used pollen dispersion model — which would probably have been used to predict how fast genes from a transgenic crop leak into the environment — badly underestimated the amount of pollen that spreads from large oilseed rape fields.

Why this is correct: The paragraph shows that scientific models were wrong about how far pollen could travel.

Tips: If a paragraph criticizes predictions, look for forecast or model headings.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Be cautious before you add something to the environment: That is the broader conclusion, not the specific focus here. This is an example-as-main-idea trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• dispersion = spreading
• underestimated = guessed too low

Question Focus: Main idea - spread over large distances as a warning

Passage Reference: ape fields.

I. The study’s authors discovered that pollen can disperse much farther than the model predicts; pollen levels that had been expected no more than 100 metres away were observed at distances up to 2.5 kilometres. The study thus demonstrates the principle that any genes that scientists introduce into a crop can quickly spread into wild populations. A herbicide-resistant strain might cause “superweeds” that would be difficult to contain. This incident, like the one in Australia, should serve as a warning; it is easy to release an organism into a new environment but hard to co

Why this is correct: The paragraph explains that pollen can disperse much farther than models predicted, and this incident should serve as a warning. The clear message is to be cautious before you add something to the environment, because controlling the spread is very difficult.

Tips: Final paragraphs often contain warnings or conclusions.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Possible spreading routes: Routes are not discussed here, only distance and consequences. This is a context shift trap.
• From an island to the continent: While the virus did move from an island to a continent, this paragraph is about pollen spread and a broader warning, not about the specific island-to-continent journey. This is a context shift trap.

Key Vocabulary:

• superweeds = very strong weeds
• contain = keep under control

General Tips:

• Read all headings first and underline key words before reading paragraphs.
• Match headings to the MAIN IDEA, not one interesting detail.
• Read the first and last sentences carefully - they often show the paragraph’s focus.
• Eliminate headings that only match examples, not the whole paragraph.
• Headings follow paragraph order, so work from top to bottom.