SAT OwlQuestion bank / Central Ideas and Details
The following text is from a 1922 novel by Dorothea Kell. Mr. Ambrose has just learned that a younger colleague, Fletcher, has been promoted ahead of him.
Mr. Ambrose was the first to shake Fletcher's hand. He spoke warmly of the young man's talents, laughed at a joke he did not hear, and stayed at the office party a full hour longer than anyone expected. Only when he reached his own front step that evening did he stop, the key in his hand, and stand for some minutes looking at the door as though he had forgotten which house was his.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Mr. Ambrose hides his distress at being passed over behind a show of good cheer that gives way once he is alone.
Mr. Ambrose is truly pleased by Fletcher's promotion and celebrates late into the night.
Mr. Ambrose has become so absent-minded that he cannot remember where he lives.
Mr. Ambrose resents Fletcher and openly tries to spoil the office party.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
At the party Mr. Ambrose acts cheerful, but he laughs at a joke "he did not hear," a sign that his mind is elsewhere. Alone at his door, he stands frozen. The text contrasts his public good cheer with his private shock, choice A.
Choice C takes the comparison literally. He looks "as though" he had forgotten his house, an image of shock, not real memory loss.
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. Laughing at a joke he "did not hear" and freezing at his own door suggest his cheer was a performance.
- C. The text says he looked "as though" he had forgotten, a comparison that shows shock rather than actual forgetfulness.
- D. He is the first to congratulate Fletcher and praises him warmly, so he does not openly spoil the party.
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