Multiple choice

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf. At the age of 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he excelled in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher. He was a dedicated teacher; and consequently, was promoted to teach the highest class. Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister when he met a young deaf girl, Alice Cogswell. He was upset to learn that there were no schools for the deaf in America. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. However, he was unable to get help and he became frustrated. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer, and went to the Royal Institution for the Deaf, where Clerc became his Sign Language teacher. At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education. At that time, the state would only pay for each student to stay at the school for five years. Therefore, Clerc had to teach his pupils as much as he could as quickly as possible.

How could the main idea of this passage be best stated?

  1. Clerc managed his time well, and he was able to teach a lot of information in a short period of time.

  2. Thomas Gallaudet was indebted to Clerc for all that he taught him.

  3. Clerc preferred teaching deaf students to hearing students.

  4. Clerc, an educated Frenchman, had a great impact on American Deaf Education.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The answer is (4), because the passage focuses on Clerc and the impact he had on deaf education in America. Option (4) is true, and it is a general enough response to function as a main idea statement. Option (1) is too narrow. It focuses only on Clerc's teaching, not the overall impact he had on deaf education. Option (2) is off the point, because the passage does not focus on Thomas Gallaudet, it focuses on Clerc. The answer is not (3) because the passage never talks about Clerc's preference as a teacher.

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