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The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Scientific research shows that many animals are very intelligent and have sensory and motor abilities that dwarf ours. Dogs are able to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes and warn humans of impending heart attacks and strokes. Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles. Many animals also display wide-ranging emotions, including joy, happiness, empathy, compassion, grief, and even resentment and embarrassment. It's not surprising that animals share many emotions with us because we also share brain structures, located in the limbic system, that are the seat of our emotions.

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 3

We need to find what the main message is, not just any true statement.

The passage talks about animal abilities, but the key point comes at the end -> animals share emotions with humans because we have similar brain structures.

From passage: "It's not surprising that animals share many emotions with us because we also share brain structures, located in the limbic system, that are the seat of our emotions."

The thought process: Start with facts about animal abilities -> then emotions -> then explains why emotions exist -> shared brain structures. This explanation is the main point.


🔴 Option 1 -> scope-error -> focuses only on disease detection, ignores the main point about emotions and brain structures completely

🔴 Option 2 -> context-shift -> wrongly connects sensory abilities to emotions, but passage says emotions come from shared brain structures, not sensory skills

🟢 Option 3 -> correct -> captures both the fact (animals show human emotions) and the scientific reason why (similar brain structures in limbic system)

🟠 Option 4 -> partial-truth -> states animals show emotions correctly, but completely misses the explanation of why this happens (brain structures), making it incomplete

The confusion many students have: Option 4 sounds right because it's true. But in summary questions, you need the complete picture, not just one true fact. Option 3 gives both the observation and the scientific explanation that ties the whole passage together.

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