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Central Ideas and Details SAT question

Reading and Writing · Information and Ideas · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.

The following text is adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 story “Landor’s Cottage.”

During a pedestrian trip last summer, through one or two of the river counties of New York, I found myself, as the day declined, somewhat embarrassed about the road I was pursuing. The land undulated very remarkably; and my path, for the last hour, had wound about and about so confusedly, in its effort to keep in the valleys, that I no longer knew in what direction lay the sweet village of B——, where I had determined to stop for the night.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

ExplanationShow

Choice A is the best answer. The narrator is “embarrassed” about the route he took, which ends up leaving him lost and confused about how to get to his destination for the evening.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. The narrator is embarrassed, rather than fond, and he doesn’t describe the beauty of the place. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. We don’t know from this excerpt whether or not the narrator has visited this part of New York multiple times. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. The narrator doesn’t explain how he overcame being lost in this excerpt.

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