Question

Read the passage. excerpt from Eothen by Alexander Kinglake I went to see and to explore the Pyramids. Familiar to one from the days of early childhood are the forms of the Egyptian Pyramids, and now, as I approached them from the banks of the Nile, I had no print, no picture before me, and yet the old shapes were there; there was no change: they were just as I had always known them. I straightened myself in my stirrups, and strived to persuade my understanding that this was real Egypt, and that those angles which stood up between me and the West were of harder stuff, and more ancient than the paper pyramids of the green portfolio. Yet it was not till I came to the base of the great Pyramid that reality began to weigh upon my mind. Strange to say, the bigness of the distinct blocks of stone was the first sign by which I attained to feel the immensity of the whole pile. When I came, and trod, and touched with my hands, and climbed, in order that by climbing I might come to the top of one single stone, then, and almost suddenly, a cold sense and understanding of the Pyramid's enormity came down, overcasting my brain. What is the central idea of this passage? The author visited the Egyptian pyramids. The Egyptian pyramids are amazingly large. One stone block in the Egyptian pyramids is bigger than a man. The Egyptian pyramids are familiar even to people who have never visited them.

Answer 1

The central idea of this passage is D. The Egyptian pyramids are familiar even to people who have never visited them.

The author clearly starts by saying that, although he has never seen the pyramids before, he knew exactly what they’re supposed to look like. Many times before he has seen them in pictures, so it is understandable that the idea of what the pyramids look like is already in his head. Although he then continues to talk about the size of the pyramids, there is still a tone of familiarity.