Topic, Topic Sentence and Main idea

1. People often refer to taxes in terms of their being much too high in reality,
they are probably even higher than you think, because in addition to the
federal income tax we are now studying, there are many other Federal, State,
and local taxes, including sales taxes, and others. These are just some of the
most obvious ones.
The topic is: Taxes.
The topic sentence is: People often refer to taxes in terms of their being
much too high in reality, they are probably even higher than you think,
because in addition to the federal income tax we are now studying, there are
many other Federal, State, and local taxes, including sales taxes, and others
The main idea is: Taxes are more expensive than people thought.
2. The fact that electronic computers are now used for data processing has
led the general public to believe that it is a mysterious, complicated science
and that the computers are giants brains. Both of these ideas are false. A
computer is basically just a high-speed adding machine that performs the
functions it is told to. If the input data are varied even little, the computer is
unable to operate until it is programmed to accept the variations. The
business operations it performs are impressive only because of the extremely
high speed of manipulation, but most of these operations have been used for
decades. Unlike man, the computer performs repetitive calculations without
getting tired or bored.
The topic is: Electronic computers.
The topic sentence is: A computer is basically just a high-speed adding
machine that performs the functions it is told to.
The main idea is: Computers are the best invention that man can use.
3. The Louisiana Purchase proved to be one of the shrewdest business pacts
in the entire history of the United States. The purchase doubled in the area of
the country and provided territory from which fourteen new states were

created either wholly or in part. It also gave us control over the mouth of the
Mississippi River and opened up the way to foreign trade. Prior to the
purchase, the waterway had been blocked by the Spanish, probably with the
approval of Napoleon. The land that was bought was rich in timber, minerals,
and natural resources of many kinds. Finally, the cost of the transaction was
unbelievably low; the total of $15 million amounted to about four cents an
acre.
The topic is: The Louisiana Purchase.
The topic sentence is: The Louisiana Purchase proved to be one of the
shrewdest business pacts in the entire history of the United States.
The main idea is: The Louisiana Purchase was one of the business that
most benefit United States economy.
4. There is a common belief that while the dog is mans best friend, the
coyote is his worst enemy. The bad reputation of the coyote traces back his
fondness for small animals; he hunts at night and is particulary destructive to
sheep, young pigs, and poultry. Yet it is sometimes wise to encourage
coyotes. Provided valuable farm animals are protected, the coyote will often
free the property of other animals, like rabbits, which are ruinous to crops and
certains trees. He is especially beneficial in keeping down the rodent
population. Where coyotes have been allowed to do their work without
molestation, ranchers and fruit growers have found them so valuable that
they would no more shoot them than they would shoot their dogs.
The topic is: The Coyote.
The topic sentence is: The bad reputation of the coyote traces back his
fondness for small animals; he hunts at night and is particulary destructive to
sheep, young pigs, and poultry.
The main idea is: People think that the Coyote is one of the most dangerous
animals because they regularly destroy their prey.
5. In earlier days those who had overseas business which they believed
should be discussed personally, look ship and set out across the briny deep.
Once aboard they transacted their affairs, engaginf in commercial and social

matters or conductiong govermment business. Today ships and passengers

continue to sail the seven seas, and airplanes soar overhead. But above
them all, words speed through the sky telephone conversations quickly
bring together in the most personal fashion people who are separated by
thousands of miles.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
6. The attitudes of Americans toward gambling are amazingly contradictory.
You may find, for example, that horse racing is legal in your state, but that
you cannot legally play poker for money on your front porch: bookies may be
prosecuted by state law, but they are supposed to purchase a federal license
nonetheless; one church condemns gambling, while another raises money by
sponsoring Bingo games. Gambling laws are inconsistent from state to state
or even from town to town and are very difficult to enforce.
The topic is: Gambling.
The topic sentence is: The attitudes of Americans toward gambling are
amazingly contradictory.
The main idea is: Americans dont agree because in some places it is legal
a gamble but in other places they are not legal.
7. Benjamin Franklin invented many things that made life easier in the late
1700s. He invented the lightning rod that saved many homes from fires. He
also invented the Franklin stove. The stove could heat a room better than a
fireplace and saved people a lot of fuel. He also invented a special kind of
glasses called bifocals. This new kind of glasses helped to read better.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
8. Teeth can tell you what kinds of food a mammal eats. Plant eaters

(herbivores) like deer have large, fiat molars for grinding plants. Animals that
eat both plants and meat (omnivores) have strong canines and molars for
tearing and grinding foods. Animals that are meat eaters (carnivores) have
canine teeth for cutting and tearing.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
9. The whitefoot makes its nest almost anywhere. It likes a home that is warm
and dry. Like hollow tree or empty birds nest. But most of the time the
whitefoot runs along the ground looking for food. It eats seeds, nuts, leaves,
bark, and insects. It sleeps by day and looks for food at nightits long
whiskers and big ears help it find its way in the dark.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
10. In the 1870s, the Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley navigated the
Congo river under the sponsorship of King Leopold of Belgium. Wherever he
stopped, he made treaties with the African chiefs he encountered. As a result,
when Stanley returned to Europe, King Leopold was able to take possession
of an area eighty times the size of Belgium. Leopold promptly called the area
the Belgium Congo and turned it into his own private goldmine, almost
destroying the Congo in the process. Under Leopolds rule, the Congolese
were faced with impossibly high taxes and forced into slave labor. Agents of
the Belgian government would give each Congolese family a basket to fill
with rubber. If members of the family did not return the basket with the
required number of pounds of rubber, their home would be burned to the
ground. Anyone who rebelled would be put in prison. Meanwhile, Leopold
grew enormously rich, squandering his blood money on yachts, mansions,
and mistresses. To keep the Belgian people quiet, he also expended
enormous sums on public works. Nevertheless, public opinion against
Leopold and his vicious ways grew stronger. Ultimately he was forced to give

up his stranglehold on the Congo, but not before millions of people had been
imprisoned and thousands had died.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
11. Mandarin, China's official tongue, is also the top language worldwide
other than English, according to rankings. Mandarin, spoken by 845 million
people, scored the highest in a ranking of languages, excluding English,
based on business usefulness. The ranking scored languages according to
the number of speakers, number of countries where the languague is official,
along with those nations' population, financial power, educational and literacy
rates, and related measures.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
12. The rate at wich the general levels of prices for goods and services is
rising, and subsequently, purchasing power is falling. Central banks attempt
to stop severe inflation, along with severe deflation, in an attempt to keep the
excessive growth of prices to minimun. As inflation rises, every dollar will buy
a smaller percentage of a good. For example, if the inflation rate is 2%, then
a 1$ pack of gum will cost 1.02$ in a year. Most countries' central banks will
try to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
13. To barbecue meat is considered traditional in Australia. While fast food
chains are abundant, Australia's metropolitan centres possess many famed
hauted cuisine and nouvelle cuisine establishments offering both local and
international food due to strong multiculturalism. Restaurants whose product

includes contemporary adaptions, interpretations or fusions of exotic

influences are frequently termed "Modern Australian".
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
14. Times Square is a major commercial intersection and a neighborhood in
Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the junction of Broadway (now
converted into a pedestrian plaza) and Seventh Avenue and stretching from
West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Brightly adorned with billboards and
advertisements, Times Square iconified as "The Crossroads of the World",
"The Center of the Universe", and "The Great White Way" is the hub of the
Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian
intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry.Times
Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, hosting over 39
million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times
Square daily, many of whom are either tourists or people working in the area.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is:
15. Abu Dhabi is a compulsive shopper's dream. There are several malls,
most of which have the same stores as other malls. Besides establishments
aimed at locals, malls also include popular foreign chain stores, as well as
designer places. Many visitors will be surprised at the female fashion
dichotomy - while local custom calls for women to be covered in public, most
stores sell short skirts and halter tops alongside the more sedate floor-length
skirts and high-necked shirts.
The topic is:
The topic sentence is:
The main idea is: