Question

1 one day, i was sitting in my house, in namibia, reading a u.s. newspaper on my cell phone. 2 oh, i should backtrack for a minute here. yes, africa has cell phones. in fact, every peace corps volunteer in namibia has a cell phone, as well as every adult namibian i know, and most teenagers. cell phone coverage reaches every major town in namibia, and most of the minor ones, as well—even small villages. 3 and this isnt only namibia. cell phones are everywhere in africa and even though one in four africans has a cell phone, you rarely see anyone talking on them—you see, its simply too expensive. instead, everyone is text messaging. text messaging, you see, is very cheap. for $10 u.s. dollars you can walk into a shop in namibia, and walk out with a cell phone—not a very nice one, mind you, but a fully functional one—that has enough prepaid credit to send 100 text messages a day for three months. what is the main idea of paragraph 2? what is the main idea of paragraph 3?

Explanation:

Paragraph 2 details cell phone prevalence (users) and coverage in Namibia. Paragraph 3 expands to Africa-wide cell phone use, notes texting as cheaper than calling, and mentions affordable phone options in Namibia.

Answer:

The main idea of paragraph 2 is that cell phones are widely used in Namibia (every Peace Corps volunteer, adult Namibian, most teenagers have them) and have extensive coverage.
The main idea of paragraph 3 is that cell phones are common across Africa, but texting is preferred over calling due to cost, and affordable phones with prepaid credit are available.