Question

read the passage.

abraham lincoln was born on a small farm in kentucky. his family was very poor. the children spent most of their time doing farm chores, which lincoln did not like at all. when he could, lincoln went to the local school, called an abc school, where children learned how to read, write, and do arithmetic. he could not go very often—only during the winter when there were no farm chores—and in his entire life, lincoln had only about one year of formal education.

lincoln’s stepmother encouraged him to read, and he read as much as he could. he read the family bible and aesop’s fables, as well as books on history and a biography of george washington. he read instead of doing his chores, and the neighbors thought he was lazy!

what is the central idea of this passage?

○ lincolns extreme poverty as a child

○ lincolns dislike of farm chores

○ lincolns lack of formal education

○ lincolns internal motivation to read

Explanation:

The passage first mentions Lincoln's poor family, limited formal education, and then focuses on his stepmother's encouragement and his own eagerness to read (reading instead of chores, neighbors' misperception). The other options are details: poverty is a background, dislike of chores is a detail, lack of formal education is part of the context. The central idea is his drive to read.

Answer:

D. Lincoln's internal motivation to read