Question

read the passage.
publishing doctor zhivago
boris pasternaks 1956 novel doctor zhivago tells the story of a russian doctor living at the time of the 1917 russian revolution, which led to the establishment of the soviet union. because the book dealt with hardships people faced after the revolution, publishers in the soviet union refused to release it, calling it anti - soviet. pasternaks solution was to have the book smuggled out of the soviet union and published in europe. though soviet authorities tried to prevent it, the book was published in italy in 1957 and was immediately well received. in 1958, it was translated into english and went on to become one of the most popular novels of the 1950s.
what is the main, or central, idea of the passage?
boris pasternak couldnt get his book doctor zhivago published in the soviet union, so he had the book smuggled out of the country.
doctor zhivago showed the problems that russians faced following the russian revolution, so it was considered anti - soviet.

Explanation:

The passage mainly talks about Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. It first mentions the content of the novel (a Russian doctor's story during the 1917 Russian Revolution). Then it focuses on the publishing situation: Soviet Union publishers refused to release it (because it dealt with post - revolution hardships and was called anti - Soviet). Pasternak's solution was to smuggle it out and publish in Europe. Later, it was well - received and became popular. The first option summarizes the key elements (publication issue in Soviet Union and smuggling out) which are the main events driving the narrative of the passage. The second option only focuses on why it was considered anti - Soviet, which is just a part of the background for the main event (publication struggle).

Answer:

Boris Pasternak couldn't get his book Doctor Zhivago published in the Soviet Union, so he had the book smuggled out of the country.