Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: keeps you active; boosts performance
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question continues to test understanding of a passage that discusses how breakfast influences energy, memory, and productivity. The key idea here is that eating a proper breakfast has multiple positive effects, not just one. The question asks what a good breakfast does, and the correct option must combine all benefits clearly mentioned in the text.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• The passage states that a good breakfast leads to a more active and productive day.• It also explains that skipping breakfast has been linked to memory impairment in both young and older adults.• Breakfast is directly linked with performance in school and college, emphasising mental efficiency.• We assume that active and productive together refer to both physical energy and mental performance.
Concept / Approach:
The approach for this question is to collect all the positive results of having a good breakfast that are mentioned explicitly. The passage highlights two main outcomes: increased activity (more energy throughout the day) and better performance (improved learning and memory). Therefore, the correct option should mention both being active and boosting performance, not just one of them. Options that distort the meaning by suggesting memory loss or other negatives are clearly wrong.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Locate the sentence in the passage that begins with A good breakfast leads to a more active, productive day.Step 2: Recognise that active refers to energy and physical alertness, while productive refers to efficiency and performance in work or study.Step 3: Note the additional information that breakfast is linked with performance in school and college and that skipping breakfast is associated with memory impairment.Step 4: Combine these points: a good breakfast keeps a person active and supports better performance and memory.Step 5: Choose the option that expresses both ideas: keeps you active; boosts performance.
Verification / Alternative check:
Check each phrase in the correct option against the text. The part keeps you active reflects the line about a more active day. The phrase boosts performance summarises improved productivity, better school performance, and protection against memory impairment. These are direct, positive outcomes of having breakfast. No other option summarises both aspects simultaneously, which confirms the chosen answer.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a: keeps you active is partially correct but incomplete. It ignores the clearly stated link with performance and memory.Option b: causes memory loss contradicts the passage, which actually says that skipping breakfast is connected with memory impairment, not eating it.Option c: boosts performance again captures only one part of the message and does not mention the increased activity and energy that the passage emphasises.
Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake in comprehension questions is choosing an answer that is true but incomplete, especially when a more complete option is available. Exam setters often include options that contain one correct element but omit another important one. To avoid this trap, candidates should always check whether an option captures the full idea or only part of it. Another pitfall is failing to notice negations and opposites, such as confusing the effects of eating breakfast with the effects of skipping it.
Final Answer:
The passage clearly states that a good breakfast makes a person both more active and more productive, so it improves energy and performance together. Correct answer: keeps you active; boosts performance.
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