Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: we miss breakfast
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This reading comprehension question is based on a passage that explains why breakfast is essential for maintaining energy levels, mental performance, and overall health throughout the day. The specific focus of the question is on the reason people experience a late morning slump characterised by tiredness and sleepiness. The passage clearly links this slump with the habit of skipping breakfast, and the right option must capture this direct cause.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• The passage states that without breakfast, people of all ages are likely to experience a late morning slump.• The slump is described as tiredness, sleepiness, and an urge to sit back, all of which reflect low energy.• The passage directly connects the absence of breakfast with these symptoms.• We assume the question is asking for the immediate cause of this sleepiness.
Concept / Approach:
To answer a comprehension question like this, you need to locate the relevant lines in the passage and focus on cause and effect. The key sentence is the one beginning with Without breakfast, all of us irrespective of age are likely to experience the late morning slump. This explicitly states that the condition without breakfast leads to the slump. Therefore, the correct option must express the idea that not eating breakfast, or missing breakfast, causes the sleepiness. Options that describe the effect rather than the cause are distractors.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the question: We experience sleepiness in the morning because …Step 2: Go back to the passage and find the sentence that discusses sleepiness and late morning slump.Step 3: Note the wording Without breakfast, we are likely to experience the late morning slump.Step 4: Rephrase this line: If we miss or skip breakfast, we experience tiredness and sleepiness.Step 5: Match this rephrased cause to the most accurate option, which is we miss breakfast.
Verification / Alternative check:
Cross check by reading surrounding sentences. The author then explains that skipping the first meal leads to intense hunger later and unhealthy snacking. The chain of reasoning is clear: missing breakfast first causes a slump, and later leads to overeating junk food. The passage does not say that simply feeling tired causes sleepiness as an independent cause. Instead, both tiredness and sleepiness are consequences of skipping breakfast. This confirms that we miss breakfast is the correct causal explanation.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a: we eat breakfast is the opposite of what the passage says. A good breakfast actually prevents sleepiness by supporting energy levels.Option c: efficiency goes down is a result of the slump, not its cause. Reduced efficiency comes after the sleepiness and tiredness.Option d: we feel tired and sleepy merely restates the symptom in different words. It does not explain why the sleepiness occurs, so it cannot be the correct cause.
Common Pitfalls:
In reading comprehension questions, candidates often confuse cause and effect or pick an option that simply rephrases part of the question. It is important to ask what leads to the sleepiness, rather than what sleepiness looks like. Another common mistake is overthinking and assuming a hidden reason that is not mentioned in the passage. In exam passages, the intended answer is almost always directly supported by a sentence or a clear paraphrase in the text itself. Training yourself to quickly locate and interpret that sentence is an essential skill for scoring well.
Final Answer:
The passage clearly states that the late morning slump and sleepiness appear when people do not eat breakfast. Correct answer: we miss breakfast.
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