Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: we have skipped the first meal
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This reading comprehension question continues with the same passage that explains why breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. The author emphasises both immediate and long term effects of skipping breakfast. The specific question asks under what condition people tend to eat unhealthy snacks such as chips, samosas, and burgers later in the morning. The correct answer must reflect the clear causal link given in the text.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• The passage states that skipping the first meal of the day leads to intense hunger pangs by late morning.• It then says that as a result, people end up eating chips, samosas, burgers, or other high fat unhealthy foods.• The author also notes that breakfast skippers are more likely to be overweight.• The question is asking when we eat unhealthy food, not why we become overweight.
Concept / Approach:
In comprehension questions about cause and effect, it is important to distinguish between the immediate condition and the later consequences. The immediate condition that triggers unhealthy eating is the fact that breakfast has been skipped, which produces strong hunger. While overweight is mentioned in the passage, it is a later result, not the specific condition that directly causes the snacking behaviour described. The correct option must therefore refer to skipping the first meal of the day.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the sentence in the passage that mentions unhealthy foods like chips, samosas, and burgers.Step 2: Note that the sentence begins with Moreover, skipping the first meal of the day leads to intense hunger pangs by late morning and we end up eating chips, samosas, burgers, or other high fat unhealthy foods.Step 3: Extract the cause: skipping the first meal of the day.Step 4: Extract the effect: we end up eating high fat unhealthy foods.Step 5: Match the causal phrase to the most appropriate option, which is we have skipped the first meal.
Verification / Alternative check:
Double check that the answer is not simply hunger in a general sense. The text does mention intense hunger pangs, but it clearly states that this hunger arises because the first meal has been skipped. Therefore, while hunger is part of the process, the exam style question wants the specific prior condition that is under our control, namely skipping breakfast. The wording of the correct option closely matches the phrase skipping the first meal of the day in the passage, confirming the choice.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a: we suffer from hunger is too general and does not capture the important detail that the hunger is a direct result of missing breakfast.Option b: we have become overweight refers to a consequence of repeated unhealthy eating and breakfast skipping, not to the immediate condition that leads to choosing junk food at a particular time.Option d: we love chips, burgers etc. introduces a new idea that is not supported by the passage. The author explains behaviour through hunger, not through liking or preference.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often choose the option that seems most generally true rather than the one that is specifically supported by the text. Many people might agree that everyone loves chips and burgers, but that belief does not answer what the passage actually says. Another pitfall is confusing later consequences with the earlier triggers. Successful comprehension requires tracking the sequence of cause and effect as presented by the author, not mixing the order based on personal assumptions.
Final Answer:
According to the passage, people reach for unhealthy snacks like chips and burgers because they have missed their morning meal and become extremely hungry. Correct answer: we have skipped the first meal.
Discussion & Comments