Question 1: 9. What is the main idea of this passage?

• The Marathon of the Sands race tests the limits of human endurance. (Correct answer)
• The runners run at their own paces.
• The race causes the strong to stumble and the weak to not finish.
• The seventh day is the hardest day of the race.
• Every runner runs the race to find their human limits.

Correct answer: The Marathon of the Sands race tests the limits of human endurance.

A main idea often conveys the core purpose or significant impact of the subject. If the passage describes the extreme environmental conditions, the intense physical demands, and the mental fortitude required for the Marathon of the Sands, then its central message is about the race's role in pushing human endurance to its absolute limits.