Question

Read the following paragraph, which is missing a topic sentence:

But by itself, even the most powerful quake isn’t very dangerous. The ground doesn’t shake people to death, or split open and swallow them up. It is what happens after the earth moves that is deadly. When buildings, dams, or pipelines shatter, when hillsides fall apart, or when tsunamis roar ashore, that is when people die.

Which is the most effective topic sentence for the paragraph?


Earthquakes are among the most destructive events on Earth.


Geologists often say that earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do.


The 2011 Japanese earthquake took 16,000 lives and caused more than $300 billion of damage.


You grow up thinking there is nothing more solid and reliable than the ground on which you stand, and then one day, it falls to pieces beneath your feet.

Answer 1

Geologists often say that earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do.

This sentence directly introduces the paragraph's main idea — that the shaking itself is not usually deadly, but the damage to buildings, slopes, dams, and the tsunamis that follow are what kill people — so it fits best as the topic sentence.