Question

text 1
maria montessori was interested in math and science when she was a young girl in the late 1800s. however, at that time girls were discouraged from having careers in medicine and engineering. montessori was still determined to learn, so she attended a boys school to study these subjects. in 1896, she graduated from medical school and became the first female doctor in italys history.

text 2
the montessori method of education is an approach to educating young children. this system was developed by maria montessori, an italian doctor famous for her work on childrens education. she found that children have a natural ability to learn by themselves when given the right environment and materials. montessori schools put students of different ages in the same classroom. the students are given freedom to learn and explore. today, schools all over the world use montessoris approach when teaching young children.

which sentence best combines the main, or central, ideas of both texts?
maria montessori overcame challenges in her own childhood education and later developed a popular approach to teaching young children.
maria montessori always wanted to become a doctor, but she decided to become a teacher instead since women were not able to study medicine.
after attending an italian school with a new approach to learning, maria montessori went on to become the countrys first female doctor.

Explanation:

Text 1 focuses on Maria Montessori overcoming barriers to become Italy's first female doctor. Text 2 focuses on her development of the globally used Montessori Method for educating young children. The correct option must combine both her early challenge/achievement and her later educational contribution. The first option covers both points, while the second misstates her career path (she became a doctor first, then developed the method) and the third only covers her medical achievement, not the education method.

Answer:

Maria Montessori overcame challenges in her own childhood education and later developed a popular approach to teaching young children.