What is the main point of the passage?

A list helps by taking the job of remembering out of a small mental space. (The passage explains that the mind holds only a few things at once, and a list moves that load onto paper so the mind is free. That is the argument from start to end.)

According to the passage, what happens when a new thing enters the small space in your mind?

It pushes an old thing out. (The first paragraph states it: it can keep only a few things at once, and each new thing pushes an old one out.)

In this passage, "vague" means

not clear, without a definite shape ("A vague worry" is contrasted with "a fixed number of items" and compared to a cloud. So vague means unclear and without a definite shape.)

Why a List Helps: Level 1 Reading Comprehension Questions

Q: The passage suggests that a list of thirty items is a problem because

it becomes another load to worry about (The last sentence says a list of thirty items becomes a new thing to worry about, which is the problem it was supposed to solve. Time, losing it, and page size are not mentioned.)

Try to hold a phone number, a shopping list, and a friend's question in your head at the same time. Something slips. This is normal. The part of the mind that holds what you are using right now is small. It can keep only a few things at once, and each new thing pushes an old one out.

A list moves the load out of your head and onto the paper. The paper does not forget. Now the small space in your mind is free for the work itself, instead of the effort of remembering what the work is.

This is why a list often helps even when you never read it again. Writing the tasks down ends the quiet job of holding them. It also turns a vague worry into a fixed number of items, and a fixed number feels smaller than a cloud. Good lists are short and plain. A list of thirty items becomes a new thing to worry about, which is the problem it was supposed to solve.

Comprehension questions