Correct Answer: thank her partner for patient support
Passage Reference: thank you for being such a patient partner
Why this is correct: Maria opens with a clear thank-you to Murphy for being a patient partner. The rest of the letter gives examples of that patience. So her main reason for writing is to thank her partner for patient support.
Tips: Ask what feeling runs through the whole letter. Maria says it directly once, then gives examples of it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask her partner to finish renovating sooner: She wants fewer projects, not faster renovation.
- persuade her parents to shorten visits: She is grateful they stayed, not asking them to leave sooner.
- explain why she is changing jobs: The new job is background, not her purpose.
Correct Answer: more willing to accept gradual progress
Passage Reference: the house could improve a little at a time
Why this is correct: She now accepts that the house can improve a little at a time.
Tips: Compare how Maria felt about the unfinished house when they moved in with how she feels now. Notice what Murphy kept telling her.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eager to finish every room at once: That was her earlier attitude.
- focused on price checks to fix delays: She says walks helped more than checking prices.
- ready to move before further changes: She wants to enjoy the life they are building there.
Correct Answer: give her parents a place to sleep
Passage Reference: You rearranged your study so they would have a comfortable place to sleep
Why this is correct: He rearranged his study so her parents would have a comfortable place to sleep.
Tips: Find where Maria describes what Murphy did with his study. Read the reason in that same sentence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- create a study area for their daughter: The study change was for the parents.
- avoid repairs in his study: Repairs were to the parents apartment.
- help Maria compare kitchen plans: Kitchen plans were her earlier habit, not his reason.
Correct Answer: take evening walks instead of more planning
Passage Reference: those evening walks you suggested helped more than another hour spent checking prices online
Why this is correct: The evening walks helped more than another hour checking prices.
Tips: Find where Maria looks back on the renovation and says what helped her. Test each option against that part.
Why the other options are wrong:
- check delivery updates late at night: That was the stressful habit she moved away from.
- finish the kitchen before other plans: She says the kitchen can wait.
- keep concerns private until work ended: She is learning to share problems.
Correct Answer: ask for help when she has a problem
Passage Reference: I still find it difficult to ask for help
Why this is correct: She still finds it difficult to ask for help.
Tips: Use the difficulty she still names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- welcome her parents into their home: She was grateful they stayed.
- decide whether her daughter starts school: School has already started.
- see why Murphy needed his own study: She understood the sacrifice he made.
Correct Answer: their anniversary should come before chores
Passage Reference: The kitchen can wait one more weekend.
Why this is correct: She prefers a quiet afternoon together and says the kitchen can wait one more weekend.
Tips: Read the kitchen line together with the sentence just before it. Maria is choosing between two ways to spend the day.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a delayed delivery arrives that weekend: No delivery is expected that weekend.
- Murphy should finish the kitchen as a gift: She wants time together, not kitchen work.
- the kitchen no longer needs any changes: She only postpones it, not cancels all changes.
Correct Answer: your new job
Passage Reference: Moving into an unfinished house while starting a new job
Why this is correct: They combined the unfinished house with Maria starting a new job.
Tips: Pair the house project with the new job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- our daughter's first school term: School comes later in the letter.
- my parents move to the city: Her parents visited. They did not move in for good.
- your parents new business: No new business is mentioned.
Correct Answer: your parents in my study
Passage Reference: You rearranged your study so they would have a comfortable place to sleep
Why this is correct: Murphy made room in his study so her parents could sleep there.
Tips: Think about who stayed with them during the repairs. Then find which room Murphy changed for them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- our daughter in the kitchen: Their daughter is not the guest in that memory.
- visitors at the dining table: He worked at the dining table. The guests slept in the study.
- a home office in their apartment: The parents apartment was under repair.
Correct Answer: allow time together even when tasks remain unfinished
Passage Reference: leave room in our schedule for things that are not on a task list
Why this is correct: Both want time together rather than waiting until every task is done.
Tips: Maria says she is learning to leave room in the schedule. Choose the idea that means the same, not the old habit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- finish every project before arranging outings: That is the old pattern she is leaving.
- replace our walks with more time comparing prices: The walks were helpful. Checking prices was not.
- complete the kitchen during our anniversary afternoon: The kitchen can wait.
Correct Answer: spend some quiet time together
Passage Reference: spend a quiet afternoon together than organize a large party
Why this is correct: Maria wants a quiet afternoon together rather than a large party.
Tips: Match her preferred anniversary plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- host the large party we originally planned: She prefers not to organize a large party.
- help your parents move their furniture: That is not the anniversary plan.
- complete the remaining kitchen work: The kitchen can wait.
Correct Answer: we can work through concerns together
Passage Reference: sharing a problem is better than silently trying to manage it alone
Why this is correct: Sharing a problem is better than silently managing it alone.
Tips: Find what Maria says she values most. Murphy is asking her to keep doing that in the year ahead.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every concern needs an immediate decision: She is learning not to treat every task as urgent.
- household plans should come before other activities: She wants fewer projects and more shared time.
- you should bring me only problems you have resolved: He wants her to talk before everything is solved.
