Correct Answer: whether the town should fund a shared online market
Passage Reference: a shared online marketplace for downtown stores, with local delivery, paid for by the town for its first two years
Why this is correct: The blogger describes a proposal for the town to pay for a shared online marketplace with local delivery for downtown stores. Every speaker reacts to it.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the last sentence of the first paragraph. Every speaker after that gives a view on that proposal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to teach older residents to knit: The shop sells yarn, and Nash speaks for seniors, but knitting lessons are never discussed.
- why downtown parking is so hard to find: The hunt for parking is one reason people shop online, not the subject of the blog post.
- whether the library should open a café: The library comes up only as a place for a pickup counter. No café is proposed.
Correct Answer: Nima Clarkson
Passage Reference: he doubts that residents would drop the sites they already use
Why this is correct: Nima Clarkson doubts that residents would drop the sites they already use. That is a doubt that they would leave the big websites.
Tips: Find the speakers who question the plan, not just those who set conditions for it. Be careful with a speaker who talks about people who never shop online, which is a different point.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Dora Samson: Dora Samson expects the shared site to give stores more reach, so she does not doubt that people would use it.
- Elio Tait: Elio Tait worries about the number of orders needed to pay wages, not about whether residents would switch sites.
- Flora Nash: Flora Nash says many older customers never shop online at all. That is a different point from whether online shoppers would switch sites.
Correct Answer: a count showing enough daily orders to pay wages
Passage Reference: only if he can count on about forty orders a day to cover wages
Why this is correct: Tait says same-day delivery could work only with about forty orders a day to cover wages. So a count showing enough orders would support him.
Tips: Find Tait’s “only if” in the last paragraph. Pick the evidence that proves his condition can be met.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study of tax money spent on private firms: Spending tax money on private firms is Clarkson’s worry, and it says nothing about whether Tait’s couriers can be paid.
- a list of shops pledging to join a trial: A pledge list meets Clarkson’s condition for a trial, not Tait’s need for daily orders.
- a report on how little search ads cost: Cheap reach online fits the blogger’s point about search engines, not Tait’s concern about wages.
Correct Answer: phone orders would count, with pickup at the library
Passage Reference: she wants phone orders counted in the system and a pickup counter at the library
Why this is correct: Nash wants phone orders counted in the system and a pickup counter at the library. So the outcome is phone orders with library pickup.
Tips: Look for “she wants” in Nash’s lines. Read that sentence to the end and match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- only online orders would be accepted: Nash wants phone orders counted too, so accepting only online orders goes against her condition.
- the town would teach seniors to use websites: Nash never asks for website lessons. She wants seniors to be able to order by phone.
- every order would be carried to the door: Nash asks for a pickup counter, not delivery of every order to the door.
Correct Answer: worried but eager to act
Passage Reference: I am signing Clarkson’s pledge sheet this week
Why this is correct: The writer is worried about falling sales. But the writer is signing the pledge sheet this week and asking two other yarn stores to join.
Tips: For a tone question, look closely at the writer’s word choices. Decide what tone they create, then test each choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- bitter and ready to quit: The blogger is worried but plans to keep going and sign the pledge, not give up the shop.
- calm and uninterested: There is “a lot riding on the proposal”, so the writer is far from uninterested.
- amused by the whole debate: The falling sales and the council vote are treated seriously, with no amusement.
Correct Answer: over half of all retail spending
Passage Reference: over half of retail spending now involves an online step somewhere
Why this is correct: In the second paragraph, researchers estimate that over half of retail spending now involves an online step somewhere.
Tips: The comment talks about how much shopping includes an online step. Find the word “estimate” in the second paragraph and read the amount.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about a tenth of all retail spending: The estimate given is over half, not about a tenth.
- nearly all grocery purchases in town: No grocery purchases are singled out in town. The estimate covers every kind of retail.
- most spending in small towns: The estimate is about retail spending everywhere, not in small towns only.
Correct Answer: a modest monthly fee after two years
Passage Reference: after which each shop would pay a modest monthly fee
Why this is correct: Samson wants the town to cover the costs for two years, after which each shop would pay a modest monthly fee.
Tips: The comment calls her the development officer, so find Samson’s lines. Read her sentence about the fee to the end.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a fee for every order placed: Samson describes a monthly fee for each shop, not a charge on each order.
- a yearly fee from the first day: The town would cover the first two years, so shops would not pay from the first day.
- a fee only to the biggest stores: Samson says each shop would pay, not only the biggest ones.
Correct Answer: many older customers never shop online
Passage Reference: many older customers never shop online at all
Why this is correct: Nash warns that many older customers never shop online at all.
Tips: The comment calls her “the volunteer from the seniors’ club”, so find Nash’s lines. Look for the word “warns”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- seniors prefer to shop in big cities: Nash never compares towns and cities. Her point is that many seniors do not shop online.
- older customers dislike the library: Nash suggests a pickup counter at the library, so she does not say seniors dislike it.
- most seniors already order by app: Nash says most seniors do not order online at all, so ordering by app is the reverse of her point.
Correct Answer: compare prices on their phones
Passage Reference: some of them check prices on their phones
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, some customers check prices on their phones and then order the same skein from a giant website.
Tips: The comment describes shoppers in the first paragraph. Read what some of them do after they squeeze the wool.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask the owner for knitting lessons: The customers come in to squeeze the wool. Nobody asks for lessons.
- pay with cash at the counter: The complaint is that these customers buy online instead, not how they pay in the shop.
- leave reviews on the town site: The shared town site does not exist yet, so nobody leaves reviews on it.
Correct Answer: skips the drive and the parking
Passage Reference: ordering from the couch skips the drive, the hunt for parking and the trip home
Why this is correct: The blog post says ordering from the couch skips the drive, the hunt for parking and the trip home.
Tips: The comment says “for a simple reason”. Find “The reason is easy to see” in the second paragraph and match that reason to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- always costs less than local stores: The blog post explains the pull of online shopping by time saved, not by lower prices every time.
- comes with free wrapping and a card: Free shipping is mentioned, but free wrapping and cards are not.
- lets you touch the goods first: Touching the wool is what customers do in the shop, not something online ordering allows.
