Correct Answer: whether public money should keep paying for the race
Passage Reference: should public money keep paying a large share of the fee to host the race on Île Notre-Dame?
Why this is correct: The writer names the question in the first paragraph. Should public money keep paying a large share of the fee to host the race? Every other paragraph reports a view on it.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, look for a question the writer asks in the first paragraph. Then check that each speaker answers it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how race cars have changed over fifty years: The blog post describes today’s rules for the cars but never compares them with cars from the past.
- why the bridge to the island needs repairs: The bridge comes up only because it closes on race weekend. Nobody says it needs repairs.
- which Montreal hotels are best for race fans: Hotels appear only in Brodeur’s point about full rooms. The blog post does not recommend any hotel.
Correct Answer: Faisal Chu
Passage Reference: says the spending studies count money that local fans would have spent in the city anyway
Why this is correct: Faisal Chu, the economist, says the spending studies count money that local fans would have spent in the city anyway. So he doubts the new spending is as large as claimed.
Tips: The question is about doubting other people’s numbers. Read each speaker’s lines and ask who accepts the supporters’ figures and who does not.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Serena Brodeur: Serena Brodeur is the one who claims large spending. She calls the fee an investment that returns through sales and taxes.
- Odile Renwick: Odile Renwick worries about bridge closures and noise, not about whether the spending figures are too high.
- Viggo Sauer: Viggo Sauer talks about what the race does for students. He says nothing about the spending studies.
Correct Answer: complaints from residents stuck behind bridge closures
Passage Reference: She says the bridge closures trap people who need to reach a hospital
Why this is correct: Renwick says the bridge closures trap people who need to reach a hospital. Complaints from residents stuck behind the closures would back her position.
Tips: First find Renwick’s reason for her view. Then pick the evidence that would make that reason stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- restaurant owners who want a longer race week: Busy restaurants are Brodeur’s argument for the race, so owners wanting more race days would support her, not Renwick.
- a study of what local fans spend instead: A study of what local fans would spend anyway supports Chu’s doubt about the spending figures, not Renwick’s worry about closures.
- a poll of fans who want cheaper seats: Seat prices are never discussed, and fans wanting cheaper seats says nothing about the problems residents face.
Correct Answer: local college students would visit the team garages
Passage Reference: he wants any new deal to include visits to the team garages for local college students
Why this is correct: Sauer wants any new deal to include visits to the team garages for local college students.
Tips: Look at the end of Sauer’s lines, where he says what any new deal should include.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ticket prices would drop for every student: Sauer asks for garage visits, not cheaper tickets. Ticket prices are never discussed.
- the race would move to a new track: Sauer wants the race to keep inspiring students in Montreal. He never suggests moving it.
- the province would pay each student’s tuition: Tuition is never mentioned. Sauer’s condition is about visits to the team garages.
Correct Answer: show what draws the blogger to the race
Passage Reference: What hooks me is the engineering.
Why this is correct: Right before listing the rules, the blogger writes, “What hooks me is the engineering.” So the rules show what draws the blogger to the race.
Tips: For a “describes X mainly to” question, ask why the writer put that detail there. Read the sentence just before the rules.
Why the other options are wrong:
- argue that the cars are too heavy: The minimum weight is given as a rule, not as a complaint about heavy cars.
- explain why the hosting fee is so high: The rules for the cars have nothing to do with the fee, and the blogger never explains its size.
- warn readers about crashes on the track: Crashes come up only in Sauer’s classroom example. The blogger’s rules are not a warning.
Correct Answer: build its own car
Passage Reference: Every team must build its own car
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, this is the first rule in the list: every team must build its own car.
Tips: The comment asks about a rule for every team. In the first paragraph, find the rule that starts with the same words as the comment.
Why the other options are wrong:
- use the same engine as the others: Nothing in the post says teams share one engine. The rule is that each team builds its own car.
- pay the host city a fee: The fee in the blog post is paid with public money to host the race, not by each team.
- race with at least two drivers: The number of drivers is never mentioned. The weight rule speaks of one driver aboard.
Correct Answer: how a carbon-fibre body can survive a crash
Passage Reference: His students light up, he explains, when they learn how a carbon-fibre body can survive a crash
Why this is correct: Sauer says his students light up when they learn how a carbon-fibre body can survive a crash.
Tips: The comment calls him the college teacher, so find the person who teaches at a CEGEP. Read what makes his students light up.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how pit crews change four tires so quickly: Pit crews and tires are never mentioned in the blog post.
- how much a race team pays its drivers: Driver pay is never discussed. Sauer talks about the science of the car body.
- how engines are tested in wind tunnels: Wind tunnels are never mentioned. Sauer’s example is a carbon-fibre body in a crash.
Correct Answer: a free shuttle bus from the metro
Passage Reference: She would back a new deal only if it paid for free shuttle buses from the metro
Why this is correct: Renwick would back a new deal only on two conditions. It must pay for free shuttle buses from the metro, and it must end track noise by 7 p.m.
Tips: The comment is about something to ride. Look for “only if” in Renwick’s lines and read what she wants the deal to pay for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rented bicycle across the bridge: Renwick complains that the bridge closes, but she never suggests bicycles.
- a ferry from the Old Port: The Old Port appears only in Brodeur’s quotation about restaurants. Nobody suggests a ferry.
- a night train to the island: Renwick asks for buses from the metro, not for a night train.
Correct Answer: fills rooms that often sit half empty
Passage Reference: race weekend fill rooms that often sit half empty in early June
Why this is correct: Brodeur, who represents the hotel association, says her members see race weekend fill rooms that often sit half empty in early June.
Tips: The comment calls her the hotel spokesperson. Find what she says her members see on race weekend.
Why the other options are wrong:
- raises hotel prices beyond what fans can pay: Brodeur never mentions prices. Her point is that the rooms fill up.
- costs hotels more than it earns: Brodeur says the fee returns through sales and hotel taxes, so she does not claim hotels lose money.
- is too loud for guests to sleep: Noise is Renwick’s concern for residents. Brodeur does not mention it.
Correct Answer: took you to the hairpin with foam earplugs
Passage Reference: when my uncle took me to the hairpin with a pair of foam earplugs and a cheese sandwich
Why this is correct: In the first sentence, the writer remembers being twelve. An uncle took them to the hairpin with a pair of foam earplugs and a cheese sandwich.
Tips: The comment mentions the writer at twelve. Go back to the first sentence and read what the uncle did.
Why the other options are wrong:
- bought you a signed driver’s cap: No cap is mentioned. The blogger remembers earplugs and a cheese sandwich.
- drove you to the race in a convertible: The blog post never says how the blogger travelled to the race.
- sat with you in the covered grandstand: The grandstand is where the commenter kept ticket stubs. The blogger went to the hairpin.
