Correct Answer: whether the library should end daily late fines
Passage Reference: our city’s library board is thinking about ending daily late fines
Why this is correct: The blogger reads that the library board is thinking about ending daily late fines. Every paragraph after that reports views on this question.
Tips: Read the opening paragraph for the news the writer reacts to. Then check that every later paragraph comes back to that same question.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to raise money for new library textbooks: The blog post never talks about raising money for textbooks. Textbooks come up only as books that might go missing.
- whether the library should open longer on Sundays: Opening hours are never discussed. The blog post is only about fines, reminders and deposits.
- when the library plans to update its website: A website update is never mentioned. Lindqvist talks about checkout screens and reminder messages, not the website.
Correct Answer: Rosa Nakashima
Passage Reference: warns that popular new releases and textbooks could vanish for months without some cost attached
Why this is correct: Rosa Nakashima, the collection manager, is the one who warns about this. She says popular books and textbooks could disappear for months if there is no cost.
Tips: Look for a worry verb such as “warns” in each speaker’s lines. Then check what that person fears could happen.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Ben Albright: Ben Albright wants to end fines because they push families away. He does not warn about missing books.
- Derek Oduya: Derek Oduya reports that families with unpaid fines stop renewing their cards. The warning about missing titles comes from Nakashima.
- Tara Lindqvist: Tara Lindqvist worries that new users will be surprised by a lost-item bill, not that popular titles will go missing.
Correct Answer: evidence that families stop renewing cards over fines
Passage Reference: households with several unpaid fines often stop renewing their cards completely
Why this is correct: Albright says fines push families away. Oduya’s report that families with unpaid fines stop renewing their cards is exactly the kind of evidence that supports him.
Tips: First find Albright’s reason for his view. Then pick the fact that would make that reason stronger, not a fact that helps someone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rise in the number of lost bestsellers: More lost bestsellers would support Nakashima, who fears books will vanish without a cost, not Albright.
- a longer waiting list for popular textbooks: A longer textbook waiting list would back Nakashima’s worry about high-demand titles, so it works against Albright’s plan.
- complaints that reminder texts are hard to read: Complaints about reminder texts would support Lindqvist’s request for plain language. They say nothing about fines pushing families away.
Correct Answer: unreturned books would be marked lost after a waiting period
Passage Reference: as long as staff still mark a book lost after a fixed waiting period
Why this is correct: Albright agrees to end fines only “as long as staff still mark a book lost after a fixed waiting period”. So the result his condition calls for is that books which never come back are marked lost after a set time.
Tips: Look for a condition phrase like “as long as” after Albright’s idea. The words after it tell you what must still happen.
Why the other options are wrong:
- daily fines would return after a trial summer: Albright wants daily fines ended, and he never suggests bringing them back after a trial.
- borrowers would lose their cards after one late book: Albright wants fewer barriers for families, not cancelled cards. His condition is only that books are marked lost after a waiting period.
- staff would stop tracking books that are overdue: Albright’s condition is the opposite: staff must keep tracking overdue books and still mark them lost.
Correct Answer: frank and hopeful
Passage Reference: I was too embarrassed to walk up to the desk ... I’m hopeful, too.
Why this is correct: The blogger openly admits being “too embarrassed to walk up to the desk” over a small fine, which is frank. Near the end the blogger says “I’m hopeful, too” after the family goes back to the library.
Tips: Look at how the writer describes events in the opening and how the post ends. Decide which pair of words fits the whole post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and bitter: The writer is embarrassed about the old fine but not angry, and even says “I understand her worry” about Nakashima.
- formal and detached: The blog post is full of personal stories about the blogger’s own children, so it is not formal or distant.
- mocking and impatient: Nobody in the post is made fun of. Every speaker’s view is treated with respect.
Correct Answer: reminders and overdue notices can replace fines
Passage Reference: He says text reminders and overdue notices can do the job that fines used to do
Why this is correct: Albright says text reminders and overdue notices can do the job that fines used to do. In other words, reminders and notices can replace fines.
Tips: Find Albright’s lines in the passage and read his main suggestion. The right choice will say the same idea in new words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fines should stay on textbooks and new releases: Albright wants daily fines ended, and nobody in the blog post asks to keep fines on textbooks or new releases.
- borrowing limits should be cut in half: Albright never suggests cutting borrowing limits. He says reminders and notices can do the job of fines.
- new members should pay a joining fee: Albright never suggests a joining fee. He says reminders and notices can do the job of fines.
Correct Answer: a refundable deposit on a few high-demand titles
Passage Reference: she wants a refundable deposit on a short list of high-demand titles before any fine-free rule becomes permanent
Why this is correct: Nakashima wants a refundable deposit on a short list of high-demand titles before any fine-free rule becomes permanent. That is what she needs before the change is final.
Tips: The comment calls this person the collection manager. Go back to her lines and find what she wants before the rule becomes permanent.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a daily fine on every overdue textbook: Nakashima asks for a deposit that people get back, not a daily fine on textbooks.
- a lost-item bill after one week: Nakashima never mentions a one-week lost-item bill. She talks about a deposit on popular titles.
- a public vote by branch users: No public vote is mentioned. Branch users only come up because they elected Albright to the board.
Correct Answer: works at one of the east-end branches
Passage Reference: Derek Oduya, a librarian at one of the east-end branches
Why this is correct: The blog post introduces Derek Oduya as a librarian at one of the east-end branches.
Tips: Find Oduya’s name in the passage and read the words right after it. Match them to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- trains the library’s new volunteers: Nobody in the blog post trains volunteers. Oduya is a librarian at one of the east-end branches.
- leads the library’s digital services: Digital services are led by Tara Lindqvist, not Oduya.
- was elected to the board by branch users: Ben Albright is the board member elected by branch users. Oduya is a librarian.
Correct Answer: due dates in plain language
Passage Reference: need to state due dates in plain language
Why this is correct: Lindqvist says checkout screens and reminder messages need to state due dates in plain language. That way, new users are not surprised by a bill.
Tips: Go back to Lindqvist’s practical point in the passage. Read her request to the end and match it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- no lost-item bills for new users: Lindqvist wants new users warned clearly, but she never says they should pay no lost-item bills at all.
- a phone call before any lost-item bill: Lindqvist talks about checkout screens and reminder messages, not phone calls before a bill.
- longer loan periods for new members: Lindqvist does not ask for longer loans. She asks for clear due dates.
Correct Answer: left its card in a drawer for two years
Passage Reference: For almost two years, my family’s library card sat in a kitchen drawer
Why this is correct: You can see this in the first paragraph. For almost two years the family’s library card sat in a kitchen drawer because of unpaid fines.
Tips: The comment points back to the writer’s own family story. Reread the very first sentence of the post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- was turned away at the library’s front desk: Nobody turned the family away. The blogger was too embarrassed to walk up to the desk.
- waited two years to get a dinosaur book: The son lost track of a dinosaur book. The family did not wait for one.
- paid its $14.60 in fines every single month: The family owed $14.60 in total and paid it only once, last week.
