Correct Answer: whether a museum should open free one evening a month
Passage Reference: The board of our city museum will vote next month on whether to offer one free evening every month.
Why this is correct: The editorial opens with the board’s vote on offering one free evening every month. Then it gives its own view on that question.
Tips: Read the first two sentences for the vote and the writers’ view on it. Every later paragraph comes back to that decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how a museum plans to raise its membership prices: Nothing says membership prices will go up. Holm only worries that renewals may fall.
- why school trips to the museum are being cancelled: School trips are not being cancelled. Rahimi says evening slots sell out early, which makes booking hard.
- a new travelling exhibit coming to the city: Travelling exhibits are mentioned only as something ticket money pays for, not as a new show arriving.
Correct Answer: rising evening visits at museums that tried free nights
Passage Reference: partner museums saw evening attendance climb after they began opening free once a month
Why this is correct: Espinoza points to partner museums where evening attendance climbed after free nights began. More visits at museums that tried free nights would support her.
Tips: First find Espinoza’s reason at the board workshop. Then pick the proof that would make it stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a drop in café sales on crowded evenings: Espinoza expects café sales to help cover lost ticket money, so falling café sales would weaken her case.
- complaints from neighbours about late crowds: Neighbour complaints about late crowds would be an argument against free nights, not for them.
- data showing members prefer daytime visits: Members preferring daytime visits has no link to Espinoza’s point that free evenings bring people in.
Correct Answer: Zoltan Holm
Passage Reference: free evenings may eat into prepaid tickets and membership renewals
Why this is correct: Holm warns that free evenings may eat into membership renewals, so he is the one worried about membership income.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for the verb “warns”. Then check what that person fears free evenings could cost the museum.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Yolanda Espinoza: Espinoza believes café and gift-shop sales can replace lost ticket money, so she is not the worried one.
- Zainab Rahimi: Rahimi’s concern is that teachers cannot book evening visits, not lost membership money.
- Ayesha Lemaire: Lemaire wants crowd counts and revenue figures published and never warns about renewals falling.
Correct Answer: the board would receive crowd and money figures after each night
Passage Reference: release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night
Why this is correct: Lemaire wants the museum to release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night. So the board would get those numbers after each one.
Tips: Lemaire’s lines end with a “so” clause. Read what should be released and who it helps.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the café would stay open later on free nights: Lemaire never mentions the café. The proposal is to release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night.
- the museum would stop charging for memberships: Lemaire never suggests dropping membership fees. The proposal is about publishing figures.
- visitors would pay a small door fee on free nights: A door fee on free nights is never proposed by Lemaire or anyone else in the editorial.
Correct Answer: supportive but cautious
Passage Reference: We think it should say yes, but only with limits it can measure.
Why this is correct: The writers say yes to free nights, but only with limits they can measure. So the tone is supportive and careful at the same time.
Tips: Tone comes from how the writers state their own view. Read the second sentence of the first paragraph and notice what they add after “yes”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and dismissive: Every side is treated fairly, and the writers even say they take Holm’s concerns seriously. So the tone is not angry or dismissive.
- neutral and uncertain: The writers clearly take a side and say the board should approve a pilot. So the tone is not neutral or uncertain.
- amused and playful: The piece is serious throughout and makes no jokes, so amused and playful does not fit.
Correct Answer: evening slots sell out before teachers can book them
Passage Reference: evening slots already sell out early, leaving teachers unable to book visits
Why this is correct: Rahimi says evening slots already sell out early, so teachers cannot book visits for their students.
Tips: The comment names Rahimi, so go to her lines in the third paragraph. Look at the problem she says deserves more attention.
Why the other options are wrong:
- weekend mornings are too crowded for school trips: Rahimi never talks about weekend mornings. The problem Rahimi raises is that evening slots sell out.
- free nights draw mostly tourists from outside the city: Rahimi does not talk about tourists at all. The point is about teachers and students.
- teachers no longer want to bring classes at all: Teachers do want to bring classes. Rahimi says they are unable to book because slots sell out.
Correct Answer: a written target for donor money
Passage Reference: a written goal for donor support before any permanent calendar is approved
Why this is correct: Holm wants a written goal for donor support before any permanent calendar is approved. That written target for donor money is what he asks for before anything becomes permanent.
Tips: The comment calls him the finance chair. His last sentence lists two things he wants first, and only one fits this blank.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey of teachers about evening bookings: Nobody in the editorial asks for a survey of teachers. Rahimi simply reports that evening slots sell out.
- a lower price for family memberships: Holm worries about losing membership renewals, but he never asks for cheaper family memberships.
- a separate evening for members only: A members-only evening is never suggested. Holm asks for an attendance cap and a donor goal.
Correct Answer: a first free visit often leads to paid visits later
Passage Reference: People who come once for free often come back and pay
Why this is correct: Espinoza says that people who come once for free often come back and pay. In other words, a first free visit often leads to paid visits later.
Tips: The comment names Espinoza, so find her short quote. The right choice says the same idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- café sales always fall on crowded evenings: Espinoza believes café sales can make up lost ticket money, so she does not say they fall.
- members will stop renewing if entry is free: The worry about membership renewals comes from Holm, who is cautious about free nights, not from Espinoza.
- most visitors would rather come during the day: Espinoza is arguing for evening visits and never says visitors prefer the daytime.
Correct Answer: keep a set number of places for school groups
Passage Reference: a set number of places kept for school groups
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph, the writers ask for a pilot with a set number of places kept for school groups. The commenter calls this plan sensible.
Tips: Look at the second sentence of the last paragraph for the pilot the writers want. Check which part the commenter could call a plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- make free nights permanent from the first month: The writers ask for a one-year pilot, not permanent free nights from the first month.
- move all school visits to daytime hours: Places are kept for school groups on free evenings. School visits are not moved to the daytime.
- charge a small fee at the door on free nights: A door fee on free nights is never proposed in the editorial.
Correct Answer: the figures show real harm to exhibits
Passage Reference: If the figures show real harm to exhibits, the board can change course.
Why this is correct: The last paragraph says the board can change course if the figures show real harm to exhibits. That is the promise the commenter refers to.
Tips: The comment points to the closing paragraph. Find the sentence that starts with “If” and says when the board can change course.
Why the other options are wrong:
- attendance goes over the agreed cap: An attendance cap is part of the pilot. But a crowd over the cap is never named as a reason to change course. Only harm to exhibits is named.
- fewer new visitors come back to pay: Returning visitors are never named as a reason to change course. Only harm to exhibits is named.
- café sales fall below last year’s level: Café sales appear only in Espinoza’s view. The editorial never says falling café sales would make the board change course.
