Correct Answer: Global Travel Agency
Passage Reference: Please let me know at your earliest convenience whether I can change my vacation time to the first 2 weeks of August, as I will need to either finalize the booking with Global Travel Agency or try to get our non-refundable deposit back!
Why this is correct: Global Travel Agency is where Else will finalize the booking. She needs her employer's answer first. Then she can confirm the trip with the agency or try to get the deposit back.
Tips: Separate the organization approving time off from the organization booking the holiday.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a Japanese tour operator: a Japanese tour operator belongs to no stated booking, since Else has replaced her Japan plan with an Africa tour.
- the husband's Mexican client: the husband's Mexican client relates only to his later solo business trip and does not arrange the family holiday.
- the employer's personnel department: the employer's personnel department may handle leave, but the named agency handles the travel reservation.
Correct Answer: advance notice of vacation is required
Passage Reference: I understand that time is needed to hire temporary replacements to take care of things while people are away. I am also aware that everyone needs to coordinate their vacation plans in a way that ensures no single department is understaffed.
Why this is correct: advance notice of vacation is required is a need Else accepts. She understands that managers need time to arrange replacements and staffing.
Tips: A writer can accept the reason for a rule while disagreeing with how strict it is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 6 months' notice is the minimum: 6 months' notice is the minimum conflicts with Else's view that two or three months should be enough.
- replacement workers are unavailable: Else never says this. She says the company needs time to hire them.
- most departments are understaffed: most departments are understaffed changes a planning risk into a current fact that the email does not report.
Correct Answer: two or three months' notice
Passage Reference: However, I believe 2 or 3 months' notice should be sufficient. According to my friends, that's the amount of notice required by other places of employment here in Canada.
Why this is correct: two or three months' notice gives the exact period Else recommends. She says this amount is also required at other Canadian workplaces.
Tips: When the passage gives several time periods, match each one to the person who supports it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- no advance notice: no advance notice ignores Else's acceptance that employers need some preparation time.
- six months' notice without exceptions: six months' notice without exceptions repeats the policy Else calls unreasonable and is asking Ms. Green to relax.
- a full year's notice: a full year's notice doubles the six-month period that Else already considers too long.
Correct Answer: occurs when July is over
Passage Reference: However, I have now decided to go to Africa instead, and that tour is scheduled for the first 2 weeks of August.
Why this is correct: occurs when July is over correctly places the Africa trip in August. Else wants to replace her first two weeks of July leave with the first two weeks of August.
Tips: Do not combine dates from an old plan and a replacement plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- will depart from Japan: will depart from Japan mixes the cancelled destination with the new tour, which is described independently as a trip to Africa.
- takes 4 weeks in total: takes 4 weeks in total adds the July and August periods even though they are alternative plans, not one long journey.
- is offered only in the summer: is offered only in the summer makes a broad claim about the tour schedule when only its specific August dates are given.
Correct Answer: family members
Passage Reference: My husband and his retired parents have already made a non-refundable deposit for the trip to Africa for the four of us, and they are really looking forward to it.
Why this is correct: family members are included in Else's travel plans. The four travellers are Else, her husband, and his two parents.
Tips: Find what Mrs. Birch says about the new trip. Test each option against her words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- her closest friends: her closest friends are mentioned only as sources of information about workplace notice, not as travellers.
- only her husband: only her husband leaves out his retired parents, who paid a deposit for the same Africa trip.
- her co-workers: her co-workers are relevant to vacation staffing but are not part of the family booking.
Correct Answer: a change to her vacation dates
Passage Reference: I am sorry to bother you, as I know you are very busy, but I would like to change my vacation time request.
Why this is correct: Mrs. Birch opens and closes by asking to move her two weeks off from July to August. So her email mainly asks for a change to her vacation dates.
Tips: Find what Mrs. Birch asks Ms. Green to tell her quickly. Then read the parts about the rule and the trip, and pick the option that covers her whole email.
Why the other options are wrong:
- extra weeks of vacation this summer: Else does not ask for more time off. She wants the same two weeks, just moved from July to August.
- a shorter notice rule for all staff: A shorter notice rule for all staff is only her opinion about the policy. Her actual request is about her own vacation time.
- a refund of her travel deposit: A refund of her travel deposit is not something she asks her manager for. She will try to get the deposit back from the travel agency only if the change is refused.
Correct Answer: change the dates you'll be away
Passage Reference: I am sorry to bother you, as I know you are very busy, but I would like to change my vacation time request. I asked to take the first 2 weeks of July off, but now, if it is okay, I would like the first 2 weeks of August instead.
Why this is correct: change the dates you'll be away restates Else's request. She wants the first two weeks of August instead of the first two weeks of July.
Tips: Distinguish the action requested now from the writer's wider comments about a policy.
Why the other options are wrong:
- give you extra time off work: give you extra time off work is not requested because both the old and new leave periods last two weeks.
- confirm your travel insurance: confirm your travel insurance is a travel-company task that Else never asks her manager to perform.
- revise our vacation policy: revise our vacation policy is broader than Else's personal request, even though she explains why she dislikes the current rule.
Correct Answer: have difficulty meeting
Passage Reference: It is difficult for some people to know, 6 months in advance, what their summer plans will be. I understand that time is needed to hire temporary replacements to take care of things while people are away.
Why this is correct: have difficulty meeting describes employees' struggle with the January requirement. Else says people may not know their summer plans six months early.
Tips: Use tone and purpose to tell the difference between struggling with a rule and refusing it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- insist on changes to: insist on changes to is too forceful because Else politely asks for one exception and merely offers comments on the policy.
- refuse to follow: refuse to follow suggests deliberate disobedience, while the problem is practical difficulty planning so far ahead.
- need an explanation of: need an explanation of does not fit because Else already understands the staffing reasons behind the requirements.
Correct Answer: different in terms of their
Passage Reference: According to my friends, that's the amount of notice required by other places of employment here in Canada.
Why this is correct: Other companies require a shorter notice period. So their vacation policies are different from this company's January deadline.
Tips: A comparison of required notice periods shows difference, not popularity or absence of rules.
Why the other options are wrong:
- now changing such strict: now changing such strict claims an active policy change at other companies, but Else only compares their existing notice periods.
- ignoring such vacation: ignoring such vacation suggests other employers have no policies, while the letter says they require two or three months of notice.
- popular because of their: popular because of their adds a judgment about company popularity that neither writer makes.
Correct Answer: grant your revised request
Passage Reference: grant your revised request explains the exception Ms. The text states I'm pleased to say that I have decided to make an exception.
Why this is correct: grant your revised request explains the exception Ms. Green has decided to make. She approves Else's new August dates despite the normal no-change rule.
Tips: Check both the action and the amount of time when reading an approval.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hire your temporary replacement: hire your temporary replacement may happen later, but it is not the exception or decision announced in the reply.
- forward your message upwards: forward your message upwards delays a decision, while Ms. Green directly says that she has already decided.
- approve 2 months' vacation: approve 2 months' vacation badly changes the length of leave from two weeks to two months.
Correct Answer: Africa
Passage Reference: However, I have now decided to go to Africa instead, and that tour is scheduled for the first 2 weeks of August.
Why this is correct: Africa is the adventure Ms. Green hopes Else will enjoy. It is the new family destination connected with the approved August leave.
Tips: Keep the cancelled destination, family destination, and later business destination in separate columns in your notes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Canada: Canada is where Else discusses workplace practices, not the destination of her upcoming adventure.
- Japan: Japan was Else's original July plan, which she has now replaced with the Africa tour.
- Mexico: Mexico is her husband's later solo business destination, so it is not Else's approved family holiday.
