Correct Answer: answer her note and share her own news
Passage Reference: Thank you for your lovely note! At first, I was surprised that you and Nicolas didn’t get the place close to town.
Why this is correct: Sarah first responds to Jenny's note about the new ranch, then tells her own news about moving and her new job. So she is writing mainly to answer her note and share her own news.
Tips: For why a letter was written, ask what each paragraph adds. Notice how Sarah reacts to what Jenny sent before she talks about herself.
Why the other options are wrong:
- invite her to spend the holidays in Vancouver: Invite her to spend the holidays in Vancouver reverses the plan. Sarah says she will come to visit Jenny for the holidays.
- complain about the art fundraiser committee: Complain about the art fundraiser committee turns one story into the main point. The payment problem is only part of her news, and it was solved in the end.
- ask for advice about finding a new job: Sarah does not ask Jenny for advice. She already has a new job at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Correct Answer: the building was being sold
Passage Reference: I had to move as my landlord was putting the house on the market. It was actually a relief because I wasn’t too happy in that basement suite as there simply wasn’t enough light.
Why this is correct: Sarah moved because the building was being sold. Her landlord had put the house on the market.
Tips: Separate the event that caused a move from a detail that made the move welcome.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the rent was too high for the space: The rent was too high for the space gives a money reason, but Sarah says the landlord's sale forced the move.
- she didn't get along with the landlord: She didn't get along with the landlord invents a personal conflict that Sarah never describes.
- her basement apartment was too dark: Her basement apartment was too dark explains why leaving felt like a relief, not why she had to leave.
Correct Answer: she can get around town easily
Passage Reference: It's also very close to the transit line, which was a major deciding factor since I don't own a car.
Why this is correct: The new apartment is very close to the transit line. Sarah calls this a major deciding factor because she does not own a car. So she can get around town easily.
Tips: Notice phrases such as major deciding factor because they identify the most important reason.
Why the other options are wrong:
- she has a great view of the city: A view is never mentioned. The top floor is praised for its light and windows.
- it's more affordable than her previous place: It's more affordable than her previous place is factually wrong because the new rent is a little higher.
- the apartment is small and easy to clean: Sarah never says the small size is a benefit. Transit is the major deciding factor.
Correct Answer: sold paintings in a fundraising event
Passage Reference: At first I was happy because I ended up selling all five of my paintings. The buyers took my paintings home, and the fundraiser committee wrote down which paintings I had sold, or so I thought!
Why this is correct: Sarah sold paintings in a fundraising event. In fact, buyers purchased all five paintings she offered.
Tips: Track who did each action at the charity auction. The committee ran it, so ask what Sarah herself did.
Why the other options are wrong:
- taught art in a high school program: Taught art in a high school program mistakes the fundraiser's cause for Sarah's role as a participating artist.
- organized an art event for charity: Organized an art event for charity assigns Sarah the committee's job, although she was invited to sell her work.
- helped some artists sell their work: Helped some artists sell their work shifts the sales to other artists, while Sarah sold her own five paintings.
Correct Answer: a list of art pieces that were sold went missing
Passage Reference: It turns out that they had lost their record book and didn't have any verification of my sales!
Why this is correct: A list of art pieces that were sold went missing. Without the record book, the committee could not verify Sarah's sales.
Tips: Check pronouns carefully so you know exactly who lost the important record.
Why the other options are wrong:
- buyers only paid part of what they owed her: Buyers only paid part of what they owed her wrongly blames the buyers, who reported the full amounts they had paid.
- she lost the record of her sales: She lost the record of her sales names the wrong person because the organizing committee lost its book.
- some paintings were taken without her knowledge: Some paintings were taken without her knowledge describes theft, but the buyers properly bought the paintings and took them home.
Correct Answer: got a new job
Passage Reference: I decided it was time for a more conventional job, so I got a position at the Vancouver Art Gallery, taking visitors through the exhibitions.
Why this is correct: After the fundraiser, Sarah got a new job. She now guides visitors through exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Tips: Follow time signals such as after and so to connect a problem with the decision that followed it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- moved to a new apartment: Sarah moved because her landlord was selling the house. The fundraising problem led her to seek a more stable job.
- moved to another city: Moved to another city invents a relocation, while Sarah names a new position at a Vancouver gallery.
- enrolled in a high school art program: Enrolled in a high school art program confuses Sarah with the students whose programs were receiving fundraiser money.
Correct Answer: quite dark
Passage Reference: It was actually a relief because I wasn’t too happy in that basement suite as there simply wasn’t enough light.
Why this is correct: Sarah's old home was quite dark. She says the basement suite did not have enough light.
Tips: Match a describing word in the reply with a detail that has the same meaning in the first message.
Why the other options are wrong:
- too small: Too small borrows the size of Sarah's new apartment instead of the lighting problem in her old basement suite.
- too expensive: Too expensive points to cost, but Sarah only says the rent at her new home is slightly higher.
- quite strange: Quite strange gives an opinion about the old home that neither Sarah nor Jenny expresses.
Correct Answer: an artist,
Passage Reference: I finally had enough when 10 other artists and I were invited to auction our paintings to raise money for high school art programs.
Why this is correct: The words an artist, correctly identify Sarah's creative work. She paints and sells her own paintings.
Tips: Identify a person's occupation from the work they repeatedly do, not from the event they attend.
Why the other options are wrong:
- an art fundraiser,: An art fundraiser, is an event or organizer role, while Sarah attended the event to auction her paintings.
- a musician,: A musician, works with music, but every creative activity Sarah mentions involves painting.
- an art teacher,: An art teacher, confuses Sarah with the high school programs that received money from the auction.
Correct Answer: on the coast
Passage Reference: After all, the weather is so very different from the coast.
Why this is correct: Jenny and Nicolas's old place was on the coast. Sarah compares Saskatchewan's weather with the coastal weather they knew before.
Tips: When two places are compared, mark which one is the old location and which one is the new location.
Why the other options are wrong:
- in an apartment: In an apartment describes Sarah's present home, not Jenny and Nicolas's former place.
- in a basement: In a basement refers to Sarah's old suite and has no connection to the couple's rainy former region.
- in Saskatchewan: In Saskatchewan is their new location, so it cannot be the old place Jenny compares it with.
Correct Answer: the missing sales records after the art show
Passage Reference: It turns out that they had lost their record book and didn't have any verification of my sales!
Why this is correct: Jenny is sorry about the missing sales records after the art show. The lost book delayed Sarah's payment and caused many phone calls.
Tips: Summarize the problem by naming both what disappeared and when it happened.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the theft of your paintings: The theft of your paintings changes completed purchases into a crime, although the buyers paid and took the art openly.
- the cancellation of the art show: The cancellation of the art show is impossible because the auction happened and all five paintings sold.
- the closure of the school art program: No program is closing. The event was raising money to help programs like this.
Correct Answer: stop painting full-time
Passage Reference: I decided it was time for a more conventional job, so I got a position at the Vancouver Art Gallery, taking visitors through the exhibitions.
Why this is correct: Sarah felt she had to stop painting full-time. She chose stable gallery employment after the difficult sale.
Tips: Use the new job and the words about stability to infer what changed in Sarah's career.
Why the other options are wrong:
- stop looking for employment: Stop looking for employment reverses Sarah's action because she searched for and obtained a conventional job.
- move to another place: Move to another place repeats an earlier housing event rather than the career decision caused by the fundraiser.
- stop attending fundraising events: Stop attending fundraising events is too narrow because Sarah says she changed her full-time work, not merely her event attendance.
