Correct Answer: to clarify the limits of Elise’s assignment before others treat it as permanent
Passage Reference: clarify the arrangement before the team starts treating it as permanent
Why this is correct: Sam's main reason for writing is to make clear that Elise's Saturday lead role is a four-week trial. He wants to say this before colleagues start treating it as a permanent promotion.
Tips: A main reason question asks why Sam wrote at all. Find the sentence where he says what he wants to do, and match its purpose.
Why the other options are wrong:
- to advise Elise how to turn the trial into a permanent role: He warns against presenting it as already permanent.
- to question whether Rina chose the right person for Saturday openings: He affirms Rina's reasons for choosing Elise.
- to ask Elise to delay discussing the assignment until it ends: He says she need not hide it. She should describe it accurately.
Correct Answer: reliable knowledge and calm handling of busy openings
Passage Reference: you know the opening checks and remain calm
Why this is correct: Elise earned the assignment through knowing the opening checks and staying calm when deliveries arrive together.
Tips: Find the sentence that starts with Rina and the word 'because'. The skills named after it tell you why she was picked.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Marco’s decision to leave the team: Marco is only someone she spoke to. He did not create the assignment.
- a promise not to apply for future roles: Sam never asks her to forgo future applications.
- a completed change to her weekday job title: Title, weekday duties, and pay review have not changed.
Correct Answer: whether Elise will receive a permanent lead role
Passage Reference: Rina may use the trial when she considers future lead roles
Why this is correct: The one open question is whether Elise will receive a permanent lead role. The four Saturdays are set, but Rina may only use the trial later when she considers future lead roles.
Tips: Some things in the letter are fixed and one thing is still undecided. Ask what Rina may think about later.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether opening checks are required: Opening checks remain part of the known job.
- whether she will work the four Saturdays: Those Saturdays are already assigned.
- whether Sam will help with the first plan: Sam offers help. That offer is not the undecided career point.
Correct Answer: other applicants may think the future decision has already been made
Passage Reference: colleagues who also plan to apply
Why this is correct: Saying she was promoted could make other applicants think the future decision is already settled.
Tips: Tension comes from colleagues who also plan to apply.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Rina may think Elise dislikes visible responsibility: Rina chose her for visible responsibility. Dislike is not the risk.
- Marco may assume the checklist is no longer used: The checklist is still used. Marco is not the tension Sam names.
- colleagues may believe Saturday shifts were cancelled: The shifts continue. The issue is how the role is described, not a cancellation.
Correct Answer: temporary lead assignment
Passage Reference: describing it as a temporary lead assignment
Why this is correct: Sam suggests calling it a temporary lead assignment and saying she is pleased to be trusted with it.
Tips: Look for the verb 'suggest' in Sam's letter. The exact words he wants her to use come right after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- permanent management promotion: That is the wording he wants her to avoid.
- unpaid training observation: She will assign the first tasks. It is real lead work for four Saturdays.
- ordinary weekday coverage: The change is about Saturday openings, not ordinary weekday cover.
Correct Answer: as support for her future application
Passage Reference: I want the trial to strengthen your application
Why this is correct: Elise should take Sam's correction as support meant to strengthen her future application, not create a misunderstanding now.
Tips: Find where Sam explains why he is raising this. His goal shows how she should take his advice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- as advice to discuss the opportunity only after the trial: He allows her to discuss it now with accurate wording.
- as concern that the assignment may weaken her application: He wants the trial to strengthen her application.
- as support she will earn only by copying his exact wording: Sam wants the trial to strengthen her application. He offers help with wording to avoid misunderstanding. His support does not depend on her using his exact words.
Correct Answer: a completed promotion
Passage Reference: tell Marco that you had been promoted
Why this is correct: Elise admits she treated a temporary assignment as a completed promotion.
Tips: Her reply names the overstated status she had used with Marco.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a useful trial: Calling it a trial is the correction, not her earlier mistake.
- a short Saturday schedule: The length of the schedule was not the wrong label. Calling it a promotion was.
- an opening checklist: The checklist is a tool she knows, not what she misnamed.
Correct Answer: knowledge and composure
Passage Reference: know the opening checks and remain calm
Why this is correct: Rina chose her because she has shown knowledge and composure at busy openings.
Tips: Go back to Sam's sentence about why Rina chose her. Pick the pair of words that means the same two strengths.
Why the other options are wrong:
- certainty about the permanent role: Permanence is exactly what is not yet certain.
- authority over weekday hiring: Weekday duties are unchanged.
- experience setting everyone’s pay: Pay review has not changed.
Correct Answer: my title or regular duties
Passage Reference: Your job title, weekday duties, and pay review have not changed.
Why this is correct: The trial does not yet change her title or regular duties.
Tips: Sam lists three things that have not changed. Choose the option that repeats two of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the length of the trial: Four Saturdays are already set.
- Rina’s access by phone: She can still call Rina for out-of-checklist decisions.
- the first tasks on Saturdays: Assigning first tasks is part of the trial, not something left unchanged outside it.
Correct Answer: claiming the future decision is settled
Passage Reference: without promising what the trial may eventually become
Why this is correct: Accurate wording lets Elise be proud of the trust. She does not claim the future decision is settled, which is exactly what Sam asked her to avoid.
Tips: Think about what Sam told her not to promise. The blank names the thing she will now avoid doing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- telling colleagues about the assignment: Sam says she does not need to hide the opportunity.
- asking Sam for practical help: She welcomes his help planning the opening. That is not what she avoids.
- recognizing the responsibility I earned: Recognizing earned trust is what Sam's preferred wording allows.
Correct Answer: support my future application
Passage Reference: strengthen your application
Why this is correct: She wants the assignment to support her future application, matching Sam's reason for raising the issue.
Tips: Find the sentence where Sam gives his reason for raising the issue. Her reply should match that hope, not a bigger promise.
Why the other options are wrong:
- replace the formal hiring process: The trial does not replace formal hiring.
- guarantee a change in pay: Pay review has not changed.
- remove other colleagues from consideration: Sam warns against shutting others out by overclaiming.
