Correct Answer: a city climate plan for greener buildings
Passage Reference: our city’s proposed climate plan deserves council’s support next month
Why this is correct: The editorial explains the city’s proposed climate plan, which focuses on buildings. It uses retrofit loans and a new energy standard, and the writers ask council to support it.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find what council is asked to support in the first paragraph. Every speaker then gives a view on it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new bus route to the city centre: Transit is never mentioned. The plan is about buildings.
- the rising cost of winter heating oil: Heating costs are not discussed in the editorial.
- a plan to close the city’s gas stations: Fossil fuels are mentioned, but nobody proposes closing gas stations.
Correct Answer: Brant Ackroyd
Passage Reference: warns that the new standard could add several thousand dollars to the price of a starter home
Why this is correct: Brant Ackroyd warns that the new standard could add several thousand dollars to the price of a starter home.
Tips: Sort the speakers by who might end up paying more under the plan. Then ask whose worry is about buyers of new homes, not owners of old ones.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Jovana Collier: Jovana Collier proposes the plan. She does not warn that it will raise home prices.
- Ivy Scully: Ivy Scully worries about low-income seniors and rents, not about the price of new homes.
- Hiro Gibbs: Hiro Gibbs wants to know what each dollar buys, but he does not talk about the price of new homes.
Correct Answer: a survey showing low-income seniors fear debt
Passage Reference: many of them are afraid of new debt
Why this is correct: Scully says loans will not reach the people in the draftiest houses, because many of them are afraid of new debt. A survey showing that fear would support her.
Tips: Find the word “because” in Scully’s lines. Pick the evidence that proves the reason she gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report that builders need time to train crews: Training crews is Ackroyd’s reason for phasing in the rule, not Scully’s point.
- a study showing heat pumps work in cold weather: Heat pumps are part of Collier’s plan, and a study about them says nothing about who can afford loans.
- a finding that most owners prefer paying up front: Paying up front is not what Scully discusses, and such a finding would not show that loans scare poorer owners.
Correct Answer: the city would report yearly on tonnes cut per dollar
Passage Reference: provided a report comes out every year showing how many tonnes of emissions were cut for every dollar spent
Why this is correct: Gibbs will back the plan provided a report comes out every year. The report would show how many tonnes of emissions were cut for every dollar spent.
Tips: Look for the word “provided” in Gibbs’s lines. What follows it is his condition.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the plan would be cancelled after one year: Gibbs will back the plan with a report. He does not ask for it to end after a year.
- taxpayers would vote on every single loan: Gibbs asks for a yearly report, not a vote on each loan.
- the builders would pay for the report: Gibbs wants the city to publish a report, and he never asks builders to pay for it.
Correct Answer: urge council to pass the plan with changes
Passage Reference: Council should phase in the building rule as Ackroyd asks
Why this is correct: The writers say the plan deserves council’s support. They also ask council to phase in the rule, add grants and a rent promise, and publish a report.
Tips: For a purpose question, read the last sentence of the first paragraph. Then read the advice near the end and compare the two.
Why the other options are wrong:
- question whether the climate is really warming: The first paragraph says scientists have shown the climate is warming, and the writers are sure of it.
- explain how to install a heat pump: Heat pumps are mentioned as one upgrade, but the editorial gives no instructions.
- ask builders to stop selling starter homes: Starter homes come up only in Ackroyd’s worry about prices.
Correct Answer: planting zones have moved north
Passage Reference: planting zones have moved north
Why this is correct: In the second paragraph, gardeners in the region see that planting zones have moved north.
Tips: The comment talks about a change the reader never noticed. Look at the second sentence of the second paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- spring snow now falls later: The second paragraph says spring snow melts earlier. It never says snow falls later.
- summers have grown cooler: Heat waves come more often, which is the opposite of cooler summers.
- rivers freeze earlier each year: Rivers are never mentioned in the signs of warming.
Correct Answer: through the property tax bill
Passage Reference: repaid through the property tax bill
Why this is correct: Collier proposes loans repaid through the property tax bill so owners pay nothing up front.
Tips: The comment names Collier, so go back to her loans in the second paragraph. Read the words right after “repaid”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- in one payment after a year: The loans are repaid through the tax bill, not in one payment.
- through a monthly water charge: Water bills are never mentioned. The tax bill is used.
- with a share of future sales: Nothing in the plan takes a share of house sales.
Correct Answer: raise rents to pay for the work
Passage Reference: landlords who use the program will not raise rents to pay for the work
Why this is correct: Scully wants a promise that landlords who use the program will not raise rents to pay for the work.
Tips: The comment calls her “the seniors’ advocate”, so find Scully’s last sentence. Read what landlords must promise not to do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- evict tenants during the work: Evictions are never mentioned. Scully’s promise is about rents.
- sell the buildings within five years: Selling buildings is not part of Scully’s request.
- charge tenants for new windows: Scully talks about rent increases, not separate charges for windows.
Correct Answer: does not dispute the science
Passage Reference: he does not dispute the science
Why this is correct: Gibbs says he does not dispute the science but wants to know what each dollar buys.
Tips: The comment calls him the taxpayers’ treasurer, so find Gibbs’s first sentence. Match what it says to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- wants the plan cancelled: Gibbs says he will back the plan if a report is published, so he does not want it cancelled.
- has a heat pump already: Nothing is said about what Gibbs has in his own home.
- pays the highest taxes: Gibbs is a taxpayers’ group treasurer, but nothing is said about how much tax he pays.
Correct Answer: last longer than a bold one
Passage Reference: will last longer than one that is simply bold
Why this is correct: The editorial ends by saying a plan that is fair and open about its costs will outlast one that is simply bold.
Tips: The comment quotes the closing line, so read the final sentence of the passage. Match what it says in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cost less than doing nothing: The plan’s cost is never compared with doing nothing.
- win every vote on council: The writers hope for council’s support but do not say a fair plan wins every vote.
- please builders and seniors alike: The closing line is about how long the plan lasts, not about pleasing every group.
