Correct Answer: whether the town should fund a shared online market
Passage Reference: a shared online marketplace for downtown stores, with local delivery, paid for by the town for its first two years
Why this is correct: The blogger describes a proposal for the town to pay for a shared online marketplace with local delivery for downtown stores. Every speaker reacts to it.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the last sentence of the first paragraph. Every speaker after that gives a view on that proposal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to teach older residents to knit: The shop sells yarn, and Nash speaks for seniors, but knitting lessons are never discussed.
- why downtown parking is so hard to find: The hunt for parking is one reason people shop online, not the subject of the blog post.
- whether the library should open a café: The library comes up only as a place for a pickup counter. No café is proposed.
Correct Answer: Nima Clarkson
Passage Reference: he doubts that residents would drop the sites they already use
Why this is correct: Nima Clarkson doubts that residents would drop the sites they already use. That is a doubt that they would leave the big websites.
Tips: Find the speakers who question the plan, not just those who set conditions for it. Be careful with a speaker who talks about people who never shop online, which is a different point.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Dora Samson: Dora Samson expects the shared site to give stores more reach, so she does not doubt that people would use it.
- Elio Tait: Elio Tait worries about the number of orders needed to pay wages, not about whether residents would switch sites.
- Flora Nash: Flora Nash says many older customers never shop online at all. That is a different point from whether online shoppers would switch sites.
Correct Answer: a count showing enough daily orders to pay wages
Passage Reference: only if he can count on about forty orders a day to cover wages
Why this is correct: Tait says same-day delivery could work only with about forty orders a day to cover wages. So a count showing enough orders would support him.
Tips: Find Tait’s “only if” in the last paragraph. Pick the evidence that proves his condition can be met.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study of tax money spent on private firms: Spending tax money on private firms is Clarkson’s worry, and it says nothing about whether Tait’s couriers can be paid.
- a list of shops pledging to join a trial: A pledge list meets Clarkson’s condition for a trial, not Tait’s need for daily orders.
- a report on how little search ads cost: Cheap reach online fits the blogger’s point about search engines, not Tait’s concern about wages.
Correct Answer: phone orders would count, with pickup at the library
Passage Reference: she wants phone orders counted in the system and a pickup counter at the library
Why this is correct: Nash wants phone orders counted in the system and a pickup counter at the library. So the outcome is phone orders with library pickup.
Tips: Look for “she wants” in Nash’s lines. She asks for two things, and the right choice keeps both.
Why the other options are wrong:
- only online orders would be accepted: Nash wants phone orders counted too, so accepting only online orders goes against her condition.
- the town would teach seniors to use websites: Nash never asks for website lessons. She wants seniors to be able to order by phone.
- every order would be carried to the door: Nash asks for a pickup counter, not delivery of every order to the door.
Correct Answer: worried but eager to act
Passage Reference: I am signing Clarkson’s pledge sheet this week
Why this is correct: The writer is worried about falling sales. But the writer is signing the pledge sheet this week and asking two other yarn stores to join.
Tips: For a tone question, compare the first paragraph with the last one. Ask how the writer feels about the shop and what the writer chooses to do this week.
Why the other options are wrong:
- bitter and ready to quit: The blogger is worried but plans to keep going and sign the pledge, not give up the shop.
- calm and uninterested: There is “a lot riding on the proposal”, so the writer is far from uninterested.
- amused by the whole debate: The falling sales and the council vote are treated seriously, with no amusement.
Correct Answer: over half of all retail spending
Passage Reference: over half of retail spending now involves an online step somewhere
Why this is correct: In the second paragraph, researchers estimate that over half of retail spending now involves an online step somewhere.
Tips: The comment talks about how much shopping includes an online step. Find the word “estimate” in the second paragraph and read the amount.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about a tenth of all retail spending: The estimate given is over half, not about a tenth.
- nearly all grocery purchases in town: No grocery purchases are singled out in town. The estimate covers every kind of retail.
- most spending in small towns: The estimate is about retail spending everywhere, not in small towns only.
Correct Answer: a modest monthly fee after two years
Passage Reference: after which each shop would pay a modest monthly fee
Why this is correct: Samson wants the town to cover the costs for two years, after which each shop would pay a modest monthly fee.
Tips: The comment calls her “the development officer”, so find Samson’s lines. Read how the fee works and when it starts.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a fee for every order placed: Samson describes a monthly fee for each shop, not a charge on each order.
- a yearly fee from the first day: The town would cover the first two years, so shops would not pay from the first day.
- a fee only to the biggest stores: Samson says each shop would pay, not only the biggest ones.
Correct Answer: many older customers never shop online
Passage Reference: many older customers never shop online at all
Why this is correct: Nash warns that many older customers never shop online at all.
Tips: The comment calls her “the volunteer from the seniors’ club”, so find Nash’s lines. Look for the word “warns”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- seniors prefer to shop in big cities: Nash never compares towns and cities. Her point is that many seniors do not shop online.
- older customers dislike the library: Nash suggests a pickup counter at the library, so she does not say seniors dislike it.
- most seniors already order by app: Nash says most seniors do not order online at all, so ordering by app is the reverse of her point.
Correct Answer: compare prices on their phones
Passage Reference: some of them check prices on their phones
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, some customers check prices on their phones and then order the same skein from a giant website.
Tips: The comment describes shoppers in the first paragraph. Read what some of them do after they squeeze the wool.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask the owner for knitting lessons: The customers come in to squeeze the wool. Nobody asks for lessons.
- pay with cash at the counter: The complaint is that these customers buy online instead, not how they pay in the shop.
- leave reviews on the town site: The shared town site does not exist yet, so nobody leaves reviews on it.
Correct Answer: skips the drive and the parking
Passage Reference: ordering from the couch skips the drive, the hunt for parking and the trip home
Why this is correct: The blog post says ordering from the couch skips the drive, the hunt for parking and the trip home.
Tips: The comment says “for a simple reason”, so look for the words “The reason is easy to see” in the second paragraph. The right choice shortens that list.
Why the other options are wrong:
- always costs less than local stores: The blog post explains the pull of online shopping by time saved, not by lower prices every time.
- comes with free wrapping and a card: Free shipping is mentioned, but free wrapping and cards are not.
- lets you touch the goods first: Touching the wool is what customers do in the shop, not something online ordering allows.
