Correct Answer: a city rule on health claims in cafés
Passage Reference: our city council began debating a rule that would stop cafés and wellness shops from posting health claims on menus and signs unless they can back them up
Why this is correct: The city council is debating a rule to stop cafés and shops from posting health claims they cannot back up. The blogger explains this, and every speaker reacts to that rule.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, look past the writer’s own drink. Ask what the council is debating, because every speaker answers that.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to make lemon water at home: The writer drinks lemon water, but the blog post never explains how to make it.
- why coffee is bad for your teeth: Coffee comes up only as the blogger’s second drink of the morning, and the dentist’s warning about teeth concerns acid in lemons.
- whether the city should tax sugary drinks: No tax is discussed. The rule is about health claims on signs and menus.
Correct Answer: Leonie Hamelin
Passage Reference: She told the council that reprinting every menu board would cost her about two thousand dollars
Why this is correct: Leonie Hamelin, the café owner, told the council that reprinting every menu board would cost her about two thousand dollars.
Tips: Look for a speaker who gives a dollar amount to the council. Then check what that money would pay for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Kenta Ishikawa: Kenta Ishikawa wrote the rule and wants signs to be true. He does not talk about what new signs cost.
- Raphael Sundstrom: Raphael Sundstrom explains what lemon water can and cannot do. He says nothing about signs costing money.
- Henrietta Colbert: Henrietta Colbert is worried about tooth enamel, not about the cost of new signs.
Correct Answer: a study finding no toxin-clearing effect from lemon
Passage Reference: there is no good evidence that it clears toxins or melts fat
Why this is correct: Sundstrom says there is no good evidence that lemon water clears toxins or melts fat. A study that found no toxin-clearing effect would support his view.
Tips: Look for Sundstrom’s main claim about the science. Pick the proof that would make his claim even stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a dentist’s photos of enamel worn by acid: Worn enamel is Colbert’s worry as a dentist, not Sundstrom’s point about toxins.
- a café owner’s bill for new menu boards: The cost of new menu boards is Hamelin’s concern. It says nothing about what lemon water does.
- a list of shops fined for false signs: Fines for false signs belong to Ishikawa’s plan. They do not show what lemon water does in the body.
Correct Answer: a business would get a warning before any fine
Passage Reference: Under his plan, a business would get a written warning first and a fine only if the claim stayed up.
Why this is correct: Under Ishikawa’s plan, a business would get a written warning first and a fine only if the claim stayed up.
Tips: Look for the words “first” and “only if” in Ishikawa’s plan. They tell you the order of the steps.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a business would be fined on the first day: The plan gives a written warning first. A fine comes only if the claim stays up.
- every café would have to remove its menu: The rule targets health claims that cannot be backed up, not whole menus.
- lemon water would be banned from cafés: Nobody wants to ban lemon water. The rule is about what signs promise.
Correct Answer: happy to keep it, but for plainer reasons
Passage Reference: So I am keeping my morning glass, but for plainer reasons.
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph the writer says, “So I am keeping my morning glass, but for plainer reasons.” It is simply an easy way to drink water, and it tastes good.
Tips: For a feeling question, read the first sentence of the last paragraph. Read both parts, before and after the word “but”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ready to give it up for good: The blogger says “I am keeping my morning glass”, so the habit continues.
- sure that it clears toxins from the body: In the last paragraph, the writer accepts that the kidneys do the cleaning and plans to tell the aunt so.
- angry at cafés for fooling people: The writer is not angry and even thinks Hamelin deserves a year to change her boards.
Correct Answer: advertising that must be true
Passage Reference: says a sign that promises to “burn fat” or “flush toxins” is advertising, and advertising should be true
Why this is correct: Ishikawa says a sign that promises to burn fat or flush toxins is advertising, and advertising should be true.
Tips: The comment calls him “the councillor”, so find the councillor’s first sentence. Look at what he says a fat-burning sign really is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- harmless fun for customers: Calling slogans harmless is closer to Hamelin’s view. Ishikawa wants such claims backed up or removed.
- a matter for doctors alone: Ishikawa wants the city council to act, not to leave the matter to doctors.
- a problem for the province: Ishikawa wrote the city’s own proposal. He does not pass the problem to the province.
Correct Answer: know a slogan when they see one
Passage Reference: argues that her customers know a slogan when they see one
Why this is correct: Hamelin argues that her customers know a slogan when they see one.
Tips: The comment calls her “the café owner”, so find her lines in the second paragraph. Read the word “argues” and what follows it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- never read the menu boards: Hamelin wants a year to reprint the boards, so she does not say customers ignore them.
- come in only for the coffee: Hamelin runs a juice café, and she never says her customers come only for coffee.
- ask her about every claim: Hamelin’s point is that customers understand slogans without asking about them.
Correct Answer: our kidneys and liver
Passage Reference: Your kidneys and liver do that job every day, with or without a lemon
Why this is correct: Sundstrom told the council, “Your kidneys and liver do that job every day, with or without a lemon.”
Tips: The comment calls him “the dietitian”, so go back to his quote to the council. Look for who does the job “every day”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a few glasses of juice: Juice is never said to clean the body. Sundstrom credits the kidneys and liver.
- the vitamins in lemons: Sundstrom says lemon adds a little vitamin C, but there is no good evidence that it clears toxins.
- long walks after meals: Walking is never mentioned in the blog post.
Correct Answer: a straw and a water rinse
Passage Reference: She suggests drinking it through a straw and rinsing with plain water afterward
Why this is correct: Colbert suggests drinking lemon water through a straw and rinsing with plain water afterward.
Tips: The comment calls her “the dentist”, so find the dentist’s lines at the end of the third paragraph. Her advice has two steps.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a softer toothbrush after meals: Colbert says nothing about toothbrushes.
- warm water instead of cold: Warm water is only how the blogger drinks it. Colbert does not talk about temperature.
- less lemon in each glass: Colbert does not ask people to use less lemon. She suggests a straw and a rinse.
Correct Answer: cleaned out the system
Passage Reference: My aunt swore it “cleaned out the system,” and I believed her.
Why this is correct: In the opening lines the writer says, “My aunt swore it ‘cleaned out the system,’ and I believed her.”
Tips: The aunt appears in the first paragraph, so read the sentence where she comes up. Her words are in quotation marks.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cured every winter cold: Colds are never mentioned. The aunt believed lemon water cleaned out the system.
- helped her sleep at night: Sleep is never mentioned in the blog post.
- kept her skin young: Skin is never mentioned. The aunt’s belief was about cleaning out the system.
