Correct Answer: whether an app should replace the evening news bulletin
Passage Reference: our regional public broadcaster said it may cancel the evening bulletin and spend the money on a free news app
Why this is correct: The blogger hears that the broadcaster may cancel the evening bulletin and spend the money on a news app. Every person in the post gives a view on that choice.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find what surprises the writer in the first paragraph. Then check that each speaker reacts to it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why local stations are hiring more reporters: No one talks about hiring reporters. The broadcaster is thinking about cutting its bulletin, not adding staff.
- how seniors can learn to use smartphones: Pinto wants lessons for a smart TV app, and the blog post is not a guide to smartphones.
- whether cable bills should include news channels: Cable bills are never mentioned. The question is whether an app should take the place of the bulletin.
Correct Answer: Haruka Venter
Passage Reference: many owners have never tried a single app on it
Why this is correct: Haruka Venter says half the homes she surveyed own a smart TV. Yet many owners have never tried a single app on it. So owning the television does not mean using its apps.
Tips: The question uses different words from the passage. Read each speaker’s lines and match the idea of owning something but not using it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Minerva Ekstrom: Minerva Ekstrom treats the television as a computer and wants to build an app for it. She does not doubt that people will use it.
- Boris Lacroix: Boris Lacroix talks about the evening habit of older viewers, not about how many smart TV owners use apps.
- Oswald Pinto: Oswald Pinto worries that a login screen would stop his members, which is a point about passwords, not about owners ignoring apps.
Correct Answer: ratings showing the evening audience getting older each year
Passage Reference: the six o’clock audience gets older every year
Why this is correct: Ekstrom argues that the six o’clock audience gets older every year, while younger viewers no longer watch at a fixed hour. Ratings that show an older evening audience each year would back her plan.
Tips: First find Ekstrom’s reason for her view. Then pick the evidence that would make that reason stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey showing most homes still watch news on TV: Most homes still watching news on television is a reason to keep the bulletin, so it would help Lacroix rather than Ekstrom.
- complaints from seniors about login screens: Complaints about login screens would support Pinto’s warning, not Ekstrom’s case for cutting the bulletin.
- letters asking for more sports on the bulletin: Sports coverage is never discussed, and letters asking for more on the bulletin would argue for keeping it.
Correct Answer: the broadcast would continue until the app draws equal viewers
Passage Reference: he says the bulletin should stay on air until the app draws as many viewers as the broadcast does
Why this is correct: Lacroix is not against an app. But he says the bulletin should stay on air until the app draws as many viewers as the broadcast. The outcome he wants is a bulletin that keeps going until then.
Tips: Read Lacroix’s condition to the end. Then match it to a choice in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the bulletin would move to a later hour: Lacroix defends the six o’clock habit, and he never suggests moving the bulletin to a later hour.
- the app would show only short clips of the news: Short clips come up when Venter says the app should carry the bulletin live. Lacroix’s condition is about keeping the broadcast on air.
- the anchors would record the news for phones: Lacroix says nothing about recording the news for phones. His condition is that the broadcast stays on air.
Correct Answer: admit that the couple has never opened the apps
Passage Reference: the smart TV our grandson set up two Christmases ago. Honestly, we have never opened a single app on it, though he showed us how twice.
Why this is correct: Right after the grandson sets up the television, the writer admits something. “Honestly, we have never opened a single app on it, though he showed us how twice.” The grandson is mentioned to admit this.
Tips: For a “mentions X mainly to” question, ask why the writer put that detail there. Read the sentence right after the grandson appears.
Why the other options are wrong:
- complain that young people ignore the evening news: The writer accepts that the grandchildren will never sit down at six o’clock. There is no complaint about it.
- explain who will pay for the new app: The money for the app is explained in Ekstrom’s plan, not in the part about the grandson.
- show how easy the apps are to learn: The grandson showed the couple twice and they still never opened an app. So the story does not show that the apps are easy to learn.
Correct Answer: pay for local stories people can watch anytime
Passage Reference: Her plan would use the savings from the bulletin to build an app with local stories that people can watch whenever they like
Why this is correct: Ekstrom’s plan would use the savings from the bulletin to build an app. It would carry local stories that people can watch whenever they like.
Tips: The comment calls her the digital director. Find her plan and read what the savings would build.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hire more reporters for the morning show: Ekstrom does not mention a morning show or new reporters. The savings would go to the app.
- buy new smart TVs for seniors’ centres: No one proposes buying televisions for seniors’ centres. The savings would build an app.
- fund a weekly program about local sports: Sports programs are never mentioned. The savings would pay for local stories on the app.
Correct Answer: the evening habit keeps older viewers informed
Passage Reference: says that habit is exactly what keeps older viewers informed
Why this is correct: Lacroix says the habit of sitting down at a fixed hour is exactly what keeps older viewers informed.
Tips: The comment names Lacroix, so go back to his lines. Read his first point, before the condition he adds.
Why the other options are wrong:
- older viewers want shorter news programs: Lacroix never says older viewers want shorter programs. He says the habit keeps them informed.
- the bulletin should move to nine o’clock: Lacroix never suggests a new time for the bulletin. He defends the six o’clock habit.
- younger viewers will return to the bulletin: Lacroix does not predict that younger viewers will come back. His point is about older viewers.
Correct Answer: one button and no password
Passage Reference: He wants an app that opens with one button and no password
Why this is correct: Pinto, who runs programs at a seniors’ centre, wants an app that opens with one button and no password.
Tips: The comment calls him the seniors’ centre organizer. Find his lines and read what he wants before launch.
Why the other options are wrong:
- large print on every menu: Pinto never asks for large print. His request is one button and no password.
- a phone line for complaints: A complaints line is never mentioned. Pinto wants an app that opens with one button.
- a second remote for each home: Pinto asks for an app that opens with one button, not for a second remote.
Correct Answer: free lessons at branch libraries
Passage Reference: he asks the broadcaster to offer free lessons at branch libraries
Why this is correct: Pinto asks the broadcaster to offer free lessons at branch libraries.
Tips: This blank is the organizer’s second request. Look for what he asks the broadcaster to offer and where.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a help desk at city hall: City hall is never mentioned. Pinto wants lessons at branch libraries.
- evening classes at the college: The college is where Venter studies media habits. Pinto asks for lessons at branch libraries.
- a weekly open house at the studio: Pinto never mentions the studio. The lessons he wants are at branch libraries.
Correct Answer: carrying mail in this town
Passage Reference: I carried mail in this town for thirty-four years
Why this is correct: The post opens with the line, “I carried mail in this town for thirty-four years.”
Tips: The comment gives a number of years. Look for the same number in the very first sentence of the post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- reading the news on local radio: Reading the news for years describes Lacroix at the broadcaster, not the blogger, who carried mail.
- teaching at the town’s high school: Teaching is never mentioned. Those thirty-four years were spent carrying mail.
- repairing televisions for neighbours: The grandson set up the television, and the writer never repaired televisions.
