Correct Answer: how rural families should get birth care
Passage Reference: The province now has to choose between reopening some of those units and flying mothers to city hospitals
Why this is correct: The editorial explains that the province must choose between reopening rural birthing units and flying mothers to city hospitals. Every person in it gives a view on how rural families should get care.
Tips: For an “about” question, find the choice the province has to make in the first paragraph. Then check that each speaker responds to it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether city hospitals should charge for parking: Parking is never mentioned. The city hospitals come up only as places where mothers are flown.
- how to train more surgeons at universities: Thibault says surgeons are not available, but no one discusses training them at universities.
- why young families are leaving northern towns: The writers never say families are leaving the north. The piece is about how they get care where they live.
Correct Answer: Casimir Thibault
Passage Reference: a small unit cannot be run safely without a surgeon and an anaesthetist ready day and night for emergency caesareans
Why this is correct: Casimir Thibault warns that a small unit cannot be run safely without a surgeon and an anaesthetist ready day and night. He says those specialists are not available.
Tips: The question is about staffing. Read each speaker’s lines and find who “warns” about running a small unit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Ifeoma Gould: Ifeoma Gould wants the unit back and says the closure did not make births safer. She does not doubt that it can be staffed.
- Vivienne Osei: Vivienne Osei argues that midwives could run the units safely for low-risk births, which is the opposite of doubting them.
- Tanvir Kinsella: Tanvir Kinsella talks about the travel program and his family’s costs, not about staffing small units.
Correct Answer: a rise in babies born on the highway
Passage Reference: the number of babies born in cars on the highway has tripled since then
Why this is correct: Gould says the closure did not make births safer. The tripling of babies born in cars on the highway is exactly the kind of evidence that supports her.
Tips: Find Gould’s claim that the closure did not make births safer. The right choice is evidence that would make that claim stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of surgeons in small towns: A shortage of surgeons would support Thibault’s warning that small units cannot be staffed, not Gould’s case.
- a survey of mothers happy with city hospitals: Mothers happy with city hospitals would suggest the closures worked, which is the opposite of Gould’s view.
- a list of hotels near city hospitals: Hotels relate to Thibault’s lodging plan and Kinsella’s complaint. A list of them says nothing about whether births became safer.
Correct Answer: each unit would have a written plan for fast transfers
Passage Reference: as long as every unit has a written plan to move a mother to a city hospital within an hour by air ambulance
Why this is correct: Osei says midwife-led units could work on one condition. Every unit needs a written plan to move a mother to a city hospital within an hour. The outcome is a written plan for fast transfers.
Tips: Look for “as long as” in Osei’s lines. The words after it tell you what every ward must have.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every unit would keep a surgeon on call: Osei argues that most births do not need a surgeon down the hall, so she does not ask for one on call.
- mothers would give birth at home with midwives: Osei wants midwife-led units, not births at home.
- air ambulances would be sold to save money: Osei’s condition depends on air ambulances to reach the city within an hour, so selling them is the opposite.
Correct Answer: respectful but not convinced by it
Passage Reference: We take Thibault’s warning seriously ... But in our view, the answer to a staffing problem cannot be to leave families alone on the highway.
Why this is correct: The editorial says “We take Thibault’s warning seriously”, which is respectful. But it still recommends reopening three units. So it is not convinced that the warning should decide the matter.
Tips: Look at the first two sentences of the last paragraph, then at what the writers recommend. Check each choice against all of it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- dismissive, treating it as an excuse: The writers say they take the warning seriously and even keep Thibault’s flights, so they do not dismiss him.
- fully persuaded to keep units closed: In the last paragraph, the writers recommend reopening three units, so they are not persuaded to keep them closed.
- unsure, taking no side at all: Notice that the writers take a clear side and make a detailed recommendation.
Correct Answer: skip checkups because the drive costs a day’s pay
Passage Reference: many of her patients now skip checkups because the drive costs a day’s pay
Why this is correct: Gould, the northern doctor, says many of her patients now skip checkups because the drive costs a day’s pay.
Tips: The comment calls her the northern doctor, so go back to her lines. Look for what her patients do now and why.
Why the other options are wrong:
- move to the city for the whole pregnancy: Gould never says her patients move to the city. She says they skip checkups.
- refuse to fly in air ambulances: Gould does not mention patients refusing flights. Her point is about missed checkups.
- ask for home births with a midwife: Home births are never mentioned. Gould says her patients skip checkups because of the drive.
Correct Answer: most births do not need a surgeon nearby
Passage Reference: argues that most births are low-risk and do not need a surgeon down the hall
Why this is correct: Osei, who leads the midwives’ association, argues that most births are low-risk and do not need a surgeon down the hall.
Tips: The comment names the head of the midwives’ association. Find her first point in the third paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- midwives should be paid like doctors: Osei never talks about midwives’ pay. Her point is that most births do not need a surgeon.
- every mother should fly to the city: Osei wants midwife-led units in rural areas, so she does not want every mother flown to the city.
- home births are safer than hospital births: Osei never compares home and hospital births. She proposes midwife-led units.
Correct Answer: covers the mother’s room but not her family
Passage Reference: the travel program pays for the mother’s room but not for her partner or older children
Why this is correct: Kinsella points out that the travel program pays for the mother’s room but not for her partner or older children.
Tips: The comment names Kinsella, so read his lines about the travel program. Notice what it pays for and what it leaves out.
Why the other options are wrong:
- pays for flights but not for hotels: The program does pay for the mother’s room, so it is not true that hotels are left out.
- covers every relative who comes along: Kinsella complains that the partner and older children are not covered, so the program does not cover every relative.
- has been cancelled for next year: No one says the program is being cancelled. Kinsella wants it widened.
Correct Answer: one support person and child care
Passage Reference: He wants it to cover one support person and help with child care at home.
Why this is correct: Kinsella wants the travel program to cover one support person and help with child care at home.
Tips: This blank is Kinsella’s request. Read the sentence that starts “He wants”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rental car for every family: Kinsella never asks for rental cars. He wants a support person and child care covered.
- meals for mothers in the hotel: Meals are never mentioned. Kinsella asks for a support person and help with child care.
- a nurse to visit the hotel: Kinsella does not ask for nurse visits. He wants a support person and child care covered.
Correct Answer: nine rural units had closed in fifteen years
Passage Reference: nine small rural birthing units have closed in the past fifteen years
Why this is correct: The editorial says that nine small rural birthing units have closed in the past fifteen years.
Tips: The comment talks about a line that stayed with the reader. Look at the numbers in the first paragraph and match them carefully.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three new units opened last year: No units opened last year. The editorial recommends reopening three in the future.
- every northern town still has a unit: Gould’s northern town lost its unit six years ago, so not every town still has one.
- most births now happen at home: Nothing in the passage says most births happen at home. Mothers are flown to city hospitals.
