Correct Answer: whether branch libraries should stay open later on weeknights
Passage Reference: when our city proposed keeping some branches open until nine at night
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that the city has proposed keeping some branches open until nine at night. Every paragraph after that reports a view on this plan.
Tips: Look at what the city proposed in the first paragraph. Then check that each speaker after that reacts to the same plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how the library could lend laptops to students: Laptops are never mentioned. The speakers talk about desks, staff, costs and buses.
- why the city plans to raise bus fares: Bus fares never come up. Ostrowski talks about how often buses run late at night, not what they cost.
- whether the library should charge for printing: Printing costs are never discussed. The question is whether branches should stay open until nine at night.
Correct Answer: Edwin Chaudhry
Passage Reference: warns that heating and cleaning bills at night can wipe out the savings Lalonde describes, above all in the older branches with draughty windows
Why this is correct: Edwin Chaudhry warns that heating and cleaning bills at night could wipe out the savings, especially in older buildings.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for a warning verb such as “warns”. Then check what that person says about the cost of later hours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Anouk Lalonde: Anouk Lalonde argues that later hours would be cheaper than a youth centre. She does not worry about older buildings.
- Chioma Varga: Chioma Varga talks about newcomer families and security staffing, not about the cost of heating older buildings.
- Magnus Ostrowski: Magnus Ostrowski worries about late-night bus service, not about building costs.
Correct Answer: records showing heavy student use in the early evening
Passage Reference: card-swipe records show student visits peak in the two evening hours after six
Why this is correct: Lalonde wants later hours because card-swipe records show that student visits peak in the two evening hours after six. More records like these would support her.
Tips: First find the numbers Lalonde gives the committee. Then pick the proof that points to the same pattern.
Why the other options are wrong:
- figures showing that night heating bills are high: High heating bills at night would support Chaudhry’s worry about cost, so they work against Lalonde’s plan.
- complaints about noisy teens in the reading room: Noise complaints are never mentioned, and they would not help the case for opening later.
- a study showing most students prefer online help: If most students preferred online help, fewer would need evening desks, which would weaken Lalonde’s case.
Correct Answer: security staff would be in place before later closing
Passage Reference: she insists that security staffing be settled before any branch stays open later
Why this is correct: Varga supports later hours only if security staffing is settled first. So her condition calls for security staff to be arranged before any branch closes later.
Tips: Varga “insists” on one thing. Read what must be settled and when.
Why the other options are wrong:
- parents would have to stay with their teens: Varga never asks parents to stay. Her condition is about security staffing.
- library staff would no longer work overtime: Overtime is part of Lalonde’s plan, and Varga does not ask for it to end.
- every branch would open late starting next month: Varga wants security settled before later hours, so she is not asking for every branch to open late right away.
Correct Answer: show why a quiet place to study matters
Passage Reference: most nights she does her chemistry homework at our kitchen table while her two younger brothers argue over the TV remote ... just when she could use a quiet desk
Why this is correct: Look at the first paragraph. The daughter does homework at a busy kitchen table beside arguing brothers and cooking. This shows why the family wants a quiet desk in the evening.
Tips: Ask why the writer opens with a busy home scene. Think about what the family is missing at that time of day.
Why the other options are wrong:
- complain that the library’s desks are too crowded: The writer’s problem is that the branch is closed in the evening, not that its desks are crowded.
- prove that the blogger’s children study too little: The daughter studies most nights, so the kitchen table scene does not show her studying too little.
- describe a meeting of the library committee: The committee meeting is described later. The kitchen table is part of the blogger’s home life.
Correct Answer: be cheaper than a separate youth centre
Passage Reference: she says that package would still be cheaper than putting up a separate youth centre
Why this is correct: Lalonde says her plan of overtime plus two security escorts would still be cheaper than putting up a separate youth centre.
Tips: The comment names Lalonde and her two escorts. Go to her plan and read what she compares it with.
Why the other options are wrong:
- pay for themselves within a year: Lalonde compares her plan with a youth centre. She never says it would pay for itself.
- need a small rise in property taxes: Property taxes are never mentioned in the blog post.
- cost the same as a new bus route: Lalonde compares her plan with a separate youth centre, not with a bus route.
Correct Answer: a trial at one branch with published costs
Passage Reference: His preference is to test the idea at one branch and publish the cost per visit before it spreads across the city
Why this is correct: Chaudhry would rather test later hours at one branch and publish the cost per visit before the idea spreads across the city.
Tips: The comment calls him the finance analyst. Find what he would prefer to do before the idea spreads.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a vote by all library card holders: No vote is mentioned. Chaudhry wants a trial at one branch.
- a new tax on parking near branches: Chaudhry never suggests a parking tax. He worries about heating and cleaning bills.
- a survey of parents at every branch: Chaudhry wants to test the idea at one branch, not survey parents at all of them.
Correct Answer: buses on some routes run rarely after 8:30
Passage Reference: on several routes, buses run far less often after 8:30 p.m.
Why this is correct: Ostrowski points out that on several routes buses run far less often after 8:30 p.m. So teenagers could be left waiting.
Tips: The comment names Ostrowski, so go to his lines. Look at what he told the committee that nobody else had mentioned.
Why the other options are wrong:
- bus fares rise on most routes after dark: Ostrowski never says fares rise on any route after dark.
- the late buses skip the library stops: Ostrowski says late buses come less often. He never says they skip library stops.
- evening buses are often too crowded to board: The problem Ostrowski describes is too few buses late at night, not crowded buses.
Correct Answer: many newcomer families have no spare room to study
Passage Reference: Many newcomer families she works with have no spare room for studying
Why this is correct: Varga says many newcomer families she works with have no spare room for studying. So an evening library desk is basic to them.
Tips: The comment names Varga, so go to her lines. Look at why she calls an evening library desk basic.
Why the other options are wrong:
- newcomer families rarely use the library: Varga says newcomer families need library desks, not that they rarely use them.
- most teens would rather study at school: Varga never says teens prefer school. She says many families lack study space at home.
- library desks are too small for laptops: The size of the desks is never discussed in the blog post.
Correct Answer: closes at 6 p.m. on weeknights
Passage Reference: Our local branch closes at 6 p.m. on weeknights
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says the local branch closes at 6 p.m. on weeknights. That is just when the daughter needs a quiet desk.
Tips: The blank is about the writer’s own branch. Look at the first paragraph for its opening hours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- has no desks for students: Nothing says the branch has no desks. The problem is that it is closed when the daughter needs one.
- opens only three days a week: The branch closes early on weeknights. Nothing says it opens only three days.
- shuts for the whole summer: A summer closing is never mentioned. The branch closes at 6 p.m. on weeknights.
