Correct Answer: how to write fair exceptions into a straw ban
Passage Reference: The question before council, as we see it, is not whether to cut plastic but how to build exceptions that actually work.
Why this is correct: The editorial supports the straw ban and says the real question is how to build exceptions that work. Every speaker adds a view on that question.
Tips: Read the last sentence of the first paragraph, where the writers name “the question before council”. Every speaker then answers it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether cafés should stop selling bottled water: Bottled water is never mentioned. The bylaw is about plastic straws.
- why beach cleanups need more volunteers: Fairweather mentions volunteers only as evidence of plastic on beaches. Recruiting them is not the topic.
- how to recycle paper cups in city parks: Paper cups and recycling are never discussed in the editorial.
Correct Answer: Kasia Hebert
Passage Reference: she fears that an inspector who drops in without warning and ignores a shop’s medical supply would hand out unfair fines
Why this is correct: Kasia Hebert is a café owner. She fears that an inspector who drops in without warning and ignores a shop’s medical supply would hand out unfair fines.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for worry verbs such as “warns” and “fears”. Then check whose worry is about the café itself.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Isla Fairweather: Isla Fairweather talks about plastic on beaches and paper straws, not about fines for cafés.
- Joaquin Belcourt: Joaquin Belcourt worries about customers with a weak grip, not about cafés being fined.
- Uriel Lockhart: Uriel Lockhart talks about clinics and care homes, not about inspections of cafés.
Correct Answer: reports of paper straws softening too fast for some users
Passage Reference: paper straws turn soft within minutes for people with a weak grip or trouble swallowing
Why this is correct: Belcourt warns that paper straws turn soft within minutes for people with a weak grip or trouble swallowing. Reports of this happening would support his concern.
Tips: First find what Belcourt warns about. Then pick the evidence that would show that warning is true.
Why the other options are wrong:
- photos of straws gathered on a beach after a storm: Beach photos would support Fairweather’s case for the ban, not Belcourt’s worry about paper straws.
- a survey of cafés fined during recent inspections: Fines during inspections relate to Hebert’s worry, not to Belcourt’s point about soft paper straws.
- a report on rising costs for café owners: Costs for café owners relate to Hebert’s side of the debate and say nothing about paper straws failing customers.
Correct Answer: clinics and group homes would keep buying plastic
Passage Reference: He backs the ban only if purchasing rules explicitly exempt clinical settings, including group homes.
Why this is correct: Lockhart backs the ban only if purchasing rules exempt clinical settings, including group homes. That means clinics and group homes could go on buying plastic straws.
Tips: Find Lockhart’s condition in his lines. Put it in your own words, then match it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cafés would hand plastic straws to every customer: Lockhart’s condition is about clinical settings, not about cafés giving plastic straws to everyone.
- care homes would switch fully to paper straws: Lockhart wants care homes and clinics exempt from the ban, so they would not have to switch to paper.
- nurses would inspect cafés every month: Lockhart is a nurse, but he never suggests that nurses should inspect cafés.
Correct Answer: back the ban but insist on built-in exceptions
Passage Reference: and we support it ... The question before council, as we see it, is not whether to cut plastic but how to build exceptions that actually work.
Why this is correct: The writers say “we support it” about the ban. But they spend most of their space on how exceptions should work. They end by recommending a marked box, clear rules for inspectors and named exemptions.
Tips: Purpose questions ask what the whole editorial sets out to do. Compare each choice with the first and last paragraphs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- argue that the ban should be cancelled: In the first paragraph, the writers say “we support it”. The last paragraph tells council to keep the ban.
- praise cafés that already use paper straws: No particular cafés are praised. The writers criticize how few could find a plastic straw.
- explain how paper straws are manufactured: How paper straws are made is never explained. The editorial is about the bylaw.
Correct Answer: diners at a table can usually skip the straw
Passage Reference: If you are sitting down with a glass of iced tea, you can almost always manage without one
Why this is correct: Fairweather says that someone sitting down with a glass of iced tea can almost always manage without a straw. In other words, diners at a table can usually skip it.
Tips: The comment names Fairweather, so go to her quote about iced tea. The right choice says the same idea in simpler words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- paper straws cost more than plastic ones: Fairweather never compares prices. She talks about whether diners at a table need a straw at all.
- reusable straws are hard to keep clean: Fairweather wants reusable straws offered, so she does not complain about cleaning them.
- beach cleanups now find very few straws: Fairweather says volunteers still fill bags with straws after storms, so they find many.
Correct Answer: asking in public can feel like sharing medical history
Passage Reference: can feel like describing your medical history out loud
Why this is correct: Belcourt says that asking for plastic in front of strangers can feel like describing your medical history out loud.
Tips: The comment names Belcourt, so go to his lines. Read how he describes the moment of requesting a straw, and match his idea in plainer words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- servers often refuse to hand over plastic: Belcourt describes how asking feels. He never says servers refuse.
- cafés charge extra for a plastic straw: Belcourt wants plastic straws free, but he never says cafés charge extra now.
- plastic straws are kept in locked drawers: Belcourt wants free straws at every counter, but he never mentions locked drawers.
Correct Answer: a labelled exception box in every café
Passage Reference: She wants the bylaw to make a labelled exception box compulsory in every café
Why this is correct: Hebert, the café owner, wants the bylaw to make a labelled exception box compulsory in every café. Then the rule does not depend on a busy shift’s goodwill.
Tips: The comment calls her the café owner. Read what she wants the bylaw to make compulsory.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a weekly fine for paper waste: Hebert worries about unfair fines. She never asks for fines on paper waste.
- a lower business tax for cafés: Taxes are never mentioned in the editorial.
- an app for reporting plastic use: No app is mentioned. Hebert wants a marked box in each café.
Correct Answer: staff to offer paper or reusable straws first
Passage Reference: She wants cafés to stock paper and reusable straws by default and to train staff to offer those first.
Why this is correct: Fairweather wants cafés to stock paper and reusable straws by default and to train staff to offer those first.
Tips: Fairweather has a second idea after her quote. Read it and match it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cafés to charge for every paper straw: Fairweather never suggests charging for paper straws.
- customers to bring their own straws: Fairweather wants cafés to stock straws, not customers to bring them.
- beaches to be closed after winter storms: Fairweather mentions storms only because straws wash up afterwards. She never asks to close beaches.
Correct Answer: only six of twenty cafés found a plastic straw
Passage Reference: When our reporters visited twenty downtown cafés last month, only six could find a plastic straw when asked.
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, the paper says its reporters visited twenty downtown cafés. Only six could find a plastic straw when asked.
Tips: The comment reacts to a detail in the first paragraph. Read that paragraph closely and match the detail in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six cafés were fined for using plastic: No café was fined. Six is the number that could find a plastic straw.
- reporters found no paper straws downtown: The reporters were looking for plastic straws, and the editorial never says paper straws were missing.
- half the cafés refused to answer questions: Nothing says cafés refused to answer. Fourteen simply could not find a plastic straw.
