Correct Answer: a bigger discount for customers who bring cups
Passage Reference: city council wants cafés to offer a bigger discount for reusable cups
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that city council wants cafés to offer a bigger discount for reusable cups. Every person in the post gives a view on that plan.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find what council wants in the first paragraph. Then check that each speaker talks about it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to ban paper cups from every café: Nobody in the blog post wants to ban paper cups. The plan is to reward people who bring their own.
- why coffee prices keep rising across Saskatoon: The blog post never says coffee prices are rising. It talks about taking money off the price.
- a new recycling program for plastic lids: Plastic lids come up only as something Beaton buys by the box. No recycling program is proposed.
Correct Answer: Konrad Isaksen
Passage Reference: a cup with old milk inside can spread germs to the steam wand and from there into other people’s drinks
Why this is correct: Konrad Isaksen, the health inspector, says a cup with old milk inside can spread germs into other people’s drinks. He adds that “a dozen customers” could get sick.
Tips: The question is about illness, not just dirty cups. Read each speaker’s reason for caring about dirty cups.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Adelaide Beaton: Adelaide Beaton backs the discount because regulars come back more often. She does not warn about anyone getting sick.
- Tanvi Chaudhary: Tanvi Chaudhary wants staff to be able to refuse a dirty cup. But her reason is to avoid arguments at the counter, not to prevent illness.
- Gustav Wiens: Gustav Wiens asks for a checklist and a monthly count so the city can react to complaints. The warning about germs comes from Isaksen.
Correct Answer: sales figures showing regulars with mugs return more often
Passage Reference: her sales records show that regulars who bring their own cups come back more often
Why this is correct: Beaton supports the discount by pointing to her sales records. They show that regulars who bring their own cups come back more often. Figures like these are exactly what her position rests on.
Tips: Find Beaton’s reason for backing a bigger discount. The right choice is evidence that would make that reason stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report of customers made ill by unwashed cups: A report of sick customers would support Isaksen’s warning about germs, not Beaton’s case for a bigger discount.
- a survey saying a ten-cent saving changes no habits: A survey about a ten-cent saving would support Chaudhary’s view on the size of the discount. It says nothing about Beaton’s regulars returning.
- a rise in complaints after the rebate began: Rising complaints are what Wiens says would let the city end the program, so they would count against the plan Beaton backs.
Correct Answer: cafés with a rebate would count refused cups each month
Passage Reference: any rebate should come with a hygiene checklist and a monthly count of refused cups
Why this is correct: Wiens says any rebate should come with a hygiene checklist and a monthly count of refused cups. So a café that takes the rebate would have to count the cups it refuses every month.
Tips: Wiens’s condition comes after “should come with”. Read both parts, then look at why the city wants them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cafés would get a rebate with no hygiene checks: Wiens wants a hygiene checklist attached to every rebate, so a rebate without checks goes against that condition.
- every café would receive the same flat rebate: Wiens never says how much each café should get. The condition is about a checklist and a monthly count.
- the city would decide the price of coffee: Nobody in the blog post wants the city to set coffee prices. Wiens only attaches conditions to the rebate.
Correct Answer: good-humoured and honest
Passage Reference: I am secretly proud of it ... I’ll be honest: my mug does not always get a proper wash
Why this is correct: The blogger jokes about being “secretly proud” of a chipped old mug, which is good-humoured. The writer also admits openly that the mug does not always get a proper wash, which is honest.
Tips: For tone, look at how the writer talks about their own habits. Read the first paragraph and the start of the last one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and impatient: The writer is never angry with anyone and even says Isaksen’s warning was useful.
- formal and distant: The blog post is personal and relaxed, full of details about the blogger’s own mug and café.
- gloomy and fearful: Notice the cheerful plan at the end to wash the mug and leave a note. That is not gloomy or fearful.
Correct Answer: twenty-five cents
Passage Reference: argues for a discount of twenty-five cents
Why this is correct: In the second paragraph, Adelaide Beaton backs a discount of twenty-five cents.
Tips: The café already gives a small discount, and Beaton wants more. Make sure you pick her new amount, not the one given now.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten cents: Ten cents, a dime, is the discount the café gives now. Beaton wants a bigger one of twenty-five cents.
- fifty cents: Nobody in the blog post mentions fifty cents. Beaton’s figure is twenty-five cents.
- one dollar: A dollar off is never mentioned. Beaton backs a discount of twenty-five cents.
Correct Answer: forget their cups at home
Passage Reference: a dime changes nothing for people who already forget their cups at home
Why this is correct: Chaudhary says a dime changes nothing for people who already forget their cups at home.
Tips: The comment names Chaudhary, so go back to her lines. Look for the people she says a small saving will not help.
Why the other options are wrong:
- drink their coffee at the café: People who drink in the café are never mentioned. Chaudhary is talking about people who leave their cups at home.
- buy coffee only on weekends: Chaudhary says nothing about weekend buyers. Her point is about people who forget their cups.
- already own several travel mugs: Chaudhary never talks about people who own several mugs. She talks about people who forget their cups at home.
Correct Answer: six months
Passage Reference: he wants a six-month trial
Why this is correct: Isaksen wants a six-month trial before the city pays any rebate. So the trial would last six months.
Tips: The comment calls him the inspector. Find the trial he wants before any rebate and read how long it runs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three weeks: No three-week trial is mentioned. The inspector asks for six months.
- one full year: Isaksen does not ask for a year. He wants a six-month trial.
- two years: Two years is never mentioned as a trial length. The only length the inspector gives is six months.
Correct Answer: refuse a dirty cup
Passage Reference: staff can refuse a dirty cup
Why this is correct: Chaudhary wants the rules to say plainly that staff can refuse a dirty cup. That way, baristas do not have to argue with customers.
Tips: Chaudhary has a second request in the third paragraph. Look for what she wants the rules to say plainly.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fill only cups sold by the café: Chaudhary never says staff should fill only the café’s own cups. She is talking about dirty cups.
- charge extra for very large mugs: Nobody in the blog post suggests an extra charge for large mugs.
- turn away cups without lids: Lids come up only as something Beaton buys. Chaudhary’s rule is about cups that are dirty.
Correct Answer: leave in the suggestion box
Passage Reference: tomorrow I plan to leave a note in the café’s suggestion box
Why this is correct: At the end of the post, the writer plans to leave a note in the café’s suggestion box. The note will ask for a rinse sink.
Tips: The comment is about a note. Look at the very last sentence of the post to see where the writer plans to put it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- send to the city council: The note is for the café, not for council. The blogger will put it in the suggestion box.
- pin to the café door: Nothing is going to be pinned to the door. The note goes in the suggestion box.
- hand to the health inspector: The writer never plans to contact Isaksen. The note is for the café’s suggestion box.
