Correct Answer: whether the library should end daily late fines
Passage Reference: our city’s library board is thinking about ending daily late fines
Why this is correct: The blogger reads that the library board is thinking about ending daily late fines. Every paragraph after that reports views on this question.
Tips: Read the opening paragraph for the news the writer reacts to. Then check that every later paragraph comes back to that same question.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to raise money for new library textbooks: The blog post never talks about raising money for textbooks. Textbooks come up only as books that might go missing.
- whether the library should open longer on Sundays: Opening hours are never discussed. The blog post is only about fines, reminders and deposits.
- when the library plans to update its website: A website update is never mentioned. Lindqvist talks about checkout screens and reminder messages, not the website.
Correct Answer: Rosa Nakashima
Passage Reference: warns that popular new releases and textbooks could vanish for months without some cost attached
Why this is correct: Rosa Nakashima, the collection manager, is the one who warns about this. She says popular books and textbooks could disappear for months if there is no cost.
Tips: Look for a worry verb such as “warns” in each speaker’s lines. Then check what that person fears could happen.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Ben Albright: Ben Albright wants to end fines because they push families away. He does not warn about missing books.
- Derek Oduya: Derek Oduya reports that families with unpaid fines stop renewing their cards. The warning about missing titles comes from Nakashima.
- Tara Lindqvist: Tara Lindqvist worries that new users will be surprised by a lost-item bill, not that popular titles will go missing.
Correct Answer: evidence that families stop renewing cards over fines
Passage Reference: households with several unpaid fines often stop renewing their cards completely
Why this is correct: Albright says fines push families away. Oduya’s report that families with unpaid fines stop renewing their cards is exactly the kind of evidence that supports him.
Tips: First find Albright’s reason for his view. Then pick the fact that would make that reason stronger, not a fact that helps someone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rise in the number of lost bestsellers: More lost bestsellers would support Nakashima, who fears books will vanish without a cost, not Albright.
- a longer waiting list for popular textbooks: A longer textbook waiting list would back Nakashima’s worry about high-demand titles, so it works against Albright’s plan.
- complaints that reminder texts are hard to read: Complaints about reminder texts would support Lindqvist’s request for plain language. They say nothing about fines pushing families away.
Correct Answer: unreturned books would be marked lost after a waiting period
Passage Reference: as long as staff still mark a book lost after a fixed waiting period
Why this is correct: Albright agrees to end fines only “as long as staff still mark a book lost after a fixed waiting period”. So the result his condition calls for is that books which never come back are marked lost after a set time.
Tips: Look for a condition phrase like “as long as” after Albright’s idea. The words after it tell you what must still happen.
Why the other options are wrong:
- daily fines would return after a trial summer: Albright wants daily fines ended, and he never suggests bringing them back after a trial.
- borrowers would lose their cards after one late book: Albright wants fewer barriers for families, not cancelled cards. His condition is only that books are marked lost after a waiting period.
- staff would stop tracking books that are overdue: Albright’s condition is the opposite: staff must keep tracking overdue books and still mark them lost.
Correct Answer: frank and hopeful
Passage Reference: I was too embarrassed to walk up to the desk ... I’m hopeful, too.
Why this is correct: The blogger openly admits being “too embarrassed to walk up to the desk” over a small fine, which is frank. Near the end the blogger says “I’m hopeful, too” after the family goes back to the library.
Tips: Notice how the writer talks about their own family and how the post ends. Those personal lines show the feeling behind the post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and bitter: The writer is embarrassed about the old fine but not angry, and even says “I understand her worry” about Nakashima.
- formal and detached: The blog post is full of personal stories about the blogger’s own children, so it is not formal or distant.
- mocking and impatient: Nobody in the post is made fun of. Every speaker’s view is treated with respect.
Correct Answer: reminders and overdue notices can replace fines
Passage Reference: He says text reminders and overdue notices can do the job that fines used to do
Why this is correct: Albright says text reminders and overdue notices can do the job that fines used to do. In other words, reminders and notices can replace fines.
Tips: Find Albright’s lines in the passage and look at what he says could take over the old job. The right choice will say the same idea in new words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fines should stay on textbooks and new releases: Albright wants daily fines ended, and nobody in the blog post asks to keep fines on textbooks or new releases.
- borrowing limits should be cut in half: Albright never suggests cutting borrowing limits. He says reminders and notices can do the job of fines.
- new members should pay a joining fee: Albright never suggests a joining fee. He says reminders and notices can do the job of fines.
Correct Answer: a refundable deposit on a few high-demand titles
Passage Reference: she wants a refundable deposit on a short list of high-demand titles before any fine-free rule becomes permanent
Why this is correct: Nakashima wants a refundable deposit on a short list of high-demand titles before any fine-free rule becomes permanent. That is what she needs before the change is final.
Tips: The comment calls this person the collection manager. Go back to her lines and find what she wants before the rule becomes permanent.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a daily fine on every overdue textbook: Nakashima asks for a deposit that people get back, not a daily fine on textbooks.
- a lost-item bill after one week: Nakashima never mentions a one-week lost-item bill. She talks about a deposit on popular titles.
- a public vote by branch users: No public vote is mentioned. Branch users only come up because they elected Albright to the board.
Correct Answer: works at one of the east-end branches
Passage Reference: Derek Oduya, a librarian at one of the east-end branches
Why this is correct: The blog post introduces Derek Oduya as a librarian at one of the east-end branches.
Tips: Find Oduya’s name in the passage and read the words right after it. That short description gives his job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- trains the library’s new volunteers: Nobody in the blog post trains volunteers. Oduya is a librarian at one of the east-end branches.
- leads the library’s digital services: Digital services are led by Tara Lindqvist, not Oduya.
- was elected to the board by branch users: Ben Albright is the board member elected by branch users. Oduya is a librarian.
Correct Answer: due dates in plain language
Passage Reference: need to state due dates in plain language
Why this is correct: Lindqvist says checkout screens and reminder messages need to state due dates in plain language. That way, new users are not surprised by a bill.
Tips: Go back to Lindqvist’s practical point in the passage. Ask what she wants the screens and messages to show.
Why the other options are wrong:
- no lost-item bills for new users: Lindqvist wants new users warned clearly, but she never says they should pay no lost-item bills at all.
- a phone call before any lost-item bill: Lindqvist talks about checkout screens and reminder messages, not phone calls before a bill.
- longer loan periods for new members: Lindqvist does not ask for longer loans. She asks for clear due dates.
Correct Answer: left its card in a drawer for two years
Passage Reference: For almost two years, my family’s library card sat in a kitchen drawer
Why this is correct: You can see this in the first paragraph. For almost two years the family’s library card sat in a kitchen drawer because of unpaid fines.
Tips: The comment points back to the writer’s own family story. Reread the very first sentence of the post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- was turned away at the library’s front desk: Nobody turned the family away. The blogger was too embarrassed to walk up to the desk.
- waited two years to get a dinosaur book: The son lost track of a dinosaur book. The family did not wait for one.
- paid its $14.60 in fines every single month: The family owed $14.60 in total and paid it only once, last week.
