Correct Answer: how to make park grill permits faster but safe
Passage Reference: Faster permits and fire safety can go together, and councils should design them that way.
Why this is correct: The editorial says permits are too slow but that fire safety still matters, and it ends with a plan that does both.
Tips: Read the first and last paragraphs together. Ask what problem the writers name and what kind of plan they want.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to ban all barbecues in city parks: Nobody in the editorial wants to ban barbecues. The debate is about how fast permits should be.
- the cost of hiring more weekend fire crews: Tremaine mentions thin weekend crews, but the cost of hiring more of them is never discussed.
- a new playground being built beside the grills: Playground fences are mentioned only as a place where people grill. No new playground is being built.
Correct Answer: Marcus Tremaine
Passage Reference: warns that quicker permits in drought weeks would put more pressure on thin weekend crews
Why this is correct: Marcus Tremaine, the fire prevention officer, warns that quicker permits in drought weeks would put more pressure on thin weekend crews.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for a warning verb such as “warns”. Then check what that person fears faster permits would do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Lena Ferreira: Lena Ferreira wants faster, same-day permits. She does not warn about pressure on fire crews.
- Aisha Gauthier: Aisha Gauthier agrees dry weeks need a pause, but her own complaint is about the evening schedule, not the crews.
- Jonah Ocampo: Jonah Ocampo wants software to read wind alerts. The warning about weekend crews comes from Tremaine.
Correct Answer: a report that few families can book weekday evening slots
Passage Reference: Families who cannot book a weekday slot after work often light small portable grills next to playground fences.
Why this is correct: Gauthier says the real problem is the evening schedule, because families who cannot book a weekday slot grill beside playgrounds. A report showing few families get evening slots would support her.
Tips: Find the sentence where Gauthier says what “the real problem” is. Then pick the finding that proves that problem is real.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report that fire crews have too few weekend staff: Short-staffed weekend crews would support Tremaine’s warning, not Gauthier’s complaint about evening slots.
- a study showing clerks forget to check the forecast: Clerks forgetting the forecast would support Ocampo’s idea, not Gauthier’s complaint about evening slots.
- a survey showing most families prefer paper forms: Gauthier supports faster booking, so a survey favouring paper forms would not help her case.
Correct Answer: each group would have water ready at its grill
Passage Reference: he wants staff to check that a bucket of water is at the grill when each group arrives
Why this is correct: Tremaine wants staff to check that a bucket of water is at the grill when each group arrives. So the result of his check is water ready at every booked grill.
Tips: Go to Tremaine’s lines and find what he wants staff to check on arrival. The right choice describes the result of that check.
Why the other options are wrong:
- families would book grills only by paper form: Tremaine never asks to keep paper forms. His check happens at the grill when a group arrives.
- every park would close its grills for the summer: Tremaine plans a safety check for groups who arrive to use the grills. That check only makes sense if the grills stay open, so he is not asking parks to close them.
- fire crews would light each grill for families: Tremaine worries that weekend crews are already thin, so he does not ask them to light grills. He wants staff to check for water.
Correct Answer: weigh several views and call for a vote
Passage Reference: We urge parks boards to vote on this package before the May long weekend
Why this is correct: The editorial says where Ferreira, Gauthier and Tremaine are each right, then urges parks boards to vote on its plan.
Tips: Purpose questions are about what the whole piece is trying to do. Compare each choice with what the closing paragraph asks for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- report a fire that closed a city park: Recent brush fires are mentioned, but no fire closed a park. Reporting one is not the writer’s purpose.
- defend the current paper permit system: The writers call the current paper system too slow, so they do not defend it.
- criticize families who grill near playgrounds: The last paragraph says slow permits push families into riskier places and asks for more evening slots for them. So the writers do not blame these families.
Correct Answer: pause approvals when wind alerts come in
Passage Reference: the booking software should read live wind alerts and pause approvals on its own
Why this is correct: Ocampo argues that the booking software should read live wind alerts and pause approvals on its own. Then a clerk does not have to check the forecast.
Tips: The comment names Ocampo, so go back to his lines. Notice what he wants the software to do by itself.
Why the other options are wrong:
- send families a reminder the day before: Ocampo says nothing about reminders to families. His idea is that the software pauses approvals.
- charge a fee for every booking: No booking fee is suggested by Ocampo or anyone else in the editorial.
- list the parks with the newest grills: Ocampo never asks the software to list parks or grills. He wants it to read wind alerts.
Correct Answer: dry weeks need a clear pause
Passage Reference: She supports Ferreira’s faster booking but agrees with Tremaine that dry weeks need a clear pause.
Why this is correct: Gauthier supports faster booking, but she agrees with Tremaine that dry weeks need a clear pause. This is the view that surprises the commenter.
Tips: Gauthier’s lines contain a “but” that shows where she agrees with another speaker. Read the part after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- portable grills should be banned from parks: Gauthier explains why families use portable grills, but she never asks for them to be banned.
- fixed grills should close on Sundays: Gauthier never mentions Sundays. The pause she accepts is for dry weeks.
- picnic groups should pay for fire checks: Gauthier never talks about paying for fire checks. Her concerns are evening slots and dry weeks.
Correct Answer: a long wait sends people to unmarked lawns
Passage Reference: a long wait does not stop people from grilling; it only sends them to unmarked patches of lawn
Why this is correct: Ferreira told the parks board that a long wait does not stop people from grilling. It only sends them to unmarked patches of lawn.
Tips: Find Ferreira’s main point to the parks board. The right choice says the same idea in simpler words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- most families already book their grills online: In the first paragraph, families must fill in a paper form, so most do not book online yet. Ferreira is asking for online permits.
- portable grills should be banned from lawns: Ferreira describes people moving to the lawn with portable charcoal, but she never asks for a ban.
- picnic tables should be booked separately: Ferreira never mentions picnic tables. She says a long wait sends people to unmarked lawns.
Correct Answer: brush fires have started near unattended coals
Passage Reference: He points to recent brush fires that started near coals left unattended
Why this is correct: In the second paragraph, Tremaine points to recent brush fires that started near coals left unattended. This is the warning the commenter wants taken more seriously.
Tips: The comment says the warning is in the second paragraph. Look there for the danger Tremaine points to.
Why the other options are wrong:
- portable grills have tipped over in strong wind: The second paragraph never says any grill tipped over. Wind comes up only later, in Ocampo’s idea about alerts.
- fixed grills have cracked in the summer heat: Nobody in the editorial says a fixed grill has cracked. The warning is about fires near coals.
- fire trucks cannot reach most park lawns: The second paragraph talks about thin weekend crews, not about fire trucks being unable to reach lawns.
Correct Answer: approve same-day permits for the fixed grills
Passage Reference: Councils should approve same-day online permits for fixed grills this summer
Why this is correct: The commenter will ask the councillor to do what the editorial recommends. The editorial says councils should approve same-day online permits for fixed grills this summer.
Tips: The commenter will ask for what the editorial recommends. Read the recommendation in the last paragraph and pick its first action.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hire extra fire crews for every weekend: Tremaine says weekend crews are thin, but the editorial’s plan does not include hiring more crews.
- make grill permits free for the summer: The price of permits is never part of the editorial’s plan. It asks for faster permits, not free ones.
- move the fixed grills away from playgrounds: The plan keeps the fixed grills where they are and adds evening slots. It never asks to move them.
