Correct Answer: a city debate over helping families pay sports fees
Passage Reference: whether our recreation board should help families with youth sports fees
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that city hall is debating whether the recreation board should help families with youth sports fees. Then the post reports the different views on that question.
Tips: Read the end of the first paragraph, where the writer says what they have been following. Every speaker after that answers the same question.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a coach’s campaign to reduce the number of teams: The blog post never says any coach wants fewer teams. Villeneuve wants to keep children on the teams that exist.
- a plan to build a new rink with private money: No new rink is planned in the blog post. The only rink work mentioned is Carrington’s worry about fixing the rink roof.
- a parent’s complaint about rising property taxes: Property tax comes up only once, near the end, when the writer wonders what neighbours would accept. So it is not the main subject of the blog post.
Correct Answer: league figures showing children quit when monthly costs rise
Passage Reference: kids are leaving teams in the middle of the season once monthly costs pass a certain point, and she has league numbers to prove it
Why this is correct: Villeneuve’s argument rests on children dropping out when costs climb, and she says she has league numbers to prove it. League figures on children quitting would support her.
Tips: First find Villeneuve’s reason: what is happening to kids on teams. Then pick the evidence she says she already has.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report showing jersey prices have dropped: Cheaper jerseys have nothing to do with Villeneuve’s point about children quitting when monthly costs rise.
- a survey showing most parents oppose any subsidy: A survey of parents opposing a subsidy would work against Villeneuve, who wants the city to pay half of registration.
- evidence that rink repairs will cost less than expected: Cheaper rink repairs would help Carrington’s budget worry, not Villeneuve’s case about children leaving their teams.
Correct Answer: Greg Carrington
Passage Reference: Every dollar we spend on fees is a dollar we do not spend fixing the rink roof
Why this is correct: Carrington warns that every dollar spent on fees is a dollar not spent fixing the rink roof. So he is the one worried about rink repairs.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for a warning verb such as “warned”. Then check what that person says the money could be spent on instead.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Valentina Villeneuve: Villeneuve wants the subsidy and talks about children quitting, not about the rink roof.
- Uma Dhillon: Dhillon talks about waitlists pushing families to private clubs. She does not mention rink repairs.
- Xavier Boateng: Boateng asks for an appeal path for refused families. Boateng says nothing about money for the rink.
Correct Answer: refused families would know how to appeal the decision
Passage Reference: if a family is refused, it should have a clear way to appeal and know exactly which form to file
Why this is correct: Boateng says that a refused family should have a clear way to appeal and know which form to file. The result would be that refused families know how to appeal.
Tips: Boateng asks for “one more thing” at the end of the third paragraph. Read Boateng’s whole request, then match it to a choice in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- coaches would decide which families get help: Boateng never gives coaches any role in deciding who gets help. Boateng’s request is about what a refused family can do next.
- council would drop the pilot after one season: Boateng never asks council to drop the pilot. Boateng’s request is about what happens after a family is refused.
- every club would lower its fee next season: Boateng does not ask clubs to lower their fees. The request is only about families who are refused.
Correct Answer: show how the rising fee strained a real household
Passage Reference: the total was more than our grocery bill for the month
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, the writer sits at the kitchen table with the form to show what the fee meant at home. The total was bigger than the family’s grocery bill for the month. The story shows the fee problem in a real household before the debate is reported.
Tips: Ask why the writer starts with a form, a calculator and a family budget. Think about what this opening story does before the debate begins.
Why the other options are wrong:
- prove that the city has already cut hockey fees: The fee did not go down. The blogger says the son’s fee had jumped again, and the city is still debating any help.
- explain why the son chose to quit his team: The son did not quit. The blogger paid the fee in the end, so the story is not about him leaving the team.
- complain that coaches keep asking parents for money: Coaches are never blamed for the cost. In fact the writer supports Villeneuve, the son’s coach.
Correct Answer: should cover half the fee for low-income families
Passage Reference: Her plan asks the city to cover at least half of registration for low-income families
Why this is correct: The commenter agrees with Villeneuve about what the city should do. In the blog post, Villeneuve asks the city to pay at least half of registration for low-income families.
Tips: The comment agrees with Villeneuve about what the city should do. Find her plan in the second paragraph and check who it is for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should build a second rink for city teams: Villeneuve never asks for a new rink. The only rink work in the blog post is Carrington’s worry about the roof.
- should cover the full fee for every family: Villeneuve asks for at least half of registration, and only for low-income families, not the full fee for every family.
- should let each club set its own fee: Villeneuve wants the city to help pay registration. She never says clubs should set their own fees.
Correct Answer: a firm dollar limit on each child’s subsidy
Passage Reference: Carrington would like a means test in writing, plus a firm dollar limit
Why this is correct: Carrington would like a firm dollar limit before council votes on anything permanent, and the commenter understands why Carrington keeps raising it.
Tips: The comment calls him the budget analyst. Find what he would like in writing before council votes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a yearly fee freeze for every club: Carrington asks for a means test and a dollar limit on the subsidy. He never asks clubs to freeze their fees.
- a lower price for team jerseys: Carrington never talks about jerseys. The blogger mentions a jersey only as part of the son’s total cost.
- a public vote on every fee increase: Carrington never asks for a public vote. He wants a means test in writing and a firm dollar limit.
Correct Answer: waitlists pushing families toward private clubs
Passage Reference: waitlists at three community centres already push families toward expensive private clubs
Why this is correct: Dhillon is the person who warns that waitlists at three community centres push families toward expensive private clubs. The commenter hears the same thing from other parents.
Tips: The comment names Dhillon, so go to her lines. Look for what she says already happens when public fees rise.
Why the other options are wrong:
- coaches being paid too little to stay on: Dhillon never talks about how much coaches are paid.
- families moving to other towns for cheaper fees: Dhillon says families are pushed toward private clubs, not that they move to other towns.
- the rink roof needing urgent repairs: The rink roof repairs are Carrington’s worry, not a warning from Dhillon.
Correct Answer: publish its costs every month
Passage Reference: starting with a short pilot that publishes its costs every month
Why this is correct: Villeneuve wants a short pilot that publishes its costs every month. The commenter says this plan is what won the commenter over.
Tips: Villeneuve describes a short pilot. Read to the end of that sentence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- run for five full seasons: Villeneuve calls it a short pilot, so a run of five full seasons is not what she describes.
- be run by the league’s coaches: Villeneuve asks the city to pay for the pilot. Nobody says the league’s coaches would run it.
- pay for new jerseys and equipment: Villeneuve’s pilot is about registration fees. The blogger mentions a jersey as part of the cost, but nobody says the pilot would pay for equipment.
Correct Answer: start a careful pilot instead of waiting
Passage Reference: A careful pilot with limits seems better to me than doing nothing while families quietly drop out
Why this is correct: The commenter would pass on the blogger’s own advice. The blogger says a careful pilot is better than doing nothing. So the advice is to start a careful pilot now instead of waiting.
Tips: The blank asks for the writer’s own advice. Look for the sentence in the last paragraph that compares two choices.
Why the other options are wrong:
- run a pilot for hockey teams only: The pilot is never limited to hockey. The debate is about help with youth sports fees in general.
- wait until the tax question is settled: The writer admits not knowing how much tax neighbours would accept. Even so, the last paragraph says a pilot is better than doing nothing.
- approve an uncapped pilot right away: The writer calls Carrington’s cap fair. So a pilot with no cap is not the writer’s advice.
