Correct Answer: whether a museum should open free one evening a month
Passage Reference: The board of our city museum will vote next month on whether to offer one free evening every month.
Why this is correct: The editorial opens with the board’s vote on offering one free evening every month. Then it gives its own view on that question.
Tips: Read the first two sentences for the vote and the writers’ view on it. Every later paragraph comes back to that decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how a museum plans to raise its membership prices: Nothing says membership prices will go up. Holm only worries that renewals may fall.
- why school trips to the museum are being cancelled: School trips are not being cancelled. Rahimi says evening slots sell out early, which makes booking hard.
- a new travelling exhibit coming to the city: Travelling exhibits are mentioned only as something ticket money pays for, not as a new show arriving.
Correct Answer: rising evening visits at museums that tried free nights
Passage Reference: partner museums saw evening attendance climb after they began opening free once a month
Why this is correct: Espinoza points to partner museums where evening attendance climbed after free nights began. More visits at museums that tried free nights would support her.
Tips: First find Espinoza’s reason at the board workshop. Then pick the proof that would make it stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a drop in café sales on crowded evenings: Espinoza expects café sales to help cover lost ticket money, so falling café sales would weaken her case.
- complaints from neighbours about late crowds: Neighbour complaints about late crowds would be an argument against free nights, not for them.
- data showing members prefer daytime visits: Members preferring daytime visits has no link to Espinoza’s point that free evenings bring people in.
Correct Answer: Zoltan Holm
Passage Reference: free evenings may eat into prepaid tickets and membership renewals
Why this is correct: Holm warns that free evenings may eat into membership renewals, so he is the one worried about membership income.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and look for the verb “warns”. Then check what that person fears free evenings could cost the museum.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Yolanda Espinoza: Espinoza believes café and gift-shop sales can replace lost ticket money, so she is not the worried one.
- Zainab Rahimi: Rahimi’s concern is that teachers cannot book evening visits, not lost membership money.
- Ayesha Lemaire: Lemaire wants crowd counts and revenue figures published and never warns about renewals falling.
Correct Answer: the board would receive crowd and money figures after each night
Passage Reference: release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night
Why this is correct: Lemaire wants the museum to release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night. So the board would get those numbers after each one.
Tips: Lemaire’s lines end with a “so” clause. Read her proposal to the end and match it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the café would stay open later on free nights: Lemaire never mentions the café. The proposal is to release crowd counts and revenue figures after every free night.
- the museum would stop charging for memberships: Lemaire never suggests dropping membership fees. The proposal is about publishing figures.
- visitors would pay a small door fee on free nights: A door fee on free nights is never proposed by Lemaire or anyone else in the editorial.
Correct Answer: supportive but cautious
Passage Reference: We think it should say yes, but only with limits it can measure.
Why this is correct: The writers say yes to free nights, but only with limits they can measure. So the tone is supportive and careful at the same time.
Tips: Tone comes from how the writers state their own view. Read the second sentence of the first paragraph closely.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and dismissive: Every side is treated fairly, and the writers even say they take Holm’s concerns seriously. So the tone is not angry or dismissive.
- neutral and uncertain: The writers clearly take a side and say the board should approve a pilot. So the tone is not neutral or uncertain.
- amused and playful: The piece is serious throughout and makes no jokes, so amused and playful does not fit.
Correct Answer: evening slots sell out before teachers can book them
Passage Reference: evening slots already sell out early, leaving teachers unable to book visits
Why this is correct: Rahimi says evening slots already sell out early, so teachers cannot book visits for their students.
Tips: The comment names Rahimi, so go to her lines in the third paragraph. Look at the problem she says deserves more attention.
Why the other options are wrong:
- weekend mornings are too crowded for school trips: Rahimi never talks about weekend mornings. The problem Rahimi raises is that evening slots sell out.
- free nights draw mostly tourists from outside the city: Rahimi does not talk about tourists at all. The point is about teachers and students.
- teachers no longer want to bring classes at all: Teachers do want to bring classes. Rahimi says they are unable to book because slots sell out.
Correct Answer: a written target for donor money
Passage Reference: a written goal for donor support before any permanent calendar is approved
Why this is correct: Holm wants a written goal for donor support before any permanent calendar is approved. That written target for donor money is what he asks for before anything becomes permanent.
Tips: The comment calls him the finance chair. His last sentence lists two things he wants first, and only one fits this blank.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey of teachers about evening bookings: Nobody in the editorial asks for a survey of teachers. Rahimi simply reports that evening slots sell out.
- a lower price for family memberships: Holm worries about losing membership renewals, but he never asks for cheaper family memberships.
- a separate evening for members only: A members-only evening is never suggested. Holm asks for an attendance cap and a donor goal.
Correct Answer: a first free visit often leads to paid visits later
Passage Reference: People who come once for free often come back and pay
Why this is correct: Espinoza says that people who come once for free often come back and pay. In other words, a first free visit often leads to paid visits later.
Tips: The comment names Espinoza, so find her short quote. The right choice says the same idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- café sales always fall on crowded evenings: Espinoza believes café sales can make up lost ticket money, so she does not say they fall.
- members will stop renewing if entry is free: The worry about membership renewals comes from Holm, who is cautious about free nights, not from Espinoza.
- most visitors would rather come during the day: Espinoza is arguing for evening visits and never says visitors prefer the daytime.
Correct Answer: keep a set number of places for school groups
Passage Reference: a set number of places kept for school groups
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph, the writers ask for a pilot with a set number of places kept for school groups. The commenter calls this plan sensible.
Tips: Look at the second sentence of the last paragraph, where the writers describe what they want. Match one part of it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- make free nights permanent from the first month: The writers ask for a one-year pilot, not permanent free nights from the first month.
- move all school visits to daytime hours: Places are kept for school groups on free evenings. School visits are not moved to the daytime.
- charge a small fee at the door on free nights: A door fee on free nights is never proposed in the editorial.
Correct Answer: the figures show real harm to exhibits
Passage Reference: If the figures show real harm to exhibits, the board can change course.
Why this is correct: The last paragraph says the board can change course if the figures show real harm to exhibits. That is the promise the commenter refers to.
Tips: The comment points to the closing paragraph. Find the sentence that starts with “If” and says when the board can change course.
Why the other options are wrong:
- attendance goes over the agreed cap: An attendance cap is part of the pilot. But a crowd over the cap is never named as a reason to change course. Only harm to exhibits is named.
- fewer new visitors come back to pay: Returning visitors are never named as a reason to change course. Only harm to exhibits is named.
- café sales fall below last year’s level: Café sales appear only in Espinoza’s view. The editorial never says falling café sales would make the board change course.
