Correct Answer: how to attract data centres without straining the grid
Passage Reference: But we should not let them jump ahead of the hospitals, factories and families already waiting for power
Why this is correct: The editorial welcomes the three proposed data centres. But it says they must not jump ahead of hospitals, factories and families waiting for power. Every view it reports is about how to do both.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the first paragraph closely. Then check that every speaker talks about the same issue.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why hospitals should build their own power plants: Hospitals are mentioned as customers waiting for power. Nobody suggests they build their own plants.
- whether the province should sell its hydro dams: Hydro dams come up only in Faulkner’s test for green claims. Selling them is never discussed.
- how cloud services have changed local businesses: Cloud services come up in one sentence about jobs and businesses, but that is not the main subject.
Correct Answer: Nasser Poulin
Passage Reference: “If a campus switches on before the new line is ready, the dimming happens in somebody else’s kitchen,” he said.
Why this is correct: Nasser Poulin says that if a campus switches on before the new line is ready, the dimming happens in somebody else’s kitchen.
Tips: The question uses different words from the passage. Read each speaker’s quoted words and ask whose warning is about timing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Eloise Lefebvre: Eloise Lefebvre wants faster connections for campuses that fund new power. She does not warn about lines that are not ready.
- Honora Grenier: Honora Grenier worries about her town’s water plant and tax payments, not about power lines.
- Piers Faulkner: Piers Faulkner questions green power claims. He does not talk about when a campus may switch on.
Correct Answer: provinces where shared substations shortened the wait
Passage Reference: pointing to other provinces where shared spending on substations shortened the wait to connect
Why this is correct: Lefebvre points to other provinces where shared spending on substations shortened the wait to connect. Her case for faster connections rests on that evidence.
Tips: Find Lefebvre’s main claim in her lines. The right choice is evidence that would make that claim stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hospitals kept waiting for new connections: Hospitals pushed back in the queue is Poulin’s warning, so this would support him rather than Lefebvre.
- a survey of people bothered by humming fans: Noise is never raised in the editorial, and dislike of the campuses would not help Lefebvre’s case for moving quickly.
- a report that campuses hire few local workers: Few local jobs would weaken the case for data centres. Lefebvre argues that they bring clean power forward.
Correct Answer: water use and tax payments would be public before rezoning
Passage Reference: its water use and its payments in place of property taxes are released to the public ahead of the council vote on rezoning the land
Why this is correct: Grenier would welcome a campus on one condition. Its water use and its payments in place of property taxes must be made public. This must happen ahead of the council vote on rezoning.
Tips: Look for “only if” in Grenier’s lines. Read the whole condition and match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the campus would build its own water plant: Grenier says her plant was built for residents, but her condition is public numbers, not a new plant.
- the town would vote on each server building: Council votes once on rezoning the land. Grenier does not ask for a vote on each building.
- the company would pay double property tax: Grenier wants the payments in place of taxes made public, not doubled.
Correct Answer: supportive, if others keep their place in line
Passage Reference: Our hospitals and homes were in line first, and they should stay there.
Why this is correct: The editorial says the province should not turn the companies away. But it ends: “Our hospitals and homes were in line first, and they should stay there.”
Tips: Read the last paragraph. Note how the writers talk about the data centres there, then test each choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eager to offer them unlimited cheap power: In the first paragraph, the writers call cheap, unlimited electricity the wrong way to begin.
- opposed to building any of them: Look at the first paragraph. The writers say the province should not turn the companies away.
- doubtful that they bring real jobs: In the first paragraph the writers say “the jobs are real”, so they do not doubt the jobs.
Correct Answer: a public list of who is waiting to connect
Passage Reference: She also wants the waiting list for connections published so that towns can see who is ahead of them.
Why this is correct: Lefebvre, the investment commissioner, wants the waiting list for connections published so that towns can see who is ahead of them.
Tips: The comment calls her the investment commissioner, so go back to her lines. She has more than one idea, so read the sentence that begins “She also wants”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a public vote on every new campus: Lefebvre never asks for a public vote. She wants the waiting list published.
- a tax break for every new campus: Lefebvre never mentions a tax break for any campus. Her offer is a faster connection.
- a new office to approve campuses faster: No new office is proposed. Lefebvre’s ideas are faster connections and a published list.
Correct Answer: prove their green power comes from new sources
Passage Reference: any company claiming green power should have to prove it comes from new sources
Why this is correct: Faulkner adds that any company claiming green power should have to prove it comes from new sources, not from existing dams.
Tips: The comment names Faulkner, so find his lines in the third paragraph. Skip the part where he agrees with Grenier and read what he adds.
Why the other options are wrong:
- build their campuses far from any town: Faulkner never talks about where campuses are built. He talks about where their power comes from.
- pay for a second line to each site: Nobody asks for a second line. Poulin wants backup capacity secured before building starts.
- buy their electricity only at night: The time of day is never mentioned in the editorial.
Correct Answer: was built for residents, not for cooling servers
Passage Reference: says her water plant was built for her residents, not for cooling servers
Why this is correct: Grenier says her water plant was built for her residents, not for cooling servers.
Tips: The comment describes the mayor’s water plant. Go back to her first sentence and match the blank to what she says about the plant.
Why the other options are wrong:
- already runs short every August: Grenier never says the plant runs short. She says who it was built for.
- is paid for by a federal grant: Nothing in the passage says how the water plant was paid for.
- could easily serve two new campuses: Grenier says the plant was not built for cooling servers, so she does not claim it could serve two campuses.
Correct Answer: as much power as 300,000 homes
Passage Reference: together they want as much electricity as about 300,000 homes
Why this is correct: In the first sentence, you learn that the three companies together want as much electricity as about 300,000 homes.
Tips: The comment talks about how much the three applications need together. Look for the number in the first sentence of the editorial.
Why the other options are wrong:
- more power than all of Winnipeg: Winnipeg appears only as the home of Faulkner’s climate group. The editorial compares the demand with 300,000 homes.
- less power than one large hospital: The demand equals about 300,000 homes, which is far more than one hospital.
- half of the province’s hydro output: The editorial never compares the demand with the province’s total hydro output.
Correct Answer: a public hearing before signing any contract
Passage Reference: the utility board should hold a public hearing before it signs any contract
Why this is correct: Look at the last paragraph. Above all, the writers want the utility board to hold a public hearing before it signs any contract.
Tips: Look for “Above all” in the last paragraph. The writers’ biggest request to the utility board comes right after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a lottery among the three companies: The writers never suggest choosing among the companies by chance.
- a vote in every affected town: Council votes on rezoning are mentioned, but the editorial’s main request to the board is a public hearing.
- a sale of power to other provinces: Other provinces appear only as examples of shared substations. Nobody proposes selling them power.
