Correct Answer: whether heritage window rules should allow energy-saving replacements
Passage Reference: Now city council is asking whether those rules should bend when a new window would save real energy
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that council is asking whether the strict window rules should bend when a new window would save energy. Every paragraph reports views on that question.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find the question council is asking at the end of the first paragraph. Every speaker answers that question.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to find a carpenter who restores old windows: The writer already knows Blanchette and calls his shop. Finding a carpenter is not what the post is about.
- whether the district should add more streets to its list: Adding streets to the heritage district is never suggested. Streets come up only in Coutts’s design guidelines.
- how much the city charges for renovation permits: Permit charges are never discussed. The debate is about what kind of window the rules allow.
Correct Answer: Horatio Blanchette
Passage Reference: says most old windows can be repaired
Why this is correct: Blanchette, the carpenter, says most old windows can be repaired and sealed rather than replaced.
Tips: Read what each speaker thinks should happen to the old windows. Ask who wants to keep them working, not who wants new glass, numbers or audits.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Birgit Arvidson: Arvidson wants modern glass allowed in the old-looking frames, so she supports replacement.
- Priyanka Coutts: Coutts is open to flexible permits later and asks for a carbon comparison first. She does not say old windows can be fixed.
- Malachi Dorval: Dorval cares about fair treatment and audits, not about whether old windows can be repaired.
Correct Answer: a survey finding rot in the sills of designated homes
Passage Reference: damp sills are rotting in the very homes the rules were written to protect
Why this is correct: Arvidson told council that damp sills are rotting in designated homes. A survey that found this rot would back her call for modern glass.
Tips: Arvidson gives two pieces of evidence to council. The right choice matches the second one, said in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey showing most owners like their old windows: Owners liking their old windows would not support Arvidson, who wants modern glass allowed.
- a study of the carbon stored in old frames: A study of stored carbon is what Coutts asks for, and it could even favour keeping old frames.
- complaints that approvals differ from block to block: Uneven approvals are Dorval’s concern about fairness, not Arvidson’s point about heat and damp.
Correct Answer: the carbon comparison would be published before any exemption
Passage Reference: She asks the city to publish a comparison between the carbon already stored in old frames and the carbon a new window would save
Why this is correct: Coutts wants the city to publish a comparison of stored and saved carbon before any general exemption is approved. So her condition calls for the comparison to come out first.
Tips: Find Coutts’s request to the city. Read it to the end and match its idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- exemptions would be granted now and studied later: Coutts says flexible permits should come “just not yet”, so granting exemptions now is the opposite of her condition.
- every old frame would be replaced within five years: Coutts never sets a deadline for replacing frames. She values the carbon stored in old ones.
- owners would pay a carbon fee on new windows: Coutts wants carbon numbers published, not a fee charged to owners.
Correct Answer: the blogger will try repairs before replacing anything
Passage Reference: I started this process sure that all four windows had to go. ... This spring I will have him look at the two worst windows and add storm panels
Why this is correct: The blogger began sure that all four windows had to go. Now the writer will have Blanchette look at the two worst windows and add storm panels. The replacement application stays ready only in case the sills still drip.
Tips: Read the last paragraph to the end. Pick the choice that fits the plan the writer describes there.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the blogger will replace all four windows this spring: Replacing all four was the blogger’s first idea. The new plan is repair this spring.
- the blogger will ask council to drop the rules: The writer wants the rules to allow matched replacements later, not to be dropped.
- the blogger will sell the house next year: Nothing in the blog post suggests selling. The blogger plans repairs this spring.
Correct Answer: new double-glazed units
Passage Reference: Last fall I applied to replace them with double-glazed units
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, you learn that last fall the application was to replace the four front windows with double-glazed units.
Tips: The comment asks what the writer applied for last fall. Find “Last fall I applied” and read the rest of that sentence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- vinyl copies of the sashes: Plastic copies come up only in Blanchette’s warning. The blogger applied for double-glazed units.
- inside storm panels: Storm panels are part of the blogger’s new plan for this spring, not the application made last fall.
- larger picture windows: The writer wanted to replace the old windows, not make them larger.
Correct Answer: the frame looks right from the street
Passage Reference: as long as the frame looks right from the street
Why this is correct: Arvidson would allow modern glass as long as the frame looks right from the street.
Tips: Arvidson’s view has a condition marked by “as long as”. The blank matches what comes after those words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the house passes a fire inspection: Fire inspections are never mentioned. Arvidson’s condition is about how the frame looks.
- the glass is made in Canada: Where the glass is made is never discussed.
- a carpenter installs the new window: Arvidson never says who must install the window. Carpenters come up only in Blanchette’s repair view.
Correct Answer: leads sustainability planning for the city
Passage Reference: Priyanka Coutts, who leads sustainability planning for the city
Why this is correct: The blog post introduces Coutts as the person who leads sustainability planning for the city.
Tips: The blank asks who Coutts is. Look at the words right after her name at the start of the third paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- rebuilds wooden sashes by hand: Rebuilding sashes by hand is Blanchette’s work, not Coutts’s.
- tests older homes for heat loss: Testing older homes is Arvidson’s job as a building scientist.
- runs a window company in the district: No window company appears in the blog post.
Correct Answer: an energy audit before and after the work
Passage Reference: He wants an energy audit before and after the work on every approved window
Why this is correct: Dorval, the association chair, wants an energy audit before and after the work on every approved window.
Tips: The comment calls him “the association chair”. Find what he wants for every approved window and match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a public vote on each new window: Dorval wants public photos, not a public vote on each window.
- a carpenter’s report on every sash: Dorval asks for energy audits, not reports from a carpenter.
- a fixed fee for every replacement permit: No permit fee is mentioned. Dorval’s concern is equal treatment.
Correct Answer: was built in 1889
Passage Reference: My narrow brick house in our city’s oldest heritage district was built in 1889
Why this is correct: The writer’s brick house in the heritage district was built in 1889.
Tips: The comment asks about the writer’s house. Read the first sentence of the post and check what it says about the house.
Why the other options are wrong:
- sits just outside the district: The house is in the city’s oldest heritage district, not outside it.
- already has two new windows: All four front windows are still the originals.
- was built in 1929: The house was built in 1889, forty years earlier than 1929.
