Passage Reference: Thank you for your lovely note! At first, I was surprised that you and Nicolas didn’t get the place close to town.

Tips: For why a letter was written, ask what each paragraph adds. Notice how Sarah reacts to what Jenny sent before she talks about herself.

Why the other options are wrong:

• invite her to spend the holidays in Vancouver: Invite her to spend the holidays in Vancouver reverses the plan. Sarah says she will come to visit Jenny for the holidays.
• complain about the art fundraiser committee: Complain about the art fundraiser committee turns one story into the main point. The payment problem is only part of her news, and it was solved in the end.
• ask for advice about finding a new job: Sarah does not ask Jenny for advice. She already has a new job at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Correct Answer: the building was being sold

Passage Reference: I had to move as my landlord was putting the house on the market. It was actually a relief because I wasn’t too happy in that basement suite as there simply wasn’t enough light.

Why this is correct: Sarah moved because the building was being sold. Her landlord had put the house on the market.

Tips: Separate the event that caused a move from a detail that made the move welcome.

Why the other options are wrong:

• the rent was too high for the space: The rent was too high for the space gives a money reason, but Sarah says the landlord's sale forced the move.
• she didn't get along with the landlord: She didn't get along with the landlord invents a personal conflict that Sarah never describes.
• her basement apartment was too dark: Her basement apartment was too dark explains why leaving felt like a relief, not why she had to leave.

Correct Answer: she can get around town easily

Passage Reference: It's also very close to the transit line, which was a major deciding factor since I don't own a car.

Why this is correct: The new apartment is very close to the transit line. Sarah calls this a major deciding factor because she does not own a car. So she can get around town easily.

Tips: Notice phrases such as major deciding factor because they identify the most important reason.

Why the other options are wrong:

• she has a great view of the city: A view is never mentioned. The top floor is praised for its light and windows.
• it's more affordable than her previous place: It's more affordable than her previous place is factually wrong because the new rent is a little higher.
• the apartment is small and easy to clean: Sarah never says the small size is a benefit. Transit is the major deciding factor.

Correct Answer: sold paintings in a fundraising event

Passage Reference: At first I was happy because I ended up selling all five of my paintings. The buyers took my paintings home, and the fundraiser committee wrote down which paintings I had sold, or so I thought!

Why this is correct: Sarah sold paintings in a fundraising event. In fact, buyers purchased all five paintings she offered.

Tips: Track who did each action at the charity auction. The committee ran it, so ask what Sarah herself did.

Why the other options are wrong:

• taught art in a high school program: Taught art in a high school program mistakes the fundraiser's cause for Sarah's role as a participating artist.
• organized an art event for charity: Organized an art event for charity assigns Sarah the committee's job, although she was invited to sell her work.
• helped some artists sell their work: Helped some artists sell their work shifts the sales to other artists, while Sarah sold her own five paintings.

Correct Answer: a list of art pieces that were sold went missing

Passage Reference: It turns out that they had lost their record book and didn't have any verification of my sales!

Why this is correct: A list of art pieces that were sold went missing. Without the record book, the committee could not verify Sarah's sales.

Tips: Check pronouns carefully so you know exactly who lost the important record.

Why the other options are wrong:

• buyers only paid part of what they owed her: Buyers only paid part of what they owed her wrongly blames the buyers, who reported the full amounts they had paid.
• she lost the record of her sales: She lost the record of her sales names the wrong person because the organizing committee lost its book.
• some paintings were taken without her knowledge: Some paintings were taken without her knowledge describes theft, but the buyers properly bought the paintings and took them home.

Correct Answer: got a new job

Passage Reference: I decided it was time for a more conventional job, so I got a position at the Vancouver Art Gallery, taking visitors through the exhibitions.

Why this is correct: After the fundraiser, Sarah got a new job. She now guides visitors through exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Tips: Follow time signals such as after and so to connect a problem with the decision that followed it.

Why the other options are wrong:

• moved to a new apartment: Sarah moved because her landlord was selling the house. The fundraising problem led her to seek a more stable job.
• moved to another city: Moved to another city invents a relocation, while Sarah names a new position at a Vancouver gallery.
• enrolled in a high school art program: Enrolled in a high school art program confuses Sarah with the students whose programs were receiving fundraiser money.

Correct Answer: quite dark

Passage Reference: It was actually a relief because I wasn’t too happy in that basement suite as there simply wasn’t enough light.

Why this is correct: Sarah's old home was quite dark. She says the basement suite did not have enough light.

Tips: Match a describing word in the reply with a detail that has the same meaning in the first message.

Why the other options are wrong:

• too small: Too small borrows the size of Sarah's new apartment instead of the lighting problem in her old basement suite.
• too expensive: Too expensive points to cost, but Sarah only says the rent at her new home is slightly higher.
• quite strange: Quite strange gives an opinion about the old home that neither Sarah nor Jenny expresses.

Correct Answer: an artist,

Passage Reference: I finally had enough when 10 other artists and I were invited to auction our paintings to raise money for high school art programs.

Why this is correct: The words an artist, correctly identify Sarah's creative work. She paints and sells her own paintings.

Tips: Identify a person's occupation from the work they repeatedly do, not from the event they attend.

Why the other options are wrong:

• an art fundraiser,: An art fundraiser, is an event or organizer role, while Sarah attended the event to auction her paintings.
• a musician,: A musician, works with music, but every creative activity Sarah mentions involves painting.
• an art teacher,: An art teacher, confuses Sarah with the high school programs that received money from the auction.

Correct Answer: on the coast

Passage Reference: After all, the weather is so very different from the coast.

Why this is correct: Jenny and Nicolas's old place was on the coast. Sarah compares Saskatchewan's weather with the coastal weather they knew before.

Tips: When two places are compared, mark which one is the old location and which one is the new location.

Why the other options are wrong:

• in an apartment: In an apartment describes Sarah's present home, not Jenny and Nicolas's former place.
• in a basement: In a basement refers to Sarah's old suite and has no connection to the couple's rainy former region.
• in Saskatchewan: In Saskatchewan is their new location, so it cannot be the old place Jenny compares it with.

Correct Answer: the missing sales records after the art show

Passage Reference: It turns out that they had lost their record book and didn't have any verification of my sales!

Why this is correct: Jenny is sorry about the missing sales records after the art show. The lost book delayed Sarah's payment and caused many phone calls.

Tips: Summarize the problem by naming both what disappeared and when it happened.

Why the other options are wrong:

• the theft of your paintings: The theft of your paintings changes completed purchases into a crime, although the buyers paid and took the art openly.
• the cancellation of the art show: The cancellation of the art show is impossible because the auction happened and all five paintings sold.
• the closure of the school art program: No program is closing. The event was raising money to help programs like this.

Correct Answer: stop painting full-time

Passage Reference: I decided it was time for a more conventional job, so I got a position at the Vancouver Art Gallery, taking visitors through the exhibitions.

Why this is correct: Sarah felt she had to stop painting full-time. She chose stable gallery employment after the difficult sale.

Tips: Use the new job and the words about stability to infer what changed in Sarah's career.

Why the other options are wrong:

• stop looking for employment: Stop looking for employment reverses Sarah's action because she searched for and obtained a conventional job.
• move to another place: Move to another place repeats an earlier housing event rather than the career decision caused by the fundraiser.
• stop attending fundraising events: Stop attending fundraising events is too narrow because Sarah says she changed her full-time work, not merely her event attendance.