Read the following message.
Hi Lila,
I am sending the arrangements for our neighbourhood bird survey next weekend. Last year's volunteers covered the lake but missed several streets beside the park. This time, we will divide the area into three routes so that the quieter streets are included. Your team will take the western route, starting outside the library.
Please meet your two teammates at 7:30 on Saturday. Count only birds you can identify confidently. If you are unsure, write a description in the notes column instead of guessing a species. We are interested in reliable observations, not in which team reports the largest total.
The route should take about an hour. Afterwards, everyone will meet at the park shelter, where Ravi will collect the completed sheets. Please give him the original sheet even if you have photographed it for your own records. He needs the originals to check that no route has been counted twice.
We will continue in light rain, but if there is a storm warning, I will email everyone by six that morning to postpone the survey. Do not assume it is cancelled merely because the sky is cloudy.
I have attached the route map and recording sheet. Please print one sheet for your team. Binoculars are useful but not essential, so nobody needs to buy a pair for this event.
Thanks,
Daniel
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given in the message.
2.Lila will begin
3.If unsure, a volunteer should
4.The main purpose of Daniel's message is to
5.Ravi needs original sheets
6.Postponement would be caused by
Here is a response to the message. Complete the response by filling in the blanks. Select the best choice for each blank from the drop-down menu (▾).
I will meet the team at 7. and bring one printed recording sheet. If we cannot identify a bird confidently, we will 8. After completing the route, we will give 9. to Ravi at the shelter. I understand that 10. does not automatically cancel the event. I will check my email for any postponement notice at 11.
Best,
Lila
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: some areas were missed last year
Why this is correct: Daniel notes that last year's volunteers covered the lake but missed several streets beside the park. So some areas were missed last year, and this time the new routes include the quieter streets.
Passage Reference: Last year's volunteers covered the lake but missed several streets beside the park.
Tips: Look for the old problem immediately before the passage explains a new plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the library moved to the western route: No move is mentioned.
- all volunteers requested shorter shifts: No such request is stated.
- the lake route is now permanently closed: No closure is stated.
Correct Answer: outside the library
Passage Reference: Your team will take the western route, starting outside the library.
Why this is correct: Lila's team has the western route. That route begins outside the library.
Tips: Distinguish where a route starts from where everyone meets after it ends.
Why the other options are wrong:
- at the lake entrance: The assigned start is the library.
- at the park shelter: That is the meeting point afterwards.
- at the front desk with Ravi: Ravi collects sheets at the shelter.
Correct Answer: record a description
Passage Reference: If you are unsure, write a description in the notes column instead of guessing a species.
Why this is correct: An unsure volunteer should describe the bird in the notes. Record a description follows Daniel's instruction without making a guess.
Tips: When the instruction says instead of, choose the action before that phrase and reject the action after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask another team to add it to their total: This risks duplicate recording and is not instructed.
- choose the most likely species: The instruction prohibits guessing.
- leave the bird unrecorded entirely: A description should be recorded.
Correct Answer: send her the plans for the bird survey
Passage Reference: I am sending the arrangements for our neighbourhood bird survey next weekend. Last year's volunteers covered the lake but missed several streets beside the park.
Why this is correct: Daniel opens by saying he is sending the arrangements for next weekend's bird survey. Then he gives Lila her route, the meeting time, the counting rules and what to do with the sheets. So he is writing mainly to send her the plans for the bird survey.
Tips: For the purpose of a whole message, ask what all the paragraphs add up to. Then check that each one fits your choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask her to buy binoculars for her team: Daniel says binoculars are not essential and nobody needs to buy a pair.
- tell her the survey has been postponed: The survey will be postponed only if there is a storm warning. In that case, Daniel would email by six that morning.
- invite her to a bird-counting contest: Daniel says he is not interested in which team reports the largest total. So this is not a contest.
Correct Answer: to check for duplicate route records
Passage Reference: He needs the originals to check that no route has been counted twice.
Why this is correct: Ravi uses the original sheets to see whether any route appears twice. He needs them to check for duplicate route records.
Tips: The words he needs often introduce the exact purpose of an object.
Why the other options are wrong:
- to choose the team with most birds: The survey is not a competition.
- to decide who must buy binoculars: Nobody needs to buy binoculars.
- to replace the attached route map: The map and sheets have different uses.
Correct Answer: a storm warning
Passage Reference: We will continue in light rain, but if there is a storm warning, I will email everyone by six that morning to postpone the survey.
Why this is correct: Daniel says a storm warning would cause the survey to be postponed. Light rain and cloud cover alone would not.
Tips: Separate weather that is acceptable from the one official condition that postpones the event.
Why the other options are wrong:
- volunteers having no binoculars: Binoculars are optional.
- light rain: The survey continues in light rain.
- ordinary cloud cover: Clouds alone do not cancel it.
Correct Answer: 7:30
Passage Reference: Please meet your two teammates at 7:30 on Saturday.
Why this is correct: Daniel tells Lila to meet her teammates at 7:30. She repeats that meeting time in her reply.
Tips: Label each time by event before choosing, especially email time and meeting time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 8:30: That is roughly after the hour-long route.
- 6:00: That is the postponement notice deadline.
- 9:00: The stated start is 7:30.
Correct Answer: describe it in the notes
Passage Reference: If you are unsure, write a description in the notes column instead of guessing a species.
Why this is correct: Daniel asks volunteers to note a description when identification is uncertain. Describe it in the notes keeps the observation useful without guessing.
Tips: A reply may shorten an instruction, so match its meaning rather than looking only for identical wording.
Why the other options are wrong:
- guess the commonest species: Daniel clearly says not to guess.
- leave every uncertain bird out without comment: A description is requested.
- add the bird to another team’s count: No such reassignment is instructed.
Correct Answer: the original sheet
Passage Reference: Please give him the original sheet even if you have photographed it for your own records.
Why this is correct: Ravi must receive the team's actual completed form. Lila should give him the original sheet, even if she keeps a photo.
Tips: Find Daniel's note about what to hand to Ravi. Read the whole sentence and the one after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- our binoculars for checking: Equipment collection is not requested.
- only our photograph: Daniel clearly asks for the original sheet.
- a newly redrawn route map: He requests the recording sheet.
Correct Answer: light rain
Passage Reference: We will continue in light rain, but if there is a storm warning, I will email everyone by six that morning to postpone the survey.
Why this is correct: The survey will still happen during light rain. Therefore, light rain does not automatically cancel the event.
Tips: Read the negative idea does not cancel carefully, because it asks for acceptable weather.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a storm warning: That triggers postponement.
- an emailed postponement: That would clearly postpone the event.
- a notice cancelling the survey: That would cancel it.
Correct Answer: six that morning
Passage Reference: We will continue in light rain, but if there is a storm warning, I will email everyone by six that morning to postpone the survey.
Why this is correct: Daniel promises to send any postponement email by six that morning. Lila should check for the notice at that time.
Tips: For a notice, choose the time that comes before the planned activity begins.
Why the other options are wrong:
- noon the following day: The notice is before Saturday’s survey.
- eight-thirty after finishing: That would be too late for the stated notice.
- seven-thirty that evening: The notice comes before the morning start.
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