Read the following message.
Dear Murphy,
With our anniversary coming up, I wanted to put into words something I do not say often enough: thank you for being such a patient partner. The past two years have brought more changes than either of us expected. Moving into an unfinished house while starting a new job was hardly the quiet beginning we had imagined.
At first, I treated every unfinished task as something we had to solve immediately. I stayed up comparing kitchen plans and became frustrated when deliveries were delayed. You kept reminding me that the house could improve a little at a time. Looking back, those evening walks you suggested helped more than another hour spent checking prices online.
I was particularly grateful for your help when my parents stayed with us during repairs to their apartment. Space was limited, and I worried about everyone getting in each other's way. You rearranged your study so they would have a comfortable place to sleep, even though it meant working at the dining table for several weeks. You never made them feel that they were an inconvenience.
Now that our daughter has started school, I am learning to leave room in our schedule for things that are not on a task list. I still find it difficult to ask for help, but you have shown me that sharing a problem is better than silently trying to manage it alone. Being able to talk honestly with you is what I value most.
For our anniversary, I would rather spend a quiet afternoon together than organize a large party. The kitchen can wait one more weekend. I hope the coming year brings us fewer projects and more time to enjoy the life we are building.
With love,
Maria
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given in the message.
2.Maria's view of the house has become
3.Murphy moved his work to the dining table, which let him
4.During the renovation, Maria found she coped better when she could
5.Maria admits that she still cannot easily
6.Her comment about the kitchen suggests that
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 (▾).
Your letter means a lot to me. I remember how difficult it was to combine the house project with 7. We were both adjusting to a great deal at once.
I am glad that making room for 8. helped you worry less while they were here. Working at the dining table was a small adjustment compared with having everyone feel welcome.
I agree that we should 9. There will always be another task to complete, but that should not stop us enjoying time together. For our anniversary, I will keep the afternoon free so we can 10. There is no need to invite a crowd.
As for the coming year, please remember that 11. You do not need to wait until you have solved everything before talking to me.
With love,
Murphy
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: thank her partner for patient support
Why this is correct: Maria opens with a clear thank-you to Murphy for being a patient partner. The rest of the letter gives examples of that patience. So her main reason for writing is to thank her partner for patient support.
Passage Reference: thank you for being such a patient partner
Tips: Ask what feeling runs through the whole letter. Maria says it directly once, then gives examples of it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ask her partner to finish renovating sooner: She wants fewer projects, not faster renovation.
- persuade her parents to shorten visits: She is grateful they stayed, not asking them to leave sooner.
- explain why she is changing jobs: The new job is background, not her purpose.
Correct Answer: more willing to accept gradual progress
Passage Reference: the house could improve a little at a time
Why this is correct: She now accepts that the house can improve a little at a time.
Tips: Compare how Maria felt about the unfinished house when they moved in with how she feels now. Notice what Murphy kept telling her.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eager to finish every room at once: That was her earlier attitude.
- focused on price checks to fix delays: She says walks helped more than checking prices.
- ready to move before further changes: She wants to enjoy the life they are building there.
Correct Answer: give her parents a place to sleep
Passage Reference: You rearranged your study so they would have a comfortable place to sleep
Why this is correct: He rearranged his study so her parents would have a comfortable place to sleep.
Tips: Find where Maria describes what Murphy did with his study. Read the reason in that same sentence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- create a study area for their daughter: The study change was for the parents.
- avoid repairs in his study: Repairs were to the parents apartment.
- help Maria compare kitchen plans: Kitchen plans were her earlier habit, not his reason.
Correct Answer: take evening walks instead of more planning
Passage Reference: those evening walks you suggested helped more than another hour spent checking prices online
Why this is correct: The evening walks helped more than another hour checking prices.
Tips: Find where Maria looks back on the renovation and says what helped her. Test each option against that part.
Why the other options are wrong:
- check delivery updates late at night: That was the stressful habit she moved away from.
- finish the kitchen before other plans: She says the kitchen can wait.
- keep concerns private until work ended: She is learning to share problems.
Correct Answer: ask for help when she has a problem
Passage Reference: I still find it difficult to ask for help
Why this is correct: She still finds it difficult to ask for help.
Tips: Use the difficulty she still names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- welcome her parents into their home: She was grateful they stayed.
- decide whether her daughter starts school: School has already started.
- see why Murphy needed his own study: She understood the sacrifice he made.
Correct Answer: their anniversary should come before chores
Passage Reference: The kitchen can wait one more weekend.
Why this is correct: She prefers a quiet afternoon together and says the kitchen can wait one more weekend.
Tips: Read the kitchen line together with the sentence just before it. Maria is choosing between two ways to spend the day.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a delayed delivery arrives that weekend: No delivery is expected that weekend.
- Murphy should finish the kitchen as a gift: She wants time together, not kitchen work.
- the kitchen no longer needs any changes: She only postpones it, not cancels all changes.
Correct Answer: your new job
Passage Reference: Moving into an unfinished house while starting a new job
Why this is correct: They combined the unfinished house with Maria starting a new job.
Tips: Pair the house project with the new job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- our daughter's first school term: School comes later in the letter.
- my parents move to the city: Her parents visited. They did not move in for good.
- your parents new business: No new business is mentioned.
Correct Answer: your parents in my study
Passage Reference: You rearranged your study so they would have a comfortable place to sleep
Why this is correct: Murphy made room in his study so her parents could sleep there.
Tips: Think about who stayed with them during the repairs. Then find which room Murphy changed for them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- our daughter in the kitchen: Their daughter is not the guest in that memory.
- visitors at the dining table: He worked at the dining table. The guests slept in the study.
- a home office in their apartment: The parents apartment was under repair.
Correct Answer: allow time together even when tasks remain unfinished
Passage Reference: leave room in our schedule for things that are not on a task list
Why this is correct: Both want time together rather than waiting until every task is done.
Tips: Maria says she is learning to leave room in the schedule. Choose the idea that means the same, not the old habit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- finish every project before arranging outings: That is the old pattern she is leaving.
- replace our walks with more time comparing prices: The walks were helpful. Checking prices was not.
- complete the kitchen during our anniversary afternoon: The kitchen can wait.
Correct Answer: spend some quiet time together
Passage Reference: spend a quiet afternoon together than organize a large party
Why this is correct: Maria wants a quiet afternoon together rather than a large party.
Tips: Match her preferred anniversary plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- host the large party we originally planned: She prefers not to organize a large party.
- help your parents move their furniture: That is not the anniversary plan.
- complete the remaining kitchen work: The kitchen can wait.
Correct Answer: we can work through concerns together
Passage Reference: sharing a problem is better than silently trying to manage it alone
Why this is correct: Sharing a problem is better than silently managing it alone.
Tips: Find what Maria says she values most. Murphy is asking her to keep doing that in the year ahead.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every concern needs an immediate decision: She is learning not to treat every task as urgent.
- household plans should come before other activities: She wants fewer projects and more shared time.
- you should bring me only problems you have resolved: He wants her to talk before everything is solved.
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