Read the following message.
Hi Alex,
Thank you for suggesting an evening about how phones affect our attention. Several residents have said they would like to join a discussion but would not attend a lecture about giving up technology completely. I think we can make the event welcoming by focusing on choices people can make in everyday situations.
We have booked the lounge for Thursday from seven to 8:30. Please open with the short example you described: friends sitting together while each follows a different conversation on a phone. After that, ask people to discuss one situation in which a phone helped them and one in which it distracted them. We want both sides of the discussion to be heard.
Participation in the phone-free exercise will be voluntary. Anyone waiting for an urgent call may keep their phone nearby. Please do not collect devices at the door; residents will remain responsible for their own belongings.
I will provide tea and arrange chairs in small circles. Could you bring the printed discussion cards? Twenty copies should be enough. There is no need for a projector, which will save setup time.
At the end, we will invite people to suggest one small change they might try during the following week. We will not ask them to report private messages or track other family members' phone use.
Thanks,
Harper
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given in the message.
2.The lounge is booked for
3.Participants should discuss
4.For the phone-free exercise,
5.Alex will bring
6.At the end, participants are expected to consider
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 like the balanced approach. I will begin with the example of friends whose attention is 7. I will explain that the exercise is 8. and that people may keep a phone for urgent calls. I will bring 9. cards. Since we do not need 10., setup should be straightforward. I will finish by inviting a small change to try 11.
Best,
Alex
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: plan a welcoming discussion about everyday phone choices
Why this is correct: Harper answers Alex's idea and plans the evening with him. They cover the room, the opening example, the discussion, the cards and the ending. Every part keeps the event welcoming and focused on everyday choices. So Harper is writing mainly to plan a welcoming discussion about everyday phone choices.
Passage Reference: I think we can make the event welcoming by focusing on choices people can make in everyday situations.
Tips: Ask what idea shapes every detail Harper gives about the evening. Test each option against the whole message.
Why the other options are wrong:
- arrange a lecture on giving up phones completely: Harper says residents would not attend a lecture about giving up technology completely, so the evening is a discussion instead.
- collect residents' phones for a phone-free evening: Harper says not to collect devices at the door, and the phone-free exercise is voluntary.
- set strict rules for family phone use: Harper says they will not track other family members' phone use. People only suggest one small change for themselves.
Correct Answer: ninety minutes
Passage Reference: We have booked the lounge for Thursday from seven to 8:30.
Why this is correct: The booking runs from 7:00 until 8:30. That time span is ninety minutes.
Tips: Calculate from 7:00 to 8:30 before comparing the duration choices.
Why the other options are wrong:
- seventy-five minutes: Seventy-five minutes would end at 8:15, fifteen minutes before the booking ends.
- one hour: One hour would end at 8:00, leaving the final thirty minutes uncounted.
- two hours: Two hours would run until 9:00, thirty minutes beyond the booking.
Correct Answer: both helpful and distracting phone experiences
Passage Reference: After that, ask people to discuss one situation in which a phone helped them and one in which it distracted them.
Why this is correct: Each person will discuss both helpful and distracting phone experiences. Harper wants the group to hear both sides.
Tips: Notice that the instruction requires one positive and one negative example from each person.
Why the other options are wrong:
- reasons they prefer one phone feature over another: The activity asks about helpful and distracting situations, not which feature each person prefers over another.
- ways their families could reduce phone spending: Family spending is outside the discussion topic described by Harper.
- situations in which phones disturbed other people: The task concerns each participant's own helpful and distracting experiences, not only times phones disturbed other people.
Correct Answer: joining it is optional
Passage Reference: Participation in the phone-free exercise will be voluntary. Anyone waiting for an urgent call may keep their phone nearby.
Why this is correct: The word voluntary means joining it is optional. Residents can decide whether to take part.
Tips: Find where Harper writes about the phone-free exercise. Compare her words with each option, one by one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- people may join only after switching off their phones: People waiting for urgent calls may keep phones nearby, so switching them off is not an entry condition.
- participants must leave their devices with the organizer: Harper clearly says devices must not be collected at the door.
- everyone must finish it before joining the discussion: A voluntary exercise cannot be a requirement everyone must complete before discussion.
Correct Answer: printed discussion cards
Passage Reference: Could you bring the printed discussion cards? Twenty copies should be enough.
Why this is correct: Harper asks Alex to bring printed discussion cards. Harper will handle the tea and chairs.
Tips: Separate Alex's assigned materials from the refreshments and room setup Harper will provide.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a written schedule for each household: No household schedule is part of the event plan.
- printed feedback forms: Harper asks for discussion cards, not feedback forms.
- a set of presentation slides: A projector is unnecessary, so Alex does not need to bring presentation slides.
Correct Answer: a possible small personal change
Passage Reference: At the end, we will invite people to suggest one small change they might try during the following week.
Why this is correct: At the end, each person may suggest a possible small personal change. The idea is something they can try for one week.
Tips: Find what Harper says will happen as the evening closes. Read both sentences about it before you choose.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report on changes already made by each family: The change is something to try next week, not a report about actions families have already taken.
- a record of situations in which other residents use phones: Harper specifically rejects tracking other people's phone use, so participants should not record other residents.
- a commitment to stop phone use during meals: Stopping phone use at meals is one possible idea, but the message does not require that particular commitment.
Correct Answer: split between different phone conversations
Passage Reference: Please open with the short example you described: friends sitting together while each follows a different conversation on a phone.
Why this is correct: The friends' attention is split between different phone conversations. They sit together but follow separate exchanges on their screens.
Tips: Go back to the example of the friends in the letter. Compare those words with each option, one at a time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- drawn to a single message on one friend’s phone: The example has each friend following a different conversation, not everyone watching one friend's message.
- shared equally between the speaker and a screen: Nothing says attention is divided equally between the nearby speaker and a screen.
- focused on the same conversation through their phones: The phone conversations are different, so the friends are not all focused on one shared exchange.
Correct Answer: voluntary
Passage Reference: Participation in the phone-free exercise will be voluntary. Anyone waiting for an urgent call may keep their phone nearby.
Why this is correct: Alex should explain that the exercise is voluntary. People may keep their phones close when an urgent call is expected.
Tips: Let the urgent-call exception confirm that the exercise remains a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- required before the group discussion: Harper does not require the exercise before the discussion. Taking part is optional.
- completed at home before the meeting: The exercise takes place at the event, not as homework completed in advance.
- restricted to residents expecting a call: Residents expecting urgent calls may keep phones close, but the exercise is not restricted only to them.
Correct Answer: twenty
Passage Reference: Twenty copies should be enough. There is no need for a projector, which will save setup time.
Why this is correct: Alex will bring twenty printed cards. Harper states that this number of copies is enough.
Tips: Connect the stated copy count directly to the printed cards Alex must bring.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fifteen: Harper asks for twenty copies, not fifteen.
- thirty: Thirty copies exceed the stated twenty that should be enough.
- twenty-five: Twenty-five is never mentioned as the number of cards.
Correct Answer: a projector
Passage Reference: There is no need for a projector, which will save setup time.
Why this is correct: The event does not need a projector. Leaving it out will make setup faster.
Tips: Scan for where Harper mentions saving setup time. Read what she says the evening can do without.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a seating arrangement: Harper will arrange chairs, so a seating arrangement is still required.
- a set of discussion cards: The discussion cards are needed and Alex is asked to bring them.
- a supply of refreshments: Tea will be provided, so refreshments remain part of the plan.
Correct Answer: during the following week
Passage Reference: At the end, we will invite people to suggest one small change they might try during the following week.
Why this is correct: The small change should be tried during the following week. It is a short experiment after the event.
Tips: Find the task Harper plans for the close of the evening. Then read when people are meant to try it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- during the opening exercise: The change is suggested at the end, so it is not tried during the opening exercise.
- before Thursday’s discussion: Trying it before Thursday would place the experiment before participants choose it.
- at the next monthly meeting: No monthly follow-up meeting is mentioned in the message.
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