Read the following article from a website.
Every morning at seven, a forty-seat plane leaves the small regional airport in Kestrel Falls for Toronto, and on most days more than half of its seats are empty. The airline that flies the route says it loses money on every trip, and for the past four years the town has paid it about one million dollars a year to keep the daily service. That agreement ends in June. Council will vote in March on whether to sign a new five-year deal.
Councillor Bram Dekker wants the payments to stop. “We are a town of eleven thousand people paying a big-city price for a plane most of us never board,” Dekker said. “That million dollars could repave every road on the east side in three years.” He adds that the airline has asked for more money twice since the first deal was signed. “Every time we say yes, the bill grows. At some point a town has to admit that a service is not working.”
Philippa Castillo, who runs a company that repairs mining equipment and employs sixty people, says the flight is the reason her business is still in town. “My clients fly in from Calgary and Chile, and they will not drive five hours from the city to see our shop,” Castillo said. “If the flight goes, I would probably keep the workshop here but move my sales office south. That means the best-paid jobs leave first.” Ezra Dabrowski, a family doctor at the local clinic, says he sees the flight as a health service. “Some of my patients go to Toronto for hospital treatment three times a month,” Dabrowski said. “With the morning flight they are home by dinner. Without it, each visit becomes two nights in a hotel, and some of them will simply skip appointments.”
Wiebke Coutu, a transportation researcher who has studied small airports across Ontario, says the town is asking the wrong question. “Paying forever is a mistake, but so is cutting the only link in one vote,” Coutu said. “The deals that work set a passenger target, and the payment shrinks every year the airline meets it,” Coutu explained. Dekker is not persuaded. “Targets are easy to write down,” he said. “What I want is a date when the payments stop.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Ezra Dabrowski would likely say that losing the flight 2..
Paragraph four mainly describes 3..
Overall, the article suggests that 4..
Wiebke Coutu’s position would likely be supported by 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: whether a town should keep funding an air service
Why this is correct: Kestrel Falls pays an airline to keep a daily flight, and council must decide on a new deal. Every speaker gives a view on that payment.
Passage Reference: for the past four years the town has paid it about one million dollars a year to keep the daily service
Tips: Go through Dekker, Castillo, Dabrowski and Coutu, asking each time if the option fits. A minor fact from one person’s story cannot be the topic of the whole article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a larger airport near Toronto: Toronto is only where the plane goes. Nobody plans a new airport.
- a shortage of family doctors in small towns: One doctor speaks about his patients. The article is not about a lack of doctors.
- a mining company moving its workshop south: Castillo says she would keep the workshop in town. Only her sales office might move.
Correct Answer: would make some patients miss care
Passage Reference: some of them will simply skip appointments
Why this is correct: Dabrowski says that without the morning flight, each visit becomes much harder. He warns that some of his patients will simply skip appointments.
Tips: Read all of Dabrowski’s quotes. Then compare each answer with his own words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would save the clinic money: Dabrowski does not talk about the clinic’s money. He talks about patients’ trips.
- would matter only to business owners: Dabrowski sees the flight as a health service, so it matters to patients too.
- would bring more doctors to town: Dabrowski never says the flight affects how many doctors work in town.
Correct Answer: a middle way and a reply to it
Passage Reference: says the town is asking the wrong question ... Dekker is not persuaded.
Why this is correct: In paragraph four, Coutu says paying forever and cutting the link are both mistakes, and suggests a shrinking payment. Dekker then answers that he wants an end date.
Tips: Reread “Paragraph four” and say in your own words what it does. Then match each choice against it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the cost of the current deal: The million dollars a year is explained in paragraph one.
- the airline’s reasons for its losses: Nothing in the article explains why the airline loses money. No airline voice is quoted.
- why one firm depends on the service: Castillo explains why her company needs the flight in paragraph three.
Correct Answer: some rely on the service while others question its cost
Passage Reference: for the past four years the town has paid it about one million dollars a year to keep the daily service
Why this is correct: Castillo’s business and Dabrowski’s patients depend on the flight. Dekker says the town pays a big-city price for a plane most people never board.
Tips: Think about the article as a whole, not one speaker. Choose the claim that most of the quoted people would accept as a fair summary.
Why the other options are wrong:
- most residents fly to Toronto each month: Dekker says most people in town never board the plane. Only some patients travel often.
- the airline has offered to lower its price: Dekker says the airline has asked for more money twice. It has not offered less.
- council has already chosen to end the deal: Council will vote in March. No decision has been made.
Correct Answer: towns where payments shrank as passengers grew
Passage Reference: The deals that work set a passenger target, and the payment shrinks every year the airline meets it
Why this is correct: Coutu says the deals that work set a passenger target, and the payment shrinks each year the target is met. Examples of such towns would back her up.
Tips: Read Coutu’s quotes closely. For each option, ask whether it would show her idea working, or whether it helps someone else’s case.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study showing road repairs cost a million: Road repairs are part of Dekker’s case for stopping the payments. They say nothing about how a deal should work.
- clients who refuse to drive from the city: This would help Castillo’s argument for keeping the flight. It does not test Coutu’s idea of shrinking payments.
- families who travel for hospital visits: Hospital trips are Dabrowski’s reason for keeping the flight. Coutu talks about the design of the deal.
Correct Answer: seven
Passage Reference: Every morning at seven, a forty-seat plane leaves the small regional airport in Kestrel Falls for Toronto
Why this is correct: The article says the plane leaves every morning at seven.
Tips: The blank needs a time of day. Find where the article first describes the plane’s daily trip.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six: The article gives a later time than six.
- eight: The article gives an earlier time than eight.
- nine: Nine o’clock is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: east side
Passage Reference: That million dollars could repave every road on the east side in three years.
Why this is correct: Dekker says the million dollars could repave every road on the east side in three years.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the councillor’s idea for the money. Find the part of town he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- north shore: The north shore is not mentioned in the article.
- west end: The west end is not mentioned in the article.
- old town: The old town is not mentioned in the article. Dekker names a different part of town.
Correct Answer: Calgary and Chile
Passage Reference: My clients fly in from Calgary and Chile
Why this is correct: Castillo says her clients fly in from Calgary and Chile.
Tips: Find the business owner’s words about the people who visit her shop. She names the places they come from.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Halifax and Mexico: Neither place is mentioned in the article.
- Vancouver and Peru: Neither place is mentioned in the article.
- Winnipeg and Brazil: Neither place is mentioned in the article. Castillo names two other places.
Correct Answer: two nights in a hotel
Passage Reference: Without it, each visit becomes two nights in a hotel
Why this is correct: Dabrowski says that without the flight, each visit becomes two nights in a hotel.
Tips: The commenter is quoting the doctor. Find what he says each treatment visit would turn into.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a long bus ride each way: Buses are not mentioned in the article.
- a week away from home: Dabrowski never says a trip would take a week.
- two days of driving: Dabrowski does not talk about driving.
Correct Answer: June
Passage Reference: That agreement ends in June.
Why this is correct: The article says the town’s agreement with the airline ends in June.
Tips: Two months appear in the article. Check which one is the vote and which one is when the deal runs out.
Why the other options are wrong:
- March: March is when council will vote. The deal ends later.
- September: September is not mentioned in the article.
- December: December is not mentioned in the article.
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