Read the following article from a website.
Willowmere city council has voted to study a ban on single-use plastic checkout bags, and a final decision is expected in September. If the ban passes, grocery stores, pharmacies and other shops would no longer be allowed to hand out thin plastic bags at the till. Shoppers would bring their own bags or pay for paper ones. The idea has drawn strong reactions from residents and store owners.
Councillor Hortense Dufresne, who proposed the ban, says the bags cause problems long after shoppers throw them away. “On one cleanup day in May, volunteers pulled more than nine hundred bags out of the riverbank,” she said. “Many of them were tangled in the willows, where birds build their nests.” Dufresne points out that several other Canadian cities already ban the bags. “Their shoppers got used to it within a year, and ours can too,” she said.
Nikolai Czerny, an engineer at the city’s recycling plant, supports the ban for a different reason. “Plastic bags wrap around our sorting machines, and we stop the line almost every day to cut them free,” Czerny explained. “If the bags were gone, the line would run through a whole shift without those stops. These bags are made from oil and gas, and most are used for only a few minutes.” Babajide Cole, who owns a small grocery on Elm Street, supports the idea in principle, but he is anxious about money. “Paper bags cost me four times as much as plastic ones,” Cole said. “I also have two storerooms full of plastic bags that I have already paid for. Give me six months to use them up before the rule starts.”
Saanvi Dhillon, who runs the local food bank, worries that poorer families would feel the ban most. “Many of our clients walk home with their groceries, and they cannot afford sturdy bags,” she said. “A family should not have to choose between food and something to carry it in,” Dhillon added. She is asking the city to hand out free reusable bags before the ban begins.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph two mainly presents 2..
Nikolai Czerny thinks that a ban would lead to 3..
This article would most likely appear in 4..
Saanvi Dhillon would likely say that the ban 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: a possible ban on plastic checkout bags
Why this is correct: Council has voted to study a ban on plastic checkout bags. Every person in the article gives a view on that ban.
Passage Reference: Willowmere city council has voted to study a ban on single-use plastic checkout bags
Tips: Ask what council is deciding. Every speaker in the article reacts to that decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new recycling plant for the city: The recycling plant already exists. Czerny works there.
- a cleanup day along the riverbank: The cleanup day is one example Dufresne gives. It is not the main topic.
- rising food prices at local stores: Food prices are not discussed in the article.
Correct Answer: the reasons the ban was first put forward
Passage Reference: Councillor Hortense Dufresne, who proposed the ban, says the bags cause problems long after shoppers throw them away.
Why this is correct: Paragraph two belongs to Councillor Dufresne, who proposed the ban. She explains why she wants it, from bags on the riverbank to cities that already ban them.
Tips: Go back to the part of the article the item line points to and note what its speaker is trying to show. Then pick the choice that matches, not a point made elsewhere.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the cost of switching from plastic to paper: The price of paper bags comes from Cole, the grocery owner. His worry appears in paragraph three, not paragraph two.
- the trouble bags cause at the recycling plant: The sorting machines are Czerny’s point. Dufresne talks about the riverbank and birds, not the plant.
- a plan to hire more crews to clean the river: Dufresne mentions one cleanup day by volunteers. Nobody in the article talks about hiring cleanup crews.
Correct Answer: a sorting line that rarely has to stop
Passage Reference: we stop the line almost every day to cut them free ... If the bags were gone, the line would run through a whole shift without those stops.
Why this is correct: Czerny says the plant stops the line almost every day to cut bags free. Without the bags, Czerny says, it would run a whole shift without stopping.
Tips: Read every sentence Czerny says. Choose the result his own words predict, and drop results that other speakers talk about.
Why the other options are wrong:
- lower prices for paper bags in shops: Czerny does not talk about paper bags. Cole is the one who mentions their price, and he says they cost more.
- more bags pulled out of the river: The riverbank cleanup is Dufresne’s example. A ban would mean fewer bags there, not more.
- extra work cutting bags out of machines: Cutting bags free is the work the plant does now. Czerny expects that work to end, not grow.
Correct Answer: a local paper for people who live in the city
Passage Reference: Willowmere city council has voted to study a ban ... The idea has drawn strong reactions from residents and store owners.
Why this is correct: The article reports a decision by Willowmere city council. It quotes local residents and store owners, so it suits a paper read in that city.
Tips: Read the reporter’s own sentences, then picture each place in the options printing them. Keep the place where these sentences would fit with no changes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a nature journal about birds that nest by rivers: Birds come up only once, in Dufresne’s cleanup example. The article is about shops and shoppers, not wildlife.
- a guide that teaches families how to recycle: The article does not tell readers what to do. It reports what different people think about a possible ban.
- a trade magazine for companies that make plastic: No plastic maker is quoted, and the article is about one city’s shops. It is not aimed at that industry.
Correct Answer: could force some families into hard choices
Passage Reference: A family should not have to choose between food and something to carry it in
Why this is correct: Dhillon says a family should not have to choose between food and something to carry it in. So she fears the ban could push some families into a hard choice.
Tips: Read Dhillon’s quotes and the line about what she is asking for. Keep the option her words lead to, and drop views that belong to Czerny or Cole.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would mainly help the city’s recycling plant: The recycling plant is Czerny’s reason for the ban. Dhillon talks about food bank clients, not the plant.
- should wait so shops can use up old stock: Using up old bags is Cole’s request for his grocery. Dhillon asks for free reusable bags instead.
- is a bad idea that council should drop: Dhillon never asks council to drop the ban. She wants free bags handed out before it begins.
Correct Answer: nine hundred
Passage Reference: volunteers pulled more than nine hundred bags out of the riverbank
Why this is correct: Dufresne says volunteers pulled more than nine hundred bags out of the riverbank in one day.
Tips: The blank needs a number of bags. Find what the volunteers collected on the cleanup day.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ninety: This is much smaller than the number in the article.
- three hundred: This number is not in the article.
- two thousand: This is more than the number in the article.
Correct Answer: willows
Passage Reference: Many of them were tangled in the willows, where birds build their nests.
Why this is correct: Dufresne says many of the bags were tangled in the willows, where birds build their nests.
Tips: The commenter repeats what the councillor says about where the bags were caught. Find that place.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cattails: Cattails are not mentioned in the article.
- bushes: Bushes are not mentioned in the article.
- fences: Fences are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: a few minutes
Passage Reference: These bags are made from oil and gas, and most are used for only a few minutes.
Why this is correct: Czerny says the bags are made from oil and gas, and most are used for only a few minutes.
Tips: The commenter is quoting the engineer. Find how long he says most bags are in use.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one shopping trip: Czerny gives a time, not a number of trips.
- a single day: Czerny gives a shorter time than a day.
- an hour or two: Czerny gives a shorter time than this.
Correct Answer: two storerooms
Passage Reference: I also have two storerooms full of plastic bags that I have already paid for.
Why this is correct: Cole says he has two storerooms full of plastic bags that he has already paid for.
Tips: The commenter talks about the grocery owner’s old stock. Find where he says he keeps it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a basement: A basement is not mentioned in the article.
- three shelves: Shelves are not mentioned in the article.
- a back room: Cole names a different place for his stock.
Correct Answer: a year
Passage Reference: Their shoppers got used to it within a year, and ours can too
Why this is correct: Dufresne says shoppers in other cities got used to the ban within a year.
Tips: The commenter is thinking about other cities. Find how long the councillor says people there needed.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a week: Dufresne gives a much longer time than a week.
- a month: Dufresne gives a longer time than a month.
- six months: Six months is the time Cole asks for, not how long other cities needed.
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