Read the following article from a website.
Manitoba’s education department is deciding this spring whether to expand the skilled-trades programs in its high schools. The plan would pay for new shop equipment, count paid apprenticeship hours toward graduation and give the trades diploma the same official seal as the academic one. A public committee has heard from more than sixty people since January, and its report is due in May.
Remy Daoust, an electrician who arranges apprenticeship placements across the Westman region, says he sees a respect problem, not a talent problem. “Some of my apprentices earned nineties in calculus and picked this work because they enjoy it,” Daoust told the committee. “But as long as the shop classes get old equipment and less money than the academic classes, parents will see the trades as a second choice.” Prudence Cadotte, a guidance counsellor with twenty years in schools, agrees about the respect gap, but she says the bigger barrier is information. “Most families have no idea what an electrician or a welder earns,” Cadotte said. “Every family with a child in Grade 9 should meet a counsellor and look at actual pay and job figures for each path before choosing courses.”
Tariq Chowdhury, who chairs a parent council in Brandon, worries that students will be asked to choose too early. “Nobody should push a fourteen-year-old into a track that would make university harder to reach later,” he said. “Plenty of people change their minds at sixteen. I certainly did. I will support this plan only if students are free to change tracks until the end of Grade 11 and keep their credits,” Chowdhury added.
Trustee Rosalba Dunn says she believes the plan is only as good as its budget. “Building and equipping just one welding shop costs close to a million dollars,” Dunn said. “If the province announces new programs and then cuts the money in three years, we are left with empty rooms and broken promises. I want a commitment to fund these classes for at least ten years.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Most likely, Tariq Chowdhury was 2..
The readers this article is most likely written for are 3..
The main point of the article is that the plan 4..
Prudence Cadotte’s views 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: a plan to grow trades programs in high schools
Why this is correct: Manitoba is deciding whether to expand skilled-trades programs in high schools. Every speaker gives a view on that plan.
Passage Reference: Manitoba’s education department is deciding this spring whether to expand the skilled-trades programs in its high schools.
Tips: Read the quotes from Daoust, Cadotte, Chowdhury and Dunn and check each option with them. The right option is the one that every quote is about.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of electricians in western Manitoba: Daoust is an electrician, but nobody says there are too few of them.
- new rules for university entrance exams: University comes up only in Chowdhury’s worry. No exam rules are discussed.
- a parent council that wants a new principal: Chowdhury chairs a parent council, but nobody talks about a principal.
Correct Answer: a teenager who changed his mind about his future
Passage Reference: Plenty of people change their minds at sixteen. I certainly did.
Why this is correct: Chowdhury says plenty of people change their minds at sixteen. Then he adds that he certainly did, so he changed his own plans as a teenager.
Tips: Read Chowdhury’s quotes one at a time, including the very short ones. Ask what each tells you about him, then test the options.
Why the other options are wrong:
- an electrician before he joined the parent council: The electrician in the article is Daoust. Nothing suggests Chowdhury ever did this work.
- a guidance counsellor for many years: Cadotte is the guidance counsellor with twenty years in schools. Chowdhury chairs a parent council.
- a student who left school at fourteen: Fourteen is the age at which Chowdhury fears students will have to choose. He never says he left school.
Correct Answer: parents and teachers in the province
Passage Reference: Manitoba’s education department is deciding this spring ... The plan would pay for new shop equipment, count paid apprenticeship hours toward graduation and give the trades diploma the same official seal as the academic one.
Why this is correct: The article explains a plan for Manitoba high schools and quotes a parent, a counsellor and a trustee. Parents and teachers across Manitoba would want to know about it.
Tips: Look at what the article does from start to finish. For each kind of reader in the options, ask whether this text gives them something to read it for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- electricians looking for new apprentices: Daoust is an electrician, but the article does not invite anyone to apply. It reports a school decision.
- university students choosing a degree: The plan is about high school programs and diplomas. University comes up only in Chowdhury’s worry about choosing too early.
- builders who want to open welding shops: A welding shop appears only in Dunn’s warning about cost. The article is not written for people who build shops.
Correct Answer: wins support, but people attach conditions to it
Passage Reference: I will support this plan only if ... Trustee Rosalba Dunn says she believes the plan is only as good as its budget.
Why this is correct: Daoust, Cadotte, Chowdhury and Dunn all see value in the plan. Yet each one wants something added, such as clear pay facts or steady funding.
Tips: Hear out all four speakers first. Pick the statement that stays true for the whole article, not for one person.
Why the other options are wrong:
- matters mainly to families of top students: Daoust mentions strong students only to show the trades are not a second choice. The plan is for all high school students.
- will fail because no one trusts the trades: Nobody predicts failure. Daoust even says some strong students chose the trades because they enjoy the work.
- has already been approved for ten years: The department is still deciding. Ten years is how long Dunn wants the money promised, not a decision already made.
Correct Answer: a survey showing most families do not know the pay
Passage Reference: Most families have no idea what an electrician or a welder earns
Why this is correct: Cadotte says most families have no idea what an electrician or a welder earns. A survey showing this would back up her view.
Tips: Read Cadotte’s quotes and the sentence that introduces them. Suppose each option were true, and keep the one that makes her words hardest to argue with.
Why the other options are wrong:
- figures showing fewer jobs for welders each year: Cadotte wants families to see real pay and job figures. Figures showing fewer jobs would not strengthen her case.
- a study of teens who change their career plans: This would support Chowdhury, who wants students free to switch. Cadotte’s point is about missing information.
- a promise to fund trade classes for ten years: Long-term money is what Dunn asks for. It does not show that families lack pay facts.
Correct Answer: sixty
Passage Reference: A public committee has heard from more than sixty people since January
Why this is correct: The article says the committee has heard from more than sixty people since January.
Tips: The commenter talks about people who spoke to the committee. Find the number linked to them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- seventy: Seventy is not in the article.
- eighty: Eighty is not in the article. The figure the article gives is sixty.
- ninety: Ninety is not in the article, and it is higher than the committee’s figure.
Correct Answer: calculus
Passage Reference: Some of my apprentices earned nineties in calculus and picked this work because they enjoy it
Why this is correct: Daoust says he has apprentices who finished calculus with nineties.
Tips: The commenter means the electrician. Find the school subject he names when he talks about high marks.
Why the other options are wrong:
- algebra: Algebra is not mentioned in the article.
- geometry: Geometry is not mentioned in the article.
- statistics: Statistics is not mentioned in the article. Daoust names a different math subject.
Correct Answer: Grade 11
Passage Reference: I will support this plan only if students are free to change tracks until the end of Grade 11 and keep their credits
Why this is correct: Chowdhury will support the plan only if students can switch tracks up to the end of Grade 11.
Tips: The article names more than one school year. Check which one is linked to changing tracks.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Grade 9: Grade 9 is when Cadotte wants families to meet a counsellor.
- Grade 10: Grade 10 is not in the article.
- Grade 12: Grade 12 is not in the article.
Correct Answer: a million dollars
Passage Reference: Building and equipping just one welding shop costs close to a million dollars
Why this is correct: Dunn says a single welding shop costs close to a million dollars to build and equip.
Tips: Look for the trustee’s example of one shop. Find the price she puts on it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- half a million dollars: Dunn gives a bigger amount than this.
- two million dollars: Dunn gives a smaller amount than this.
- three million dollars: Dunn gives a much smaller amount than this.
Correct Answer: May
Passage Reference: A public committee has heard from more than sixty people since January, and its report is due in May.
Why this is correct: The article says the committee’s report is due in May.
Tips: The commenter wants to read the report. Find the month the article gives for it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- March: March is not mentioned in the article.
- April: April is not mentioned in the article.
- June: June is not mentioned in the article.
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