Read the following article from a website.
Every June, an international car race brings thousands of visitors to the island track in Montreal. The contract to host the race ends next year, and the city and the province must decide whether to sign a new one. Right now, public money pays a large share of the hosting fee. A city council committee held a public meeting last week, and more than three hundred people came, many of them from the streets near the track.
Josiane Champagne, who speaks for the city’s hotel association, says she sees the race as good business. “Race weekend fills our rooms from top to bottom,” Champagne told the committee. “Without the race, many of those rooms would sit empty in early June. That weekend, you cannot get a table at any restaurant between the Old Port and the Plateau.” She calls the fee an investment that comes back through sales and hotel taxes. Farouk Dib, an economist at a Montreal university, is not so sure. “Those spending studies include money that people from Montreal would have spent here regardless,” Dib said. “Before any new deal is signed, I want an independent count of visitors from outside Quebec.”
Councillor Ilse Dagenais, who lives near one of the bridges to the island, hears from residents every June. “When the bridges close, people who need to reach a hospital are trapped,” she said. “Some families simply leave town for the weekend,” Dagenais said. Her price for backing a new deal is free shuttle buses running from the metro and a quiet track by seven in the evening.
Barnaby Corbin, who teaches mechanical engineering at a college in Longueuil, believes the race pushes young people toward science. “My students light up when they learn how a car body can survive a crash at high speed,” Corbin said. “I would like the next contract to let local college students visit the team garages. That is something no textbook can give them,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
The reporter’s tone is 2..
Farouk Dib’s views would likely be supported by 3..
The main point of the article is that a new race contract 4..
Most likely, Barnaby Corbin sees the race as 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 public money should keep paying for a car race
Why this is correct: The contract to host the race ends next year, and public money pays a large share of the fee. Every speaker talks about whether to sign a new deal.
Passage Reference: The contract to host the race ends next year, and the city and the province must decide whether to sign a new one.
Tips: Check each option against what Champagne, Dib, Dagenais and Corbin say. Wrong options often take a word from the article and build something nobody says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a new bridge to the island: The bridges come up only because they close on race weekend. Nobody plans a new one.
- a college program that trains race car drivers: Corbin teaches engineering, not driving.
- rising hotel prices in the Old Port: Hotel prices are not discussed in the article.
Correct Answer: even-handed and informative
Passage Reference: Farouk Dib, an economist at a Montreal university, is not so sure.
Why this is correct: The reporter gives the hotel view, then notes that Dib is not so sure. Each side is reported in plain words, and the reporter adds no opinion.
Tips: Read only the reporter’s own sentences, outside the quotation marks. Check every choice against those sentences.
Why the other options are wrong:
- doubtful about the hotel figures: Doubt about spending studies is Dib’s view. The reporter reports it without agreeing or disagreeing.
- excited about race weekend: Champagne is the one who praises race weekend. The reporter only reports her words.
- angry about the bridge closures: Dagenais raises the bridge problem in her own words. The reporter does not show anger.
Correct Answer: a count showing most race visitors are local people
Passage Reference: Those spending studies include money that people from Montreal would have spent here regardless
Why this is correct: Dib says spending studies include money that Montreal people would have spent anyway. A count showing most visitors are local would back Dib’s doubt.
Tips: Read each of Dib’s quoted sentences. Ask which option would make them more convincing, and drop facts that help another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- figures showing hotels are full on race weekend: Full hotels support Champagne, who speaks for the hotel association. Dib questions such spending claims.
- a study of students who visit team garages: Garage visits are Corbin’s idea for college students. They say nothing about money spent in the city.
- complaints about closed bridges near the track: Bridge closures are Dagenais’s concern for residents. They do not test Dib’s point about spending.
Correct Answer: would bring money but also problems for some
Passage Reference: Race weekend fills our rooms from top to bottom ... Some families simply leave town for the weekend
Why this is correct: Champagne sees full hotels and Corbin sees learning for students. Dagenais says people near the bridges are trapped and some families leave town, so the race also brings problems.
Tips: Read all four speakers before choosing. Keep the statement that fits the article from start to finish, and drop any that one speaker disproves.
Why the other options are wrong:
- has lost the support of the whole city: Champagne and Corbin both want the race to stay. So it still has support.
- would be signed whatever residents say: Nothing has been signed yet. A committee is still hearing from the public, including residents near the track.
- matters only to hotel and restaurant owners: Residents, an economist and a college teacher also speak. Many groups care about the decision.
Correct Answer: a real-life lesson for his own students
Passage Reference: My students light up when they learn how a car body can survive a crash at high speed ... That is something no textbook can give them
Why this is correct: Corbin says his students light up when they learn how a car body survives a crash. He wants them in the team garages, which no textbook can match.
Tips: Read every sentence Corbin says. Test each option against his words, and drop any that another speaker would say.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a hard weekend for families near the track: Dagenais describes trouble for residents near the bridges. Corbin does not discuss residents.
- a poor use of the city’s money: Corbin never questions the cost. Dib is the one who doubts the spending figures.
- a business that mostly helps hotels: Hotels are Champagne’s focus. Corbin talks about what students can learn.
Correct Answer: three hundred
Passage Reference: A city council committee held a public meeting last week, and more than three hundred people came, many of them from the streets near the track.
Why this is correct: The article says more than three hundred people came to the committee’s public meeting last week.
Tips: The commenter is talking about the public meeting. Find how many people the article says came.
Why the other options are wrong:
- four hundred: Four hundred is not in the article.
- six hundred: Six hundred is not in the article.
- one thousand: A thousand people is far more than the article reports.
Correct Answer: Plateau
Passage Reference: That weekend, you cannot get a table at any restaurant between the Old Port and the Plateau.
Why this is correct: Champagne says that on race weekend you cannot get a table at any restaurant between the Old Port and the Plateau.
Tips: The commenter repeats the hotel spokesperson’s picture of busy restaurants. Find the two places she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Mile End: Mile End is not mentioned in the article.
- Village: The Village is not mentioned in the article.
- Westmount: Westmount is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: Quebec
Passage Reference: I want an independent count of visitors from outside Quebec.
Why this is correct: Dib wants an independent count of visitors from outside Quebec.
Tips: The commenter means the economist’s request. Find the place he names for the visitors he wants counted.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Montreal: Dib wants visitors from outside the province, not only the city.
- Canada: Dib does not talk about visitors from outside Canada.
- North America: Dib does not talk about North America.
Correct Answer: metro
Passage Reference: free shuttle buses running from the metro
Why this is correct: Dagenais would back a new deal only if free shuttle buses ran from the metro.
Tips: The commenter likes the councillor’s idea for buses. Find where she wants them to start.
Why the other options are wrong:
- train station: A train station is not mentioned in the article.
- bus terminal: A bus terminal is not mentioned in the article.
- city hall: City hall is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: seven
Passage Reference: a quiet track by seven in the evening
Why this is correct: Dagenais wants a new deal to end track noise by seven in the evening.
Tips: The blank needs an hour. Find the time the councillor gives for quiet evenings.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six: Dagenais gives a later hour than six.
- eight: Dagenais gives an earlier hour than eight.
- nine: Nine is not in the article.
The rest of this explanation is for members. Sign in free to read why the other options are wrong, key words and tips.
Sign in to read the full explanation