Read the following article from a website.
The Harbourview Science Centre in Sudbury has $175,000 to spend on new public programs this year, and it cannot afford everything on its list. Its board must choose between a new planetarium show about black holes and a season of free telescope nights in city parks. The board will decide at its meeting on March 12, after hearing from the public this month. More than three hundred people have already filled in an online survey.
Lorenzo Ferraro, the centre’s director, wants the black-hole show. “A good dome show brings in school groups from September to June, and paying visitors on every rainy weekend,” Ferraro said. “Visitors always ask about black holes, and right now we have nothing new to show them.” Amara Gbadamosi, a high school physics teacher, agrees with him. “My students read about dying stars every spring, but the idea stays flat on the page,” Gbadamosi said. “A show in the dome would make it feel real. They would remember it for years,” she added.
Brenda Fogg, who leads the local astronomy club, argues for the telescope nights. “A ticket to the planetarium costs eighteen dollars, and that keeps a lot of families away,” Fogg said. “The telescope nights would be free, and we would hold them in neighbourhoods far from downtown. The first time a child sees the craters on the moon with her own eyes, she never forgets it.” Fogg adds that club members would bring their own telescopes and teach children how to use them.
Councillor Ravi Engel thinks the centre can do a little of both. “Make a shorter show this year, and run the telescope nights once a month from spring to fall,” Engel said. “If the city pays for the club’s insurance at each park, the money goes further. Nobody has to lose.” Fogg says she would accept that plan as long as the nights are held in at least six different parks.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Gbadamosi, her students 2..
Fogg would likely say that the planetarium’s ticket price 3..
Paragraph four mainly presents 4..
This article would most likely be published in 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: how a science centre should spend its money
Why this is correct: The centre cannot afford everything on its list and must choose between two programs. All the speakers talk about this choice.
Passage Reference: Its board must choose between a new planetarium show about black holes and a season of free telescope nights in city parks.
Tips: Compare each option with what Ferraro, Gbadamosi, Fogg and Engel each say. Keep the option that each of them gives a view on, and drop anything nobody discusses.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new school program about the stars: Gbadamosi teaches about stars, but no new school program is planned.
- the price of telescopes for families: Fogg says club members would bring their own telescopes. Telescope prices are not discussed.
- a city plan to build new parks: The telescope nights would use parks that already exist. Nobody plans new parks.
Correct Answer: find the topic hard to picture from a book
Passage Reference: My students read about dying stars every spring, but the idea stays flat on the page
Why this is correct: Gbadamosi says her students read about dying stars every spring. But the idea stays flat on the page, so it is hard for them to picture.
Tips: Look at what Gbadamosi says in her quotes and test every option on those words. Drop any idea she never gives, or one that belongs to Ferraro, Fogg or Engel.
Why the other options are wrong:
- already visit the dome every spring: Gbadamosi says her students read about stars every spring. She does not say they visit the dome.
- would rather go to telescope nights: Gbadamosi agrees with Ferraro and wants the dome show. She does not mention telescope nights.
- cannot pay for a ticket to the centre: The ticket price is Fogg’s concern. Gbadamosi does not talk about cost.
Correct Answer: shuts out children who would love astronomy
Passage Reference: A ticket to the planetarium costs eighteen dollars, and that keeps a lot of families away
Why this is correct: Fogg says the eighteen-dollar ticket keeps a lot of families away. So many children who would enjoy the stars never get the chance.
Tips: Go through Fogg’s quotes one sentence at a time. Keep the statement that follows from her words, and cross out any that comes from Ferraro, Gbadamosi or Engel.
Why the other options are wrong:
- is fair for a show of that quality: Fogg says the price keeps families away. She never calls it fair.
- should go up to pay for the new show: Nobody suggests raising the ticket price. Fogg wants free events instead.
- matters less than the topic of the show: The topic of black holes matters to Ferraro. Fogg’s point is about who can come.
Correct Answer: a plan to do some of each program
Passage Reference: Make a shorter show this year, and run the telescope nights once a month from spring to fall ... Nobody has to lose.
Why this is correct: In paragraph four, Engel suggests a shorter show and telescope nights once a month. Engel says nobody has to lose.
Tips: Reread “Paragraph four” and tell yourself what job it does in a few words. Then pick the choice that names that job, not a detail from another part.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the director’s case for the dome show: Ferraro makes the case for the dome show in paragraph two.
- the club’s offer to lend its telescopes: Fogg says club members would bring their own telescopes in paragraph three.
- the size of the centre’s budget this year: The centre’s budget is given in paragraph one.
Correct Answer: a community newspaper in Sudbury
Passage Reference: The board will decide at its meeting ... More than three hundred people have already filled in an online survey.
Why this is correct: The article reports a choice by a science centre in Sudbury. Local people are giving their views, and many have filled in a survey, so it is local news.
Tips: Read the article once more. For each option, ask whether that publication would print this text as it is, and cross out any that would not.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a magazine for professional astronomers: The article reports a local spending choice. It gives no research that experts would read.
- a guide to buying a home telescope: Nobody gives advice on buying a telescope. Club members would simply bring their own.
- a physics textbook for high schools: Gbadamosi teaches physics, but the article teaches no science. It reports a debate.
Correct Answer: $175,000
Passage Reference: has $175,000 to spend on new public programs this year
Why this is correct: The centre has $175,000 to spend on new public programs this year.
Tips: The commenter needs an amount of money. Check the budget the centre has this year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- $75,000: This is much less than the centre has.
- $150,000: This is a little less than the centre has.
- $750,000: This is far more than the centre has.
Correct Answer: March 12
Passage Reference: The board will decide at its meeting on March 12
Why this is correct: The board will decide at its meeting on March 12.
Tips: Find the date when the board will make its choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- January 12: The meeting is not in January.
- April 12: The meeting is not in April.
- October 12: The meeting is not in October.
Correct Answer: rainy
Passage Reference: A good dome show brings in school groups from September to June, and paying visitors on every rainy weekend
Why this is correct: Ferraro says a dome show brings in paying visitors on every rainy weekend.
Tips: Read the director’s point about paying visitors. The blank describes the kind of weekend he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- holiday: Ferraro does not mention holiday weekends.
- long: Ferraro does not mention long weekends.
- winter: Ferraro does not mention winter weekends.
Correct Answer: the craters on the moon
Passage Reference: The first time a child sees the craters on the moon with her own eyes, she never forgets it.
Why this is correct: Fogg says that the first time a child sees the craters on the moon, she never forgets it.
Tips: Find what the club leader says a young viewer remembers seeing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shooting star: Fogg does not mention shooting stars.
- a ringed planet: Fogg does not mention planets with rings.
- a comet’s tail: Fogg does not mention comets.
Correct Answer: six
Passage Reference: Fogg says she would accept that plan as long as the nights are held in at least six different parks.
Why this is correct: Fogg would accept the plan if the nights are held in at least six different parks.
Tips: Look for the club leader’s condition for accepting the councillor’s plan. It is a number.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eight: Fogg asks for six parks, not eight.
- ten: Ten is more than the number of parks Fogg names.
- twelve: Twelve parks are not mentioned in the article.
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