Read the following article from a website.
The school board in Moncton is debating whether every high school student should complete a unit on public speaking. Under the proposal, students would give at least three short talks in front of their classmates during Grade 10. The board heard from teachers, students and parents at a meeting on Tuesday night, and it will vote in February.
Trustee Colette Gaudreau, who brought the idea forward, says employers keep asking for it. “Local business owners tell us that young people with strong résumés freeze when they have to answer questions out loud,” Gaudreau said. “Speaking is a skill like reading or math. We would never make math optional.” She says the unit would take about six weeks of English class time and could start as early as next September.
Patrick Esquivel, an English teacher at a Moncton high school, worries about students with anxiety. “Some of my students are bright and hard-working, but standing in front of thirty people makes them feel sick,” Esquivel said. “They should not lose marks just for being nervous. A few of them have panic attacks before oral exams,” he added. He suggests that these students could film a talk at home, or speak to four or five classmates rather than the whole room.
Maya Ferrier, a Grade 11 student, told the board about her own first talk. “The first time I spoke in front of a class, it counted for a quarter of my mark,” Ferrier said. “If the first two talks were just for practice, I would have been fine.” She supports the unit, but only if the early talks are not graded. Ken Ewing, who runs a public speaking club at the city library, says practice matters far more than talent. “Nobody is born a good speaker,” Ewing said. “Our members improve because they speak every single week. Some of them could barely say their own name at first.” He has offered to send club volunteers into classrooms to give friendly feedback.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Gaudreau, local business owners 2..
All of the people quoted seem to agree that 3..
This article would most likely appear in 4..
Most likely, Maya Ferrier was 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 teach public speaking in high school
Why this is correct: The board is debating a required unit on public speaking. Everyone quoted talks about this plan.
Passage Reference: The school board in Moncton is debating whether every high school student should complete a unit on public speaking.
Tips: Test each option against Gaudreau, Esquivel, Ferrier and Ewing, one by one. Watch for options that sound close to the text but go further than anyone says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new club at the city library: Ewing already runs a club at the library. It is not new, and it is not the main subject.
- a job fair for young people: Gaudreau mentions employers, but there is no job fair in the article.
- a test for English teachers: Esquivel is an English teacher, but nobody talks about testing teachers.
Correct Answer: find that good résumés do not prove speaking skill
Passage Reference: Local business owners tell us that young people with strong résumés freeze when they have to answer questions out loud
Why this is correct: Gaudreau says business owners see young people with strong résumés freeze when they must answer questions out loud. So a good résumé does not show that someone can speak well.
Tips: Go through Gaudreau’s quoted sentences slowly. Choose the option that one of them says in different words, and drop anything she never says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would rather hire members of the library club: Ewing runs the library club. Gaudreau never says employers prefer its members.
- want math to become an optional subject: Gaudreau uses math as a subject nobody would make optional. Business owners do not ask for this.
- have offered to train students for free: Ewing offers club volunteers for classrooms. No business owner offers training.
Correct Answer: students should give talks in some form
Passage Reference: Speaking is a skill like reading or math. ... He suggests that these students could film a talk at home, or speak to four or five classmates rather than the whole room. ... She supports the unit, but only if the early talks are not graded. ... Our members improve because they speak every single week.
Why this is correct: Gaudreau calls speaking a skill, and Ferrier supports the unit. Esquivel suggests other ways for nervous students to give a talk. Ewing says his members improve by speaking every week.
Tips: Test each option on Gaudreau, Esquivel, Ferrier and Ewing in turn. Drop any option that even one of them would reject or never touches.
Why the other options are wrong:
- early talks should not count toward marks: Only Ferrier asks for ungraded early talks. Gaudreau and Ewing say nothing about marks.
- the unit should begin next September: Gaudreau says the unit could start then. No one else talks about when it begins.
- speaking well is a gift people are born with: Ewing says the opposite: nobody is born a good speaker. No one else claims it either.
Correct Answer: a local paper for families in the city
Passage Reference: The board heard from teachers, students and parents at a meeting on Tuesday night
Why this is correct: The article reports a local school board meeting and the views of Moncton teachers, students and parents. A local newspaper prints this kind of news.
Tips: Go back over the whole article. For each place in the options, picture its users and ask if they would want this text as it is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a guide for people afraid of public speaking: The article gives no advice on beating nerves. It only reports what different people think of a plan.
- a national journal of anxiety research: No research is reported. The article covers one city’s school board debate.
- a newsletter for library club members: Ewing’s club is only one voice. The story is about a school board vote that concerns many families.
Correct Answer: nervous during her first graded talk
Passage Reference: If the first two talks were just for practice, I would have been fine.
Why this is correct: Ferrier says she would have been fine if the early talks were only practice. So the graded first talk was hard for her, most likely because she was nervous.
Tips: Read every line that belongs to Ferrier, quoted or reported. Test each option against those lines, and cross out any her words go against or never support.
Why the other options are wrong:
- proud of the mark on her first talk: Ferrier suggests the graded talk went badly for her. Nothing shows she was proud of her mark.
- bored by the practice talks in class: Ferrier says the early talks were not just for practice. So there were no practice talks to be bored by.
- already a member of the speaking club: Ferrier is a Grade 11 student. Nothing in the article links her to Ewing’s club.
Correct Answer: three
Passage Reference: Under the proposal, students would give at least three short talks in front of their classmates during Grade 10.
Why this is correct: Under the proposal, students would give at least three short talks.
Tips: Find the smallest number of talks each student would give.
Why the other options are wrong:
- four: Four is more than the number in the proposal.
- five: Five is more than the number in the proposal.
- ten: Ten is far more than the number in the proposal.
Correct Answer: February
Passage Reference: it will vote in February
Why this is correct: The board will vote in February.
Tips: Check the month when the board will make its decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- December: December is not mentioned in the article.
- January: January is not mentioned in the article.
- April: April is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: sick
Passage Reference: standing in front of thirty people makes them feel sick
Why this is correct: Esquivel says standing in front of thirty people makes some students feel sick.
Tips: Read how the English teacher describes the way some students react to speaking to a crowd.
Why the other options are wrong:
- shy: Esquivel does not use this word.
- dizzy: Esquivel does not say his students feel dizzy.
- frozen: Esquivel does not use this word. Gaudreau says young people freeze when they answer questions out loud.
Correct Answer: a quarter
Passage Reference: it counted for a quarter of my mark
Why this is correct: Ferrier says her first talk counted for a quarter of her mark.
Tips: Find how much of her grade the student’s first talk was worth.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a tenth: A tenth is less than the share Ferrier gives.
- half: Half is more than the share Ferrier gives.
- all: Ferrier says the talk was only part of her mark.
Correct Answer: friendly feedback
Passage Reference: He has offered to send club volunteers into classrooms to give friendly feedback.
Why this is correct: Ewing has offered to send club volunteers into classrooms to give friendly feedback.
Tips: Read the club leader’s offer to schools. The blank is what his volunteers would bring.
Why the other options are wrong:
- practice talks: Ewing’s volunteers would not give talks. They would give feedback.
- short lessons: Ewing does not offer lessons.
- free workshops: Ewing does not offer workshops.
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