Read the following article from a website.
For the first time, the Harbour Lights Fiction Award, Nova Scotia’s best-known prize for a first novel, may accept books that authors published themselves. The prize committee will decide in April whether to open the competition, which comes with $15,000 and a promotional tour of provincial libraries. Until now, only books from traditional publishers could enter. Last year, about one in four new novels by Nova Scotia writers was self-published.
Arlette Gendron, a Lunenburg writer, published her first novel herself after forty rejections from agents. “Doing it myself was the only door that ever opened for me,” Gendron said. “I chose my own cover, set my own release date and have now sold about three thousand copies. That is more than many books from big publishers.” She says leaving self-published writers out of the prize tells readers they are second class.
Tobin Erskine, a freelance editor in Halifax, welcomes the change but has a warning. “The judges could receive four hundred books instead of eighty,” Erskine said. “Careful work gets buried when nothing has been filtered first. The judges are volunteers.” He wants every entry to come with proof that a professional editor has worked on it. Winifred Farrow, a literary agent, worries that new writers will skip the hard part. She has represented first-time novelists for eighteen years. “Rejection is not always a locked gate,” Farrow said. “Sometimes it is the most useful advice a writer will ever get.”
Ahmed Gill, who owns a bookstore in Truro, already stocks a shelf of self-published local titles. “Some of my best sellers last year came from writers nobody had heard of,” Gill said. “But I only take a book if the author can show me an editor’s name and a plan for a launch event.” He thinks the prize should use the same test, and he has written to the committee to say so. “Readers trust a prize, and the prize has to earn that trust,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
The main point of the article is that 2..
Most likely, Winifred Farrow sees rejection as 3..
The readers this article is most likely written for are 4..
Ahmed Gill thinks that a prize with no quality test would lead to 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: opening a fiction prize to self-published books
Why this is correct: The fiction award may accept books that authors published themselves. All four people quoted react to this possible change.
Passage Reference: For the first time, the Harbour Lights Fiction Award, Nova Scotia’s best-known prize for a first novel, may accept books that authors published themselves.
Tips: Look for each option in what Gendron, Erskine, Farrow and Gill say. The topic is the thread that runs through what every speaker says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new bookstore opening in Truro: Gill already owns a bookstore in Truro. Nothing new is opening.
- a library tour by local authors: A library tour is part of the prize, not the main subject.
- the high cost of hiring an editor: Editing comes up, but nobody talks about what it costs.
Correct Answer: the change has support, but some want limits on it
Passage Reference: welcomes the change but has a warning ... He thinks the prize should use the same test
Why this is correct: Gendron and Gill back opening the prize, and Erskine welcomes it. But Erskine wants proof of editing, Gill wants a quality test, and Farrow worries about new writers.
Tips: Read what Gendron, Erskine, Farrow and Gill say. Keep the statement the whole article backs up, and drop one person’s claim.
Why the other options are wrong:
- self-published books now sell better than most others: Gendron says her sales beat many books from big publishers. That is one writer’s claim, not the article’s point.
- the committee has already agreed to open the prize: The committee will decide in April. Nothing says it has already agreed.
- rejection by agents always ends a writer’s hopes: Farrow says rejection can be useful advice. No one says it always ends a writer’s hopes.
Correct Answer: something that can help a writer grow
Passage Reference: Sometimes it is the most useful advice a writer will ever get.
Why this is correct: Farrow says rejection is sometimes the most useful advice a writer will ever get. So she sees it as a way for writers to improve.
Tips: Read Farrow’s quoted sentences and the lines the reporter adds about her. Test each option against them, and drop any that sounds like another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- proof that agents treat writers unfairly: Farrow is an agent herself and never calls agents unfair.
- a reason for writers to publish on their own: This fits Gendron’s story. Farrow worries that new writers will skip the hard part.
- a problem the prize should fix: Farrow does not link rejection to the prize at all.
Correct Answer: people in the province who follow local books
Passage Reference: Last year, about one in four new novels by Nova Scotia writers was self-published.
Why this is correct: The article reports a Nova Scotia prize decision with local writers, an editor, an agent and a bookseller. Readers in the province who follow books would want it.
Tips: Read the whole article once more. For each kind of reader in the options, ask whether they would want this text exactly as it is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- agents looking for new writers to sign: Farrow is one agent quoted, but the article is not written to help agents find clients.
- judges who need the rules for entries: No entry rules are given. The committee has not even decided yet.
- students learning how to edit a novel: Erskine talks about editing, but the article does not teach anyone how to do it.
Correct Answer: readers trusting the award less
Passage Reference: He thinks the prize should use the same test ... Readers trust a prize, and the prize has to earn that trust
Why this is correct: Gill says readers trust a prize, and the prize has to earn that trust. He wants a quality test, so without one the prize could lose that trust.
Tips: Find Gill’s quotes and the lines that report his view. Keep the result his words point to, not the condition in the item line.
Why the other options are wrong:
- strong books getting lost among the rest: This is Erskine’s concern about the judges. Gill talks about trust, not about books being buried.
- new writers skipping the hard part: That is Farrow’s worry about new writers. Gill does not say it.
- self-published writers feeling second class: Gendron says the old rule makes self-published writers seem second class. Gill does not talk about this.
Correct Answer: $15,000
Passage Reference: which comes with $15,000 and a promotional tour of provincial libraries
Why this is correct: The prize comes with $15,000 and a promotional tour of provincial libraries.
Tips: The commenter needs the prize amount. Check what the winner receives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- $10,000: This is less than the prize.
- $20,000: This is more than the prize.
- $25,000: This is more than the prize.
Correct Answer: release date
Passage Reference: I chose my own cover, set my own release date
Why this is correct: Gendron says she chose her own cover and set her own release date.
Tips: Find what the novelist says she controlled when she published on her own. The blank is the item besides the cover.
Why the other options are wrong:
- price: Gendron does not say she set her own price.
- print run: Gendron does not mention a print run.
- book tour: Gendron does not mention a book tour. The tour is part of the prize.
Correct Answer: three thousand
Passage Reference: have now sold about three thousand copies
Why this is correct: Gendron says she has now sold about three thousand copies.
Tips: Find the novelist’s sales figure.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two thousand: Gendron has sold more than this.
- four thousand: Gendron has sold fewer than this.
- thirty thousand: Thirty thousand is far more than Gendron has sold.
Correct Answer: eighty
Passage Reference: The judges could receive four hundred books instead of eighty
Why this is correct: Erskine says the judges could receive four hundred books instead of eighty.
Tips: Look at the editor’s numbers for the judges. The blank is the smaller one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- forty: Forty is the number of Gendron’s rejections, not the usual number of entries.
- one hundred: Erskine does not give this number.
- two hundred: Erskine does not give this number.
Correct Answer: nobody had heard of
Passage Reference: Some of my best sellers last year came from writers nobody had heard of
Why this is correct: Gill says some of his best sellers last year came from writers nobody had heard of.
Tips: Read what the bookstore owner says about the writers behind his most popular titles.
Why the other options are wrong:
- who live in Truro: Gill’s store is in Truro, but he does not say his best sellers came from Truro writers.
- with first novels: Gill does not say the books were first novels.
- who sell online: Gill does not talk about selling online.
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