Read the following article from a website.
Halifax council will vote next month on changes to the city’s noise bylaw for apartment buildings. The plan would set quiet hours from ten at night to seven in the morning, allow fines of two hundred and fifty dollars, and create a free mediation service so neighbours can talk before anyone is fined. Complaints about apartment noise reached nearly three thousand last year, about twice the number from five years ago.
Cosmo Ingram, a baker who rents a third-floor unit, says the problem is real for people who start work early. “My alarm goes off at four, and some nights the music upstairs does not stop until two,” Ingram said. “I have tried earplugs and a fan. Nothing works against a bass speaker on the floor above my bed.” He says he called the building manager three times in one week, and nothing changed.
Dorian Jankowski, who manages four apartment buildings for a property company, supports the fines. “A clear rule with a real cost is the only thing some tenants listen to,” Jankowski said. “Right now my staff knock on doors at midnight, and the next weekend it starts again,” he added. Beatriz Ilunga, who organizes a tenants’ group in the north end, wants the city to start with mediation instead. “Most noisy neighbours have no idea how far the sound travels,” she explained. “A fine makes enemies. A calm talk with a trained person in the room often fixes the problem for good,” Ilunga said.
Engineer Soraya Hamdan, who tests sound in older buildings, says many fights start with the building itself. “In a lot of older apartments, an ordinary walk across the kitchen sounds like stomping to the people below,” Hamdan said. “Foam panels on the wall do almost nothing for that. A thick rug with a pad under it helps far more,” she added. Ilunga says landlords should pay for rugs in the worst units. Jankowski replies that a rug is a tenant’s choice, not an owner’s bill.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Dorian Jankowski’s position would likely be supported by 2..
Everyone quoted in the article wants 3..
The author presents the dispute as 4..
At present, Cosmo Ingram feels 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 change to the city’s rules on home noise
Why this is correct: Council will vote on changes to the noise bylaw for apartment buildings. Every person in the article talks about this plan.
Passage Reference: Halifax council will vote next month on changes to the city’s noise bylaw for apartment buildings.
Tips: Check every option against Ingram, Jankowski, Ilunga and Hamdan, speaker by speaker. If an option fits most of the people quoted, it is probably the topic.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build quieter apartment towers: Nobody plans new buildings. Hamdan talks about older buildings that already exist.
- a new tax on owners of rental buildings: The plan has fines for noise, not a tax on owners.
- a training course for property staff: Jankowski’s staff are mentioned, but no course is planned for them.
Correct Answer: a building where fines ended repeat complaints
Passage Reference: A clear rule with a real cost is the only thing some tenants listen to
Why this is correct: Jankowski says a clear rule with a real cost is the only thing some tenants listen to. A building where fines ended repeat noise would prove his point.
Tips: Read every sentence that belongs to Jankowski. For each option, ask whether that fact would make his case more convincing or whether it fits another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study showing calm talks settle most disputes: This fits Ilunga, who says a calm talk often fixes the problem. It does not help the case for fines.
- tests showing rugs block the sound of footsteps: This backs Hamdan’s advice about rugs. Jankowski even says a rug is a tenant’s choice.
- a survey of tenants who feel unheard by managers: Tenants who feel unheard fit Ingram’s story about calling his manager. They do not show that fines work.
Correct Answer: fewer disturbances between people who live close together
Passage Reference: I have tried earplugs and a fan. ... the next weekend it starts again ... A calm talk with a trained person in the room often fixes the problem for good ... A thick rug with a pad under it helps far more
Why this is correct: Ingram has tried earplugs and a fan, and Jankowski is tired of noise that starts again. Ilunga wants the problem fixed for good, and Hamdan suggests rugs that help.
Tips: Test each option on Ingram, Jankowski, Ilunga and Hamdan, one person at a time. An option survives only if each of them, in their own words, would want it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- landlords to pay for thick rugs: Ilunga asks for this, but Jankowski says a rug is a tenant’s choice, not an owner’s bill.
- fines for tenants who break the rules: Jankowski supports fines, but Ilunga says a fine makes enemies.
- a talk with a mediator before any fine: Ilunga wants mediation first. Jankowski prefers fines, and Ingram and Hamdan do not mention it.
Correct Answer: an argument that is still going on
Passage Reference: Ilunga says landlords should pay for rugs in the worst units. Jankowski replies that a rug is a tenant’s choice, not an owner’s bill.
Why this is correct: The reporter lets Ilunga and Jankowski answer each other about rugs, and the vote is still a month away. The argument is not over.
Tips: Cover the quoted words and read the sentences the reporter writes alone. Test each choice against those sentences only.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a problem that tenants alone have caused: The reporter never blames tenants. Hamdan even says many fights start with the building itself.
- a silly quarrel over small sounds: The reporter gives real figures and serious views. Nothing makes fun of the complaints.
- a matter the council has already settled: Council will vote next month, so nothing is settled.
Correct Answer: let down by the person who runs his building
Passage Reference: He says he called the building manager three times in one week, and nothing changed.
Why this is correct: Ingram says he called the building manager three times in one week, and nothing changed. So he feels let down by the person in charge of his building.
Tips: Read Ingram’s quotes and the sentence the reporter adds about him. Keep the option those lines show is true for him now.
Why the other options are wrong:
- happy with the earplugs he bought: Ingram says he tried earplugs and a fan, and they did not solve the problem.
- angry at the city for its new fines: The fines are only a plan, and Ingram never blames the city.
- ready to move to a quieter town: Ingram never says he wants to move. He wants the noise at night to stop.
Correct Answer: ten at night
Passage Reference: set quiet hours from ten at night to seven in the morning
Why this is correct: The plan would set quiet hours from ten at night to seven in the morning.
Tips: The comment already gives one of the two times. Find where the plan sets out the hours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eight at night: Eight at night is not in the plan.
- nine at night: Nine at night is not in the plan.
- eleven at night: Eleven at night is not in the plan. Quiet hours start earlier.
Correct Answer: three thousand
Passage Reference: Complaints about apartment noise reached nearly three thousand last year
Why this is correct: Complaints about apartment noise reached nearly three thousand last year.
Tips: This blank needs a count of complaints. Find where the article reports last year’s total.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three hundred: The article gives a much bigger number.
- two thousand: Two thousand is not in the article.
- five thousand: Five thousand is not in the article. Five is the number of years in the comparison.
Correct Answer: a bass speaker
Passage Reference: Nothing works against a bass speaker on the floor above my bed.
Why this is correct: Ingram says nothing works against a bass speaker on the floor above his bed.
Tips: The commenter means the baker. Find what he says keeps him awake upstairs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a drum kit: Drums appear only in the comment. Ingram talks about a speaker.
- an electric guitar: A guitar is not mentioned in the article.
- a home theatre system: A home theatre is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: midnight
Passage Reference: Right now my staff knock on doors at midnight
Why this is correct: Jankowski says his staff knock on doors at midnight, and the next weekend it starts again.
Tips: The property manager describes what his staff do now. Find the hour he mentions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one o’clock: One o’clock is not in the article. Jankowski gives an earlier time.
- two o’clock: Two is when the music upstairs from Ingram stops. It is not when Jankowski’s staff knock.
- half past ten: This time is not in the article. Quiet hours would start at ten.
Correct Answer: how far the sound travels
Passage Reference: Most noisy neighbours have no idea how far the sound travels
Why this is correct: Ilunga says most noisy neighbours have no idea how far the sound travels.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the organizer’s view of noisy people. Find what she says they do not understand.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how thin the walls are: Ilunga talks about sound, not about the walls. Walls are Hamdan’s topic.
- how late it has become: Ilunga does not say noisy people lose track of time.
- how many people complain: Ilunga does not mention the number of complaints.
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