Read the following article from a website.
The board of Okanagan Paws, an animal shelter in Kelowna, will vote next month on raising the adoption fee for dogs from seventy-five dollars to two hundred and fifty dollars. The fee for cats would rise from forty dollars to one hundred and twenty. Last year, one in every six animals adopted from the shelter was brought back within three months, and the board says those returns are the main reason for the plan.
Constance Hargrove, the shelter’s director, says a higher fee would make people stop and think. “When adopting a dog costs less than a pair of shoes, some people adopt on impulse,” Hargrove said. “When the price means something, families think twice, and fewer dogs come back to us.” She adds that every returned animal costs her staff many hours of extra care. “A dog that comes back is often more frightened than when it left. It can take weeks before it is ready again,” Hargrove said.
Ingo Jaeger, who coordinates the shelter’s foster homes, says a flat increase would hurt the wrong people. “Some of the most loyal owners I know are renters and newcomers without much money,” Jaeger said. “Price them out, and you do not get fewer returns. You just get fewer good homes.” In two nearby cities, he notes, the fee already slides up or down with a family’s income. Wairimu Ivey, a veterinary technician, says the money is not the real issue. “The price matters less than the talk at the desk,” she said. “A family that leaves without advice on food, training and vet visits will struggle, whatever it paid,” Ivey added. She wants every adopter to have a thirty-minute session with staff first.
Councillor Bashir Ismail, who sits on the shelter board, will support a trial but wants a way out. “Report the return rate every month for a year,” Ismail said. “Then we will know whether the fee changed anything. If the numbers do not move, the board must be free to put the old fee back.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
At the moment, Bashir Ismail is willing to back the plan 2..
Everyone quoted in the article wants 3..
This article is most likely written for 4..
Most likely, Constance Hargrove has 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 proposal to charge more for adopting pets
Why this is correct: The shelter board will vote on raising adoption fees for dogs and cats. The director, the coordinator, the technician and the councillor all react to it.
Passage Reference: will vote next month on raising the adoption fee for dogs
Tips: Several speakers each push their own concern. Ask what the board will actually vote on, and make sure your choice covers that vote and nothing smaller.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a second shelter: No new building is mentioned in the article.
- a new rule that every dog wear a tag: Tags are not mentioned in the article.
- a drive to find more foster families: Jaeger runs foster homes, but no drive for new families is planned.
Correct Answer: only if it can be undone later
Passage Reference: will support a trial but wants a way out ... If the numbers do not move, the board must be free to put the old fee back.
Why this is correct: Ismail will support a trial but wants a way out. Ismail says the board must be free to put the old fee back if the numbers do not move.
Tips: Read the line that introduces Ismail and every sentence Ismail says. Test each option against those words, and drop conditions that come from other speakers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- only if the fee for cats stays the same: Ismail does not mention the cat fee. The condition is about undoing the change.
- only if families with less money pay less: Fees that change with income are Jaeger’s idea. Ismail does not ask for them.
- only if every adopter gets advice first: Advice sessions are Ivey’s wish. Ismail does not mention them.
Correct Answer: adopted pets to stay in their homes
Passage Reference: fewer dogs come back to us ... you do not get fewer returns ... Report the return rate every month for a year
Why this is correct: Hargrove wants fewer dogs to come back, and Jaeger says a flat fee will not cut returns. Ivey warns that families without advice will struggle, so she wants adoptions to last. Ismail will track the return rate.
Tips: Go through Hargrove, Jaeger, Ivey and Ismail in turn. An option is right only if each of them, in their own words, shows they want it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the fee to slide with a family’s income: Only Jaeger points to fees that slide with income. Hargrove wants a higher flat fee.
- a talk with staff before each adoption: Only Ivey asks for a session with staff. The others do not mention advice.
- the right to bring back the old fee: Only Ismail asks for a way to put the old fee back.
Correct Answer: people who live in the area
Passage Reference: The board of Okanagan Paws, an animal shelter in Kelowna, will vote next month
Why this is correct: The article reports a vote by a Kelowna shelter’s board. It quotes the people who work with that shelter, so it suits local readers.
Tips: Read the reporter’s facts outside the quotes once more. Ask which readers this news is meant for, and test each option that way.
Why the other options are wrong:
- veterinarians reading about new research: Ivey works with animals, but no new research is reported.
- dog breeders looking for buyers: Breeders are not mentioned. The article is about a shelter’s fees.
- renters searching for a new apartment: Renters come up in Jaeger’s point about owners. The article gives no housing advice.
Correct Answer: cared for many dogs that came back upset
Passage Reference: A dog that comes back is often more frightened than when it left. ... It can take weeks before it is ready again
Why this is correct: Hargrove says a dog that comes back is often more frightened than when it left. She speaks from experience, so she has most likely cared for many such dogs.
Tips: Read everything Hargrove says, quoted or reported. Work out what her words suggest about her own experience, then check each option against that.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fostered many dogs in her own home: Jaeger coordinates the foster homes. Nothing says Hargrove fosters dogs herself.
- run training sessions for new owners: Training talks are what Ivey wants to add. Nothing says Hargrove runs them.
- worked in a city with a sliding fee: Fees that slide with income are used in nearby cities, as Jaeger notes. Nothing links Hargrove to them.
Correct Answer: seventy-five dollars
Passage Reference: the adoption fee for dogs from seventy-five dollars
Why this is correct: The plan would raise the dog fee from seventy-five dollars to two hundred and fifty dollars.
Tips: The article gives old and new fees for two kinds of animals. Pick the old fee for dogs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- sixty dollars: Sixty dollars is not in the article.
- eighty-five dollars: Eighty-five dollars is not in the article.
- forty dollars: Forty dollars is the current fee for cats, not dogs.
Correct Answer: six
Passage Reference: one in every six animals adopted from the shelter was brought back within three months
Why this is correct: Last year, one in every six animals adopted from the shelter was brought back.
Tips: Find last year’s figure for animals that were brought back. It is given as one in a certain number.
Why the other options are wrong:
- four: Four is not in the article.
- five: Five is not in the article.
- ten: Ten is not in the article.
Correct Answer: a pair of shoes
Passage Reference: When adopting a dog costs less than a pair of shoes, some people adopt on impulse
Why this is correct: Hargrove says that when adopting a dog costs less than a pair of shoes, some people adopt on impulse.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the director’s comparison. Find the everyday item she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a tank of gas: Gas is not mentioned in the article.
- a night out: A night out is not mentioned in the article.
- a winter coat: A coat is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: two
Passage Reference: In two nearby cities, he notes, the fee already slides up or down with a family’s income.
Why this is correct: Jaeger notes that in two nearby cities, the fee already slides up or down with a family’s income.
Tips: The commenter means the foster coordinator. Find how many other places he says already use this kind of fee.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three: Three is not the number Jaeger gives.
- four: Four is not in the article.
- five: Five is not in the article.
Correct Answer: one hundred and twenty dollars
Passage Reference: The fee for cats would rise from forty dollars to one hundred and twenty.
Why this is correct: Under the plan, the fee for cats would rise from forty dollars to one hundred and twenty.
Tips: Look at the plan in the article. Find the new fee for cats, not for dogs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one hundred dollars: The new cat fee is higher than one hundred dollars.
- one hundred and fifty dollars: The new cat fee is lower than this.
- one hundred and ten dollars: This amount is not in the article.
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