Read the following article from a website.
Guelph city council will decide in November whether to offer free Wi-Fi in five of its largest parks. Under the plan, small routers would go on light poles near playgrounds and picnic shelters, at a cost of about forty thousand dollars in the first year. Parks staff say the idea came from comment cards collected last summer, when visitors asked again and again for a way to get online outdoors. Opinions at city hall are split.
Marisol Kettering, the parks planner who wrote the proposal, says the signal would help students most. “Every evening I see teenagers doing homework at the picnic tables until it gets dark,” she said. “A park with a good signal and good lighting is a safe place to study. Right now they have nowhere else to go.” Kettering adds that the routers would cost far less than longer library hours. “For the price of one extra library hour a week, we can cover a whole park,” she explained.
Dariusz Lisowski, an analyst in the city’s technology department, is less sure. “Outdoor equipment does not last long in a Guelph winter,” Lisowski said. “Two of our security cameras in one east-end park stopped working in the first cold snap last year. Anything on a pole can also be stolen. If crews have to replace the hardware every few months, the service stops being cheap.” He wants the city to test the idea in two parks for one year before spending more.
Funmilayo Kanu, a settlement worker who helps newcomer families, says she sees the plan as a matter of fairness. “Half the families I visit have no internet at home,” Kanu said. “For them, a park signal is not a treat. It is how a student sends in an assignment or a parent fills out a job form.” Councillor Torvald Lafreniere supports a trial but worries about staff time. “Our park crews already spend the whole winter clearing paths,” he told council. “I will vote yes only if the city hires help to look after the routers,” Lafreniere added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph three mainly presents 2..
This article would most likely be published in 3..
According to Kanu, many of the families she visits 4..
Marisol Kettering would likely say that for the teenagers she sees at night, the routers 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 offer free internet in city parks
Why this is correct: The article begins with council’s decision on free Wi-Fi in large city parks. Every speaker then gives a view on that plan.
Passage Reference: Guelph city council will decide in November whether to offer free Wi-Fi
Tips: Ask what choice council is facing. Pick the answer that names that choice in general words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build new picnic shelters: The picnic shelters are already there. Nobody plans new ones.
- a program to help newcomer families find jobs: Kanu works with newcomer families, but the article does not describe a job program.
- a dispute over theft from park buildings: Lisowski says equipment on a pole can be stolen. That is one worry, not the main topic.
Correct Answer: a city analyst’s doubts that the plan will stay cheap
Passage Reference: Dariusz Lisowski, an analyst in the city’s technology department, is less sure. ... If crews have to replace the hardware every few months, the service stops being cheap.
Why this is correct: Paragraph three gives the view of Lisowski, a city analyst. He fears the routers will break or be stolen, so the service would stop being cheap.
Tips: Read “Paragraph three” on its own and put its job into a few words of your own. Then compare each option with those lines only.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a settlement worker’s view of who needs the signal: Kanu, the settlement worker, speaks in paragraph four, not in paragraph three.
- a parks planner’s point about what the routers cost: Kettering, the parks planner, makes her point about cost in paragraph two.
- the visitor comments that first gave staff the idea: The visitor comments are part of paragraph one, where the idea is first explained.
Correct Answer: a local paper that covers city hall news
Passage Reference: Opinions at city hall are split.
Why this is correct: The article reports a choice Guelph council must make and quotes local people about it. A local paper that covers city hall prints this kind of story.
Tips: Think about the whole article, not one speaker. For each option, decide if that publication would run this story as it stands.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a magazine for engineers who build networks: The routers are only described in simple words. Nothing here would teach engineers how to build a network.
- a handbook for newcomers who are looking for work: Kanu works with newcomers, but the article gives no advice about finding work.
- a national report that compares internet prices: Only one city’s plan is described, and no internet prices are compared.
Correct Answer: have no internet connection at home
Passage Reference: Half the families I visit have no internet at home
Why this is correct: Kanu says that half the families she visits have no internet at home. For them, a park signal is how a student sends in an assignment.
Tips: Look only at the sentences Kanu says herself. Match each option with her words, and set aside any that belong to another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cannot reach the parks after dark: Kanu does not talk about getting to the parks at night. Kettering is the one who mentions darkness.
- would rather study at a friend’s house: Kanu never mentions friends’ homes. Her point is about what these families lack at home.
- already use the parks every evening: Kettering sees teenagers in the park every evening. Kanu does not say her families use the parks now.
Correct Answer: would give them somewhere safe to do homework
Passage Reference: Every evening I see teenagers doing homework at the picnic tables until it gets dark ... A park with a good signal and good lighting is a safe place to study.
Why this is correct: Kettering sees teenagers doing homework at the picnic tables until dark. She says a park with a signal and lighting is a safe place to study.
Tips: Read what Kettering says in her own quotes. For each option, ask whether it follows from her words or comes from someone else in the article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would be worth testing in two parks first: A test in two parks is what Lisowski wants. Kettering does not ask for a test.
- would need new staff to look after them: Extra staff is Lafreniere’s condition for his vote. Kettering does not raise it.
- would be a treat more than a real need: Kettering says the teenagers have nowhere else to go. That is a need, not a treat.
Correct Answer: five
Passage Reference: five of its largest parks
Why this is correct: Council will decide whether to offer free Wi-Fi in five of its largest parks.
Tips: This blank needs a number of parks. Find where the article describes the size of council’s decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Two is the number of parks in Lisowski’s trial, not in the plan.
- four: The plan covers more parks than four.
- seven: The plan covers fewer parks than seven.
Correct Answer: light poles
Passage Reference: small routers would go on light poles near playgrounds and picnic shelters
Why this is correct: Under the plan, small routers would go on light poles near playgrounds and picnic shelters.
Tips: Read how the article describes where each router would be fixed. Notice the object named, not the places nearby.
Why the other options are wrong:
- shelter roofs: Picnic shelters are near the routers. The routers are fixed to something else.
- tall trees: Trees are not mentioned in the article.
- flag poles: Flag poles are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: library hour
Passage Reference: For the price of one extra library hour a week, we can cover a whole park
Why this is correct: Kettering says the price of one extra library hour a week could cover a whole park.
Tips: The planner compares the routers with another city service. Find which service she names and how much of it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- bus route: Buses do not come up in the article.
- pool lesson: Pools are not part of anyone’s comparison.
- staff meeting: Kettering does not compare the cost with meetings.
Correct Answer: cameras
Passage Reference: Two of our security cameras in one east-end park stopped working in the first cold snap last year.
Why this is correct: Lisowski says two security cameras in one east-end park stopped working in the first cold snap last year.
Tips: The commenter means the technology analyst. Find the real example he gives of equipment that let the city down.
Why the other options are wrong:
- parking meters: Parking meters are not mentioned in the article.
- lights: Kettering mentions good lighting as a safety point. Nobody says lights failed in the cold.
- speakers: Nobody talks about speakers in the parks.
Correct Answer: paths
Passage Reference: Our park crews already spend the whole winter clearing paths
Why this is correct: Lafreniere says his park crews already spend the whole winter clearing paths.
Tips: Read what the councillor says about his workers in the cold months. Find the job that already keeps them busy.
Why the other options are wrong:
- rinks: Lafreniere does not mention rinks.
- toboggan hills: No toboggan hills are mentioned in the article.
- playgrounds: Playgrounds are where the routers would go. Lafreniere says his crews clear paths.
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