Read the following article from a website.
A new healthy-schools policy could end chocolate fundraisers in Winnipeg elementary schools by next fall. The school board’s draft says schools may no longer sell candy or other sweets to raise money, and trustees will vote on it in February. At many schools, the fall chocolate sale pays for camp trips and new library books. Parents, teachers and health workers met this week to argue about what should come next. Some say the change is overdue, while others fear empty trip budgets.
Anahita Lacroix, treasurer of one school’s parent council, wants one more season of chocolate. She has run her school’s sale for six years. “Last year our caramel bars sold out in three days,” she said. “The spring plant sale took five weeks and raised less than half as much.” Lacroix is blunt about what that means. “Good ideas do not pay for a bus to camp,” Lacroix said. This fall she will also offer seed packets next to the chocolate, so families have something new to try.
Fergal Kinnear, a public health nurse who visits several schools, supports the policy. “Children watch adults sell sweets for a good cause, and they learn that sugar is a reward,” he said. “Then we wonder why they ask for candy after every hockey game. We are teaching one thing and selling another.” Kinnear would rather see schools hold a family skating day, where children collect pledges from relatives and neighbours.
Vesna Lindahl, a Grade 5 teacher, warns that other kinds of sales have costs too. “Catalogue orders arrive in mixed boxes, and someone has to sort hundreds of items,” she said. “Last year three of us spent two weekends doing it on my living room floor.” Junichi Kobayashi, a school trustee, backs the policy but not a sudden change. “If both kinds of sale run side by side for one year, every school will see which one really works,” Kobayashi said. “Schools also need a small grant to get their first new fundraiser started,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Fergal Kinnear’s argument would most likely be supported by 2..
Most likely, Kobayashi wants 3..
Paragraph two mainly sets out 4..
The readers this article is most likely written for are 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 policy that could end school chocolate sales
Why this is correct: A new healthy-schools policy could end chocolate fundraisers by next fall. Every speaker reacts to it.
Passage Reference: A new healthy-schools policy could end chocolate fundraisers in Winnipeg elementary schools by next fall.
Tips: Compare each option with what Lacroix, Kinnear, Lindahl and Kobayashi each say. The topic should explain why the reporter spoke to these four people at all.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new sports program for young students: Kinnear mentions hockey games, but nobody plans a sports program.
- a change to camp trip fees: Camp trips come up, but nobody plans to change their fees.
- a book drive for school libraries: Library books are mentioned only as one thing sales pay for.
Correct Answer: a study finding children see sweets as a reward
Passage Reference: Children watch adults sell sweets for a good cause, and they learn that sugar is a reward
Why this is correct: Kinnear says children who watch adults sell sweets learn that sugar is a reward. A study showing this would back his argument.
Tips: Read what Kinnear says, sentence by sentence. Ask if each option would strengthen his argument, or if it fits a different person’s case instead.
Why the other options are wrong:
- figures showing chocolate raises the most money: Strong chocolate sales back Lacroix, who wants to keep selling. They do not help Kinnear.
- reports of teachers sorting orders for weeks: The work of sorting catalogue orders is Lindahl’s point, not Kinnear’s.
- results from running both sales for one year: Running both kinds of sale side by side is Kobayashi’s idea. It does not support Kinnear’s reason.
Correct Answer: schools to compare old and new sales first
Passage Reference: If both kinds of sale run side by side for one year, every school will see which one really works
Why this is correct: Kobayashi backs the policy but not a sudden change. He wants both kinds of sale run side by side for a year, so schools can compare.
Tips: Look at Kobayashi’s words in the article. Keep the option his sentences point to, and set aside a wish voiced by someone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- chocolate sales to stop this fall: Kobayashi backs the policy but not a sudden change. He wants a year of both sales first.
- the board to drop the healthy-food policy: Kobayashi backs the policy. He only wants it brought in slowly.
- parents to sort catalogue orders at school: Sorting catalogue orders comes from Lindahl’s story. Kobayashi does not mention it.
Correct Answer: a treasurer’s case for one more chocolate sale
Passage Reference: Anahita Lacroix, treasurer of one school’s parent council, wants one more season of chocolate.
Why this is correct: Paragraph two is about Lacroix, a parent council treasurer. She wants one more season of chocolate, because the bars sell so well.
Tips: Read “Paragraph two” and name its purpose in a short phrase of your own. Then keep the choice that matches what those lines do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a nurse’s reasons for backing the policy: Kinnear, the nurse, gives his reasons in paragraph three.
- a teacher’s story about sorting catalogue orders: Lindahl, the teacher, tells this story in paragraph four.
- what the fall sale usually pays for: Camp trips and library books are mentioned in paragraph one.
Correct Answer: parents and staff at Winnipeg schools
Passage Reference: Parents, teachers and health workers met this week to argue about what should come next.
Why this is correct: The article reports a Winnipeg school board draft and a meeting of parents, teachers and health workers. Families and staff in those schools are its readers.
Tips: Think about who would care about this whole story. For each option, ask whether the article speaks to those readers as it is written.
Why the other options are wrong:
- chocolate makers looking for new buyers: The article is about whether schools may sell chocolate. It offers nothing to chocolate makers.
- doctors who study what children eat: Kinnear is a nurse with a view, but no study of children’s diets is reported.
- teachers planning lessons on healthy eating: Teachers are quoted, but no lesson plans or teaching advice are given.
Correct Answer: February
Passage Reference: trustees will vote on it in February
Why this is correct: Trustees will vote on the draft policy in February.
Tips: Look for the month when the trustees decide.
Why the other options are wrong:
- January: The vote is a month later than this.
- March: The trustees vote before March.
- April: April is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: three days
Passage Reference: Last year our caramel bars sold out in three days
Why this is correct: Lacroix says last year their caramel bars sold out in three days.
Tips: The treasurer compares two sales and gives a time for each. Choose the one for the caramel bars.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two days: The bars took longer to sell out than two days.
- four days: The bars sold out faster than four days.
- five days: The bars sold out faster than five days.
Correct Answer: seed packets
Passage Reference: This fall she will also offer seed packets next to the chocolate
Why this is correct: Lacroix will also offer seed packets next to the chocolate this fall.
Tips: Read what the treasurer will add to this year’s sale. Find the item she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fruit cups: Lacroix does not mention fruit.
- granola bars: Lacroix does not mention granola bars.
- water bottles: Lacroix does not mention water bottles.
Correct Answer: two weekends
Passage Reference: Last year three of us spent two weekends doing it on my living room floor.
Why this is correct: Lindahl says three teachers spent two weekends sorting orders on her living room floor.
Tips: The teacher gives two numbers in one sentence. Check which one is a length of time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one weekend: Lindahl says the job took longer than this.
- three weekends: Three is the number of people, not the number of weekends.
- a whole month: Lindahl does not say the job took a month.
Correct Answer: grant
Passage Reference: Schools also need a small grant to get their first new fundraiser started
Why this is correct: Kobayashi says schools need a small grant to get their first new fundraiser started.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the trustee’s second idea. Find what kind of money he wants schools to get.
Why the other options are wrong:
- loan: Kobayashi does not want schools to borrow money.
- budget: Kobayashi asks for a grant, not a budget.
- gift: Kobayashi does not call the money a gift. The article uses a different word for it.
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