Read the following article from a website.
Brandon city council will decide this month who should flood the city’s twenty-two neighbourhood rinks. For decades, volunteers have done the job at night with hoses from nearby community halls. Now parks staff want city crews to take over at least part of the work, after two people were hurt on rough ice last winter. Both injuries led to claims against the city. Council can choose volunteers, city crews or a mix of both.
Saoirse Lachance, who leads a neighbourhood rink group, wants volunteers to keep the job. “Our logbook shows we kept the ice skateable through two warm spells last January, when other rinks turned to slush,” she said. “We know which corners go soft first, because we stand on them every night.” Lachance says volunteers cost the city almost nothing. “All we need is hoses, a shed key and a hot drink. Paying crews to do the same job would waste tax money,” Lachance said.
Radomir Koenig, the city’s parks operations manager, sees a real risk. “A bad flood can leave a soft spot hidden under a little snow,” Koenig said. “One injury claim could cost more than everything the volunteers save us in ten years.” He wants city crews to lay the first thick layers of ice each December, with volunteers doing only light top-ups after a safety course. Koenig says the course would take one evening and would be free for every volunteer.
Efua Lantz, a mother of three, says volunteer schedules are hard to keep. “On school nights, tired parents put homework and bedtime first,” she said. “Last winter our rink went eleven days without a flood because nobody could come.” She would still help on weekends, when families have more time. Oisin Kapoor, a city councillor, says any shared plan needs clear numbers. “I want to know how many volunteers finish the training and how many injuries are reported each season,” he said. “If those numbers look bad, council can change course,” Kapoor added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
The author presents the decision as 2..
Efua Lantz would likely say that leaving the job to volunteers alone 3..
The main point of the article is that 4..
Radomir Koenig thinks that a single injury claim would mean 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: who should flood the neighbourhood rinks
Why this is correct: Council will decide who should flood the neighbourhood rinks. All four speakers react to that choice.
Passage Reference: Council can choose volunteers, city crews or a mix of both.
Tips: Check each option against what Lachance, Koenig, Lantz and Kapoor say. The topic should explain why the reporter spoke to these four people at all.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build more community halls: The halls are only where the volunteers get their water.
- a plan to light the rinks at night: Volunteers already work at night with hoses. Nobody proposes new lights.
- new hours for rinks on school nights: Lantz talks about school nights, but nobody plans new rink hours.
Correct Answer: a choice made more serious by real injuries
Passage Reference: after two people were hurt on rough ice last winter. Both injuries led to claims against the city.
Why this is correct: The reporter says two people were hurt on rough ice and both injuries led to claims. Those facts make the choice a serious one.
Tips: Read the reporter’s framing, the words that are not inside quotation marks. Choose the option those words support, not a speaker’s opinion.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a small matter that hardly needs a vote: The reporter mentions injuries and claims against the city. The matter is not treated as small.
- a fight the volunteers have already won: Council has not decided yet. It can still choose crews or a mix.
- a waste of the council’s time: The reporter gives no opinion like this. The reporter only explains why the choice came up.
Correct Answer: can leave a rink without care for days
Passage Reference: Last winter our rink went eleven days without a flood because nobody could come.
Why this is correct: Lantz says her rink went eleven days without a flood last winter, because nobody could come. So volunteers alone may leave gaps.
Tips: Read Lantz’s quotes once more and test each option against her own words. Drop any idea that comes from another speaker or from no one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- saves the city almost all of its costs: Saving money is Lachance’s point. Lantz talks about missed floods, not cost.
- is safe only after a short course: The safety course is Koenig’s plan. Lantz does not mention it.
- should be judged by clear numbers: Clear numbers are what Kapoor asks for. Lantz does not talk about them.
Correct Answer: cost and safety pull the city different ways
Passage Reference: Both injuries led to claims against the city.
Why this is correct: Volunteers cost the city almost nothing, but injuries led to claims against it. The article shows the city weighing cost against safety.
Tips: Weigh what Lachance, Koenig, Lantz and Kapoor say against each option. The answer must hold for the article as a whole, not for one speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- volunteers have stopped flooding the rinks: Volunteers still do the job. Lantz’s rink missed some days, but the volunteers have not stopped.
- skaters want longer hours at the rinks: Nobody in the article asks for longer rink hours.
- council has already handed the job to crews: Council will decide this month. It has not chosen yet.
Correct Answer: a cost greater than years of volunteer savings
Passage Reference: One injury claim could cost more than everything the volunteers save us in ten years.
Why this is correct: Koenig says one injury claim could cost more than everything the volunteers save in ten years.
Tips: Read Koenig’s quoted and reported sentences. Keep the outcome he predicts himself, and drop any that comes from someone else or from nobody.
Why the other options are wrong:
- volunteers giving up the job: Koenig does not say volunteers would quit. He wants them to keep doing light top-ups.
- the city closing several rinks: Nobody in the article talks about closing rinks.
- rough ice on every rink by spring: Koenig warns about soft spots, but he does not predict rough ice on every rink.
Correct Answer: twenty-two
Passage Reference: the city’s twenty-two neighbourhood rinks
Why this is correct: Council will decide who should flood the city’s twenty-two neighbourhood rinks.
Tips: This blank needs a count of rinks. Read the number carefully, because the options are close.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twelve: The city has more rinks than twelve.
- twenty: The city has a few more rinks than twenty.
- thirty-two: The city has fewer rinks than thirty-two.
Correct Answer: January
Passage Reference: we kept the ice skateable through two warm spells last January
Why this is correct: Lachance says volunteers kept the ice skateable through two warm spells last January.
Tips: The article names more than one month. Find the one linked to the warm weather.
Why the other options are wrong:
- November: November is not mentioned in the article.
- February: February is not mentioned in the article.
- March: March is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: shed key
Passage Reference: All we need is hoses, a shed key and a hot drink
Why this is correct: Lachance says all volunteers need is hoses, a shed key and a hot drink.
Tips: Find the rink leader’s words about what volunteers need. Match the item that fits the blank.
Why the other options are wrong:
- snow shovel: Lachance does not mention a shovel.
- headlamp: Lachance does not mention a headlamp.
- ice scraper: Lachance does not mention a scraper.
Correct Answer: December
Passage Reference: He wants city crews to lay the first thick layers of ice each December
Why this is correct: Koenig wants city crews to lay the first thick layers of ice each December.
Tips: Read the parks manager’s plan for the crews. Find the month he wants them to start.
Why the other options are wrong:
- October: October is not mentioned in the article.
- November: Koenig names a later month than November.
- February: February is not part of Koenig’s plan.
Correct Answer: training
Passage Reference: I want to know how many volunteers finish the training
Why this is correct: Kapoor wants to know how many volunteers finish the training.
Tips: The councillor asks for two numbers. Find the one about volunteers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- winter: Kapoor wants to know who finishes the training, not the winter.
- safety check: Kapoor does not mention a safety check.
- first shift: Kapoor does not talk about shifts.
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