Read the following article from a website.
The Wexbury library board will vote in April on whether to stop charging daily late fines. Right now, a book returned late costs twenty-five cents a day, up to a limit of ten dollars for each item. Across the city, about 9,000 library cards are blocked because their owners owe more than five dollars. Fines brought in about $180,000 last year, less than one percent of the library’s budget. Supporters of the change say fines keep people away, while others worry that the most popular books will disappear.
Hiroko Laurin, a board member elected by library users, says fines push families out. “A few dollars in fines can keep a whole family away for years,” she said. “The money we collect is tiny, but the readers we lose are not. Most of the blocked cards belong to children.” Laurin says text reminders can do the job that fines used to do. “People bring books back when they are reminded kindly,” Laurin said.
Maarten Kessler, who manages the library’s collection, is worried about the most wanted titles. “Without any cost, new bestsellers and textbooks could vanish for months,” Kessler said. “Last year one student kept a chemistry textbook for an entire term while forty people waited. A deposit is not a punishment. You get every cent back when you return the book.” He wants a refundable deposit of twenty dollars on a short list of high-demand books. He says about sixty titles would be on that list at any time.
Nkem Lowery, a librarian at an east-end branch for twelve years, sees the problem every week. “Families with several unpaid fines simply stop coming in,” she said. “I would end fines and try the deposit at the same time,” Lowery said. Behrouz Kaya, who leads digital services, has a practical worry. “Our checkout screens and reminder messages must show due dates in plain language,” he said. “Otherwise new users will be shocked by a bill for a lost book,” Kaya added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
These days, Lowery sees families with unpaid fines 2..
Paragraph three mainly explains 3..
According to Laurin, most of the blocked cards 4..
The author treats the question as 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: ending daily late fines at the library
Why this is correct: The library board will vote on whether to stop charging daily late fines. All four speakers react to it.
Passage Reference: whether to stop charging daily late fines
Tips: Test each option against what Laurin, Kessler, Lowery and Kaya say. Set aside any option that covers only one of them or one small detail.
Why the other options are wrong:
- longer opening hours at branches: Opening hours are never mentioned in the article.
- a shortage of textbooks for students: Kessler gives one example about a textbook. It is not the main topic.
- plans for a new east-end branch: Lowery works at an east-end branch, but nobody plans a new one.
Correct Answer: no longer coming in to borrow
Passage Reference: Families with several unpaid fines simply stop coming in
Why this is correct: Lowery says she sees the problem every week. Families with several unpaid fines simply stop coming in.
Tips: Read Lowery’s sentences closely. Test each option against her own words, and drop anything she does not say.
Why the other options are wrong:
- paying what they owe each week: Lowery says these families stop coming in. She does not say they pay.
- asking for deposits on new books: The deposit is Kessler’s idea. Families do not ask for it.
- borrowing more books than before: Lowery says the opposite. These families stop coming in at all.
Correct Answer: how one manager would protect high-demand books
Passage Reference: Without any cost, new bestsellers and textbooks could vanish for months ... He wants a refundable deposit
Why this is correct: Paragraph three gives Kessler’s worry that popular books could vanish for months. He proposes a refundable deposit on a short list of them.
Tips: Read “Paragraph three” and ask yourself what it adds to the article. Then judge each choice by those lines alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why a board member thinks fines drive families away: Laurin, the board member, gives this view in paragraph two.
- a digital lead’s concern about checkout screens: Kaya, who leads digital services, speaks in paragraph four.
- how much money fines brought in last year: The money from fines is a fact in paragraph one.
Correct Answer: are held by children
Passage Reference: Most of the blocked cards belong to children.
Why this is correct: Laurin says that most of the blocked cards belong to children.
Tips: Read Laurin’s quoted words and compare each option with them. Remove any option that another person says or that the article never says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- are held by students in college: Kessler tells a story about one student, but Laurin does not say students hold most blocked cards.
- have fines of under five dollars: The article says cards are blocked when the owner owes more than five dollars.
- belong to people who moved away: Nobody in the article talks about people moving away.
Correct Answer: one where the money at stake is quite small
Passage Reference: Fines brought in about $180,000 last year, less than one percent of the library’s budget.
Why this is correct: The reporter notes that fines brought in less than one percent of the library’s budget. So only a small amount of money is at stake.
Tips: Look at the sentences the reporter writes without quotation marks. Decide which option they show, without using any speaker’s opinion.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one the library has already settled: The board has not voted yet, so the question is still open.
- one that will empty the library’s budget: The reporter says fines are less than one percent of the budget. Ending them would not empty it.
- one with no real effect on anybody: The reporter says thousands of cards are blocked. That affects many people.
Correct Answer: April
Passage Reference: will vote in April
Why this is correct: The library board will vote in April.
Tips: Look for the month of the board’s vote.
Why the other options are wrong:
- March: March is not mentioned in the article.
- May: The vote comes before May.
- June: June is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: twenty-five cents
Passage Reference: a book returned late costs twenty-five cents a day
Why this is correct: A book returned late costs twenty-five cents a day.
Tips: The article gives several amounts of money. Find the one charged for each day.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten cents: The daily fine is higher than ten cents.
- thirty cents: The daily fine is lower than thirty cents.
- fifty cents: The daily fine is lower than fifty cents.
Correct Answer: text reminders
Passage Reference: Laurin says text reminders can do the job that fines used to do.
Why this is correct: Laurin says text reminders can do the job that fines used to do.
Tips: The commenter means the board member. Find what she says could take the place of fines.
Why the other options are wrong:
- email notices: Laurin names text reminders, not emails.
- small deposits: Deposits are Kessler’s idea. Laurin names text reminders.
- phone calls: Laurin does not mention phone calls.
Correct Answer: twenty dollars
Passage Reference: He wants a refundable deposit of twenty dollars on a short list of high-demand books.
Why this is correct: Kessler wants a refundable deposit of twenty dollars on a short list of high-demand books.
Tips: The commenter means the collection manager. Find the amount he would ask borrowers to leave.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten dollars: Ten dollars is the most a late item can cost now, not the deposit.
- fifteen dollars: The deposit is higher than fifteen dollars.
- fifty dollars: The deposit is much lower than this.
Correct Answer: lost book
Passage Reference: Otherwise new users will be shocked by a bill for a lost book
Why this is correct: Kaya says new users will be shocked by a bill for a lost book if due dates are not clear.
Tips: The commenter repeats the digital services lead’s warning. Find what kind of bill he says could surprise people.
Why the other options are wrong:
- lost DVD: Kaya talks about a bill for a lost book, not a DVD.
- borrowed laptop: Laptops are not mentioned in the article.
- torn magazine: Kaya does not talk about magazines.
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