Read the following article from a website.
The Grand Valley District School Board will vote in November on whether to put locked phone cabinets in every Grade 4 to 8 classroom. Right now, students in those grades leave their phones in a cloth pouch at the front of the room, and teachers trust them not to reach for them during lessons. Last spring, two classrooms at Larkhill Public School tried the cabinets for one term instead. The results of that trial have started a lively argument among staff and families.
Tadashi Nakamura, the vice-principal who ran the trial, wants cabinets for the younger grades. “Teachers in the two test rooms wrote down about half as many interruptions as before,” he said. “A pouch on the desk still buzzes and lights up. A closed cabinet does not, and the children stop thinking about it after a week.” Nakamura added that the school nurse would hold a spare key, so a family emergency would never have to wait.
Farida Mazur, who speaks for the local teachers’ federation, says the cabinets create a new problem every time a lesson finishes. “Thirty students crowd around one cabinet when the bell rings, and somebody always loses a key,” Mazur said. “That is five minutes of pushing, not five minutes of calm.” She would keep the pouches for older students. “Our Grade 7 and 8 students are old enough to manage their own habits. They need practice with self-control, not a lock,” she added.
Euphemia Ndlovu, who chairs the school’s parent council, says families are open to the idea but have one firm condition. “Parents need a clear way to reach their child during the day,” she explained. “If the phone is locked away, the school must publish a number that someone always answers. Without that, many families will say no.” Rufus Mercier, a data analyst for the board, wants the decision tied to evidence. “We should count interruptions in every classroom and share the numbers each term,” Mercier said. “If focus does not improve within a year, trustees can take the cabinets out. A rule that cannot be tested is only a guess,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Farida Mazur thinks that one cabinet for a whole class would lead to 2..
The author presents the debate as 3..
Euphemia Ndlovu’s concerns would likely be supported by 4..
This article was most likely written for 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: whether to store students’ phones in locked cabinets
Why this is correct: The board will vote on putting locked phone cabinets in classrooms. Every person quoted gives a view on that vote.
Passage Reference: The Grand Valley District School Board will vote in November on whether to put locked phone cabinets in every Grade 4 to 8 classroom.
Tips: Look for each option in what Nakamura, Mazur, Ndlovu and Mercier say. An option that one person raises and the others ignore is too small to be the topic.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new first aid program for young students: Nobody talks about first aid or a health program.
- a survey of how parents contact their children: No survey of parents is described in the article.
- a plan to give every student a school laptop: Nobody talks about laptops. The vote is about where phones are kept.
Correct Answer: a scramble each time the bell rings
Passage Reference: Thirty students crowd around one cabinet when the bell rings, and somebody always loses a key ... That is five minutes of pushing, not five minutes of calm.
Why this is correct: Mazur says thirty students crowd around one cabinet when the bell rings. She calls it five minutes of pushing, not five minutes of calm.
Tips: Read every sentence Mazur says, quoted or reported. Pick the outcome her words describe, and leave out any that comes from another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- calmer students after the first week: Nakamura says children stop thinking about their phones after a week. Mazur expects pushing instead.
- parents unable to reach their children: Ndlovu talks about parents reaching their children. Mazur does not.
- more interruptions counted each term: Mercier wants interruptions counted. Mazur does not predict this.
Correct Answer: a lively disagreement sparked by the trial
Passage Reference: The results of that trial have started a lively argument among staff and families.
Why this is correct: The reporter writes that the results of the trial have started a lively argument among staff and families. So the trial sparked the disagreement.
Tips: Skip the quotations and read the sentences the reporter writes alone. Check each choice against those lines.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a matter the trial has settled for good: The reporter says the trial started an argument. It did not settle anything.
- a silly quarrel among a few parents: The reporter says staff and families are arguing, and never makes fun of anyone.
- a fight over a costly board mistake: The reporter says nothing about cost and never calls anything a mistake.
Correct Answer: parents who tried to call their child and got no answer
Passage Reference: Parents need a clear way to reach their child during the day ... If the phone is locked away, the school must publish a number that someone always answers.
Why this is correct: Ndlovu says parents need a clear way to reach their child during the day. Parents who called and got no answer would back up her concern.
Tips: Read every sentence Ndlovu says. For each option, imagine it were true and ask whether it would help her case or another speaker’s.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a count of interruptions in every classroom: This is Mercier’s idea for testing the rule. It does not touch Ndlovu’s concern.
- a study showing older students control their own habits: This fits Mazur, who wants older students to keep their pouches.
- teachers noting fewer buzzing phones in class: This backs Nakamura’s case for the cabinets. It says nothing about reaching a child.
Correct Answer: families and staff in the school board’s area
Passage Reference: The Grand Valley District School Board will vote in November
Why this is correct: The article reports a coming school board vote and the views of local staff and parents. Families and staff in that area are its readers.
Tips: Look at the article as a whole. Then decide which of these readers would find this text useful as it is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- phone makers planning new products: The article is about classroom rules, not about making phones.
- students in a university education course: The article reports local news. It does not teach a course.
- doctors who work in large hospitals: The article is about a school board vote, not about hospitals.
Correct Answer: cloth
Passage Reference: students in those grades leave their phones in a cloth pouch at the front of the room
Why this is correct: Students now leave their phones in a cloth pouch at the front of the room.
Tips: Here the commenter describes what happens today. Find how the article describes the current system and what the pouch is made of.
Why the other options are wrong:
- plastic: The article does not say the pouch is plastic.
- leather: Leather is not mentioned in the article.
- vinyl: Vinyl is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: two
Passage Reference: Last spring, two classrooms at Larkhill Public School tried the cabinets for one term instead.
Why this is correct: Two classrooms at Larkhill Public School tried the cabinets for one term.
Tips: This blank needs a number of rooms. Find where the article describes the trial last spring.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three: The article gives a smaller number of classrooms.
- four: Four appears only in the grade range, not as a number of classrooms.
- five: The article does not say five classrooms took part.
Correct Answer: half
Passage Reference: Teachers in the two test rooms wrote down about half as many interruptions as before
Why this is correct: Nakamura says teachers in the test rooms wrote down about half as many interruptions as before.
Tips: The commenter means the vice-principal. Find the result he reports from the test rooms.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a quarter: Nakamura gives a bigger share than a quarter.
- a third: Nakamura gives a bigger share than a third.
- two-thirds: Nakamura gives a smaller share than two-thirds.
Correct Answer: the school nurse
Passage Reference: Nakamura added that the school nurse would hold a spare key
Why this is correct: Nakamura added that the school nurse would hold a spare key for family emergencies.
Tips: The commenter is thinking about emergencies. Find who the vice-principal says would be ready to open a cabinet.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the principal: The article does not give the principal this job.
- the office secretary: No secretary is mentioned in the article.
- the class teacher: Teachers are not named as the people who keep the spare key.
Correct Answer: 7 and 8
Passage Reference: Our Grade 7 and 8 students are old enough to manage their own habits.
Why this is correct: Mazur says her Grade 7 and 8 students are old enough to manage their own habits. She would keep the pouches for them.
Tips: Here the writer means the teachers’ federation. Find which students its speaker trusts to manage themselves.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 4 and 5: Mazur does not name these grades. Younger grades are the ones Nakamura wants cabinets for.
- 5 and 6: Mazur does not name these grades.
- 6 and 7: Mazur names one of these grades but not the other.
The rest of this explanation is for members. Sign in free to read why the other options are wrong, key words and tips.
Sign in to read the full explanation