Read the following article from a website.
The owners’ board at Silverbirch Court, a 300-unit condominium in Mississauga, will decide next week how visitors should get a parking permit. The building has only twelve visitor stalls in its underground garage. For years, guests have signed a paper book at the front desk, but the book often runs out of pages by Friday, and drivers wait on the street with their engines running. A digital pass that residents could send from their phones is now on the table.
Yusra Mahmoud, the property manager, is the main supporter of the change. “During a two-month trial on one floor, complaints at the front desk fell from about forty a month to six,” she said. “Residents liked sending a pass from the elevator instead of coming down to the lobby.” Mahmoud wants each daytime pass to last two hours. “Short passes keep the stalls moving, so more families get a turn,” she explained.
Bogdan Nowicki, who chairs the owners’ board, warns that an easy pass could leave residents with nowhere to park at night. “Our own owners already fill the garage before midnight on most weeknights,” Nowicki said. “If anyone can send a pass in ten seconds, the overnight stalls will be gone by dinner,” he added. Esperanza Medina, a tenant who works evening shifts at a hospital, sees the problem from the other side. “My mother visits me after eleven at night, when the buses hardly run,” she said. “A strict rule would leave her stuck outside in the cold. She should not have to choose between seeing me and getting home safely.”
Medina likes the digital pass, but she accepts that overnight guests need a firmer limit than daytime visitors. Ebo Nartey, the board secretary, says the argument will be settled only by facts. “We should publish how full the garage is every week,” Nartey said. “If owners start losing their spots, the board can shorten the passes within days. People accept rules more easily when they can see the numbers,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph one mainly describes 2..
Bogdan Nowicki fears that an easy pass would lead to 3..
Most likely, Esperanza Medina is 4..
The author presents the dispute 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: a new way for residents to register their visitors
Why this is correct: The board will decide how visitors should get a parking permit. A digital pass may replace the paper book.
Passage Reference: will decide next week how visitors should get a parking permit
Tips: Read the article once without stopping, then check which option every speaker has an opinion on. Drop any option that belongs to only one of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build more stalls under the building: Nobody plans to build new stalls. The board is changing the permit system.
- a complaint about buses that stop running at night: Buses come up only when Medina explains why her mother needs a ride.
- a hospital’s new rules for evening shift workers: Medina works at a hospital, but its rules are not discussed.
Correct Answer: too few visitor stalls and the board’s choice
Passage Reference: For years, guests have signed a paper book at the front desk ... A digital pass that residents could send from their phones is now on the table.
Why this is correct: “Paragraph one” explains that guests wait on the street because the paper book runs out. It ends with the digital pass the board must decide on.
Tips: Reread “Paragraph one” and name its job in a few words. Then compare that job with each option.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the results of a trial on one floor: Mahmoud gives the trial results after “Paragraph one”.
- a tenant’s concern about her mother’s visits: Medina talks about her mother later in the article, not in “Paragraph one”.
- a plan to share how full the garage is: Nartey makes this plan near the end of the article.
Correct Answer: owners with no free stalls at night
Passage Reference: Our own owners already fill the garage before midnight on most weeknights ... If anyone can send a pass in ten seconds, the overnight stalls will be gone by dinner
Why this is correct: Nowicki says owners already fill the garage before midnight. If anyone can send a pass in seconds, he warns, the overnight stalls will be gone by dinner.
Tips: Read Nowicki’s quotes and the reporter’s lines about him. Choose the outcome he predicts himself, and reject outcomes other people raise.
Why the other options are wrong:
- longer lines at the front desk: Mahmoud says complaints at the front desk fell during the trial. Nowicki does not talk about lines.
- guests waiting on the street for hours: Guests wait on the street now, with the paper book. Nowicki does not predict this.
- a visitor stuck outside in the cold: Medina fears this from a strict rule. Nowicki does not say it.
Correct Answer: uneasy about her mother travelling late at night
Passage Reference: My mother visits me after eleven at night, when the buses hardly run ... She should not have to choose between seeing me and getting home safely.
Why this is correct: Medina says her mother visits after eleven, when the buses hardly run. She wants her mother to get home safely, so she is uneasy about those late trips.
Tips: Use Medina’s quotes and the reporter’s lines about her. An option survives only if those lines support it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- against any limit on overnight passes: Medina accepts that overnight guests need a firmer limit than daytime visitors.
- a member of the owners’ board: Medina is a tenant who works evening shifts. Nowicki chairs the board.
- unhappy with the idea of a digital pass: The reporter says Medina likes the digital pass.
Correct Answer: a problem that looks different to different residents
Passage Reference: Esperanza Medina, a tenant who works evening shifts at a hospital, sees the problem from the other side.
Why this is correct: The reporter writes that Medina sees the problem from the other side. So the same problem looks different to an owner and to a tenant.
Tips: Leave out every quotation and read only what the reporter writes. Check each option against those words alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a fight the owners have already won: The board will decide next week. Nothing has been won yet.
- a silly quarrel over a few spots: The reporter treats the matter seriously and never makes fun of anyone.
- a matter only the city can settle: The reporter says the owners’ board will decide. The city is not part of it.
Correct Answer: twelve
Passage Reference: The building has only twelve visitor stalls in its underground garage.
Why this is correct: The building has only twelve visitor stalls in its underground garage.
Tips: This blank needs the size of the visitor area. Find where the article describes the building and its garage.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten: The article gives a slightly bigger number.
- fifteen: The article gives a smaller number than fifteen.
- twenty: Twenty is not given in the article.
Correct Answer: Friday
Passage Reference: the book often runs out of pages by Friday
Why this is correct: The article says the paper book often runs out of pages by Friday.
Tips: Find where the article describes the problem with the book at the desk. Notice which day of the week it gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Tuesday: The article names a later day than Tuesday.
- Wednesday: The article names a later day than Wednesday.
- Thursday: The article names a later day than Thursday.
Correct Answer: six
Passage Reference: complaints at the front desk fell from about forty a month to six
Why this is correct: Mahmoud says complaints at the front desk fell from about forty a month to six during the trial.
Tips: The commenter means the property manager. Find the result she reports from the trial.
Why the other options are wrong:
- four: Mahmoud gives a slightly higher number.
- eight: Mahmoud gives a lower number.
- ten: Mahmoud gives a lower number.
Correct Answer: elevator
Passage Reference: Residents liked sending a pass from the elevator instead of coming down to the lobby.
Why this is correct: Mahmoud says residents liked sending a pass from the elevator instead of coming down to the lobby.
Tips: Here the writer means the property manager’s trial. Find where residents were when they sent a pass.
Why the other options are wrong:
- parking garage: The garage is where guests park, not where residents sent the pass from.
- front desk: The point was to avoid coming down to the lobby and its desk.
- balcony: Balconies are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: days
Passage Reference: the board can shorten the passes within days
Why this is correct: Nartey says that if owners start losing their spots, the board can shorten the passes within days.
Tips: Find what the secretary says the board could do if owners have trouble. Notice how quickly he says it could act.
Why the other options are wrong:
- minutes: Nartey gives a longer time than this.
- hours: Nartey gives a longer time than this.
- a day: Nartey gives a longer time than this.
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