Read the following article from a website.
The Northgate Community Association in Regina will decide this month whether its tool library should open on Sundays as well as Saturdays. The library lends out about 300 items, from ladders and drills to tile cutters, for a yearly fee of twenty-five dollars. It now opens only on Saturday mornings and two weekday evenings, and the waiting list for some items has grown to three weeks. Members have filled two board meetings with opinions on the idea.
Zsofia Molnar, who coordinates the library, wants Sunday afternoons added as soon as possible. “Most of our members work during the week, so the weekend is the only time they can actually use a drill,” she said. “Our six drills went out more than twenty times each this year. That tells me people need them.” Molnar says a five-minute safety lesson at the desk would stay part of every loan.
Anselm Neumann, a retired engineer who handles the library’s insurance, says the risk grows with every extra loan. “Last spring a circular saw came back with a loose blade guard, and we were lucky nobody got hurt,” Neumann said. “More hours mean more loans, and more loans mean more chances for an accident. Our current policy would not cover a serious injury.” He wants every borrower to sign a waiver before any new hours begin.
Thandeka Mwangi, who rents a basement suite nearby, says renters have the most to lose if nothing changes. “I have no garage and no shed, so owning a ladder is not even possible for me,” she said. “On Saturday mornings I am at my second job. Sunday is my only free day.” Torquil Munro, the association treasurer, supports the idea but asks who will run the desk. “We have eleven regular volunteers, and most of them already give up their Saturdays,” Munro said. “I would back Sunday hours tomorrow if five more people signed up to help,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Currently, Thandeka Mwangi has 2..
The author presents the proposal as 3..
This article shows that 4..
Anselm Neumann’s concerns would likely be supported by 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 proposal to let members borrow equipment on Sundays
Why this is correct: The association will decide whether the tool library should open on Sundays as well as Saturdays. Every speaker gives a view on that idea.
Passage Reference: will decide this month whether its tool library should open on Sundays as well as Saturdays
Tips: Find the sentence that says what the association will decide. Pick the option that covers the whole article rather than one speaker’s detail.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new insurance company for local charities: Insurance comes up as one of Neumann’s worries. Nobody talks about a new company.
- a plan to sell old tools to raise money: Nobody suggests selling any tools. The fee and the collection are only background.
- a fee increase for community association members: The yearly fee is mentioned, but nobody wants to raise it.
Correct Answer: no room at home to store large tools
Passage Reference: I have no garage and no shed, so owning a ladder is not even possible for me
Why this is correct: Mwangi says she has no garage and no shed, so owning a ladder is not possible. She has no space at home for big tools.
Tips: Read every line about Mwangi, hers and the reporter’s. Keep the option those lines show, and drop any they go against.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a free day on Saturday mornings: Mwangi says she is at her second job on Saturday mornings.
- a job at the tool library: Mwangi rents a suite nearby. Nothing says she works at the library.
- a ladder she lends to neighbours: Mwangi says owning a ladder is not even possible for her.
Correct Answer: something many members care about
Passage Reference: Members have filled two board meetings with opinions on the idea.
Why this is correct: The reporter writes that members have filled board meetings with opinions on the idea. That shows many members care about it.
Tips: Read only the sentences the reporter writes outside the quotation marks. Test each option against them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan that nobody has questioned: Neumann and Munro both raise questions about the plan.
- a decision the board has already made: The reporter says the association will decide this month.
- a waste of the association’s time: The reporter never gives an opinion like this.
Correct Answer: the idea is liked, but some practical questions remain
Passage Reference: He wants every borrower to sign a waiver before any new hours begin. ... supports the idea but asks who will run the desk
Why this is correct: Molnar and Mwangi want Sunday hours, and Munro supports the idea. But Neumann wants waivers first, and Munro asks who will run the desk.
Tips: Check each option against Molnar, Neumann, Mwangi and Munro. Pick the option that holds after you have read every quote, not just one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- most members would rather buy their own tools: Mwangi says owning a ladder is not even possible for her. No one says members would rather buy.
- the library should stop opening on weekday evenings: No one asks to drop the weekday evenings.
- an accident has already led to a lawsuit: Neumann says nobody got hurt when the saw came back. There was no lawsuit.
Correct Answer: injury reports rising as more tools are lent
Passage Reference: More hours mean more loans, and more loans mean more chances for an accident.
Why this is correct: Neumann says more loans mean more chances for an accident. Reports of injuries rising with loans would back up his concern.
Tips: Read Neumann’s quotes closely. Decide which option, if true, would back up what he says rather than another speaker’s point.
Why the other options are wrong:
- members saying Sunday is their only free day: This fits Mwangi’s case for Sunday hours. It does not touch Neumann’s concern.
- five new volunteers signing up for the desk: This answers Munro’s question about the desk, not Neumann’s point about accidents.
- drills going out many times each year: This fits Molnar, who says busy drills show people need the library.
Correct Answer: 300
Passage Reference: The library lends out about 300 items
Why this is correct: The library lends out about 300 items, from ladders and drills to tile cutters.
Tips: This blank needs a count of items. Look for the sentence that names ladders, drills and tile cutters.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 200: The collection is bigger than this.
- 400: The collection is smaller than this.
- 500: This is far more than the number given.
Correct Answer: twenty-five dollars
Passage Reference: for a yearly fee of twenty-five dollars
Why this is correct: Members pay a yearly fee of twenty-five dollars.
Tips: This blank needs a cost. Find what each member is charged for a full year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fifteen dollars: Members pay more than this.
- thirty-five dollars: Members pay less than this.
- fifty dollars: Fifty dollars is not in the article.
Correct Answer: three weeks
Passage Reference: the waiting list for some items has grown to three weeks
Why this is correct: The waiting list for some items has grown to three weeks.
Tips: Find where the article describes how long people wait for popular items.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one week: People wait longer than one week.
- two weeks: People wait longer than two weeks.
- four weeks: People wait less than four weeks.
Correct Answer: engineer
Passage Reference: Anselm Neumann, a retired engineer who handles the library’s insurance
Why this is correct: The article introduces Neumann as a retired engineer who handles the library’s insurance.
Tips: The commenter means the insurance volunteer. Find how the article introduces him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- electrician: Neumann is not described as an electrician.
- teacher: Neumann is not described as a teacher.
- firefighter: Neumann is not described as a firefighter.
Correct Answer: eleven
Passage Reference: We have eleven regular volunteers
Why this is correct: Munro says the library has eleven regular volunteers.
Tips: Here the writer means the treasurer. Find how many helpers he says the desk has today.
Why the other options are wrong:
- seven: Munro gives a bigger number.
- fifteen: Munro gives a smaller number of volunteers.
- twenty: Twenty appears in the article, but it describes how often the drills went out.
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