Read the following article from a website.
Saskatoon’s parks and recreation committee will decide in January whether the city should pay half of the registration fee for children from low-income families who join a youth sports team. Fees for minor hockey in the city now average $850 a season, and soccer, swimming and basketball have also gone up. Under the proposal, about 1,200 children could qualify in the first year. The idea has drawn crowded meetings and a long list of questions.
Rocio Navarro, who has coached a girls’ hockey team for nine years, brought the idea to the committee. “Every January I lose two or three players, and it is almost never because they stopped loving the game,” she said. “The bill for the second half of the season arrives, and the family simply cannot pay it. A child who drops out at ten rarely comes back at twelve.” Navarro believes half the fee is enough to keep most of those families on the team.
Gunnar Matthiessen, a budget analyst for the city, says the goal is good but the plan has no limit. “Some private clubs charge three thousand dollars a season,” Matthiessen said. “If we pay half of any fee, we end up paying for the most expensive programs. I would cap the support at four hundred dollars per child.” He also wants families to show a tax return once a year to prove they qualify.
Adaeze Nwosu, a recreation supervisor at two city centres, says she sees both sides. “Our own programs have waiting lists of up to eighty children,” Nwosu explained. “Families who cannot get into a city program end up at a private club, and that is when the cost really climbs. More city spots would save everyone money.” Cormac Mulcahy, a father of three who would qualify for the help, worries about the paperwork. “Parents should not have to explain their money problems to a coach,” Mulcahy said. “Let us apply privately, online, the same way we pay a parking ticket,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Navarro, most players who quit in January 2..
Most likely, Cormac Mulcahy feels that 3..
The main point of the article is that 4..
This article is 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 the city should help families pay team fees
Why this is correct: The committee will decide whether the city should pay half of the registration fee for low-income families. Every speaker reacts to that idea.
Passage Reference: whether the city should pay half of the registration fee for children from low-income families who join a youth sports team
Tips: For each option, ask which of Navarro, Matthiessen, Nwosu and Mulcahy speak to it. Keep the option whose subject comes up again and again across the article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of coaches for girls’ hockey teams: Navarro is a coach, but nobody says coaches are hard to find.
- a new online system for paying parking tickets: Mulcahy mentions parking tickets only as a comparison.
- the rising price of private sports clubs: Private clubs come up as one detail in a bigger debate.
Correct Answer: have not lost their love of the game
Passage Reference: it is almost never because they stopped loving the game
Why this is correct: Navarro says she loses players every January, and it is almost never because they stopped loving the game. The bill is the problem.
Tips: Stay with Navarro’s own quotes. Choose the option that matches one of her sentences, and reject anything she does not say.
Why the other options are wrong:
- have joined private clubs instead: Nwosu talks about private clubs. Navarro says the families simply cannot pay.
- come back to the team at twelve: Navarro says a child who drops out at ten rarely comes back at twelve.
- find the season far too long: Navarro never says the season is too long.
Correct Answer: money troubles should stay private
Passage Reference: Parents should not have to explain their money problems to a coach ... Let us apply privately, online, the same way we pay a parking ticket
Why this is correct: Mulcahy says parents should not have to explain their money problems to a coach. He wants to apply privately online, so he feels money troubles are private.
Tips: Read Mulcahy’s quotes and the reporter’s lines about him. Rule out any option that those lines go against or never back up.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the help should stop at four hundred dollars: This is Matthiessen’s cap. Mulcahy talks about paperwork, not amounts.
- city programs need more spots: Nwosu says this. Mulcahy does not talk about spots.
- families should not get any help: Mulcahy would qualify for the help and only worries about how to apply.
Correct Answer: people back the goal but differ on the details
Passage Reference: says the goal is good but the plan has no limit
Why this is correct: Navarro and Mulcahy want the help, and Matthiessen calls the goal good. But Matthiessen wants a cap, Nwosu wants more city spots, and Mulcahy wants private applications.
Tips: Hold each option up against Navarro, Matthiessen, Nwosu and Mulcahy. The answer must fit what the article shows overall.
Why the other options are wrong:
- private clubs should be closed down: Nwosu and Matthiessen mention private clubs, but no one asks to close them.
- families should pay the full fee themselves: Even Matthiessen, who wants a cap, supports some help for families.
- the committee has already approved the plan: The committee will decide in January. Nothing is approved yet.
Correct Answer: people who live in the city
Passage Reference: Saskatoon’s parks and recreation committee will decide in January
Why this is correct: The article reports a decision by Saskatoon’s parks and recreation committee and the views of local people. People in the city are its readers.
Tips: Picture who would read a report like this. Keep the readers who would want the text as it stands.
Why the other options are wrong:
- coaches learning how to train players: Navarro is a coach, but the article gives no training advice.
- shoppers comparing hockey equipment: The article talks about fees, not equipment.
- the owners of national league teams: The article is about children’s teams in one city.
Correct Answer: $850
Passage Reference: Fees for minor hockey in the city now average $850 a season
Why this is correct: Fees for minor hockey in the city now average $850 a season.
Tips: This blank needs an average price for one sport. Find where the article describes what hockey families pay.
Why the other options are wrong:
- $450: The average in the article is much higher.
- $650: This is lower than the average given.
- $1,050: This is higher than the average given.
Correct Answer: 1,200
Passage Reference: about 1,200 children could qualify in the first year
Why this is correct: About 1,200 children could qualify in the first year.
Tips: Find where the article explains how many children the proposal could reach.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 200: This is far smaller than the number in the article.
- 800: This is smaller than the number in the article.
- 2,000: This is bigger than the number in the article.
Correct Answer: nine
Passage Reference: Rocio Navarro, who has coached a girls’ hockey team for nine years
Why this is correct: The article says Navarro has coached a girls’ hockey team for nine years.
Tips: The commenter means the hockey coach. Find how the article introduces her.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six: Navarro has coached for longer than this.
- twelve: Navarro has coached for less time than this.
- fifteen: Navarro has coached for less time than this.
Correct Answer: three thousand dollars
Passage Reference: Some private clubs charge three thousand dollars a season
Why this is correct: Matthiessen says some private clubs charge three thousand dollars a season.
Tips: Here the writer means the analyst. Find the example he uses to show how high some prices go.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one thousand dollars: Matthiessen gives a higher price.
- two thousand dollars: Matthiessen gives a higher price.
- four thousand dollars: Matthiessen gives a lower price.
Correct Answer: tax return
Passage Reference: He also wants families to show a tax return once a year to prove they qualify.
Why this is correct: Matthiessen wants families to show a tax return once a year to prove they qualify.
Tips: Look at what the analyst asks parents to show. Find the document he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- pay stub: Pay stubs are not mentioned in the article.
- bank statement: Bank statements are not mentioned in the article.
- letter from an employer: A letter from an employer is not mentioned in the article.
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