Read the following article from a website.
The Region of Waterloo’s public works committee will vote in March on whether to bring green bin collection to about 600 apartment and condo buildings that now have none. Houses in the region have had curbside food waste pickup since 2010, but most residents of large buildings still throw their food scraps in the garbage. The plan would cost about $1.4 million a year, mostly for extra trucks and staff. If the vote passes, staff say the first buildings could receive their bins as early as next fall.
Vasanthi Malhotra, who manages waste diversion for the region, says the buildings are the biggest gap left. “About a third of what apartment residents throw away is food,” she said. “Our landfill is expected to be full in eighteen years. Every tonne we keep out of it buys us time.” Malhotra adds that buying bins in bulk would keep the cost for each building low.
Colm Mulligan, who supervises the collection crews, has a list of conditions. “A bin of food scraps sitting in a hot garbage room for a week in July is a problem nobody wants,” Mulligan said. “We would need weekly pickup from June to September, and every bin needs a locking lid. Otherwise the raccoons will find it before we do,” he added. Viktor Markovic, who owns four buildings in Cambridge, worries about who pays. “My garbage rooms are already full,” Markovic said. “If the region wants new bins, it should supply them and the liners for free,” he said.
Fatou Ndiaye, who leads a tenants’ association in Kitchener, says residents are ready to sort their scraps. “People in my building ask me every month why houses get a green bin and we do not. They want to do their part,” she said. “Many of our older tenants cannot carry heavy bags far, so the bins must be on every floor or right beside the elevator,” Ndiaye explained. Her association has already found volunteers to explain the new rules in three languages.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Right now, Fatou Ndiaye has 2..
Paragraph two mainly presents 3..
Viktor Markovic’s position would likely be supported by 4..
Overall, the article suggests that 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: bringing food waste pickup to large buildings
Why this is correct: The committee will vote on bringing green bin collection to about 600 apartment and condo buildings. Every speaker reacts to that plan.
Passage Reference: whether to bring green bin collection to about 600 apartment and condo buildings that now have none
Tips: Ask what the committee is voting on in March. Find the option that gives that vote in plain words, without the details.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a new landfill site: The landfill is mentioned, but nobody plans to build a new one.
- a shortage of garbage trucks in summer: Extra trucks are part of the cost, but no shortage is described.
- rising rents in Kitchener and Cambridge: These cities are mentioned, but rents are not discussed.
Correct Answer: helpers ready to teach the new sorting rules
Passage Reference: People in my building ask me every month why houses get a green bin and we do not. ... Her association has already found volunteers to explain the new rules in three languages.
Why this is correct: Ndiaye’s association has already found volunteers. They will explain the new rules to tenants in three languages.
Tips: Gather what the article tells you about Ndiaye and her building today. An option counts only if those lines show it is already true.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a green bin beside the elevator on her floor: Her building has no green bin yet. Tenants ask her why houses get one and they do not.
- a contract to supply bins to the region: Ndiaye leads a tenants’ association. She never mentions supplying bins.
- a seat on the region’s public works committee: Ndiaye speaks for tenants. Nothing says she sits on the committee.
Correct Answer: an official’s case for filling the biggest gap
Passage Reference: says the buildings are the biggest gap left ... Every tonne we keep out of it buys us time.
Why this is correct: Paragraph two belongs to Malhotra, who runs waste diversion. She calls the buildings the biggest gap and says every tonne kept out of the landfill buys time.
Tips: Look at “Paragraph two” by itself and decide who is speaking and what that person is doing there. Match that job to one option.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a crew leader’s plan for pickup in the summer: Mulligan talks about summer pickup in paragraph three.
- the cost of the plan and when bins could arrive: The cost and the start date are given in paragraph one.
- tenants who want what houses already have: Ndiaye speaks for tenants later in the article, not here.
Correct Answer: a survey showing garbage rooms have no spare space
Passage Reference: My garbage rooms are already full ... If the region wants new bins, it should supply them and the liners for free
Why this is correct: Markovic says his garbage rooms are already full. A survey showing rooms have no spare space would back his point that owners should not carry the load.
Tips: Find each sentence where Markovic speaks. Picture each option as a new fact, and keep the one that would help his side of the debate.
Why the other options are wrong:
- figures on how much food apartments throw away: Food waste figures support Malhotra’s case for the plan. They say nothing about space or who pays.
- a report that locking lids keep animals out: Locking lids are Mulligan’s condition. They do not touch Markovic’s point about space and cost.
- a survey of older tenants who struggle with bags: Older tenants carrying bags are Ndiaye’s point. Markovic does not talk about tenants.
Correct Answer: most people back the idea but set their own conditions
Passage Reference: has a list of conditions ... worries about who pays ... says residents are ready to sort their scraps
Why this is correct: Malhotra backs the plan outright, and Mulligan and Ndiaye accept it with conditions. Markovic also sets a condition, that the region supply bins and liners for free.
Tips: Look at Malhotra, Mulligan, Markovic and Ndiaye in turn. Throw out any option that even one of their quotes, or the facts of the vote, proves wrong.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the region has already bought the new bins: The committee has not voted yet. Bins could arrive next fall only if the vote passes.
- raccoons are the main danger of the plan: Raccoons are one detail in Mulligan’s quote. They are not the point of the whole article.
- tenants do not want to sort their food scraps: Ndiaye says the opposite. Tenants in her building want to do their part.
Correct Answer: 2010
Passage Reference: Houses in the region have had curbside food waste pickup since 2010
Why this is correct: Houses in the region have had curbside food waste pickup since 2010.
Tips: This blank needs a year. Find where the article explains how long houses have had this service.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 2000: This year is not in the article.
- 2005: This year is not in the article.
- 2015: Houses started earlier than this.
Correct Answer: $1.4 million
Passage Reference: The plan would cost about $1.4 million a year
Why this is correct: The plan would cost about $1.4 million a year, mostly for trucks and staff.
Tips: Read the amounts carefully, because they are close. Find the yearly price of the whole plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- $1.1 million: The yearly cost in the article is higher.
- $1.7 million: The yearly cost in the article is lower.
- $2.4 million: The yearly cost in the article is lower.
Correct Answer: about a third
Passage Reference: About a third of what apartment residents throw away is food
Why this is correct: Malhotra says about a third of what apartment residents throw away is food.
Tips: The commenter means the waste manager. Find the share of apartment garbage she says is food.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about a quarter: Malhotra gives a bigger share.
- about half: Malhotra gives a smaller share.
- nearly two-thirds: Malhotra gives a much smaller share.
Correct Answer: September
Passage Reference: We would need weekly pickup from June to September
Why this is correct: Mulligan says they would need weekly pickup from June to September.
Tips: Look at what the crew supervisor needs during the warm months. Notice where his season of weekly visits stops.
Why the other options are wrong:
- July: July is Mulligan’s example of a hot month. Weekly pickup would last longer.
- August: Mulligan says weekly pickup should run one month longer than this.
- October: Mulligan does not ask for weekly pickup in October.
Correct Answer: four
Passage Reference: Viktor Markovic, who owns four buildings in Cambridge
Why this is correct: Markovic owns four buildings in Cambridge.
Tips: Here the writer means the landlord. Find how the article introduces him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Markovic owns more buildings than this.
- three: Markovic owns one more building than this.
- six: Markovic owns fewer buildings than this.
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