Read the following article from a website.
Peterborough city council will decide next month whether to charge drivers a toll on the city’s two oldest bridges over the Otonabee. An inspection this spring found that the concrete decks of the Carrick Street and Mill Road bridges need about $180 million in repairs within ten years. Under the plan, cameras would charge two dollars per crossing, with a monthly cap of forty dollars, and every cent would go into a fund that only bridge repairs could use.
Aurelia Mendes, an economist who studies public infrastructure, says a toll is the fairest way to pay. “The people who use a bridge every day should help pay for it, rather than a retiree across town who never crosses,” she said. “When the money sits in its own account, drivers can watch the repair fund grow. That builds trust.” Mendes adds that cities with locked repair funds have cut their backlogs within a few years.
Joaquim Monteiro, who cleans operating rooms at the hospital, starts work at six in the morning. “The first bus on my side of the river leaves at six-forty,” Monteiro said. “So I drive, and now I would pay forty dollars a month for the privilege. For me, that is half a day’s wages,” he added. Hilde Marchand, who owns a hardware store on the east bank, worries about her customers. “People will simply shop on their own side of the river,” she said. “Two dollars does not sound like much until it decides where you buy your paint,” Marchand said.
Councillor Rhys Nolan says the plan can work only if transit comes first. He wants an early bus that leaves before five-thirty on both sides of the river before any toll is switched on. “We cannot ask people to pay at the bridge when we have given them no other way across,” Nolan said. “Get the buses running, and the toll becomes a choice instead of a trap. That is the order I will vote for,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph four mainly sets out 2..
At present, Joaquim Monteiro is 3..
Aurelia Mendes would likely say that a separate repair fund 4..
This article would most likely be published in 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 plan to make drivers pay to use two bridges
Why this is correct: Council will decide whether to charge drivers a toll on the city’s two oldest bridges. Every speaker reacts to that plan.
Passage Reference: whether to charge drivers a toll on the city’s two oldest bridges over the Otonabee
Tips: Ask what council will decide next month. Choose the option that gives that decision in simple words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new bus route along the river: Nolan asks for an early bus, but no new route along the river is planned.
- the cost of running the city hospital: Monteiro works at the hospital. Its costs are not discussed.
- a hardware store moving to the east bank: Marchand’s store is already on the east bank. It is not moving.
Correct Answer: a councillor’s condition before he will vote yes
Passage Reference: says the plan can work only if transit comes first ... That is the order I will vote for
Why this is correct: Paragraph four belongs to Councillor Nolan. He will vote for the plan only once early buses run on both sides of the river.
Tips: Study “Paragraph four” on its own. Describe its part in the story in your own words, then choose the closest option.
Why the other options are wrong:
- an economist’s case for a locked repair fund: Mendes makes the case for a locked fund in paragraph two.
- the repair bill and how the charge would work: The repair bill and the charges are set out in paragraph one.
- a store owner’s fear of losing customers: Marchand’s fear for her store comes in paragraph three.
Correct Answer: driving to work since no bus is early enough
Passage Reference: starts work at six in the morning ... The first bus on my side of the river leaves at six-forty ... So I drive
Why this is correct: Monteiro starts work at six, but the first bus leaves at six-forty. So he drives to work.
Tips: Put together Monteiro’s quotes and what the reporter says about his job. Keep the option those lines show is true now.
Why the other options are wrong:
- taking the first bus across the river: The first bus leaves at six-forty, after his shift starts. He drives instead.
- walking over the bridge each morning: Monteiro says he drives. Walking is never mentioned.
- working an evening shift at the hospital: He starts work at six in the morning, not in the evening.
Correct Answer: helps drivers accept paying the charge
Passage Reference: When the money sits in its own account, drivers can watch the repair fund grow. ... That builds trust.
Why this is correct: Mendes says drivers can watch a locked fund grow, and that this builds trust. Trust makes people more ready to accept the charge.
Tips: Go through Mendes’s quotes about a separate fund. Keep the idea that follows from them, and drop one from Nolan, Marchand or no one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would leave too little money for buses: Mendes never says the fund would take money from buses.
- should be spent on early buses first: Early buses first is Nolan’s condition, not Mendes’s.
- would drive shoppers to the other bank: Shoppers changing sides is Marchand’s fear.
Correct Answer: a local paper for people in the city
Passage Reference: Peterborough city council will decide next month
Why this is correct: The article reports a city council decision and what local people think of it. A local paper for people in the city fits.
Tips: Think about the story as a whole and who is quoted in it. Then choose the publication most likely to run it as written.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a travel guide for boaters on the river: The river is only where the bridges are. The article gives no advice for boaters.
- a journal about the science of concrete: The concrete decks are mentioned, but the article does not explain any science.
- a newsletter for hospital cleaning staff: Monteiro works at the hospital, but the article is for everyone who crosses the bridges.
Correct Answer: $180 million
Passage Reference: need about $180 million in repairs within ten years
Why this is correct: The inspection found that the decks need about $180 million in repairs within ten years.
Tips: This blank needs the size of the repair bill. Find what the spring inspection found.
Why the other options are wrong:
- $120 million: The repair bill is bigger than this.
- $150 million: The repair bill is bigger than this.
- $210 million: The repair bill is smaller than this.
Correct Answer: forty dollars
Passage Reference: with a monthly cap of forty dollars
Why this is correct: The plan sets a monthly cap of forty dollars.
Tips: Look for the most a driver would pay in one month.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty dollars: The cap in the article is higher.
- sixty dollars: The cap in the article is lower.
- eighty dollars: The cap in the article is half this amount.
Correct Answer: operating rooms
Passage Reference: Joaquim Monteiro, who cleans operating rooms at the hospital, starts work at six in the morning.
Why this is correct: Monteiro cleans operating rooms at the hospital.
Tips: The commenter means the hospital worker. Find how the article describes his job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- patient rooms: The article names a different part of the hospital.
- hallways: Hallways are not mentioned in the article.
- waiting rooms: Waiting rooms are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: paint
Passage Reference: Two dollars does not sound like much until it decides where you buy your paint
Why this is correct: Marchand says a small charge can decide where you buy your paint.
Tips: Here the writer means the store owner. Find the product she uses as her example.
Why the other options are wrong:
- lumber: Lumber is not mentioned in the article.
- tools: Tools are not mentioned in the article.
- nails: Nails are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: two dollars
Passage Reference: cameras would charge two dollars per crossing
Why this is correct: Under the plan, cameras would charge two dollars per crossing.
Tips: This blank needs the price of one trip over the river. Find how the plan would charge drivers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one dollar: Each crossing costs more than this.
- three dollars: Each crossing costs less than this.
- five dollars: Each crossing costs much less than this.
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