Read the following article from a website.
Council in the Rural Municipality of Tamarack Plains, Saskatchewan, will vote in February on a bylaw that would ban crop spraying within 100 metres of a school or a certified organic farm. Farmers would also have to stop spraying near those places whenever the wind is stronger than fifteen kilometres an hour. The municipality has two rural schools and eleven organic farms, and almost all of them border fields of canola or wheat.
Everett Mabry, the principal of a school that sits beside a canola field, says the rule is overdue. “Twice last June, we called every child in from recess because a sprayer was working the far edge of the field on a windy afternoon,” he said. “I still do not know what blew over the fence. Parents deserve better than a guess.” Mabry would accept a smaller strip if spraying were simply banned during school hours.
Ingvild Nygaard, an agronomist who advises growers in three municipalities, supports wider strips but wants help for farmers too. “Drift-reducing nozzles cost about two thousand dollars for a sprayer, and most farmers would use them if someone shared the bill,” she said. “A written wind record before every job would also settle a lot of arguments. Nobody can argue with a number written down at the time,” Nygaard said. Wesley Mattson, who grows wheat east of town, says a single 100-metre rule ignores how land is shaped. “Creeks and roads already cut my fields into odd pieces,” Mattson said. “Take another hundred metres off some of them, and there is nothing left worth seeding,” he added.
Rachida Nadeau, who farms organically two roads over, says her worry is about money as much as health. “One positive test for spray residue and my grocery contract is cancelled for the whole year,” Nadeau said. “I am not asking my neighbours to stop farming. I am asking for a text message one day before they spray, so I can cover my beds and the beekeepers can move their hives,” she explained.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Mattson, losing another strip of land would leave 2..
This article shows that 3..
The author presents the proposal as 4..
Most likely, Everett Mabry feels 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 rule to keep crop chemicals away from certain places
Why this is correct: Council will vote on a bylaw that bans crop spraying near schools and organic farms. Every speaker reacts to that bylaw.
Passage Reference: a bylaw that would ban crop spraying
Tips: Test each option against Mabry, Nygaard, Mattson and Nadeau, one by one. Narrow options match one moment in the story, while the topic matches the story as a whole.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a new rural school: The schools already exist. Nobody plans a new one.
- a new price rule for canola growers: Canola fields are mentioned, but nobody talks about prices.
- a dispute over water for local farms: Nobody argues about water in the article.
Correct Answer: some of his fields not worth planting
Passage Reference: Creeks and roads already cut my fields into odd pieces ... there is nothing left worth seeding
Why this is correct: Mattson says creeks and roads already cut his fields into odd pieces. Take another strip off some, and nothing is left worth seeding.
Tips: Look at Mattson’s quoted sentences together. Choose the option that gives his point in new words, not one he never makes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- his crops open to drift from neighbours: Mattson does not talk about drift reaching his crops.
- the creeks on his land full of runoff: Creeks already cut up his fields. He never mentions runoff.
- his neighbours with more land to farm: Mattson never says the land would go to his neighbours.
Correct Answer: people disagree on how strict the limits should be
Passage Reference: says the rule is overdue ... supports wider strips but wants help for farmers too ... ignores how land is shaped ... I am not asking my neighbours to stop farming.
Why this is correct: Mabry calls the rule overdue, and Nygaard backs wider strips with help. Mattson objects to one fixed width, and Nadeau asks only for notice.
Tips: Compare Mabry, Nygaard, Mattson and Nadeau with one another. Keep the choice that holds for the whole article and that no quote makes false.
Why the other options are wrong:
- most farmers plan to stop growing canola: Nobody says farmers will stop growing canola. Canola fields are only named as neighbours of schools and farms.
- most farmers already own drift-reducing nozzles: Nygaard says most farmers would use the nozzles if someone shared the bill. So most do not have them.
- organic farmers want their neighbours to stop farming: Nadeau says she is not asking her neighbours to stop farming.
Correct Answer: a rule touching almost every school and organic farm
Passage Reference: The municipality has two rural schools and eleven organic farms ... almost all of them border fields of canola
Why this is correct: The reporter says almost all of the municipality’s schools and organic farms border crop fields. So the rule would touch nearly every one.
Tips: Study only the reporter’s factual sentences about the municipality. Pick the description they support, and reject any opinion the reporter never gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rule that should be passed quickly: The reporter gives no opinion. Support and objections come from the people quoted.
- a change that would touch only a single farm: There are two schools and eleven organic farms, and almost all of them border fields.
- a rule that every farmer there already follows: Council has not voted yet, so farmers do not follow the rule now.
Correct Answer: uneasy about what reached the children
Passage Reference: we called every child in from recess ... I still do not know what blew over the fence. ... Parents deserve better than a guess.
Why this is correct: Mabry called the children in from recess because of a sprayer on a windy day. He still does not know what blew over the fence.
Tips: Gather Mabry’s quotes and the reporter’s lines about him. Ask how he must feel, judging only from what he says happened.
Why the other options are wrong:
- certain that the spray did no harm: Mabry says he still does not know what blew over. He is not sure it was harmless.
- angry at the farmer who owns the field: Mabry never blames the farmer. He says parents deserve better than a guess.
- happy with the rules as they stand: Mabry calls the rule overdue, so he is not happy with things as they are.
Correct Answer: 100 metres
Passage Reference: within 100 metres of a school or a certified organic farm
Why this is correct: The bylaw would ban crop spraying within 100 metres of a school or a certified organic farm.
Tips: This blank needs a distance. Find the width the bylaw sets.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 50 metres: The strip in the bylaw is wider.
- 150 metres: The strip in the bylaw is narrower.
- 200 metres: The strip in the bylaw is half this width.
Correct Answer: fifteen kilometres
Passage Reference: whenever the wind is stronger than fifteen kilometres an hour
Why this is correct: Farmers would have to stop spraying near those places whenever the wind is stronger than fifteen kilometres an hour.
Tips: Look for the wind speed the bylaw uses as its limit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten kilometres: The bylaw allows a stronger wind than this.
- twenty kilometres: The bylaw sets a lower limit.
- thirty kilometres: The bylaw sets a much lower limit.
Correct Answer: three
Passage Reference: an agronomist who advises growers in three municipalities
Why this is correct: The article says Nygaard advises growers in three municipalities.
Tips: The commenter means the agronomist. Find how the article introduces her work.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Nygaard advises growers in more places than this.
- four: Nygaard advises growers in fewer places than this.
- five: Nygaard advises growers in fewer places than this.
Correct Answer: wheat
Passage Reference: Wesley Mattson, who grows wheat east of town
Why this is correct: The article says Mattson grows wheat east of town.
Tips: Here the writer means the farmer east of town. Find the crop the article says he grows.
Why the other options are wrong:
- canola: Canola grows beside the school, but Mattson grows something else.
- barley: Barley is not mentioned in the article.
- oats: Oats are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: one day
Passage Reference: I am asking for a text message one day before they spray
Why this is correct: Nadeau asks for a text message one day before her neighbours spray.
Tips: The commenter is thinking of the organic grower. Find how much warning she asks for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two hours: Nadeau asks for more warning than this.
- two days: Nadeau asks for less warning than this.
- one week: Nadeau asks for much less warning than this.
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