Read the following article from a website.
The province is preparing to widen its rules on French-language service. Under a bill now before the legislature, about three hundred more front counters, phone lines and hospital intake desks would have to serve the public in French as well as English within two years. Supporters say French speakers wait too long for help, while some employers say they cannot find enough bilingual staff that quickly. The government expects a final vote before the summer break.
Simone Poirier, a lawyer who works on language rights, says the current system leaves too much to chance. “A French speaker who calls the provincial health line waits on hold almost twice as long as an English speaker,” Poirier said. “That is not bad luck. It is a service that only works for some of the people who pay for it.” She also wants bilingual staff to be paid a bonus for the extra skill.
Torvald Okerlund, who runs hiring for a city of about ninety thousand people, supports the goal but not the timeline. “In a city like ours, maybe two applicants a year can pass the French test,” Okerlund said. “If the law creates forty posts at once, those desks will simply sit empty.” Okerlund added that training takes time. “A fluent clerk needs about eighteen months of classes,” he said. He would rather add the posts in stages, as each new class of trained staff graduates.
Daria Petrenko, who represents front-line workers in their union, says she sees the strain every week. “Our bilingual members are called away from their own work ten times a day to translate for other departments,” Petrenko said. “Pay them for that skill and give them time for it, or they will burn out.” Emre Ozdemir, who guides patients through a regional hospital, worries most about emergency care. “When an interpreter is booked at the last minute, mistakes at intake go up,” Ozdemir said. “A patient who cannot explain where it hurts should not have to wait for a video call to connect.” He wants bilingual staff on every emergency shift.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Most likely, Torvald Okerlund has 2..
Paragraph two mainly explains 3..
The reporter’s tone can best be described as 4..
Emre Ozdemir warns that booking an interpreter at the last minute would lead to 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 require more services in French
Why this is correct: A bill would make many more counters, phone lines and desks serve the public in French. Each speaker reacts to that bill.
Passage Reference: front counters, phone lines and hospital intake desks would have to serve the public in French as well as English
Tips: Check every option against Poirier, Okerlund, Petrenko and Ozdemir, speaker by speaker. Think about what a short headline for the whole article would cover.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new test for teachers of French: Okerlund mentions a French test for job applicants, not for teachers.
- a new phone line for tourists: Tourists are not mentioned in the article.
- a shortage of doctors in small towns: Doctors are not discussed in the article.
Correct Answer: trouble finding applicants who speak French well
Passage Reference: In a city like ours, maybe two applicants a year can pass the French test
Why this is correct: Okerlund runs hiring for his city. He says maybe two applicants a year can pass the French test, so he likely finds such staff hard to hire.
Tips: Look at what Okerlund says about his own city. Ask which option his words make most likely, and drop ideas that belong to anyone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a staff of clerks who all speak French: If so few applicants pass the test, his staff are unlikely to be fully French-speaking.
- a plan to fill forty posts this year: Okerlund says forty posts at once would sit empty. He wants to add them in stages.
- a job in a hospital emergency room: Ozdemir works in a hospital. Okerlund runs hiring for a city.
Correct Answer: the case that the present system is unfair to French speakers
Passage Reference: It is a service that only works for some of the people who pay for it.
Why this is correct: Paragraph two quotes Poirier on how long French callers wait. She says the system only works for some of the people who pay for it.
Tips: Reread “Paragraph two” on its own. Decide what it is there to do, then find the option that says so.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why hiring French-speaking staff will take a long time: Okerlund explains this in paragraph three.
- the strain on workers who translate for others: Petrenko describes this in paragraph four.
- how much the new bill would cost the province: The article never gives a cost for the bill.
Correct Answer: fair to supporters and employers alike
Passage Reference: Supporters say French speakers wait too long for help, while some employers say they cannot find enough bilingual staff that quickly.
Why this is correct: In the reporter’s own sentence, supporters say French speakers wait too long, while some employers say they cannot hire fast enough. Each side gets the same space.
Tips: Read only what the reporter says outside the quotes. Then judge which option describes how those lines sound.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry with slow employers: The reporter reports the employers’ view calmly and does not criticize them.
- alarmed about patient safety: Patient safety is Ozdemir’s concern. The reporter does not show alarm.
- dismissive of language rights: The reporter reports the supporters’ view fairly and does not dismiss it.
Correct Answer: more errors when patients first arrive
Passage Reference: When an interpreter is booked at the last minute, mistakes at intake go up
Why this is correct: Ozdemir guides patients through a hospital. He says mistakes at intake go up when an interpreter is booked at the last minute.
Tips: Find Ozdemir’s quotes and read them with care. Choose what he says will follow, and reject what other people say or no one says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- longer waits for a hospital bed: Nobody in the article talks about waiting for a bed.
- staff being pulled from their own work: Petrenko says this happens to bilingual workers. It is not Ozdemir’s warning.
- higher costs for training new clerks: Okerlund talks about training time. Ozdemir does not mention it.
Correct Answer: three hundred
Passage Reference: about three hundred more front counters, phone lines and hospital intake desks
Why this is correct: The bill would add about three hundred more counters, phone lines and hospital intake desks.
Tips: The commenter names the same kinds of places as the article. Find the count that goes with them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- thirty: The number in the article is ten times bigger.
- one hundred: The number in the article is three times bigger.
- three thousand: The number in the article is ten times smaller.
Correct Answer: a bonus
Passage Reference: She also wants bilingual staff to be paid a bonus for the extra skill.
Why this is correct: Poirier wants bilingual staff to be paid a bonus for the extra skill.
Tips: The commenter means the lawyer. Find what she says bilingual staff should get for their skill.
Why the other options are wrong:
- extra holidays: Poirier does not ask for extra holidays.
- free courses: Poirier does not mention courses. Training comes up only in Okerlund’s words.
- a shorter week: A shorter week is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: ten times
Passage Reference: Our bilingual members are called away from their own work ten times a day to translate for other departments
Why this is correct: Petrenko says her members are called away from their own work ten times a day to translate.
Tips: The commenter repeats the union representative’s figure. Find how often she says her members must stop what they are doing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six times: Petrenko gives a bigger number than this.
- eight times: Petrenko gives a bigger number than this.
- twelve times: Petrenko gives a smaller number than this.
Correct Answer: a video call
Passage Reference: A patient who cannot explain where it hurts should not have to wait for a video call to connect.
Why this is correct: Ozdemir says a patient should not have to wait for a video call to connect. The commenter’s mother had exactly that wait.
Tips: The commenter’s story matches the hospital worker’s example. Find what he says a patient should never be kept waiting for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a family member: Ozdemir does not mention waiting for family.
- a written form: Forms are not mentioned in the article.
- a second nurse: Ozdemir does not mention a second nurse.
Correct Answer: two years
Passage Reference: would have to serve the public in French as well as English within two years
Why this is correct: The new counters, lines and desks would have to serve the public in French within two years.
Tips: The commenter needs a deadline here. Find how long the bill gives the province.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eighteen months: Eighteen months is how long Okerlund says training takes, not the deadline in the bill.
- three years: The bill gives a shorter time than this.
- four years: The bill gives a shorter time than this.
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