Read the following article from a website.
Members of a century-old stone church in central Winnipeg will vote in May on whether to sell their building to a housing charity. Most Sundays, about forty people worship in a hall built for four hundred, and heating now eats up half of the weekly collection. The charity has offered to keep the outside of the church as it is and turn most of the inside into apartments.
Savitri Ramdass, who plans projects for the charity, says half-empty churches are some of the best building sites left in the city. “These buildings sit beside bus routes, schools and grocery stores, which is exactly where people without cars need to live,” she said. “We can fit about fifty apartments inside without changing a single stone on the front.” Ramdass said her team has counted more than two dozen similar churches across the city.
Veikko Rautio, a heritage architect, says the plan would destroy what makes the building special. “The carved wooden ceiling and the painted wall behind the altar cannot be photographed and rebuilt somewhere else,” Rautio said. “Once they are cut into apartment walls, they are gone. No grant will ever bring them back.” Rautio says he would not object to apartments in the two side wings, as long as the main hall stays one open room, perhaps for concerts or community meals.
Remedios Ruiz, a city planner, says projects like this often stall halfway. “Nobody puts a price on the fire exits, the elevators and the rewiring at the beginning, and then the money runs out with the roof open,” she said. “Agree on those costs before anyone touches a wall,” Ruiz added. Evariste Roussel, the pastor of a smaller church down the street, worries about the people in the pews. “Some of these members have worshipped here for sixty years. Part of the sale price should go toward helping them settle into a new congregation,” he said. “And the charity must explain where everyone will park on a Sunday morning,” Roussel said.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
All of the people quoted seem to agree that the building 2..
Veikko Rautio would likely say that cutting the main hall into apartments 3..
Remedios Ruiz warns that leaving some costs unpriced at the start would lead to 4..
The readers this article is most likely written for are 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: an offer to turn a church into housing
Why this is correct: Members will vote on whether to sell their church to a housing charity. The charity wants to turn most of it into apartments.
Passage Reference: whether to sell their building to a housing charity
Tips: Ask what the four speakers are all giving their views on. An option about something only one speaker mentions is too narrow.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a new church downtown: Nobody plans to build a new church.
- a fundraising drive to repair a church roof: The roof is only mentioned in Ruiz’s warning. No fundraising drive is described.
- a concert series in an old church hall: Concerts are only one idea Rautio has for the main hall.
Correct Answer: could have some apartments inside it
Passage Reference: which is exactly where people without cars need to live ... he would not object to apartments in the two side wings ... Agree on those costs before anyone touches a wall ... Part of the sale price should go toward helping them settle into a new congregation
Why this is correct: Ramdass plans the homes, and Rautio accepts apartments in the side wings. Ruiz lists the fire exits, elevators and rewiring the work needs, and only asks for the costs first. Roussel plans how part of the sale money is spent.
Tips: Go through Ramdass, Rautio, Ruiz and Roussel one by one. Keep an option only if each of them says it or clearly accepts it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should stay exactly as it is today: Nobody says this. Even Rautio would accept apartments in the side wings.
- costs too much to heat for its members: Only the reporter gives the heating cost. The speakers do not all talk about it.
- would make a good concert hall: Only Rautio mentions concerts, as one use for the main hall.
Correct Answer: would be a loss that money cannot fix
Passage Reference: Once they are cut into apartment walls, they are gone. ... No grant will ever bring them back.
Why this is correct: Rautio says the carved ceiling and painted wall cannot be rebuilt. Once they are cut, no grant will ever bring them back.
Tips: Read every sentence Rautio says, inside and outside the quotes. Keep the option that follows from his words, and drop any that matches another speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would give people homes near buses and shops: Homes near buses and shops are Ramdass’s argument for the plan.
- should wait until every cost is agreed: Agreeing costs first is what Ruiz asks for.
- would leave longtime members without a church: The members are Roussel’s concern, not Rautio’s.
Correct Answer: work stopping before the building is finished
Passage Reference: then the money runs out with the roof open
Why this is correct: Ruiz says projects like this often stop before they are done. Nobody prices the hidden work, and the money runs out with the roof open.
Tips: Look closely at what Ruiz says in her own quotes. Pick the option she predicts, and rule out any idea she never mentions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fewer apartments than the charity promised: Ruiz never talks about the number of apartments.
- the carved ceiling being cut apart: The ceiling is Rautio’s concern, not a result Ruiz predicts.
- members leaving for other churches: Roussel talks about the members. Ruiz does not.
Correct Answer: people who follow news in Winnipeg
Passage Reference: Members of a century-old stone church in central Winnipeg will vote in May
Why this is correct: It is a report on a coming vote at a church in central Winnipeg and what local people think. People who follow Winnipeg news fit it.
Tips: Think about who would read this story and why. Check each option against what the article actually reports, and drop any it does not fit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- architects who study church roofs: One architect speaks, but the article does not study roofs. It reports a local vote.
- church leaders in other countries: Everything in it is about one church and one city, not churches abroad.
- tourists planning a trip to Manitoba: Nothing in the article gives travel advice.
Correct Answer: half
Passage Reference: heating now eats up half of the weekly collection
Why this is correct: Heating now eats up half of the weekly collection.
Tips: Find what the article says about the cost of heat. Check what part of the weekly money it takes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a quarter: The article gives a bigger share than a quarter.
- most: The article does not say heating takes most of the money.
- a third: The article gives a bigger share than a third.
Correct Answer: fifty
Passage Reference: We can fit about fifty apartments inside without changing a single stone on the front.
Why this is correct: Ramdass says the charity can fit about fifty apartments inside the church.
Tips: Check which number in the article counts homes, and who gives it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- thirty: Ramdass gives a larger number than thirty.
- forty: Forty is the number of people at Sunday worship, not the number of apartments.
- seventy: Ramdass gives a smaller number than seventy.
Correct Answer: more than two dozen
Passage Reference: Ramdass said her team has counted more than two dozen similar churches across the city.
Why this is correct: Ramdass says her team has counted more than two dozen similar churches across the city.
Tips: The commenter is talking about other buildings like this one. Find how many of them the charity planner has found.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about a dozen: The article gives a larger count than a dozen.
- nearly a hundred: A hundred does not appear in the article. Four hundred is the size of the hall, not a count of churches.
- three dozen: The article does not give this number. The planner says more than two dozen without saying how many more.
Correct Answer: sixty years
Passage Reference: Some of these members have worshipped here for sixty years.
Why this is correct: Roussel says some members have worshipped at the church for sixty years.
Tips: The commenter repeats the pastor’s point about long-time members. Find how long he says they have come to this church.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty years: Roussel gives a much longer time than twenty years.
- eighty years: Roussel gives a shorter time than eighty years.
- forty years: Forty is the number of people at worship, not a number of years.
Correct Answer: park
Passage Reference: And the charity must explain where everyone will park on a Sunday morning
Why this is correct: Roussel says the charity must explain where everyone will park on a Sunday morning.
Tips: The commenter is repeating a question the pastor puts to the charity. Find that question in his quotes and take the verb from it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- gather: Roussel does not ask where people will gather.
- store their things: Storage is not mentioned in the article.
- meet: Roussel’s question is about cars, not meeting places.
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