Read the following article from a website.
The owners of the Calderton Lynx, the city’s minor-league hockey team, want a new downtown arena, and they are asking the city to help pay for it. The plan before council calls for a 9,000-seat building on an empty rail yard beside the harbour, at a cost of about 240 million dollars. The owners would pay half, and the city would borrow the rest. Council is expected to vote on the deal in March.
Dorothea Stanek, an economist who studies sports buildings, says arenas rarely pay for themselves. “Fans have only so much money to spend on a night out,” she said. “If they buy hockey tickets downtown, they spend less at restaurants and cinemas in other neighbourhoods. The city as a whole does not get any richer.” Stanek adds that public money can still make sense if the deal guarantees rink time for community groups.
Raymond Tulloch, who runs a family restaurant two blocks from the rail yard, sees it differently. “On the nights the team plays at the old arena across town, that neighbourhood is full until midnight,” Tulloch said. “Right now my street is empty after seven. A building like this would keep places like mine open.” He admits he has not seen any figures, but says he trusts what he has watched happen in other cities.
Councillor Amira Sabri, who sits on the finance committee, says the real danger lies in the contract. “If attendance falls short, the city could be paying the debt long after the team has moved on,” she warned. “I want the owners to sign a lease of at least thirty years before I vote yes.” Hamish Strand, who coaches a girls’ team for players under twelve, wants a promise about ice time. “Our players practise at six in the morning because there is no other ice in the city,” Strand said. “If taxpayers help build it, local kids should get to skate in it,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph three mainly gives 2..
Dorothea Stanek’s views would most likely be supported by 3..
The author presents the plan as 4..
At present, Raymond Tulloch sees 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 request for public money to build an arena
Why this is correct: The team’s owners want a new arena and are asking the city to help pay for it. Every speaker reacts to that request.
Passage Reference: they are asking the city to help pay for it
Tips: Ask which option covers the whole article rather than one speaker’s part of it. Side details from a single quote are not the main subject.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to move the team to another city: Nobody says the team will move to another city. Sabri only worries about it leaving one day.
- a new hockey program for young girls: Strand already coaches a girls’ team. The article does not describe a new program.
- a dispute over restaurant hours downtown: Tulloch mentions his street being empty at night. That is one example, not the main issue.
Correct Answer: a local business owner’s hopes for the arena
Passage Reference: A building like this would keep places like mine open.
Why this is correct: Paragraph three belongs to Tulloch, who runs a family restaurant near the rail yard. He believes the arena would keep businesses like his open.
Tips: Look again at “Paragraph three” and decide what it adds to the story. Choose the option that fits those lines, not a detail from another part.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a coach’s plea for ice time for young players: Strand’s call for ice time comes in paragraph four.
- a councillor’s worries about the city’s debt: Sabri’s worry about debt comes in paragraph four.
- the prices of tickets at the new building: The article never gives ticket prices.
Correct Answer: a study finding that city-wide spending stays flat after arenas open
Passage Reference: The city as a whole does not get any richer.
Why this is correct: Stanek says fans who spend money at the arena spend less in other neighbourhoods, so the city as a whole gains nothing. A study showing flat city-wide spending would back her.
Tips: Read Stanek’s quotes and every line about her. Picture each option as proven, and ask if Stanek would welcome it or if someone else would.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report that the old arena’s area is busy on game nights: This fits Tulloch’s hopes for his street, not Stanek’s point about spending.
- a poll showing most fans prefer weekend games: Nobody in the article talks about which days fans prefer.
- a plan to sell the old arena for housing: Nobody mentions selling the old arena. It does not touch Stanek’s point about spending.
Correct Answer: a costly plan set out mainly in facts and figures
Passage Reference: at a cost of about 240 million dollars ... Council is expected to vote on the deal in March.
Why this is correct: The reporter gives the cost, about 240 million dollars, the site and the date of the vote. The reporter does not take a side.
Tips: Read only the sentences outside quotation marks, where the reporter is speaking. Then compare each option with those sentences and nothing else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a gift the city would be foolish to refuse: The reporter does not praise the deal.
- a waste of money that must be stopped: The reporter gives no opinion against it. Only the speakers raise doubts.
- a risk the reporter clearly fears: The reporter shows no feeling about the plan. Only Sabri warns about risk.
Correct Answer: few customers on his block in the evening
Passage Reference: Right now my street is empty after seven.
Why this is correct: Tulloch says that right now his street is empty after seven. So at present he sees few people near his restaurant in the evening.
Tips: Find the quotes that belong to Tulloch and read them closely. Match each option to his words, and strike out any that Tulloch never says himself.
Why the other options are wrong:
- crowds near his restaurant until midnight: The crowds until midnight are near the old arena across town, not near his restaurant.
- figures showing that arenas help restaurants: Tulloch admits he has not seen any figures.
- hockey fans filling his tables on game nights: The team plays at the old arena across town, so fans do not fill his tables now.
Correct Answer: 9,000
Passage Reference: The plan before council calls for a 9,000-seat building on an empty rail yard beside the harbour
Why this is correct: The plan calls for a 9,000-seat building on an empty rail yard.
Tips: This blank needs the size of the building. Find how big the proposed arena would be.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 6,000: The article gives a larger number of seats than this.
- 12,000: This is more seats than the plan calls for.
- 15,000: The number of seats in the article is much smaller than this.
Correct Answer: half
Passage Reference: The owners would pay half, and the city would borrow the rest.
Why this is correct: The owners would pay half, and the city would borrow the rest.
Tips: You need a share of the cost. Find how the article divides the bill between the owners and the city.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a quarter: The owners’ share in the article is bigger than a quarter.
- a third: A third is not in the article. The owners pay more.
- two thirds: The owners’ share is smaller than two thirds.
Correct Answer: community groups
Passage Reference: Stanek adds that public money can still make sense if the deal guarantees rink time for community groups.
Why this is correct: Stanek says public money can still make sense if the deal guarantees rink time for community groups.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the economist’s condition. Find who she thinks should get time on the ice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- school teams: Schools are not mentioned in the article.
- girls’ teams: Strand coaches a girls’ team, but Stanek uses a wider term.
- figure skating clubs: Figure skating is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: thirty-year
Passage Reference: I want the owners to sign a lease of at least thirty years before I vote yes.
Why this is correct: Sabri wants the owners to sign a lease of at least thirty years before she votes yes. A thirty-year lease is the shortest she would accept.
Tips: The commenter means the councillor on the finance committee. Find what she demands before she will support the deal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten-year: A ten-year lease is far shorter than the one Sabri demands.
- twenty-year: Twenty years is not in the article. Sabri asks for a longer lease than that.
- fifty-year: Fifty years is not in the article. Sabri names a shorter period.
Correct Answer: six in the morning
Passage Reference: Our players practise at six in the morning because there is no other ice in the city
Why this is correct: Strand says his players practise at six in the morning because there is no other ice in the city.
Tips: Find what the coach says about his team’s practice schedule. Check the time he gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- five in the morning: Strand gives a slightly later hour than this.
- ten at night: Strand does not mention night practices.
- eleven at night: Strand does not mention night practices.
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