Read the following article from a website.
Four retired friends in Millbrook want to build a small cluster of homes around a shared kitchen and garden, and their plan has started a citywide debate. The double lot they bought near the public library is zoned for a single detached house. On Tuesday, council began reviewing whether its zoning bylaw should allow cohousing, in which several small homes share common spaces, in neighbourhoods that were built for one family on each lot.
Annabeth Stroud, a researcher who studies aging at a college in Sudbury, told councillors that loneliness is a health problem as well as a sad one. “Older people who eat most of their meals alone end up in hospital more often,” she said. “They also move into care homes years sooner than people who share daily life with others. A shared kitchen can be cheaper than a hospital bed.” Stroud asked council to name cohousing as its own type of housing in the bylaw.
Augustin Sauer, who chairs the Elm Park residents’ association, says his neighbours are worried about traffic. “Our streets are narrow and were built for a few cars, not for care workers, delivery vans and visiting families all day,” Sauer said. “Nobody here is against older people living together. We just want to see how it works before the whole map changes.” He would support three trial sites, each with its own parking rules.
Ngozi Thackeray, an accessibility consultant, warned that good intentions are not enough. “Many older houses have steep front steps and narrow hallways,” she said. “If a person in a wheelchair cannot get through the door, it is not a home for life.” Thackeray wants written design standards in place before any cluster is approved. Councillor Leopoldo Sorel, who chairs the planning committee, said staff will report back in June. “I want that report to answer the parking question and the design question together,” Sorel said. “Residents deserve one clear answer, not two,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Annabeth Stroud’s argument would most likely be supported by 2..
The readers this article is most likely written for are 3..
The author presents the debate as 4..
Ngozi Thackeray would likely say that a cluster with steep front steps 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 proposal to allow shared homes for seniors
Why this is correct: Council is reviewing whether to allow cohousing, where small homes share common spaces. The plan came from four retired friends.
Passage Reference: council began reviewing whether its zoning bylaw should allow cohousing
Tips: Choose the subject that all the quoted opinions are about, not a detail that only one sentence of the article mentions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a new community centre: No new community centre is mentioned. The friends want to build small homes.
- a program that delivers meals to older people: Meals come up in Stroud’s argument, but no delivery program is described.
- a dispute over noise near a care home: Noise is not part of the debate, and no care home is involved in the dispute.
Correct Answer: figures showing shared living costs less than hospital care
Passage Reference: A shared kitchen can be cheaper than a hospital bed.
Why this is correct: Stroud says older people who eat alone end up in hospital more often. She adds that a shared kitchen can be cheaper than a hospital bed, so cost figures would back her.
Tips: Read each of Stroud’s sentences. For every option, ask if it would make Stroud’s case stronger, or if it fits another speaker better.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study of traffic on narrow side streets: This fits Sauer’s worry about traffic, not Stroud’s case.
- a report that many old houses have steep steps: This fits Thackeray’s point about design.
- a survey of noise near shared kitchens: Nobody mentions noise from shared kitchens.
Correct Answer: local residents following the council review
Passage Reference: Four retired friends in Millbrook want to build a small cluster of homes around a shared kitchen and garden
Why this is correct: The article reports a plan by four friends in Millbrook and the council’s review of its bylaw. It is written for the people who live there.
Tips: Read the article as a whole once more. Then picture the people named in each option, and decide who would care most about this report.
Why the other options are wrong:
- builders looking for design advice: Thackeray wants design standards, but the article gives builders no advice.
- doctors who treat lonely patients: Stroud talks about health, but the article gives doctors no medical advice.
- tourists planning a holiday nearby: The article gives no travel information.
Correct Answer: something the whole city is now discussing
Passage Reference: their plan has started a citywide debate
Why this is correct: The reporter says the friends’ plan has started a citywide debate. A plan for one double lot is shown as a question for the whole city.
Tips: Read only the reporter’s own lines, the ones outside quotation marks. Then hold each option up against those lines.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a quarrel between a few neighbours: The reporter calls it citywide, not a quarrel among a few people.
- a fight the friends have already won: Council has only begun its review, so nothing is won yet.
- a matter for care homes alone: Care homes come up only in Stroud’s point about health.
Correct Answer: would not suit people as they age
Passage Reference: If a person in a wheelchair cannot get through the door, it is not a home for life.
Why this is correct: Thackeray says a house is not a home for life if a person in a wheelchair cannot get through the door. Steep steps would fail people as they grow older.
Tips: Read Thackeray’s quotes and judge each option by them. Rule out an idea when Thackeray is not the one who gives it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would be too costly to build: Nobody talks about the cost of building with steps.
- would bring too much traffic: Traffic is Sauer’s worry.
- should be built only near shops: Nobody says clusters should be built near shops.
Correct Answer: public library
Passage Reference: The double lot they bought near the public library is zoned for a single detached house.
Why this is correct: The double lot the friends bought is near the public library.
Tips: You need a landmark. Find where the article describes the land the four friends bought.
Why the other options are wrong:
- community centre: A community centre is not mentioned in the article.
- seniors’ centre: A seniors’ centre is not mentioned. The article names a different public building.
- post office: The article does not mention a post office.
Correct Answer: visiting families
Passage Reference: not for care workers, delivery vans and visiting families all day
Why this is correct: Sauer says the streets were built for a few cars, not for care workers, delivery vans and visiting families all day.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the association chair’s description of the extra traffic. Find the third group he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- school buses: Sauer does not mention school buses.
- garbage trucks: Garbage trucks are not mentioned in the article.
- tour groups: Tour groups are not mentioned. Sauer names people who would come to see the residents.
Correct Answer: parking
Passage Reference: He would support three trial sites, each with its own parking rules.
Why this is correct: Sauer would support three trial sites, each with its own parking rules.
Tips: The commenter is describing the association chair’s plan for trial sites. Find the sentence about those sites and read the kind of rules named there.
Why the other options are wrong:
- delivery: Sauer mentions delivery vans, but the rules he names for each site are not about deliveries.
- visitor: Sauer mentions visiting families, but he does not ask for visitor rules.
- noise: Sauer does not ask for noise rules.
Correct Answer: answer
Passage Reference: Residents deserve one clear answer, not two
Why this is correct: Sorel says residents deserve one clear answer, not two.
Tips: Find the councillor’s words about what residents deserve. Check the exact noun he uses.
Why the other options are wrong:
- report: Sorel talks about a staff report, but here he says residents deserve one clear answer.
- vote: Sorel does not mention a vote.
- plan: Sorel does not say residents deserve one plan, and he uses a different word.
Correct Answer: June
Passage Reference: said staff will report back in June
Why this is correct: Sorel said staff will report back in June.
Tips: You need a month. Find what the councillor says about the next step for staff.
Why the other options are wrong:
- March: March is not mentioned in the article.
- September: September is not mentioned in the article.
- December: December is not mentioned in the article.
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