Read the following article from a website.
Islanders on British Columbia’s coast have complained for years that they pay far more to reach the mainland than city commuters pay for short harbour crossings. A family of four with a car pays about eighty dollars for a return trip from Gabriola Island to Nanaimo. The province is now studying a single fare scale for every public ferry route, and the ferry corporation will present its own report to the transport committee in February.
Bronwyn Sitwell, who speaks for a coalition of island residents, says the current system punishes people for where they live. “We are not asking for free rides,” she said. “We cannot drive around the water to see a specialist or get our kids to a tournament. For us the ferry is the highway, and nobody pays a toll every time they use the highway.” Sitwell’s first step would be a cap on fares for medical and school trips.
Fabian Trask, a transport economist, accepts the caps but warns against flattening every fare at once. “If fares fall and the grant from the province stays the same, the money has to come from somewhere,” Trask said. “Usually it comes out of the repair budget. Put off one big repair to keep tickets cheap, and the following winter that ship stays in port.” He wants the corporation to publish what each route costs to run.
Haruka Stoddard, who plans repairs for the ferry corporation, says four of the fleet’s vessels are more than forty years old. “Old ships break down more often, and every breakdown means a cancelled sailing,” she explained. “We need a long-term plan for new ships before we change how fares work.” Olumide Tavares, who runs a kayak-tour company on Quadra Island, cares less about the level of fares than about surprises. “Last spring a fare rose by twenty percent with three weeks’ notice, and I lost bookings from tour groups,” Tavares said. “Tell me a year ahead, and I can plan for almost anything,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Sitwell, people on the islands 2..
The author presents the issue as 3..
Fabian Trask would likely say that lower fares 4..
This article would most likely be published in 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 study of one fare scale for all crossings
Why this is correct: The province is studying a single fare scale for every public ferry crossing. Every speaker reacts to this idea.
Passage Reference: The province is now studying a single fare scale for every public ferry
Tips: Check each option against what Sitwell, Trask, Stoddard and Tavares say. Keep the option that every one of them talks about.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to build a bridge to the islands: Nobody talks about building a bridge.
- a shortage of workers on ferry crews: Ferry crews are not discussed in the article.
- a new kayak-tour service on the coast: Tavares already runs a kayak company. No new service is described.
Correct Answer: have no other way to reach many services
Passage Reference: We cannot drive around the water to see a specialist or get our kids to a tournament.
Why this is correct: Sitwell says islanders cannot drive around the water to see a specialist or get their children to a tournament. The ferry is their only road.
Tips: Read Sitwell’s quoted sentences and check each option against them. Rule out any idea that Sitwell herself does not give.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should ride the boats for free: Sitwell says, “We are not asking for free rides.”
- pay less than city commuters do: The article says islanders pay far more than city commuters.
- want more sailings late at night: Sitwell never asks for late sailings. Her first step is a cap on fares for medical and school trips.
Correct Answer: a problem that has gone on for years
Passage Reference: Islanders on British Columbia’s coast have complained for years that they pay far more to reach the mainland
Why this is correct: The reporter opens by saying islanders have complained for years about paying far more to reach the mainland. So the issue is shown as an old one.
Tips: Read the reporter’s own words, the lines outside quotation marks. Test each option against those lines alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new problem that began last spring: The fare rise last spring is one example from Tavares. The complaints go back years.
- a demand for free rides to the mainland: Sitwell says islanders are not asking for free rides.
- a matter only tourists care about: The reporter says islanders have complained, so it is not only tourists.
Correct Answer: can hurt service if no new money comes
Passage Reference: If fares fall and the grant from the province stays the same, the money has to come from somewhere
Why this is correct: Trask says that if fares fall while the grant stays the same, the money usually comes out of repairs. Then a ship can stay in port the next winter.
Tips: Read every sentence Trask says. Weigh each option against Trask’s words, and drop any idea that he never puts forward.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should start everywhere at the same time: Trask warns against flattening every fare at once.
- would pay for themselves through more riders: Nobody says lower fares would pay for themselves.
- matter less than early notice of changes: Early notice is Tavares’s concern, not Trask’s.
Correct Answer: a newspaper for readers in the region
Passage Reference: Olumide Tavares, who runs a kayak-tour company on Quadra Island, cares less about the level of fares than about surprises.
Why this is correct: The story reports a provincial study and quotes islanders, an economist and a local business owner. It fits a newspaper for people in that region.
Tips: Think about who speaks in this article and what it reports. Imagine each publication in the options, and ask if that publication would pick this story to run.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a guide for tourists booking kayak trips: Tavares runs kayak tours, but the article gives no booking advice.
- a journal for engineers who build ships: Repairs come up, but the article does not explain how ships are built.
- a national magazine about city transit: The story is about coastal ferries in one province, not city transit across Canada.
Correct Answer: eighty dollars
Passage Reference: A family of four with a car pays about eighty dollars for a return trip
Why this is correct: A family of four with a car pays about eighty dollars for a return trip from Gabriola Island to Nanaimo.
Tips: You need a price. Find the example the article gives for a family travelling with a car.
Why the other options are wrong:
- sixty dollars: Sixty dollars is not in the article. The price is higher.
- seventy dollars: Seventy dollars is not in the article.
- one hundred dollars: That price is much higher than the one in the article.
Correct Answer: February
Passage Reference: the ferry corporation will present its own report to the transport committee in February
Why this is correct: The ferry corporation will present its own report to the transport committee in February.
Tips: Here you need a month. Find when the ferry corporation will share its findings.
Why the other options are wrong:
- November: November is not mentioned in the article.
- June: June is not mentioned in the article.
- September: September is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: route
Passage Reference: He wants the corporation to publish what each route costs to run.
Why this is correct: Trask wants the corporation to publish what each route costs to run.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the economist’s request to the ferry corporation. Find what he wants the cost of.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ship: Trask does not ask for the cost of each ship.
- sailing: Trask talks about sailings being cancelled, but he asks for the cost of something bigger.
- terminal: Terminals are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: four
Passage Reference: four of the fleet’s vessels are more than forty years old
Why this is correct: Stoddard says four of the fleet’s vessels are more than forty years old.
Tips: The commenter means the person who plans repairs. Find how many ships she says are old, and do not confuse this with their age.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Two is not the number Stoddard gives for the old ships.
- three: Three is not in the article as a number of ships.
- six: Six is not in the article.
Correct Answer: three weeks’
Passage Reference: Last spring a fare rose by twenty percent with three weeks’ notice
Why this is correct: Tavares says a fare rose by twenty percent with three weeks’ notice last spring.
Tips: Find the kayak operator’s story about last spring. Check how much warning he really got.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three days’: The notice in the article was longer than three days.
- three months’: Three months is not in the article. The notice was shorter.
- one year’s: A year is what Tavares wants, not the notice he actually got.
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