Read the following article from a website.
A company called Bluefen Water wants to fill ocean tankers with fresh water from a large northern lake and sell it to cities overseas that are short of water after years of drought. Canada has refused bulk water exports for decades, but the company has asked the province to approve a loading dock at Port Orrin, a town of 2,400 people on the lake’s southern shore. The province will hold public hearings in March before it decides.
Rowan Yates, who speaks for Bluefen Water, says the plan would take only a tiny share of the lake. “Every year, far more water than we would ever ship flows out of this lake and down to the sea,” Yates said. “We would bring forty jobs to a town that has lost its paper mill. Families here deserve that chance.”
Henrike Yusuf, a hydrologist who studies northern lakes and the groundwater beneath them, disagrees. “People see a big lake and think it is endless,” she said. “Much of this water is fed by aquifers that take decades to refill. Once you take it out in bulk, you cannot simply put it back.” Yusuf would allow small bottled shipments but no tankers. Teodor Vukovic, a trade lawyer in Toronto, worries about a different problem. “If Canada says no, the reason has to be science, and the same limits have to apply to our own factories,” Vukovic explained. “Otherwise a trade panel will call the ban protection for local business.”
Elias Wapachee, a water guardian for a First Nation whose territory includes the lake, says his people have not been asked. “Our treaty gives us rights on this water, and nobody from the company has come to our council,” Wapachee said. “Before a single tanker leaves that dock, our nation must agree.” Yates replies that his company wants to meet the nation soon. “We are ready to sit down with the council tomorrow, and we will pay for an independent study of the lake,” Yates said.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Henrike Yusuf would likely say that the size of the lake 2..
According to Vukovic, a ban on exports 3..
The main point of the article is that 4..
The author presents the plan as 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 ship large amounts of lake water abroad
Why this is correct: Bluefen Water wants to fill ocean tankers with lake water and sell it overseas. Every speaker reacts to that plan.
Passage Reference: A company called Bluefen Water wants to fill ocean tankers with fresh water from a large northern lake and sell it to cities overseas
Tips: A main idea option should match what every speaker talks about. Reject any option that describes a detail from a single quote, even if the detail is true.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a drought that has dried up a northern lake: The drought is in the overseas cities that want the water, not at the lake.
- a paper mill that may soon reopen in a small town: The paper mill has closed. Nobody says it will reopen.
- a new treaty between a First Nation and Ottawa: Wapachee mentions an existing treaty. No new treaty is being signed.
Correct Answer: is a poor guide to how much can be taken
Passage Reference: People see a big lake and think it is endless ... Once you take it out in bulk, you cannot simply put it back.
Why this is correct: Yusuf says people see a big lake and think it is endless. She explains that much of the water comes from aquifers that refill slowly, so size alone misleads.
Tips: Stick to Yusuf’s quoted lines. Ask which option they lead to, and drop anything that comes from another speaker or from nobody.
Why the other options are wrong:
- shows the exports would hardly be noticed: Yates says far more water flows out each year than they would ship. Yusuf disagrees.
- matters less than the nation’s treaty rights: Wapachee talks about treaty rights. Yusuf does not compare them with the lake’s size.
- proves a trade panel would accept a ban: Vukovic talks about trade panels. Yusuf does not.
Correct Answer: would have to cover Canada’s own factories too
Passage Reference: If Canada says no, the reason has to be science, and the same limits have to apply to our own factories
Why this is correct: Vukovic says a refusal must rest on science, and the same limits must apply to Canada’s own factories. Otherwise a trade panel could call the ban protection for local business.
Tips: Read what Vukovic says in the quote. The answer puts one of those points in simpler words, so drop anything Vukovic does not say.
Why the other options are wrong:
- would need the First Nation’s full consent: Wapachee says his nation must agree. Vukovic does not talk about consent.
- would cost the town its new jobs: Yates talks about jobs for the town. Vukovic does not say a ban would cost jobs.
- would keep the lake from running dry: Yusuf worries about the lake’s water. Vukovic talks about how a ban would hold up in trade law.
Correct Answer: a chance for new work comes with serious doubts
Passage Reference: Teodor Vukovic, a trade lawyer in Toronto, worries about a different problem.
Why this is correct: Yates says the dock would bring jobs to a town that lost its mill. Yusuf doubts the lake can refill, Vukovic warns about trade law, and Wapachee says his nation has not agreed.
Tips: Check each option against Yates, Yusuf, Vukovic and Wapachee. Choose the one the article as a whole supports, not a point from one quote.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the lake is drying up after years of drought: The drought is in the overseas cities. The article does not say the lake is drying up.
- the First Nation has already agreed to the dock: Wapachee says nobody from the company has come to his council.
- trade law would protect any ban on exports: Vukovic warns that a trade panel could call a ban protection for local business.
Correct Answer: a business request that needs the province’s approval
Passage Reference: the company has asked the province to approve a loading dock at Port Orrin
Why this is correct: According to the reporter, the company has asked the province to approve a loading dock. So the plan is a request that still needs the province to say yes.
Tips: Read only the sentences the reporter writes, not the quotes. Keep the option that those sentences show.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a project the First Nation designed: Wapachee says nobody from the company has come to his council. The nation did not design the plan.
- a danger the reporter wants stopped: Yusuf warns about the lake, but the reporter never gives an opinion.
- a gift of water to cities in need: The company plans to sell the water overseas. Nothing in the article calls it a gift.
Correct Answer: 2,400
Passage Reference: a town of 2,400 people
Why this is correct: The article says Port Orrin is a town of 2,400 people.
Tips: The commenter is describing the size of the town. Check the digits carefully, because some options look alike.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 1,400: This number is not in the article.
- 3,400: This number is not in the article.
- 4,200: This number uses the same digits, but the article gives 2,400.
Correct Answer: March
Passage Reference: The province will hold public hearings in March before it decides.
Why this is correct: The province will hold public hearings in March before it decides.
Tips: This blank asks for a month, so find where the article explains the province’s next step.
Why the other options are wrong:
- February: This month is not in the article.
- April: This month is not in the article.
- May: This month is not in the article.
Correct Answer: forty
Passage Reference: We would bring forty jobs to a town that has lost its paper mill.
Why this is correct: Yates says the company would bring forty jobs to the town.
Tips: The commenter is repeating a promise from the company. Find the number its spokesperson gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fourteen: This number sounds similar, but it is not in the article.
- twenty-four: This number is not in the article.
- sixty: This number is not in the article.
Correct Answer: small bottled shipments
Passage Reference: Yusuf would allow small bottled shipments but no tankers.
Why this is correct: Yusuf would allow small bottled shipments but no tankers.
Tips: The commenter means the scientist who studies lakes, so find the kind of sale she would still accept.
Why the other options are wrong:
- short-term tanker contracts: Yusuf says no tankers at all.
- sales to nearby provinces: Yusuf does not talk about other provinces.
- one tanker a year: Yusuf says no tankers at all.
Correct Answer: decades
Passage Reference: Canada has refused bulk water exports for decades
Why this is correct: The article says Canada has refused bulk water exports for decades.
Tips: The commenter repeats a fact about Canada’s past. Find how long the article says the country has said no to these exports.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a few years: The article gives a much longer time than this.
- a century: The article does not say a century.
- ten months: The article gives a much longer time than this.
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