Read the following article from a website.
Police in Halbrook tested software last year that compares faces caught on street cameras with photos of wanted people. A match can arrive in seconds, but the city has no written rules for the technology. The police board has asked city council to set some before the pilot becomes permanent, and council will hold a public meeting on the question in two weeks. More than a hundred residents have already signed up to speak.
Clarissa Wendt, an inspector who leads technology pilots for the Halbrook police, wants a narrow approval. “We would scan faces live only at large events judged to be high risk, and only for people with warrants for violent crimes,” she said. “Every match would be checked by a human officer before anyone is stopped. An outside inspector could read every log.” Wendt has run the pilot since it began, and she says it has already led to two arrests.
Cassius Yorath, who speaks for a civil liberties coalition, says he wants all live scanning in public places paused. “Studies keep finding higher error rates for people with darker skin,” Yorath said. “A wrong match can mean a stranger in a uniform walking up to an innocent person. Peaceful protesters may also stay home if a camera can name them in seconds.” Yorath says his coalition has gathered more than two thousand signatures against the pilot.
Ysolde Umberger, a law professor who studies surveillance, says she would draw the line between tools, not places. “Comparing a still photo from a crime scene with police records is very different from watching a crowd all day,” Umberger explained. “I would allow the first with a judge’s approval and ban the second. Those are two separate questions.” Councillor Benedetto Zabala, who chairs the budget committee, says council never even voted on the cameras the city already owns. “Before we talk about faces, residents deserve a public list of every surveillance tool we have,” Zabala said. “Nobody can debate a tool they do not know exists.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
According to Cassius Yorath, studies 2..
Each of the people quoted seems to agree that 3..
At present, Clarissa Wendt is 4..
The reporter’s tone can best be described 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 debate over police software that recognizes faces
Why this is correct: Police tested software that compares faces with photos of wanted people, and council must now write rules for it. Every speaker reacts to that task.
Passage Reference: Police in Halbrook tested software last year that compares faces caught on street cameras with photos of wanted people.
Tips: Find the one issue that connects every speaker. An option is wrong if it describes an event the article never actually reports.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a vote to remove street cameras downtown: Nobody plans to remove cameras. Zabala only wants a list of the tools the city has.
- a court case over a wrongful arrest: Yorath warns about wrong matches, but no court case is described.
- a plan to hire more police inspectors: Wendt is an inspector, but nobody plans to hire more.
Correct Answer: show the system is less accurate for some people
Passage Reference: Studies keep finding higher error rates for people with darker skin
Why this is correct: Yorath says studies keep finding higher error rates for people with darker skin. So the system is less accurate for some people.
Tips: Look closely at Yorath’s quotes. Keep the option his words give, and remove one that comes from Wendt, Umberger, Zabala or nobody.
Why the other options are wrong:
- show the pilot has led to two arrests: Wendt says the pilot led to two arrests. She does not cite studies.
- show the software works best on crowds: Nobody says the software works best on crowds.
- show matches take too long to arrive: A match can arrive in seconds, so speed is not the problem.
Correct Answer: surveillance tools need more control than they have now
Passage Reference: An outside inspector could read every log. ... says he wants all live scanning in public places paused ... I would allow the first with a judge’s approval and ban the second. ... residents deserve a public list of every surveillance tool we have
Why this is correct: Wendt offers limits and an outside inspector, and Yorath wants live scanning paused. Umberger wants a judge’s approval, and Zabala wants a public list of tools.
Tips: Take Wendt, Yorath, Umberger and Zabala one by one. Keep an option only if every one of them would accept it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- live scanning of large events should go ahead: Only Wendt wants this. Yorath and Umberger want crowd scanning stopped.
- all live scanning should stop for the time being: Only Yorath asks for a pause. Wendt wants a narrow approval.
- a judge should approve each search of police records: Only Umberger mentions a judge’s approval.
Correct Answer: leading the trial from its first day
Passage Reference: Wendt has run the pilot since it began
Why this is correct: Wendt leads technology pilots for the police. The article says she has run this pilot since it began.
Tips: Read every sentence about Wendt, from the reporter and from her quotes. Check each option against those words alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- checking logs as an outside inspector: Wendt suggests an outside inspector. She is not that person.
- writing new rules for the city’s cameras: Council has been asked to set the rules, not Wendt.
- waiting for council to buy the system: The police already tested the software last year.
Correct Answer: calm and factual
Passage Reference: A match can arrive in seconds, but the city has no written rules for the technology. ... The police board has asked city council to set some before the pilot becomes permanent
Why this is correct: The reporter states facts: what the software does, that the city has no written rules, and what council will do next. No feeling is shown.
Tips: Leave out the speakers and read only the reporter’s own sentences. Decide which option describes how those sentences sound.
Why the other options are wrong:
- angry and alarmed: The reporter shows no anger. Yorath’s worries are given as his own words.
- excited and hopeful: The reporter does not praise the software. Wendt’s claims are given as hers.
- amused and playful: Nothing in the reporter’s lines is a joke.
Correct Answer: two weeks
Passage Reference: council will hold a public meeting on the question in two weeks
Why this is correct: Council will hold a public meeting on the question in two weeks.
Tips: The commenter is planning to speak at a meeting. Find when council will hold it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one week: The meeting is later than this.
- a month: The meeting is sooner than this.
- two months: The meeting is much sooner than this.
Correct Answer: more than a hundred
Passage Reference: More than a hundred residents have already signed up to speak.
Why this is correct: The article says more than a hundred residents have already signed up to speak.
Tips: The commenter is counting the people who want to speak at the meeting. Find that count in the article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about fifty: This number is not in the article.
- nearly two hundred: This number is not in the article.
- over five hundred: This number is not in the article.
Correct Answer: violent crimes
Passage Reference: only for people with warrants for violent crimes
Why this is correct: Wendt says the software would look only for people with warrants for violent crimes.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the inspector’s limit on who could be searched for. Find the kind of warrant she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- serious fraud: Wendt does not mention fraud.
- drug offences: Wendt does not mention drugs.
- repeat thefts: Wendt does not mention thefts.
Correct Answer: peaceful protesters
Passage Reference: Peaceful protesters may also stay home if a camera can name them in seconds.
Why this is correct: Yorath says peaceful protesters may stay home if a camera can name them in seconds.
Tips: This sentence in the comment repeats a warning from the coalition spokesperson. Find his sentence about people staying home and copy the group he names there.
Why the other options are wrong:
- market vendors: Yorath does not mention vendors.
- newcomers to Canada: Yorath does not mention newcomers.
- young people: Yorath does not mention young people.
Correct Answer: a still photo
Passage Reference: Comparing a still photo from a crime scene with police records is very different from watching a crowd all day
Why this is correct: Umberger would allow police to compare a still photo from a crime scene with their records, with a judge’s approval.
Tips: The commenter is describing the professor’s careful option. Find what she says police could take from a crime scene.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a video clip: Umberger contrasts a still photo with watching moving crowds.
- a sketch: Umberger does not mention sketches.
- a phone recording: Umberger does not mention recordings.
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