Choosing Between Two Reading Answers
You are answering a reading question about a short Serbian article on a volunteer clean-up of a riverbank. The article says that 120 volunteers took part, that the clean-up was organised by a local sports club with help from the school, that most of the rubbish was plastic bottles, and that the next clean-up will be in autumn because the summer heat made work difficult. One question asks who organised the event. The text mentions the sports club, the school, and the local council, which provided bags. Another question asks why the next clean-up is in autumn. A third asks how many volunteers came. You are confident about 120 and about autumn, but you are unsure whether the organiser is the sports club or the school, and you have only three minutes left.
1. How should you decide the organiser question?
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Look at the verb and preposition that attach to each mention, not just which names appear. The organiser is the entity grammatically linked to the organising action, for example 'organizovao je' or 'u organizaciji'. The school is described as helping, and the council as providing bags, so both are supporters rather than organisers. That leaves the sports club. The reasoning is that reading questions often include distractor names that are present but play a different role, and the role is signalled by the verb and case. If you cannot resolve it, choose the entity with the organising verb and move on; do not spend your remaining time re-reading the whole text. The judgement is about role assignment, not word-spotting.
2. How should you answer the autumn question, and how should you use your last three minutes?
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The reason is stated: the summer heat made the work difficult. Answer that directly rather than writing 'because it is cooler in autumn', which is your inference, not the text's stated reason. Then use the remaining time strategically: secure the answers you are confident about, write them clearly, and only then return to the uncertain one. Do not leave blanks while polishing an answer you already know is right. The reasoning is that marks are lost by omission more often than by imperfect wording. If time runs out, a short defensible answer on the organiser question is better than an empty box. The judgement tested is prioritising under time pressure and distinguishing stated reasons from plausible inferences.