An email from a host family in Canada
Camila, estudiante de undécimo de Bogotá, fue aceptada en un programa de voluntariado en Canadá. Recibe este correo de Diane, su anfitriona:
«Subject: Update on your arrival - Maple Ridge Volunteer Program
Hi Camila,
Thanks for confirming that your flight lands on 3 August at 6:40 p.m. I will meet you at the arrivals gate; look for a green sign with your name.
One change: the orientation workshop, originally on Thursday, will now be on Friday at 9 a.m., because the community centre is being painted. Please reply by Monday 14 July so we can confirm numbers.
The centre provides water but not food, so bring a packed lunch on workshop days. The house is a 20-minute walk from the bus stop, and there is a supermarket two blocks away.
Best, Diane»
1. What is the main purpose of Diane's email?
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It is to update Camila on practical arrangements and get a confirmation before a deadline. The subject line says «Update on your arrival»; the body confirms the pickup, announces one schedule change and sets a reply deadline («Please reply by Monday 14 July»).
Why not other options:
- To invite her to join the programme is wrong: Camila has already been accepted, and the email never invites her.
- To describe the house rules is only partly true: the walk from the bus stop and the supermarket are orientation details, not rules.
- To apologise for a cancellation is wrong: nothing is cancelled; the workshop is moved.
A good answer names both purposes (inform + request confirmation), not just one, because the deadline is what makes the email actionable.
2. What can be inferred about the Friday workshop? Give the evidence for each inference.
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Three defensible inferences:
- The change is temporary/logistical, not about Camila. Evidence: «because the community centre is being painted». It is not a problem with her application.
- Camila must bring her own food. Evidence: «The centre provides water but not food, so bring a packed lunch on workshop days». The workshop is a workshop day, so she should bring lunch.
- Diane needs a head count. Evidence: «so we can confirm numbers»; this explains the deadline of Monday 14 July, which is before the 3 August flight.
What cannot be inferred: the exact duration of the workshop, who else attends, or why it was originally on Thursday. Choosing those would be guessing beyond the text, which is the typical trap in this kind of item.
3. Which is the best reply? (A) «OK, see you in August.» (B) «Hi Diane, thanks for the update. I'll be there on Friday at 9 and will bring a packed lunch. Is the bus stop the same one you mentioned before?» (C) «I'm sorry, I can't come on Thursday.» Explain why the others fail.
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(B) works because it does three things at once: confirms attendance (what Diane asked for), proves comprehension of the change (Friday at 9) and of the lunch detail, and asks a relevant question. It can be sent before the 14 July deadline.
(A) fails: it ignores the deadline and never confirms anything; Diane cannot «confirm numbers» with it.
(C) fails on comprehension: the workshop is now on Friday, so saying «I can't come on Thursday» answers a question that was not asked. It is the classic distractor that catches a reader who only skims the word «Thursday».
Rule applied: a good reply addresses the sender's request, shows that the key information was understood, and adds at most one relevant question.