Reading comprehension: inference versus literal matching
In a PAU reading paper, candidates read a short article about a municipal recycling pilot. The key sentence is: 'The council's pilot scheme cut household waste by 18% in six months, but only in districts where collection remained weekly; in districts switched to fortnightly collection, waste levels did not change.' The multiple-choice item asks: 'What can be inferred about the scheme?' The options are: A) It reduced waste in every district. B) Its success depended on collection frequency. C) Fortnightly collection was more popular with residents. D) The council abandoned the scheme after six months. One candidate chooses A, explaining that the text says waste was cut by 18%. The candidate has 90 seconds left and does not know the word 'fortnightly'. The exam allows one answer only and gives no negative marking.
1. Which option is correct, and what exact wording in the sentence rules out the most tempting wrong option? Show the inference step by step.
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Correct option: B. The sentence contains a restriction: 'cut household waste by 18% ... but only in districts where collection remained weekly'. That means the 18% figure is not general. The second clause adds that in fortnightly districts 'waste levels did not change'. Therefore A is contradicted by 'only' and by 'did not change'. A is tempting because the first clause contains a real number, but the number is scoped to one subgroup. C is not stated: no preference data are given. D is not stated: no abandonment is mentioned. The safe inference is that the scheme's observed success was tied to weekly collection, which is closest to B. In exam terms, locate the contrast marker ('but only'), then check whether the option respects the scope of the data.
2. The candidate does not know 'fortnightly'. What three clues in the sentence still make B answerable without that word?
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First, the phrase 'but only' signals that the first result is restricted. Second, the semicolon divides two district types and the second type has a different outcome: 'did not change'. Third, the sentence contrasts 'remained weekly' with 'switched to' another collection arrangement, so collection frequency is visibly the variable. Even without knowing that 'fortnightly' means every two weeks, the candidate can see two groups, two collection systems and two outcomes. The inference is about a difference between groups, not about the exact meaning of the unknown word. This is a useful exam strategy: use discourse structure and contrast before reaching for vocabulary knowledge.
3. Write the one-sentence justification a candidate should give if asked to justify the answer in a post-exam review.
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The text says the 18% cut occurred only where collection stayed weekly and that waste did not change where collection became fortnightly, so the scheme's success was linked to collection frequency; option B captures that link, while A wrongly generalises the 18% to every district.