School Street Pilot: Qualifying a 78% Claim
Read this excerpt from a local news article for a practice reading task. The article reports: 'In April 2023, Matsudo City began a six-month pilot that closed a 300-metre section of Nakayama-dori to private cars from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. on school days. City counts showed that vehicles entering the section fell from 420 to 90 per morning. The mayor called the result 'a 78% success'. However, a follow-up survey of 150 parents who had previously driven found that 38% now drove to a side street 500 metres away, where residents collected 120 signatures complaining about congestion. The pilot cost ¥2.4 million, mostly for signs and staff. The city will decide in March whether to make the closure permanent.' A classmate says the article proves the policy worked and should be expanded.
1. Your classmate claims the article 'proves the policy worked'. Using at least two details from the setup, explain why the evidence supports only a qualified conclusion.
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At first glance the 78% figure is arithmetically right: (420 − 90) ÷ 420 ≈ 0.786. But the claim 'the policy worked' needs qualification.
- The reduction is local and time-bound: it applies to one 300-metre section between 7:30 and 8:15 on school days, not to the whole neighbourhood.
- The survey shows displacement: 38% of 150 previously driving parents (about 57 families) now drive to a side street 500 metres away, and 120 residents signed a complaint. Traffic may have moved rather than disappeared.
- The pilot cost ¥2.4 million and is still being evaluated; a six-month trial cannot prove long-term success.
A defensible conclusion is: 'The closure sharply reduced car entries at the target section, but it shifted some traffic to nearby streets and its overall benefit is not yet established.' This uses the evidence without overgeneralising.
2. What is the rhetorical function of the quotation 'a 78% success' in the article?
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The phrase 'a 78% success' is the mayor's framing, not a neutral description. The article places it before the 'However' sentence, so it functions as the official claim that the rest of the paragraph tests. The exact number invites the reader to check the calculation, while the follow-up survey and the 120 signatures supply counter-evidence. The quotation therefore helps the article stage a debate between a measurable local drop and an unmeasured spillover, rather than simply celebrating the pilot.
3. Which sentence best expresses the author's attitude? A. The pilot is a failure. B. The pilot's benefits are clear but its costs need scrutiny. C. The mayor is dishonest. Justify your choice with two textual clues.
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B is best. The article does not say the pilot failed; it reports a real drop from 420 to 90 vehicles, which supports a benefit. Nor does it accuse the mayor of lying; it presents his quotation and then adds evidence. The two clues are the contrast marker 'However', which introduces counter-evidence rather than a refutation, and the neutral inclusion of the cost (¥2.4 million) and the pending March decision. These details signal a cautious, evaluative stance: the benefit exists, but its side effects and expense require scrutiny before expansion.