The Statue Vote Passage
A student reads a four-sentence passage: “The town council voted 4–3 to relocate the Civil War statue from the square to the museum. Mayor Alvarez said the decision ‘honors all residents and closes an old wound.’ As she spoke, about half the chamber stood and left; the remaining audience applauded. Two of the four majority members had received petitions with 1,200 signatures urging relocation, while the third majority member represents the district that includes the square.” The question asks: “Which statement is best supported by the passage?” The options are: A) The mayor’s claim is widely supported. B) The decision was controversial. C) The statue will be destroyed. D) The petitions changed every council member’s mind. The student must choose and justify using evidence, and distinguish inference from fact.
1. Which option is best supported, and which details rule out the others?
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B) The decision was controversial. The vote was narrow (4–3), about half the chamber left during the mayor’s speech, and the remaining audience applauded-two opposite reactions in the same room. A is too strong: a walkout is evidence against broad support, even if some applauded. C is unsupported: the statue is being relocated to a museum, not destroyed. D overreaches: two majority members had petitions, but the passage does not say every member changed their mind, and one member’s district includes the square.
2. What can be inferred about the mayor’s statement that the decision “honors all residents and closes an old wound”?
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The statement is best read as an attempt to frame a divisive decision as unifying. The passage does not prove the mayor is insincere, but it does show that the claim was not universally accepted at the meeting: half the chamber left, and the vote was close. The petitions suggest organized support on one side, not consensus. A careful inference is therefore limited: the mayor’s language emphasizes unity, while the observable reaction indicates continuing disagreement. Saying the mayor “lied” would go beyond the evidence.
3. Rewrite one sentence to make option A better supported, and explain what changes.
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Add polling or audience evidence, e.g., “A town poll released that morning found 68% of residents supported relocation, and the chamber’s applause came from a broad cross-section of neighborhoods.” This would support “widely supported” because it adds independent evidence of majority opinion and reduces the weight of the walkout. The original passage cannot support A because it gives only a 4–3 vote, a partial walkout, and petitions from one side-none of which establishes wide support.