CAEL Reading: Making Inferences 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage reads: 'The athlete trained twice daily for three years but withdrew from the championship due to a knee injury.' What can be inferred about the athlete's situation?
- The athlete chose not to compete after losing motivation.
- Years of dedicated preparation ended without the chance to compete. (Correct answer)
- The athlete was not physically fit enough for the championship.
- The injury occurred long before the training began.
Correct answer: Years of dedicated preparation ended without the chance to compete.
Three years of intensive training followed by injury-forced withdrawal implies significant effort without the intended competitive outcome.
Question 2: An academic text states: 'While correlation between screen time and sleep disruption has been documented, causation has not been established.' What should a reader infer from this?
- Screen time is definitively proven to cause poor sleep.
- Increased screen time and sleep disruption occur together but one may not cause the other. (Correct answer)
- There is no connection between screen time and sleep quality.
- Causation and correlation mean the same thing in research.
Correct answer: Increased screen time and sleep disruption occur together but one may not cause the other.
The distinction between correlation and causation means the variables are linked statistically but a direct causal relationship has not been proven.
Question 3: A passage notes: 'After the policy change, employees began arriving earlier and leaving later.' What can be inferred about the new policy?
- The policy reduced employee motivation.
- The policy likely increased employee workload or expectations. (Correct answer)
- Employees were unhappy with the previous policy.
- The policy changed the location where employees worked.
Correct answer: The policy likely increased employee workload or expectations.
Arriving earlier and leaving later following a policy change suggests the new policy increased demands on employees' time.
Question 4: A passage reads: 'The charity's annual gala raised twice as much money this year as last, despite having fewer attendees.' What does this imply about the donors at this year's event?
- This year's donors gave less money on average.
- This year's attendees were more generous on average than last year's. (Correct answer)
- Fewer people donated to the charity this year.
- The charity reduced its expenses significantly this year.
Correct answer: This year's attendees were more generous on average than last year's.
Raising twice the money with fewer attendees means each attendee donated more on average, indicating greater generosity per person.
Question 5: A text describes a company that 'discontinued its loyalty programme without announcing an alternative.' What can be inferred about the company's customers?
- Customers were informed of the change well in advance.
- Customers may feel dissatisfied or undervalued by the decision. (Correct answer)
- The loyalty programme was unpopular among customers.
- Customers will receive equivalent benefits through a new system.
Correct answer: Customers may feel dissatisfied or undervalued by the decision.
Removing a loyalty programme with no replacement suggests customers will lose a benefit, likely leading to dissatisfaction.
Question 6: A passage states: 'The committee reviewed fifteen proposals but only two received full approval; the remaining thirteen were tabled for further review.' What does 'tabled for further review' imply?
- The thirteen proposals were permanently rejected.
- The thirteen proposals require additional evaluation before a decision is made. (Correct answer)
- The committee was unable to understand the thirteen proposals.
- All thirteen proposals were eventually approved after review.
Correct answer: The thirteen proposals require additional evaluation before a decision is made.
'Tabled for further review' implies the proposals are postponed pending more examination, not rejected outright.
Question 7: A passage reads: 'The professor's office hours were consistently attended by fewer than five students per week until the mid-term examination period, when lineups extended into the hallway.' What can be inferred about students' use of office hours?
- Students attended office hours regularly throughout the semester.
- Students primarily sought the professor's help when under academic pressure. (Correct answer)
- The professor reduced office hours during mid-term period.
- Students were unaware that office hours existed until mid-term.
Correct answer: Students primarily sought the professor's help when under academic pressure.
The dramatic attendance spike during mid-terms implies students sought help primarily when facing high-stakes assessments.
CAEL Reading: Making Inferences 5
A passage reads: 'The athlete trained twice daily for three years but withdrew from the championship due to a knee injury.' What can be inferred about the athlete's situation?