Answer Key
Staff – Comprehension Check
- Why are the fired women skeptical about the result of their appeal to get back their jobs? [their appeals will be evaluated by the same people that fired them]
The women are not optimistic, partly because their appeals are before the council that fired them. - How did the town officials respond to the matter? [they did not comment on it]
All nine members of the Town Council either declined to comment to The Associated Press or did not respond to voice messages. - Which of the sentences is true based on the text? [the employees discussed the rumor and did not believe it]
They say they weren't the only ones who discussed the rumor, and dismissed it as untrue after briefly talking about it. - How does one of the fired employees, Ms Bonsteel, feel about code enforcement? [she loves it]
"They leave our offices smiling," said Bonsteel, who described code enforcement as her passion. - Which of the words best completes this sentence? "We didn't start the rumor, ....." [nor did we say there was an affair going on]
"We didn't start the rumor, nor did we say there was an affair going on." - There is a grammar mistake in this sentence: “They say they weren't the only ones who discussed the rumor, and dismissed it like untrue after briefly talking about it.” Which of the options has the mistake? [dismissed it like untrue]
They say they weren't the only ones who discussed the rumor, and dismissed it as untrue after briefly talking about it. - There is a grammar mistake in this sentence: “The women say they were told that nothing they said to the lawyer will be held against them.” Which of the options has the mistake? [will be held against them]
The women say they were told that nothing they said to the lawyer would be held against them. - “Questions about a close relationship between Town Administrator David Jodoin and a female employee DRIFTED into Town Hall sometime in March.” Which phrase best expresses the meaning of the verb TO DRIFT? [to get]
to drift – to be driven, as by the wind - The fact-finder was supposed to ROUT OUT chatterboxes. What was his job? [to find those who were gossiping]
to rout out – get or find by searching - The women say they were upset by “preferential treatment ‘A' was receiving”. What do they mean? ['A' had some advantages over other staff members]
The women say what upset them about the rumor was the perception of impropriety by the public and preferential treatment "A" was receiving, including higher pay than Drewniak and Skorupski despite having less seniority and experience.