What reason does Micah give for supporting the bike lane on Alder Street?
Listen to a Speaker Support an Opinion · ELPAC Grades 9–10 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
An extended conversation in which one classmate argues for an opinion, followed by four questions.
Listen to the conversation between Micah and Noor. Then answer the questions.
The Bike Lane on Alder Street
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Micah: Noor, the city council votes Tuesday on the protected bike lane for Alder Street. I signed the comment form supporting it.
Noor: The one that takes out the parking in front of the shops? My uncle is against it.
Micah: I know, and that worry is not silly. Losing twenty or so spaces in front of a business is a real cost, and the council should say that plainly instead of pretending nobody loses anything.
Noor: Then why are you for it?
Micah: Because of who is already on that street. Alder is the route most students from the east side ride to school, and there are three schools along it. Right now they ride between moving cars and parked ones. The city's own traffic study counted eleven crashes involving bicycles there in four years.
Noor: Eleven in four years does not sound like very many to me.
Micah: On its own, no. But nine of those eleven happened at the same two intersections, and those are exactly where a curb would separate the lane from traffic. The problem has an address, and the design goes to that address.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What reason does Micah give for supporting the bike lane on Alder Street?
- His uncle changed his mind about losing the parking spaces.
- Alder Street is already the route most east-side students ride to school.Correct answer
- The lane would let the city remove parking it no longer needs.
- The council has told students it will approve the lane.
Why “Alder Street is already the route most east-side students ride to school.” is correct
The question asks for the ground of the opinion, not the opinion itself. Micah states it directly when Noor presses him: 'Because of who is already on that street.' Students need to hear that the phrase introduces his reason, and then hold on to the sentence that follows it about the east-side route and the three schools.
Why the other answers are wrong
- His uncle changed his mind about losing the parking spaces. — The uncle is Noor's, and nothing in the conversation says his position changed.
- The lane would let the city remove parking it no longer needs. — Micah calls the lost parking a real cost, which is the opposite of calling it unneeded.
- The council has told students it will approve the lane. — The vote has not happened; it is scheduled for Tuesday.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 9–10, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 9–10. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
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