What does Mr. Boateng want when he first walks into the Spoke and Pedal bike shop?

To get his squealing brake fixed before Friday

To buy a bell and a repair kit for his trip

To return his new bike and get his $900 back

To sign up for a three-day cycling trip

A test asks: 'Why did the North Ashby library start lending tools? Use details from the report.' Which response would earn the highest score?

A survey found over 60 per cent of residents had bought tools they used once or twice, so sharing saves families money.

Libraries should lend lots of different things because sharing is nice and it helps everybody in every town and the planet too.

The library started lending tools because it wanted to start lending tools to people in North Ashby.

Walter Bianchi asked the library to sell his old carpentry tools last winter.

What does the lead paragraph of the Larkfield library garden report mainly tell readers?

Who built the garden, where it is and why

When the guided walk of the garden will be held

How much money the garden project cost in total

Which plants grow best in Larkfield soil

Which revision makes the detail "The trip was fun" more specific?

We canoed across Lake Joseph and saw a loon dive for fish.

The trip was fun, and it was also quite enjoyable overall.

The trip was very, very fun for all of us, every single day.

It was a fun trip, like most trips to the lake usually are.

OSSLT overview

OSSLT Mock Exam 2

Same format as the real test. Answers stay hidden until you submit. The official time limit is not published; the timer is a practice setting.

No sign-up
Every answer explained
Independent · not a government site

35 questions
untimed
Pass mark 26/35

0/35

Mock exam 2 · Question 10 answered

Which sentence uses parallel structure?

Tip: press 1–4 to answer and Enter for the next question.

All 35 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

Which sentence uses parallel structure?
1. On weekends I like hiking, to read and cooking.
2. On weekends I like hiking, reading and to cook.
3. On weekends I like to hike, reading and to cook.
4. On weekends I like hiking, reading and cooking.
LUCIA: Good morning, welcome to Spoke and Pedal. How can I help? MR. BOATENG: I bought this bike here on Saturday, and the back brake already squeals every time I stop. I'm leaving on a three-day cycling trip on Friday. I can't ride it like this. LUCIA: I'm sorry about that. Let me take a look. Okay, I see the problem. The brake pads are a little crooked, so they're rubbing at an angle. MR. BOATENG: So it was put together badly. I paid $900 for this bike. LUCIA: That's a fair question. New brake pads often need a small adjustment after the first few rides, while everything settles. It's covered by your free tune-up, so there's no charge. MR. BOATENG: How long will it take? I can't leave it here for a week. LUCIA: About fifteen minutes. You're welcome to wait, or you can grab a coffee next door. MR. BOATENG: I'll wait. Fifteen minutes is better than I expected. LUCIA: While I'm at it, I'll check the tire pressure and oil the chain. Since you're going on a long trip, do you have a repair kit? MR. BOATENG: A repair kit? I hadn't even thought about that. LUCIA: A spare tube and a small pump can save your whole day if you get a flat tire. When I'm done, I'll show you how to use them. It only takes a minute to learn. MR. BOATENG: That would be great. And I'm sorry I came in so grumpy. I was worried my trip was ruined. LUCIA: No problem at all. Let's make sure it isn't. MR. BOATENG: You know what? I'll take the spare tube and the pump. And maybe one of those bells, too.
What does Mr. Boateng want when he first walks into the Spoke and Pedal bike shop?
1. To buy a bell and a repair kit for his trip
2. To get his squealing brake fixed before Friday
3. To return his new bike and get his $900 back
4. To sign up for a three-day cycling trip
North Ashby Library Opens Shelves Full of Tools NORTH ASHBY — Residents of North Ashby can now borrow a drill, a ladder or a pressure washer as easily as they borrow a novel. The North Ashby Public Library opened its new tool-lending collection on Tuesday, offering more than 120 tools free of charge to anyone with a library card. The collection fills a former storage room at the back of the library. Its shelves hold power drills, garden tools, a sewing machine, camping stoves and even a set of snowshoes. Most items can be borrowed for one week. Library director Simone Achterberg said the idea came from a survey the library ran last winter. More than 60 per cent of the residents who answered said they had bought a tool they used only once or twice. "A family should not have to spend $200 on a tile cutter for one bathroom project," Achterberg said. "Sharing makes much more sense." About two-thirds of the tools were donated by residents. The rest were bought with a $9,000 community grant. Retired carpenter Walter Bianchi, 71, checks every returned tool and sharpens the blades each Friday. "I spent 40 years taking care of tools," Bianchi said. "Now I get to help my neighbours use them safely." The first borrower on Tuesday was Grade 12 student Ava Lindqvist, who took out a hedge trimmer so she can earn money doing yard work this summer. "I couldn't afford to buy one," she said. "Now I can start my business this weekend." Borrowers must be at least 18 or have a parent or guardian sign their card. A short safety video is required before anyone takes out a power tool. The library will accept more tool donations in good working condition until the end of June. A full list of available tools is posted on the library's website.
A test asks: 'Why did the North Ashby library start lending tools? Use details from the report.' Which response would earn the highest score?
1. Libraries should lend lots of different things because sharing is nice and it helps everybody in every town and the planet too.
2. The library started lending tools because it wanted to start lending tools to people in North Ashby.
3. A survey found over 60 per cent of residents had bought tools they used once or twice, so sharing saves families money.
4. Walter Bianchi asked the library to sell his old carpentry tools last winter.
Students Turn Library Parking Strip Into Pollinator Garden LARKFIELD — A strip of cracked pavement beside the Larkfield Public Library is now home to more than 400 native plants, thanks to 22 Grade 10 students from Larkfield District Secondary School. The students removed the old asphalt and planted the garden over three Saturdays in May so that bees and butterflies would have a place to feed in the middle of town. The idea began in Ms. Renata Okafor's environmental science class. While studying local insects, the class learned that many pollinators struggle to find flowers in paved areas. "We kept reading about the problem, and finally someone asked, 'Why don't we just fix one small piece of it?'" said student Daniel Huang, 15. "That question turned into a plan." The town agreed to lend a small machine to lift the asphalt, and a local nursery donated soil and seedlings, including wild bergamot, purple coneflower and black-eyed Susan. The students raised the remaining $1,800 through a bake sale and a car wash. Head librarian Paul Desrosiers said the garden has already changed the look of the building. "It is the most beautiful entrance any library in this county has," he said. "Visitors stop to read the plant signs before they even come inside." The project was not always easy. Heavy rain washed away some seedlings in the first week, and the students had to replant almost a quarter of the garden. Ms. Okafor said she hopes the garden teaches students that small actions add up. The students will care for the plants through the summer. They also plan to count the bees and butterflies they see each week and share the numbers with the library. Residents can visit the garden at any time. A free guided walk will be held on Saturday, June 14, at 10 a.m., starting at the library's front doors.
What does the lead paragraph of the Larkfield library garden report mainly tell readers?
1. Who built the garden, where it is and why
2. When the guided walk of the garden will be held
3. How much money the garden project cost in total
4. Which plants grow best in Larkfield soil
Which revision makes the detail "The trip was fun" more specific?
1. The trip was fun, and it was also quite enjoyable overall.
2. We canoed across Lake Joseph and saw a loon dive for fish.
3. The trip was very, very fun for all of us, every single day.
4. It was a fun trip, like most trips to the lake usually are.
When Mei's mother got a new job at the hospital in Sudbury, Mei was halfway through Grade 9. She had lived in the same Toronto apartment her whole life. She knew which bus driver waved at kids, which corner store sold the best dumplings and which friends would save her a seat at lunch. Now all of that fit into fourteen cardboard boxes. The first week at her new school felt like being underwater. Sounds reached her slowly, and she could not find the surface. She ate lunch in the library and spent the evenings texting her friends back home. They sent photos of things she was missing: a birthday party, a snowy soccer game in the park, a new bubble tea shop. Each photo made her feel farther away. On Saturday, a girl from the house next door knocked, holding two pairs of skates. "I'm Ruby," she said. "My dad floods the backyard every winter. Want to try it?" Mei almost said no. She had skated only once, on a school trip, and had spent most of that afternoon holding on to the boards. But her mother gave her a look that said, "Go," so she pulled on her coat. The backyard rink was small and bumpy, with a string of lights hanging from the fence. Mei fell four times in the first ten minutes. The fifth time, she landed so hard that she slid right into a snowbank, and instead of feeling embarrassed, she started to laugh. Ruby laughed too, and then Ruby's little brother came outside and laughed loudest of all. By the end of the afternoon, Mei could glide from one end of the rink to the other without grabbing anything. Ruby's dad brought out mugs of hot chocolate, and they sat on the back steps while the sky turned orange behind the trees. That night, Mei still texted her Toronto friends. But this time she sent a photo of her own: a crooked rink, a string of lights and two pairs of skates by the door. Under it she typed, "Guess what I learned today." Sudbury did not feel like home yet. But for the first time, it felt like a place where home might grow.
Which message about moving to a new place does the story of Mei and Ruby's backyard rink best support?
1. A new town feels like home as soon as you unpack
2. Being open to new experiences helps a new place start to feel like home
3. Old friendships usually come to an end after a family moves away
4. It is best to keep in touch only with new friends
Which sentence uses correct subject–verb agreement?
1. The lists of chores is taped to the fridge.
2. The list of chores is taped to the fridge.
3. The list of chores were taped on fridge.
4. The list of chores are taped to the fridge.
MAYA: Theo, close the door. Nana's birthday is in two weeks, and we still don't have a plan. THEO: I have a plan. We rent the community hall, invite everyone she knows and hire a DJ. Eighty is a big deal. MAYA: Everyone she knows? That's half of Port Alder. THEO: Exactly. Go big or go home. MAYA: Remember her seventy-fifth? Uncle Dev threw that loud party at the restaurant, and she left early with a headache. She told me later she hardly talked to anyone. THEO: Oh. I forgot about that. I thought she was just tired. MAYA: She said the best part of the whole day was the quiet drive home. THEO: Okay, so no DJ. But it still has to feel special. What does she actually love? MAYA: Her garden. Her old photo albums. Pancakes. And she always says she misses the Sunday breakfasts we used to have before everyone got so busy. THEO: Wait. What if we do a Sunday breakfast? Just family, at her house. We could make her blueberry pancakes, and I could scan the old photos and make a slideshow on her TV. MAYA: Theo, that's actually perfect. You're really good with the scanner. THEO: Don't sound so surprised. MAYA: Sorry! But how do we get into her house without her knowing? THEO: Mom has a key. Mom could take her to the garden centre at nine, and we set everything up while they're gone. MAYA: And when she walks back in, the whole family is sitting at the table. I can already picture her face. THEO: Just promise me one thing. MAYA: What? THEO: Don't tell Uncle Dev until the night before. He can't keep a secret for five minutes. MAYA: (laughing) Deal. You'd better start on those photos tonight. THEO: I'll get the albums from the basement right after dinner.
In the conversation about Nana's birthday, what is the tone of Theo's line 'Don't sound so surprised'?
1. Bitter and hurt
2. Calm and formal
3. Light and teasing
4. Worried and tense
Teen Volunteers Bring Back Riverbend's Outdoor Rink RIVERBEND — For the first time in six winters, children are skating on the outdoor rink in Willow Park. On Saturday afternoon, about 150 residents gathered at the park to celebrate the rink's reopening, which was made possible by a group of teenagers who spent much of December rebuilding and flooding it. The rink closed in 2020 after its wooden boards rotted and the town could not find volunteers to look after the ice. Last fall, Grade 11 student Leah Martineau, 16, started an online sign-up sheet asking for help. Within two weeks, 31 people had joined, most of them high school students. "My dad taught me to skate on this rink when I was four," Martineau said. "It felt wrong that kids in my neighbourhood were growing up without it." The volunteers replaced the rotten boards with lumber donated by a local building supply store. They also made a schedule so that two people flood the ice every night when the temperature drops below minus 5 degrees Celsius. Flooding is cold, slow work. Volunteers drag a heavy hose back and forth across the ice in the dark, often after 10 p.m., to lay down a thin, even layer of water. Town recreation manager Gordon Pike said the town will pay for the water and the lights this season. "The young people did the hard part," he said. "The least we can do is keep the lights on." At Saturday's celebration, a local hockey coach gave free lessons to beginners, and volunteers handed out hot chocolate. The rink is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weather permitting. Martineau said the team still needs more volunteers, especially adults who can flood the ice on weeknights. Anyone who wants to help can sign up at the front desk of the Riverbend Community Centre.
Why does the reporter include Leah Martineau's memory of learning to skate on the Willow Park rink?
1. It proves that her father built the original rink
2. It gives her personal reason for starting the project
3. It shows that she plans to become a skating coach
4. It describes what the rink looked like before 2020
A paragraph argues for a school composting program. Which order of supporting points is most effective?
1. Strongest first, then repeated in the same words
2. From least to most convincing, ending with the strongest
3. In the order the writer happened to think of them
4. Alphabetical order by the first word of each point
Volunteers Pull 300 Kilograms of Litter From Cedar Hollow Creek CEDAR HOLLOW — More than 80 volunteers waded into Cedar Hollow Creek on Sunday morning and removed about 300 kilograms of litter from a two-kilometre stretch of the stream. The Cedar Hollow Naturalists Club organized the cleanup to protect the brook trout that lay their eggs in the creek each fall. Volunteers wore rubber boots and gloves and worked in teams of four. Their haul included plastic bottles, a shopping cart, three bicycle tires and a rusty mailbox. "Every piece of garbage we pull out is one less thing in the way of the fish," said club president Helen Tremblay. "Brook trout need clean, cold water and loose gravel to lay their eggs." The creek has been cleaned every spring since 2019. Tremblay said the amount of litter has dropped each year, from about 500 kilograms in the first year to this year's total. She believes new signs along the trail and extra garbage cans near the bridge have made a difference. Grade 9 student Omar Haddad, 14, joined the cleanup to earn volunteer hours, but he said he plans to come back next year anyway. "I didn't expect it to be fun," he said. "Finding the mailbox was the best part of my weekend." Not everyone thinks the cleanup is enough. Brian Kowalski, who lives beside the creek, said the town should also stop salt from roads draining into the water in winter. "Picking up bottles is great, but the salt is the bigger problem," he said. The town's environment committee will discuss road salt at its meeting on May 8. All the garbage collected on Sunday was sorted, and about one-third of it was recycled. The club will hold its next cleanup on the Ashby River in September.
Which sentence from the Cedar Hollow Creek cleanup report expresses an opinion?
1. The creek has been cleaned every spring since 2019.
2. Picking up bottles is great, but the salt is the bigger problem.
3. About one-third of the garbage collected was recycled.
4. Volunteers wore rubber boots and gloves and worked in teams of four.
Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
1. The museum was closed; and we visited the park.
2. The museum; was closed so we visited the park.
3. Because the museum was closed; we visited the park.
4. The museum was closed; we visited the park instead.
Teen Volunteers Bring Back Riverbend's Outdoor Rink RIVERBEND — For the first time in six winters, children are skating on the outdoor rink in Willow Park. On Saturday afternoon, about 150 residents gathered at the park to celebrate the rink's reopening, which was made possible by a group of teenagers who spent much of December rebuilding and flooding it. The rink closed in 2020 after its wooden boards rotted and the town could not find volunteers to look after the ice. Last fall, Grade 11 student Leah Martineau, 16, started an online sign-up sheet asking for help. Within two weeks, 31 people had joined, most of them high school students. "My dad taught me to skate on this rink when I was four," Martineau said. "It felt wrong that kids in my neighbourhood were growing up without it." The volunteers replaced the rotten boards with lumber donated by a local building supply store. They also made a schedule so that two people flood the ice every night when the temperature drops below minus 5 degrees Celsius. Flooding is cold, slow work. Volunteers drag a heavy hose back and forth across the ice in the dark, often after 10 p.m., to lay down a thin, even layer of water. Town recreation manager Gordon Pike said the town will pay for the water and the lights this season. "The young people did the hard part," he said. "The least we can do is keep the lights on." At Saturday's celebration, a local hockey coach gave free lessons to beginners, and volunteers handed out hot chocolate. The rink is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weather permitting. Martineau said the team still needs more volunteers, especially adults who can flood the ice on weeknights. Anyone who wants to help can sign up at the front desk of the Riverbend Community Centre.
A Riverbend parent wants to help flood the Willow Park rink on weeknights. According to the report, what should the parent do?
1. Bring a garden hose to the park on Saturday
2. Email the local hockey coach about a shift
3. Call the town recreation manager's office
4. Sign up at the community centre's front desk
(1) Many students think a garden needs a big backyard. (2) In fact, a balcony or a sunny window can grow plenty of food. (3) Cherry tomatoes, lettuce and herbs all do well in pots. (4) ___, a container garden needs less weeding than a garden in the ground. (5) With a few pots and some soil, almost anyone can start growing vegetables this spring.
What is the purpose of sentence 1 in the paragraph about container gardens?
1. It gives the main advantage of growing herbs
2. It explains how to fill a pot with soil
3. It states a common belief the paragraph corrects
4. It summarizes the paragraph's final advice
The Rideau Canal, which links Ottawa and Kingston, is one of the oldest canals in North America that is still in use. It was built between 1826 and 1832, not long after the War of 1812, when British leaders worried about a possible attack from the United States. At the time, supplies travelling between Montréal and Kingston had to move along the St. Lawrence River, close to the American border. The canal offered a safer inland route. Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers led the project, and thousands of workers, many of them Irish and French-Canadian labourers, cut through forests, swamps and rock with simple tools. Their work was dangerous, and many fell ill with malaria, a disease that was common in the region's swamps at the time. Instead of digging one long channel, the builders connected existing rivers and lakes and used locks and dams to raise and lower boats along a route of about 200 kilometres. The attack that the canal was meant to defend against never came. Over time, the canal became a route for trade and, later, for pleasure boating. In 2007, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, in winter, part of the canal in Ottawa becomes a long skating path, giving one of Canada's oldest engineering projects a new purpose.
What is the main idea of the paragraph about the history of the Rideau Canal?
1. Skating is a popular winter activity in the city of Ottawa
2. The War of 1812 was fought along the St. Lawrence River
3. Workers who built the Rideau Canal faced many serious dangers
4. A canal built for defence has found new uses over time
Which word correctly completes the sentence? "We need to ___ the stage before the concert."
1. set up
2. setup
3. set-upped
4. sets up
A writer's paragraph jumps between three unrelated ideas. Which revision would best improve its organization?
1. Keep one main idea and move the others to new paragraphs
2. Repeat the opening sentence at the very end
3. Replace short words with longer, rarer ones
4. Add more exclamation marks to the strongest idea
Why are OSSLT essays scored as first drafts?
1. Spelling is never counted on the test
2. A timed test does not allow a full revision process
3. Students are not allowed to reread their work
4. Only the first sentence of each paragraph is read
COACH DELANEY: Priya, do you have a minute? You got off the bus before I could talk to you. PRIYA: I didn't really want to talk. I finished forty-second out of fifty. That's embarrassing. COACH DELANEY: Forty-second at regionals, in your first season, on the hilliest course in the league. PRIYA: Last month I was eighteenth. I'm getting worse, not better. Maybe I should just quit and join the art club. At least I'm good at drawing. COACH DELANEY: You could do both, you know. But first, tell me what happened at the two-kilometre mark. PRIYA: I went out way too fast. I wanted to keep up with Hannah. By the big hill, my legs felt like cement. COACH DELANEY: So the problem wasn't your fitness. It was your pacing. That's one of the easiest things in running to fix. PRIYA: Really? It felt like the hardest. COACH DELANEY: Every runner I've ever coached has made that mistake at least once. I made it myself in university, in front of my whole family. PRIYA: You did? COACH DELANEY: I finished second-last. My mother still brings it up at Thanksgiving dinner. PRIYA: (smiling) Okay, that makes me feel a little better. COACH DELANEY: Here's my offer. At Thursday's practice, run with a watch. I'll give you a target time for each kilometre, and you're not allowed to go faster than it, even if you feel great. PRIYA: Not allowed to go faster? That sounds backwards. COACH DELANEY: Try it once. If it doesn't help, we'll talk about the art club then. Deal? PRIYA: Deal. Can I borrow one of the team watches? Mine is broken. COACH DELANEY: I'll leave one in your locker before Thursday.
At the beginning of the cross-country dialogue with her coach, what is Priya thinking of doing?
1. Asking Hannah to train with her daily
2. Racing in a university running league
3. Switching to a flatter course next year
4. Quitting the team to join the art club
LUCIA: Good morning, welcome to Spoke and Pedal. How can I help? MR. BOATENG: I bought this bike here on Saturday, and the back brake already squeals every time I stop. I'm leaving on a three-day cycling trip on Friday. I can't ride it like this. LUCIA: I'm sorry about that. Let me take a look. Okay, I see the problem. The brake pads are a little crooked, so they're rubbing at an angle. MR. BOATENG: So it was put together badly. I paid $900 for this bike. LUCIA: That's a fair question. New brake pads often need a small adjustment after the first few rides, while everything settles. It's covered by your free tune-up, so there's no charge. MR. BOATENG: How long will it take? I can't leave it here for a week. LUCIA: About fifteen minutes. You're welcome to wait, or you can grab a coffee next door. MR. BOATENG: I'll wait. Fifteen minutes is better than I expected. LUCIA: While I'm at it, I'll check the tire pressure and oil the chain. Since you're going on a long trip, do you have a repair kit? MR. BOATENG: A repair kit? I hadn't even thought about that. LUCIA: A spare tube and a small pump can save your whole day if you get a flat tire. When I'm done, I'll show you how to use them. It only takes a minute to learn. MR. BOATENG: That would be great. And I'm sorry I came in so grumpy. I was worried my trip was ruined. LUCIA: No problem at all. Let's make sure it isn't. MR. BOATENG: You know what? I'll take the spare tube and the pump. And maybe one of those bells, too.
What does the end of the bike shop conversation suggest about how Mr. Boateng now sees Lucia?
1. He feels she wasted his whole morning
2. He has come to trust her advice
3. He believes she is new at fixing bikes
4. He thinks she is trying to trick him
The Rideau Canal, which links Ottawa and Kingston, is one of the oldest canals in North America that is still in use. It was built between 1826 and 1832, not long after the War of 1812, when British leaders worried about a possible attack from the United States. At the time, supplies travelling between Montréal and Kingston had to move along the St. Lawrence River, close to the American border. The canal offered a safer inland route. Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers led the project, and thousands of workers, many of them Irish and French-Canadian labourers, cut through forests, swamps and rock with simple tools. Their work was dangerous, and many fell ill with malaria, a disease that was common in the region's swamps at the time. Instead of digging one long channel, the builders connected existing rivers and lakes and used locks and dams to raise and lower boats along a route of about 200 kilometres. The attack that the canal was meant to defend against never came. Over time, the canal became a route for trade and, later, for pleasure boating. In 2007, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, in winter, part of the canal in Ottawa becomes a long skating path, giving one of Canada's oldest engineering projects a new purpose.
Which conclusion is best supported by the paragraph about the Rideau Canal?
1. The canal was used to defend Kingston from an American attack
2. Most of the canal's workers were trained engineers
3. The canal is valued today for reasons other than its first purpose
4. The canal can no longer be used by any boats
MAYA: Theo, close the door. Nana's birthday is in two weeks, and we still don't have a plan. THEO: I have a plan. We rent the community hall, invite everyone she knows and hire a DJ. Eighty is a big deal. MAYA: Everyone she knows? That's half of Port Alder. THEO: Exactly. Go big or go home. MAYA: Remember her seventy-fifth? Uncle Dev threw that loud party at the restaurant, and she left early with a headache. She told me later she hardly talked to anyone. THEO: Oh. I forgot about that. I thought she was just tired. MAYA: She said the best part of the whole day was the quiet drive home. THEO: Okay, so no DJ. But it still has to feel special. What does she actually love? MAYA: Her garden. Her old photo albums. Pancakes. And she always says she misses the Sunday breakfasts we used to have before everyone got so busy. THEO: Wait. What if we do a Sunday breakfast? Just family, at her house. We could make her blueberry pancakes, and I could scan the old photos and make a slideshow on her TV. MAYA: Theo, that's actually perfect. You're really good with the scanner. THEO: Don't sound so surprised. MAYA: Sorry! But how do we get into her house without her knowing? THEO: Mom has a key. Mom could take her to the garden centre at nine, and we set everything up while they're gone. MAYA: And when she walks back in, the whole family is sitting at the table. I can already picture her face. THEO: Just promise me one thing. MAYA: What? THEO: Don't tell Uncle Dev until the night before. He can't keep a secret for five minutes. MAYA: (laughing) Deal. You'd better start on those photos tonight. THEO: I'll get the albums from the basement right after dinner.
What is Theo most likely to do first to prepare for Nana's surprise breakfast?
1. Find the old photo albums to scan
2. Buy blueberries at the garden centre
3. Tell Uncle Dev about the breakfast plan
4. Book the community hall for a party
Most smartphones and tablets use a type of touchscreen called a capacitive screen, and it works because the human body can conduct electricity. Just beneath the glass is a very thin, see-through layer arranged in a grid of tiny lines. A small electrical charge is spread evenly across this grid. When a fingertip touches the glass, it changes the charge at that exact point. The phone's processor measures where the change happened and treats it as a tap, a swipe or a pinch. Because the screen can detect more than one point at once, a user can zoom in on a photo by spreading two fingers apart. This design also explains a common winter problem in Canada. Ordinary wool or leather gloves do not conduct electricity well, so the screen cannot sense the finger inside them, and the phone seems to ignore the user. To solve this, some companies make gloves with special threads in the fingertips that carry the charge through the fabric. A plastic pen will not work on these screens either, unless its tip is made of a conductive material. In short, a capacitive screen does not respond to pressure at all; it responds to the electrical properties of whatever touches it.
What is the main idea of the paragraph about how capacitive touchscreens work?
1. Special gloves with threads let people use phones outside
2. Spreading two fingers apart is how users zoom in on photos
3. These screens sense the electrical properties of a touch
4. Cold Canadian winters make phone screens stop working properly
Which sentence corrects the run-on "The rink was full we skated anyway"?
1. The rink was full, we skated anyway.
2. The rink was full, but we skated anyway.
3. The rink was full we, skated anyway.
4. The rink, was full we skated anyway.
Many teenagers feel tired in the morning, and the reason is not always that they stay up late on purpose. During the teen years, the body's internal clock shifts, so many teens do not feel sleepy until later at night than they did as children. Canadian guidelines recommend that young people aged 14 to 17 get eight to ten hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, yet many get much less on school nights. Sleep is not wasted time. While a person sleeps, the brain sorts and stores what was learned during the day, and the body repairs muscles and other tissues. A teen who regularly misses sleep may find it harder to concentrate, remember information and manage feelings such as frustration. Screens can make the problem worse. The bright light from phones and tablets can signal to the brain that it is still daytime, which delays the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps the body prepare for sleep. Experts suggest a few simple habits: going to bed and waking up at about the same time every day, putting devices away an hour before bed, and keeping the bedroom cool, dark and quiet. These changes may seem small, but together they can help a tired student feel more alert in class and more energetic after school.
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the paragraph about teenagers and sleep?
1. Melatonin is a hormone that the body releases at night
2. Teens stay up late mainly because they enjoy their phones
3. Teens need enough sleep, and simple habits can help them get it
4. A cool bedroom is the most important part of good sleep
I signed up to volunteer at Maple Grove Residence because it was close to my house and I needed my forty community involvement hours to graduate. Honestly, I expected to spend my Tuesdays folding towels. Instead, the activity coordinator, Mr. Asante, handed me a tablet and a list of names. "Leah, some of our residents want to video-call their families," he said. "They need a patient teacher." My first student was Mr. Bellamy, who was eighty-seven and had worked as an engineer for the railway. His granddaughter, Hannah, had moved to Vancouver for university, and he had not seen her face in almost a year. When I gave him the tablet, he held it at arm's length as if it might bite. The first Tuesday did not go well. He pressed the screen too hard, then too lightly. He called Hannah three times by accident and hung up on her twice. By the end of the hour, he pushed the tablet back to me and said, "Some things are not meant for old dogs." I almost agreed with him. But on the bus home, I thought about how I had learned to ride a bike. My dad had not explained everything at once; he had shown me one small thing at a time. The next week, I wrote three steps on an index card in large letters: 1. Tap the green circle. 2. Find Hannah's name. 3. Wait and smile. Mr. Bellamy studied the card the way he probably once studied train schedules. He followed each step slowly. On the second ring, Hannah's face filled the screen. "Grandpa!" she shouted, so loudly that a nurse looked in to check on us. Mr. Bellamy did not say anything for a moment. Then he laughed and told Hannah she needed a haircut. I finished my forty hours by March, but I kept going on Tuesdays. Now Mr. Bellamy calls Hannah on his own, and he has started teaching me something in return: how to play cribbage. I lose almost every game. He says I need a card with three steps.
In the Maple Grove story, what gave Leah the idea of writing steps on an index card?
1. Advice from Mr. Asante, the activity coordinator
2. Instructions that came in the box with the tablet
3. Watching Mr. Bellamy read old train schedules
4. Remembering how her dad taught her to ride a bike
AMIRA: Okay, our science fair proposal is due Friday. Ideas? JONAH: Volcanoes. Baking soda, vinegar, red food colouring. Done in an afternoon. AMIRA: Jonah, three groups do volcanoes every year. Ms. Pereira said she wants a real question we can test. JONAH: Fine, fine. What's your idea, then? AMIRA: I was thinking we could test which brand of paper towel absorbs the most water. JONAH: That's... okay, I guess. Kind of like a commercial. AMIRA: Felix, you've been quiet. What do you think? FELIX: Well, I have one idea, but it might be too complicated. AMIRA: Tell us anyway. FELIX: My mom puts used coffee grounds in her garden because she says they help plants grow. My little sister asked if that's really true, and nobody knew. We could grow bean plants with different amounts of coffee grounds in the soil and measure how tall they get. JONAH: Wait, that's actually cool. We could take a picture every day and make a time-lapse video. AMIRA: And it's a real question. Felix, why did you think it was too complicated? FELIX: Beans take a few weeks to grow. The fair is in five weeks, so we'd have to start right away. AMIRA: Then we start right away. I can bring pots and soil from my aunt's greenhouse. JONAH: I'll set up the camera and make the time-lapse. And I'll do the poster. I'm good at big letters. FELIX: I can measure the plants and keep the data chart. AMIRA: Great. I'll write the proposal tonight and send it to you both to check. JONAH: Ha. And I came in here ready to do volcanoes. FELIX: There's always next year.
What is the tone of Jonah's comment that the paper towel test is 'Kind of like a commercial'?
1. Admiring
2. Unimpressed
3. Very grateful
4. Frightened
Volunteers Pull 300 Kilograms of Litter From Cedar Hollow Creek CEDAR HOLLOW — More than 80 volunteers waded into Cedar Hollow Creek on Sunday morning and removed about 300 kilograms of litter from a two-kilometre stretch of the stream. The Cedar Hollow Naturalists Club organized the cleanup to protect the brook trout that lay their eggs in the creek each fall. Volunteers wore rubber boots and gloves and worked in teams of four. Their haul included plastic bottles, a shopping cart, three bicycle tires and a rusty mailbox. "Every piece of garbage we pull out is one less thing in the way of the fish," said club president Helen Tremblay. "Brook trout need clean, cold water and loose gravel to lay their eggs." The creek has been cleaned every spring since 2019. Tremblay said the amount of litter has dropped each year, from about 500 kilograms in the first year to this year's total. She believes new signs along the trail and extra garbage cans near the bridge have made a difference. Grade 9 student Omar Haddad, 14, joined the cleanup to earn volunteer hours, but he said he plans to come back next year anyway. "I didn't expect it to be fun," he said. "Finding the mailbox was the best part of my weekend." Not everyone thinks the cleanup is enough. Brian Kowalski, who lives beside the creek, said the town should also stop salt from roads draining into the water in winter. "Picking up bottles is great, but the salt is the bigger problem," he said. The town's environment committee will discuss road salt at its meeting on May 8. All the garbage collected on Sunday was sorted, and about one-third of it was recycled. The club will hold its next cleanup on the Ashby River in September.
Why does the reporter place the sentence about the May 8 environment committee meeting right after Kowalski's comments on road salt?
1. It tells readers when his concern will be discussed
2. It proves that the town has already banned road salt
3. It explains why the club cleaned the creek on a Sunday
4. It shows the spring cleanup will be cancelled next year
MAYA: Theo, close the door. Nana's birthday is in two weeks, and we still don't have a plan. THEO: I have a plan. We rent the community hall, invite everyone she knows and hire a DJ. Eighty is a big deal. MAYA: Everyone she knows? That's half of Port Alder. THEO: Exactly. Go big or go home. MAYA: Remember her seventy-fifth? Uncle Dev threw that loud party at the restaurant, and she left early with a headache. She told me later she hardly talked to anyone. THEO: Oh. I forgot about that. I thought she was just tired. MAYA: She said the best part of the whole day was the quiet drive home. THEO: Okay, so no DJ. But it still has to feel special. What does she actually love? MAYA: Her garden. Her old photo albums. Pancakes. And she always says she misses the Sunday breakfasts we used to have before everyone got so busy. THEO: Wait. What if we do a Sunday breakfast? Just family, at her house. We could make her blueberry pancakes, and I could scan the old photos and make a slideshow on her TV. MAYA: Theo, that's actually perfect. You're really good with the scanner. THEO: Don't sound so surprised. MAYA: Sorry! But how do we get into her house without her knowing? THEO: Mom has a key. Mom could take her to the garden centre at nine, and we set everything up while they're gone. MAYA: And when she walks back in, the whole family is sitting at the table. I can already picture her face. THEO: Just promise me one thing. MAYA: What? THEO: Don't tell Uncle Dev until the night before. He can't keep a secret for five minutes. MAYA: (laughing) Deal. You'd better start on those photos tonight. THEO: I'll get the albums from the basement right after dinner.
How does Theo's attitude toward Nana's birthday plans change during his conversation with Maya?
1. He shifts from doubting Maya to letting her decide everything
2. He shifts from careful planning to leaving it all to Mom
3. He shifts from excitement to not wanting any party at all
4. He shifts from wanting a big event to planning a small one
Most smartphones and tablets use a type of touchscreen called a capacitive screen, and it works because the human body can conduct electricity. Just beneath the glass is a very thin, see-through layer arranged in a grid of tiny lines. A small electrical charge is spread evenly across this grid. When a fingertip touches the glass, it changes the charge at that exact point. The phone's processor measures where the change happened and treats it as a tap, a swipe or a pinch. Because the screen can detect more than one point at once, a user can zoom in on a photo by spreading two fingers apart. This design also explains a common winter problem in Canada. Ordinary wool or leather gloves do not conduct electricity well, so the screen cannot sense the finger inside them, and the phone seems to ignore the user. To solve this, some companies make gloves with special threads in the fingertips that carry the charge through the fabric. A plastic pen will not work on these screens either, unless its tip is made of a conductive material. In short, a capacitive screen does not respond to pressure at all; it responds to the electrical properties of whatever touches it.
Why does the writer of the touchscreen paragraph mention zooming in on a photo with two fingers?
1. To give an example of the screen sensing several points at once
2. To explain why plastic pens do not work on these screens
3. To describe how the grid of lines under the glass is built
4. To show that viewing photos is the most common use of phones
Many teenagers feel tired in the morning, and the reason is not always that they stay up late on purpose. During the teen years, the body's internal clock shifts, so many teens do not feel sleepy until later at night than they did as children. Canadian guidelines recommend that young people aged 14 to 17 get eight to ten hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, yet many get much less on school nights. Sleep is not wasted time. While a person sleeps, the brain sorts and stores what was learned during the day, and the body repairs muscles and other tissues. A teen who regularly misses sleep may find it harder to concentrate, remember information and manage feelings such as frustration. Screens can make the problem worse. The bright light from phones and tablets can signal to the brain that it is still daytime, which delays the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps the body prepare for sleep. Experts suggest a few simple habits: going to bed and waking up at about the same time every day, putting devices away an hour before bed, and keeping the bedroom cool, dark and quiet. These changes may seem small, but together they can help a tired student feel more alert in class and more energetic after school.
Why does the writer include the short sentence "Sleep is not wasted time" in the paragraph about teen sleep?
1. To explain why bright screens make sleep problems worse
2. To argue that teens should be allowed to sleep in on school days
3. To introduce the useful work the brain and body do during sleep
4. To show that most teens dislike going to bed early
A paragraph argues that students should learn first aid. Which detail is the strongest support?
1. Some first aid courses take place on Saturday mornings.
2. Knowing CPR can keep someone alive until paramedics arrive.
3. First aid kits are often kept in a red bag near the office.
4. Many first aid courses are taught at community centres.
Prompt: Should high schools start classes later in the morning? High schools should start classes at 9:30 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. A later start would help students learn, stay healthy and arrive safely. First, students learn better when they are awake. In my first-period math class, at least five people yawn through every lesson, and our teacher often has to repeat instructions. One more hour of sleep would mean that students actually take in what they hear. Second, teenagers need more sleep than most of them get. My family doctor told me that people my age need eight to ten hours a night, but many of my friends stay up late finishing homework or working part-time shifts. A later bell would let them rest without falling behind. Finally, a later start would be safer in winter. At 7:45 a.m. in January, the sky is still dark when students walk to the bus stop or drive to school. By 8:45 a.m., it is light, and drivers can see pedestrians more easily. Some people worry that a later start would push sports practices into the evening. However, many teams already practise after supper, and a rested athlete plays better. For all of these reasons, a 9:30 a.m. start would help students do their best in class and stay safe on the way there.
Which rubric description best fits the later-start model essay's topic development?
1. An opinion with some ideas but no supporting details at all
2. A response that only restates the prompt in the writer's words
3. An opinion that is unclear or that changes partway through
4. A clear, consistent opinion with specific, well-chosen details
Teen Volunteers Bring Back Riverbend's Outdoor Rink RIVERBEND — For the first time in six winters, children are skating on the outdoor rink in Willow Park. On Saturday afternoon, about 150 residents gathered at the park to celebrate the rink's reopening, which was made possible by a group of teenagers who spent much of December rebuilding and flooding it. The rink closed in 2020 after its wooden boards rotted and the town could not find volunteers to look after the ice. Last fall, Grade 11 student Leah Martineau, 16, started an online sign-up sheet asking for help. Within two weeks, 31 people had joined, most of them high school students. "My dad taught me to skate on this rink when I was four," Martineau said. "It felt wrong that kids in my neighbourhood were growing up without it." The volunteers replaced the rotten boards with lumber donated by a local building supply store. They also made a schedule so that two people flood the ice every night when the temperature drops below minus 5 degrees Celsius. Flooding is cold, slow work. Volunteers drag a heavy hose back and forth across the ice in the dark, often after 10 p.m., to lay down a thin, even layer of water. Town recreation manager Gordon Pike said the town will pay for the water and the lights this season. "The young people did the hard part," he said. "The least we can do is keep the lights on." At Saturday's celebration, a local hockey coach gave free lessons to beginners, and volunteers handed out hot chocolate. The rink is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weather permitting. Martineau said the team still needs more volunteers, especially adults who can flood the ice on weeknights. Anyone who wants to help can sign up at the front desk of the Riverbend Community Centre.
According to the report, why did the outdoor rink in Riverbend's Willow Park close in 2020?
1. Warm winters made it impossible to keep ice frozen
2. Too few children came to skate there each winter
3. The town needed the park land for new houses
4. Its boards rotted and no one could care for the ice
North Ashby Library Opens Shelves Full of Tools NORTH ASHBY — Residents of North Ashby can now borrow a drill, a ladder or a pressure washer as easily as they borrow a novel. The North Ashby Public Library opened its new tool-lending collection on Tuesday, offering more than 120 tools free of charge to anyone with a library card. The collection fills a former storage room at the back of the library. Its shelves hold power drills, garden tools, a sewing machine, camping stoves and even a set of snowshoes. Most items can be borrowed for one week. Library director Simone Achterberg said the idea came from a survey the library ran last winter. More than 60 per cent of the residents who answered said they had bought a tool they used only once or twice. "A family should not have to spend $200 on a tile cutter for one bathroom project," Achterberg said. "Sharing makes much more sense." About two-thirds of the tools were donated by residents. The rest were bought with a $9,000 community grant. Retired carpenter Walter Bianchi, 71, checks every returned tool and sharpens the blades each Friday. "I spent 40 years taking care of tools," Bianchi said. "Now I get to help my neighbours use them safely." The first borrower on Tuesday was Grade 12 student Ava Lindqvist, who took out a hedge trimmer so she can earn money doing yard work this summer. "I couldn't afford to buy one," she said. "Now I can start my business this weekend." Borrowers must be at least 18 or have a parent or guardian sign their card. A short safety video is required before anyone takes out a power tool. The library will accept more tool donations in good working condition until the end of June. A full list of available tools is posted on the library's website.
Why does the reporter include Ava Lindqvist's comments in the North Ashby tool library report?
1. To give a real example of how the collection helps someone
2. To explain why the hedge trimmer is the most popular tool there
3. To prove that the library needs more garden tools for teenagers
4. To show that students are the library's most frequent borrowers

OSSLT Mock Exam 2

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