Reading: Making Inferences Flashcards

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?

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.

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?

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.

A passage notes: 'After the policy change, employees began arriving earlier and leaving later.' What can be inferred about the new policy?

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.

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?

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.

A text describes a company that 'discontinued its loyalty programme without announcing an alternative.' What can be inferred about the company's customers?

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.