CAEC Reading Preparation Course: Content and context: word meaning, inferences and conclusions

Untimed topic quiz: 18 questions on Content and context: word meaning, inferences and conclusions, with an explanation after each answer. Questions and answers are shuffled every time.

Course
Canada
93 questions
Checked October 13, 2026
Fact-checked October 13, 2026

Start with the lessonsCAEC Reading Preparation: Lessons: about 300 minutes of reading. Every test question is covered in the lessons.

Topic quiz 3: Content and context: word meaning, inferences and conclusions

Question 1 of 18
Read the sentence: "The new manager was candid about the cuts; she told us exactly which jobs would change." What does "candid" mean here?
- Unsure and confused
- Honest and open
- Angry and upset
- Secretive and quiet
Show answer
Answer: B. Honest and open
The words after the semicolon explain the word: she told them exactly what would change. That is a definition clue for "honest and open."
Question 2 of 18
In the email, what does "make the switch" mean?
Subject: New shift app starts Monday
Hi team,
Starting Monday, March 3, we will stop posting paper schedules in the lunchroom. Instead, you will see your shifts in the ShiftLink app on your phone or on the computer by the time clock.
Please download the app this week and log in with your employee number. If you have trouble, Dana in HR can help you on Thursday or Friday between 1 and 3 p.m.
Shift swaps will also move to the app. You will still need a supervisor to approve each swap, but you will no longer need to fill out the yellow form.
One thing is not changing: vacation requests still go to me by email at least two weeks ahead.
Thanks for your patience while we make the switch.
Marco Silva
Shipping Supervisor
- Move to a new department
- Turn on the time-clock computer
- Trade shifts with a co-worker
- Change to the new app system
Show answer
Answer: D. Change to the new app system
The whole email is about moving from paper schedules and forms to an app, so "the switch" is that change.
Question 3 of 18
"Not everyone is convinced." What does "convinced" mean in this sentence?
Library lends more than books
Harbourview Public Library has started lending items that most people need only once in a while. Since September, card holders have been able to borrow a sewing machine, a stud finder, a telescope or one of 40 other items for up to seven days.
"People told us they were buying things they used once and then stored for years," said branch manager Priya Nandal. "Sharing saves money and space, and it keeps items out of the landfill."
The program has been popular. In its first two months, items were borrowed 610 times, and there is now a waiting list for the pressure washer.
Not everyone is convinced. Hardware store owner Glen Byrne says the library is competing with local businesses. "We rent some of these tools too, and we pay taxes," he said.
Nandal says the library will add more items next spring, chosen through a survey of members. Items must be returned clean. There are no late fees, but borrowers who keep an item more than two weeks past its due date will have their account paused.
- Happy to pay local taxes
- Sure that the idea is a good one
- Able to borrow the items
- Aware that the program exists
Show answer
Answer: B. Sure that the idea is a good one
The next sentences give a person who thinks the program is unfair, so "convinced" means sure that it is a good idea.
Question 4 of 18
What does "as if he had been planted there" suggest about Grandpa Leo?
The lake was a sheet of grey glass the morning Grandpa Leo taught me to wait. He drilled the hole in three slow turns, then sat on his overturned bucket as if he had been planted there.
"Now we listen," he said.
I listened. The wind combed the snow into thin white ribbons. Somewhere far off, the ice gave a deep groan, and I grabbed his sleeve.
"That's just the lake talking," he said. "It's stretching in its sleep."
An hour passed. My toes went from cold to sore to nothing at all. I checked the line every minute, pulling it up to make sure the bait was still there, until Grandpa put his mittened hand over mine.
"A fish can't find a line that won't stay still," he said.
So I stayed still. And when the line finally twitched, it was so small a movement that I almost missed it, the way you almost miss the first star coming out, until suddenly the whole sky is full of them.
- He was stuck in the deep snow
- He sat very still and settled
- He grew vegetables as a hobby
- He was so tired he fell asleep
Show answer
Answer: B. He sat very still and settled
The phrase compares him to a plant with roots in the ground. It shows he was calm, still and ready to wait.
Question 5 of 18
"Words flew past me in meetings like birds I could not name." What does this sentence mean?
When I arrived in Calgary at thirty-four, I could order a coffee in English and not much else. Words flew past me in meetings like birds I could not name. For the first year, I nodded a lot.
What changed things was not a class but a hockey game. My neighbour, Doug, invited me to watch his daughter play. I understood almost nothing he said, but he kept talking anyway, pointing and explaining, laughing at his own jokes. By the third period, I knew "offside," "penalty" and "What a save!"
I began to see that a language is not only learned at a desk. It grows in kitchens, rinks and bus shelters, wherever people are patient enough to keep talking.
Today I lead meetings in English. I still don't understand offside.
- People spoke too fast for him to understand
- His meetings were held outdoors
- Birds often flew into his office
- He kept forgetting the names of his new co-workers
Show answer
Answer: A. People spoke too fast for him to understand
This is a simile. Like birds he could not name, the words went by before he could catch or understand them.
Question 6 of 18
What can you infer from "For the first year, I nodded a lot"?
When I arrived in Calgary at thirty-four, I could order a coffee in English and not much else. Words flew past me in meetings like birds I could not name. For the first year, I nodded a lot.
What changed things was not a class but a hockey game. My neighbour, Doug, invited me to watch his daughter play. I understood almost nothing he said, but he kept talking anyway, pointing and explaining, laughing at his own jokes. By the third period, I knew "offside," "penalty" and "What a save!"
I began to see that a language is not only learned at a desk. It grows in kitchens, rinks and bus shelters, wherever people are patient enough to keep talking.
Today I lead meetings in English. I still don't understand offside.
- He had a sore neck for a year
- He agreed with every decision at work
- He was the most senior person in meetings
- He often pretended to understand
Show answer
Answer: D. He often pretended to understand
The paragraph says he knew little English. Nodding without speaking suggests he was hiding that he did not understand.
Question 7 of 18
Why does the narrator grab Grandpa Leo's sleeve?
The lake was a sheet of grey glass the morning Grandpa Leo taught me to wait. He drilled the hole in three slow turns, then sat on his overturned bucket as if he had been planted there.
"Now we listen," he said.
I listened. The wind combed the snow into thin white ribbons. Somewhere far off, the ice gave a deep groan, and I grabbed his sleeve.
"That's just the lake talking," he said. "It's stretching in its sleep."
An hour passed. My toes went from cold to sore to nothing at all. I checked the line every minute, pulling it up to make sure the bait was still there, until Grandpa put his mittened hand over mine.
"A fish can't find a line that won't stay still," he said.
So I stayed still. And when the line finally twitched, it was so small a movement that I almost missed it, the way you almost miss the first star coming out, until suddenly the whole sky is full of them.
- The narrator's hands are cold
- The sound of the ice is frightening
- The narrator wants to go home
- The narrator has caught a fish
Show answer
Answer: B. The sound of the ice is frightening
The narrator grabs his sleeve right after the ice gives "a deep groan." Grandpa then calms the narrator by saying it is just the lake.
Question 8 of 18
What does Grandpa mean by "A fish can't find a line that won't stay still"?
The lake was a sheet of grey glass the morning Grandpa Leo taught me to wait. He drilled the hole in three slow turns, then sat on his overturned bucket as if he had been planted there.
"Now we listen," he said.
I listened. The wind combed the snow into thin white ribbons. Somewhere far off, the ice gave a deep groan, and I grabbed his sleeve.
"That's just the lake talking," he said. "It's stretching in its sleep."
An hour passed. My toes went from cold to sore to nothing at all. I checked the line every minute, pulling it up to make sure the bait was still there, until Grandpa put his mittened hand over mine.
"A fish can't find a line that won't stay still," he said.
So I stayed still. And when the line finally twitched, it was so small a movement that I almost missed it, the way you almost miss the first star coming out, until suddenly the whole sky is full of them.
- The bait has already fallen off the hook, so check it again
- Fish only bite when the wind stops
- Checking the line so often lowers the chance of a bite
- The hole in the ice is too small
Show answer
Answer: C. Checking the line so often lowers the chance of a bite
The narrator keeps pulling the line up every minute. Grandpa is telling the narrator to be patient and leave the line still.
Question 9 of 18
Ben has no driveway. At noon, the Town announces a parking ban. Based on the notice, what should Ben do?
Snow Route Parking Ban – Town of Pine Hollow
When more than 5 cm of snow falls, the Town will declare a parking ban on all marked snow routes. The ban starts at 7 p.m. on the day it is announced and lasts for 48 hours, unless the Town ends it sooner.
During a ban, vehicles parked on a snow route may be ticketed and towed at the owner's expense. Snow route signs are blue with a white snowflake.
You can find out about a ban in three ways: sign up for text alerts on the Town website, follow the Town on social media, or call the 24-hour information line. Local radio stations also share ban news, but the Town's own channels are updated first.
Residents who have no driveway may park free of charge in the arena lot on Birch Street during a ban.
- Park on the snow route and pay the fee
- Leave his car on the snow route until tomorrow night
- Move his car to the arena lot before 7 p.m.
- Call the radio station to ask for a parking pass
Show answer
Answer: C. Move his car to the arena lot before 7 p.m.
The ban starts at 7 p.m. on the day it is announced, and residents with no driveway may park free in the arena lot. Combining these facts gives the answer.
Question 10 of 18
A borrower returns a telescope 20 days after its due date. Based on the article, what happens?
Library lends more than books
Harbourview Public Library has started lending items that most people need only once in a while. Since September, card holders have been able to borrow a sewing machine, a stud finder, a telescope or one of 40 other items for up to seven days.
"People told us they were buying things they used once and then stored for years," said branch manager Priya Nandal. "Sharing saves money and space, and it keeps items out of the landfill."
The program has been popular. In its first two months, items were borrowed 610 times, and there is now a waiting list for the pressure washer.
Not everyone is convinced. Hardware store owner Glen Byrne says the library is competing with local businesses. "We rent some of these tools too, and we pay taxes," he said.
Nandal says the library will add more items next spring, chosen through a survey of members. Items must be returned clean. There are no late fees, but borrowers who keep an item more than two weeks past its due date will have their account paused.
- Nothing, because there are no late fees
- The borrower's account is paused
- The borrower must buy the telescope
- The borrower pays a late fee
Show answer
Answer: B. The borrower's account is paused
There are no late fees, but an item kept more than two weeks (14 days) past its due date leads to a paused account. 20 days is more than 14.
Question 11 of 18
In the last line, what does "the last one up, the first awake" suggest about the speaker?
Night Shift
The bus hums down an empty street,
its windows full of tired light.
I count the stops the way my mother
counted rosary beads at night:
one for the bakery, dark and shut,
one for the bridge, one for the mall,
one for the corner where the wind
leans hard against the shelter wall.
At home, the kettle waits for me,
a small, round sun upon the stove.
The city sleeps. I pour my tea,
the last one up, the first awake.
- The speaker always wakes up before the alarm
- The speaker works at night and gets home as the day begins
- The speaker is always the last passenger to leave the night bus
- The speaker cannot sleep because of noise
Show answer
Answer: B. The speaker works at night and gets home as the day begins
The title is "Night Shift," and the city is asleep when the speaker gets home. The speaker is still up from the night and awake before everyone else.
Question 12 of 18
What does Raj mean when he says, "Not this one"?
A small apartment kitchen in Winnipeg. Early morning. RAJ, in his fifties, is packing a lunch. His daughter MEERA, 19, enters with a suitcase.
RAJ: (without turning around) You're early. The bus doesn't leave until nine.
MEERA: I wanted to say goodbye properly. Not at the station, with everyone watching.
RAJ: (still packing) I made you a sandwich. Cheese and pickle. The kind you like.
MEERA: Dad, I'm nineteen. They have sandwiches in Vancouver.
RAJ: (finally turning, holding out the sandwich) Not this one.
(MEERA takes the sandwich and puts it carefully in her bag. Neither of them speaks.)
- He made the wrong kind of sandwich
- She should not eat it on the bus
- Sandwiches in Vancouver taste worse
- His sandwich carries his love for her
Show answer
Answer: D. His sandwich carries his love for her
Meera says Vancouver has sandwiches, and Raj answers that none will be like this one, made by her father. The sandwich stands for his care.
Question 13 of 18
Why does Raj keep packing without turning around at first?
A small apartment kitchen in Winnipeg. Early morning. RAJ, in his fifties, is packing a lunch. His daughter MEERA, 19, enters with a suitcase.
RAJ: (without turning around) You're early. The bus doesn't leave until nine.
MEERA: I wanted to say goodbye properly. Not at the station, with everyone watching.
RAJ: (still packing) I made you a sandwich. Cheese and pickle. The kind you like.
MEERA: Dad, I'm nineteen. They have sandwiches in Vancouver.
RAJ: (finally turning, holding out the sandwich) Not this one.
(MEERA takes the sandwich and puts it carefully in her bag. Neither of them speaks.)
- He is late for his own work shift
- He finds the goodbye hard and is hiding his feelings
- He is upset that Meera came early and interrupted his work
- He did not hear Meera come in
Show answer
Answer: B. He finds the goodbye hard and is hiding his feelings
He answers her right away, so he heard her. He made her favourite sandwich, so he is not angry. Avoiding her eyes shows the goodbye is hard for him.
Question 14 of 18
Based on the letter, which statement would the writer most likely agree with?
Letter to the editor: Give Main Street a chance
Every spring, city council asks how to bring shoppers back downtown. Every spring, the answer is the same: more parking. I think it is time to try something different.
Last year, the town of Elm Falls replaced 30 parking spots on its main street with a protected bike lane and wider sidewalks. According to the town's own count, foot traffic rose by 18 per cent in the first summer. Store owners who had fought the plan now hold sidewalk sales every weekend.
Some people say that our winters are too long for cycling. But a bike lane is not only for bikes. In Elm Falls, the lane is cleared first after a snowfall, so it also gives people with strollers and wheelchairs a safe path.
Of course, change is hard. Nobody likes to circle the block looking for a spot. But are we really building a downtown for cars, or for people?
I urge council to try a one-year pilot. If it fails, the paint can be removed. If it works, we will wonder why we waited so long.
Andrea Kowalczyk, Main Street resident
- A downtown should be planned for people, not only cars
- Cycling is impossible in a Canadian winter
- More parking is the best way to bring shoppers back downtown
- Trial projects are a waste of city money
Show answer
Answer: A. A downtown should be planned for people, not only cars
She asks whether the downtown is for cars or for people and urges a bike lane pilot. The other statements go against her letter.

Question 15 of 18

A member signs up for Aquafit. How much will it cost with the member discount?

Fall programs at Westbrook Leisure Centre run for 8 weeks, starting September 15. Register online or at the front desk.

Members save 10% on all paid programs. Any program with fewer than 6 people registered one week before the start date will be cancelled, and fees will be refunded in full.

Program	Day and time	Ages	Cost (8 weeks)
Aquafit	Mon and Wed, 7:00–8:00 p.m.	16+	$64
Parent and Tot Swim	Sat, 9:30–10:00 a.m.	6 months–3 years, with an adult	$48
Lane Swim	Mon to Fri, 6:00–7:30 a.m.	16+	Free with membership
Junior Lifeguard Club	Thu, 5:00–6:30 p.m.	11–15	$96
Senior Stretch	Tue and Thu, 10:00–11:00 a.m.	60+	$40

$64.00
$6.40
$57.60
$54.00

Show answer

Answer: C. $57.60

Aquafit costs $64. Members save 10%: $64 × 0.10 = $6.40 off, and $64 − $6.40 = $57.60.

Question 16 of 18

Only 4 people have registered for Junior Lifeguard Club one week before the start date. What will most likely happen?

Fall programs at Westbrook Leisure Centre run for 8 weeks, starting September 15. Register online or at the front desk.

Members save 10% on all paid programs. Any program with fewer than 6 people registered one week before the start date will be cancelled, and fees will be refunded in full.

Program	Day and time	Ages	Cost (8 weeks)
Aquafit	Mon and Wed, 7:00–8:00 p.m.	16+	$64
Parent and Tot Swim	Sat, 9:30–10:00 a.m.	6 months–3 years, with an adult	$48
Lane Swim	Mon to Fri, 6:00–7:30 a.m.	16+	Free with membership
Junior Lifeguard Club	Thu, 5:00–6:30 p.m.	11–15	$96
Senior Stretch	Tue and Thu, 10:00–11:00 a.m.	60+	$40

It will be cancelled, with a full refund
It will run with only 4 people
It will move to a Saturday morning
The price will go up for each person

Show answer

Answer: A. It will be cancelled, with a full refund

The note says any program with fewer than 6 people one week before the start will be cancelled and fees refunded in full.

Question 17 of 18

A 62-year-old wants a program that meets twice a week on weekday mornings. Which program fits best?

Fall programs at Westbrook Leisure Centre run for 8 weeks, starting September 15. Register online or at the front desk.

Members save 10% on all paid programs. Any program with fewer than 6 people registered one week before the start date will be cancelled, and fees will be refunded in full.

Program	Day and time	Ages	Cost (8 weeks)
Aquafit	Mon and Wed, 7:00–8:00 p.m.	16+	$64
Parent and Tot Swim	Sat, 9:30–10:00 a.m.	6 months–3 years, with an adult	$48
Lane Swim	Mon to Fri, 6:00–7:30 a.m.	16+	Free with membership
Junior Lifeguard Club	Thu, 5:00–6:30 p.m.	11–15	$96
Senior Stretch	Tue and Thu, 10:00–11:00 a.m.	60+	$40

Lane Swim
Senior Stretch
Aquafit
Parent and Tot Swim

Show answer

Answer: B. Senior Stretch

Senior Stretch is for ages 60+ and runs Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Lane Swim is five mornings a week, and Aquafit is in the evening.

Question 18 of 18
On which point do both writers agree?
Text A – From a worker's blog
Since my office let us work from home two days a week, I have more energy. I skip a 50-minute commute, so I sleep longer and start work fresh. I also get more done on quiet tasks, like writing reports. I do miss my co-workers, though. Our office days are now the days I save for meetings and problem-solving.
Text B – From a manager's newsletter
Our hybrid schedule has worked better than I expected. Reports arrive on time, and staff say they are less tired. Still, I have noticed that new employees learn more slowly when the team is apart. A quick question that took ten seconds at a desk can now take an hour by email. For that reason, new hires will spend their first three months fully in the office.
- Working from home some days has left people less tired
- Office days are no longer needed
- Email is faster than asking at a desk
- New employees should work from home during their first months
Show answer
Answer: A. Working from home some days has left people less tired
Text A says the writer has more energy, and Text B says staff report being less tired. Both texts support this point.

Topic quiz 3: Content and context: word meaning, inferences and conclusions

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