What reason does Nadia give for choosing the garden?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 8–9 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to the class discussion.
The Empty Lot
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Mr. Mitchell: The city council wants to hear from the public about the empty lot on Pecan Street. One plan is a skate park. The other is a community garden. Nadia, which would you choose?
Nadia: The garden. A lot of families near there live in apartments, so they don't have yards. A garden would give them a place to grow their own vegetables.
Jordan: But kids in that neighborhood have nowhere to skate. Right now they skate in the grocery store parking lot, and the manager keeps chasing them out.
Mr. Mitchell: Interesting. You're both thinking about who would use it. Is there any way to have both?
Jordan: Maybe. The lot is pretty big. We could put a small skate area on one side and garden beds on the other.
Nadia: I'd support that, as long as the garden gets the side with the most sun.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What reason does Nadia give for choosing the garden?
- Kids have nowhere to skate.
- Many families nearby do not have yards.Correct answer
- A garden would be quieter than a skate park.
- The lot gets a lot of sun.
Why “Many families nearby do not have yards.” is correct
This is a detail question about an opinion and its reason. Nadia says families near the lot "live in apartments, so they don't have yards," and a garden would let them grow vegetables. In a discussion, listeners have to match each reason to the right speaker.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Kids have nowhere to skate. — That is Jordan's reason for the skate park.
- A garden would be quieter than a skate park. — Noise is never discussed.
- The lot gets a lot of sun. — Sun comes up at the end, about which side the garden gets.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.