Question 82·Easy·Inferences
Many local governments use citizen advisory committees to gather input on major policy decisions. Springfield’s city council, for example, created a parks advisory committee last year. Since then, the council has routinely adopted the committee’s recommendations for improving playground safety and expanding green spaces. A recent survey found that residents feel more informed about park projects and are more likely to attend public hearings than they were two years ago, indicating that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference completion questions like this, first paraphrase the key facts and then ask, “What general idea do these facts point to?” Focus especially on cause-and-effect or changes over time. Then test each answer by asking: (1) Is every part of this statement directly supported by the passage? (2) Does it avoid adding new topics, comparisons, or extreme words like “all,” “only,” or “most effective” that aren’t in the text? Eliminate any option that overgeneralizes or introduces new information, and choose the one that matches the passage’s evidence and scope.
Hints
Use the signal phrase
Look carefully at the words “indicating that”. This phrase tells you the blank should be a general conclusion drawn from the situation described, especially the survey results.
Connect the timeline
Ask yourself: what changed between two years ago and now, and what else changed at the same time? How might those changes be related?
Watch for overgeneralization
Check each option to see whether it goes beyond the information given—especially if it talks about all cities, most effective, or comparisons the passage never makes.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the blank must do
Focus on the phrase just before the blank: “indicating that ______”. This means the correct answer must be a general conclusion that is supported by the information in the passage, especially the survey results about how residents now feel and behave.
Identify the key evidence in the passage
Summarize the important details:
- Springfield’s city council created a parks advisory committee made up of citizens.
- The council has routinely adopted the committee’s recommendations about playground safety and green space.
- A recent survey found that residents now feel more informed about park projects and are more likely to attend public hearings than they were two years ago. These details show a change in residents’ awareness and participation that happened after the committee was created.
Infer the general idea the evidence supports
The sequence is: create a citizen committee → use its recommendations → residents become more informed and more likely to participate (attend public hearings). This pattern suggests a connection between how the government involves residents and how interested and engaged those residents become in local issues. The correct completion should capture that kind of cause-and-effect relationship without adding claims that go beyond the passage.
Match each answer choice to the evidence
Now test each option:
- A) Talks about all city councils, budget drafting, and relying exclusively on committees—none of this is discussed in the passage, and it is a much stronger claim than the evidence supports.
- B) Claims that public hearings are the most effective way to get expert opinions, but the passage only says more residents attend hearings; it never mentions experts or compares hearings to other methods.
- C) Says playground safety is valued more than any other community issue, but the passage does not compare park projects to other issues at all.
- D) Says that involving residents in decision-making can boost their interest in civic affairs, which fits the evidence: once residents were involved through the advisory committee, they felt more informed and were more likely to attend public hearings. Therefore, the best and only supported completion is: involving residents in decision-making can boost their interest in civic affairs.