An inference question asks you to draw a conclusion from the facts a text gives. Read the words leading into the blank to see what kind of ending you need. When a report gives several results, put each in a few words and ask how they connect. Then predict the smallest conclusion so you use every clue without adding new facts. Wrong choices often stretch a limited report into a rule it can't support.
Hints
- Hint 1
For each company, look at what changed and what stayed the same after it adopted the four-day week.
- Hint 2
What do Company A's numbers and Company B's survey responses show when read together? Predict the smallest conclusion that uses those findings and the sentence about pay.
Step-by-step
Join the clues and predict small
Step 1Read Company A's results
Company A reports a 15% rise in weekly productivity and a 20% drop in energy costs. Since the blank asks for a conclusion, what do those changes mean for the company? It gets more work done each week while spending less on energy, so Company A gains from the change.
- Step 2
Add the workers' results
What do Company B's results add? Its surveys showed a 30% decline in reported stress and a 25% increase in job satisfaction, so workers gained too. Both companies also kept total weekly pay unchanged, which means the shorter week didn't cost workers any of their weekly pay.
- Step 3
Keep the conclusion small
How far can we take findings from two companies? These examples show possible gains, not a rule for every workplace. The choice benefit both employers and employees stays within that limit, and though in different ways fits the different results the report measured. Choice C.