Weekend Plans Question Review

1) Based on paragraphs 1 through 3, what can the reader infer about the author?

• 1. The author wishes she felt differently about meeting up with friends.

• The author believes that she has been away from home for too long.

• The author is nervous about visiting with people she has not seen for a while.

• 1. The author has made too many plans to meet with friends.

2) What is the most likely reason the author included the “grouse” and “chore” in paragraph 3?

• To convey a feeling of dread

• 1. To create a feeling of concern

• 1. To express a sense of skepticism 

• 1. To reveal a sense of regret 

3) Who is the intended audience of the article?

• 1. Experts on the subject of behavior and decision-making

• 1. Students who are seeking new research opportunities

• People wanting to understand why they don’t enjoy planned leisure time

• 1. Individuals who want to try new and exciting leisure activities

4) Which quotation best shows that people’s lives were less scheduled and organized in years past?

• 1. But to my surprise, as the date approached, I started to feel reluctant and unenthusiastic about these long-awaited reunions. (paragraph 2)

• 1. We increasingly rely on scheduling to organize our lives: phone calls, appointments, dates - and, yes, fun social activities. (paragraph 4)

• We found that this simple, relaxing activity was associated more with work-like qualities (“obligation,” “effortful,” “work”) when it was scheduled,... (paragraph 7)

• 1.  In several follow-up studies, we found that simply scheduling something fun - like a movie or social outing - felt like work… (paragraph 8)

5) In paragraph 18, what does alleviate mean?

• 1. To make a decision about

• 1. To make less severe

• 1. To emphasize

• 1. To disregard

6) Which quotation best expresses the author’s concession to the argument that plans cannot always be made spontaneously?

• We think that it has to do with how scheduling structures time. (paragraph 12)

• 1. The only difference was that some of the participants had strict schedules, while the others didn’t. (paragraph 15)

• 1. We found that structuring not only made the activity feel more like work, but also decreased participants’ desire to engage in them. (paragraph 16)

• For those who do need to make plans days or weeks in advance, something called “rough scheduling” can work wonders. (paragraph 17)

7) What is the most likely reason the author included the information in the section “A rough solution”?

• To propose an alternative to the reader

• To provide evidence that reinforces her claim

• To summative the key arguments in the article

• To recognise a counterargument to the main claim

8) Which statement best presents the author’s claim on the best way to plan leisure activities?

• Agree on plans in advance, but be willing to adjust plans if necessary.

• Scheduled time for events, but do not determine the activity in advance.

• Commit to having fun, even when activities are scheduled in advance.

• Avoid making plans ahead of time, and have fun when the time is right.

9) Read the quotation from paragraph 17.

But this doesn’t mean that scheduling will take the fun out of everything.

What is the most likely reason the author includes this rhetorical shift?

• To introduce another argument against scheduling.

• To recognize that there are different opinions about scheduling.

• To acknowledge that scheduling can sometimes be necessary

• To provide a variety of alternatives to scheduling

10) Read this paragraph:

Scheduled activities are sometimes met with dread as the date of participation nears. Studies have presented people with activities that could be scheduled ahead or that do not require any advance planning. Participants in the study who had scheduled the activity reported not enjoying it as much as those who had not planned for the activity. 

Which sentence should be added to the paragraph to create a complete summary of the article?

• Sometimes the activity was as simple as stopping for coffee, while in other instances the activity involved spending the afternoon in a forest preserve.

• Sometimes participants were asked to schedule activities, and others were able to attend unscheduled activities.

• Leisure activities are supposed to be different from work activities that are almost always structured and dependent on times set for meetings and deadlines.

• This is due to the fact that the scheduled activities seemed too much like work to be truly enjoyable.