CELPIP Reading Practice Test 49

Dear Mr. Ferris,

I'm writing to ask whether the vacation days you approved for me can be moved to a later date. My sister is getting married in Halifax, and I'm the only one in the family who lives out west. I know a request like this is not something the company usually allows, and I would not ask if I had a choice.

The week you gave me off is June 22 to 26, and I asked for it so I could be at the wedding. She has been planning it for over a year. Last week my sister called with bad news. Harbourview Hall, where the reception was going to be held, had double-booked the date. The only other time it could offer her was Saturday, July 11, so I would need July 6 to 10 off instead. The invitations have already gone out again! On top of that, I booked the flights and the hotel as soon as my leave was approved. The deposits on both come to $880, and none of that money will come back to me if I don't travel.

I understand that our policy says confirmed vacation requests cannot be changed once they have been approved. Still, I've worked here for six years and have never asked for a change before. I'm also giving you four months' notice, which is more than the office usually gets. That part of the summer is normally quiet for the department, and Colin has already said he'll cover my shifts for the week.

If it would help, I will finish the quarterly report before I leave instead of after I get back, so there is nothing waiting for your approval while I am away. I'll also keep my phone on all week in case something urgent comes up at the desk.

By the way, thank you for the flowers the team sent when my father was in the hospital. He's home now and doing much better, and the flowers are still on his kitchen table.

I'd be really grateful if you would consider an exception. My sister has had a stressful few weeks, and I'd hate to miss her big day.

Sincerely,

Yasmin Aziz

Dear Yasmin,

I was 7. Choose…amusedvery sorryrelievedpleased to hear about the trouble with the hall, and I have given your request some thought. As you know, 8. Choose…summer leave is limited to one weekstaff must give four months' noticeapproved leave can't usually be movedcolleagues can't cover each other's shifts, and I normally have to apply that rule to everyone. In your case, though, I am 9. Choose…preparedunwillingnot permittedin no position to make an exception. You have given us plenty of notice, and I can't remember you ever asking for a change before.

Please thank Colin for 10. Choose…booking your flightsfinishing the quarterly reportapproving your leavestepping in for you that week; I've already spoken to him. I will also hold you to your offer to 11. Choose…finish the report earlykeep your phone oncover Colin's shiftspay the hotel deposit, since I'd rather sign it before you go than wait until you're back. I'm glad your father is home, too. My own dad was in and out of hospital all last winter, so I know what a worry it is. Please send me the new dates in writing, and I'll update the calendar.

Regards,

Keith Ferris

Hi Daniel!

That garden flyer has been pinned to our lobby board, and nine of us have finally agreed on something. With that many of us going, I've put us down for 12. Choose…$25 per person$90 per person$120 for up to four$35 per person. Two neighbours only want the one evening, and they'll each pay 13. Choose…$25 per person$120 for up to four$35 per person$90 per person instead. It's fair enough for one evening.

The balcony boxes have needed extra attention since the long weekend. I'd like a session on 14. Choose…pest preventionsoil preparationcompostingwatering methods, the one listed right after watering methods, and I'd like it to include 15. Choose…a free seed kitbasic toolsproject photostakeaway notes, the same line that also lists takeaway notes.

My nephew's turning fifteen and wants to join; there'll be three of us that evening, and we'd rather pay together than separately. Let's sign up for 16. Choose…$35 per person$120 for up to four$90 per person$25 per person. Also, the flyer's phone number rang out twice, and my email hasn't had a reply.

Cheers,

Priya

Paragraph A

A thermal battery stores energy as heat or cold for later use. Unlike an electrochemical battery, it need not preserve energy as electricity. A simple hot-water tank stores sensible heat by raising the temperature of a material; the amount retained depends on mass, heat capacity, and the temperature change. Other systems use a phase transition, such as melting a salt, to absorb substantial energy while temperature changes little. Insulation slows losses but cannot stop them entirely, which makes storage duration important. A device that performs well over six hours may be unsuitable for seasonal storage even if both are described with the same energy capacity.

Paragraph B

Storage materials are chosen for operating temperature, cost, stability, safety, and compatibility with containers. Water is inexpensive but boils or freezes within ranges that limit some applications. Rocks, bricks, and concrete tolerate repeated heating, though their bulk can be considerable. Molten salts serve at higher temperatures but may corrode equipment or solidify in pipes if kept too cool. Phase-change materials offer compact storage around a selected melting point, yet many cycles can cause separation or reduced performance. The best material is therefore application-specific: a building cooling system and an industrial furnace do not reward the same temperature range or physical properties.

Paragraph C

Heat can be stored when electricity is abundant and then delivered directly to processes that need steam, hot air, or warm water. Direct use avoids converting the heat back into electricity, a step that introduces thermodynamic losses. Some systems do generate electricity through a turbine or another heat engine, but their round-trip electrical efficiency must be assessed separately from their ability to deliver useful heat. This distinction matters in industrial decarbonization. Replacing a gas burner may require dependable high-temperature output, whereas balancing an electricity grid may reward rapid charging. One device can contribute to both goals, but a single efficiency number rarely describes both services fairly.

Paragraph D

Thermal storage can shift demand away from expensive or constrained hours. A district cooling plant, for example, may make ice overnight and melt it the next afternoon, reducing the electrical load during peak demand without reducing the building's total need for cooling. Economics depend on rate structures, equipment utilization, and heat losses as well as energy price. Materials also have upstream impacts, and tanks, insulation, pumps, and controls require space and maintenance. Demonstration projects therefore monitor actual charge cycles and delivered temperatures. A large stated capacity has little value if the system cannot discharge at the rate or temperature the user requires.

Paragraph E

Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Riverton currently clears arterial roads before municipal sidewalks. A proposal would reverse that order whenever snowfall exceeds five centimetres. Supporters cite 430 winter slip claims, compared with seventy vehicle-collision claims. The figures are not comparable measures of risk: a claim records legal contact with the city, and different insurance or reporting practices affect whether an incident enters either total.

Mobility advocate Sara Neal says the current sequence strands people who cannot step over plow ridges at crossings. A cleared sidewalk is not usable if the adjoining bus stop or curb ramp remains blocked. She wants continuous routes from senior buildings to transit and clinics, including crossings owned by the roads division. Operations chief Marcus Bell agrees about continuity but rejects assigning every sidewalk ahead of every road.

Bell notes that ambulances use two steep arterials where packed snow quickly becomes ice. Sidewalk machines can begin earlier, but they travel slowly and require road plows to open depot exits. He proposes simultaneous deployment: road crews first clear emergency corridors and depot access, while smaller machines start on designated pedestrian networks. Neighbourhood sidewalks would follow after those connected routes.

Bus operator Lina Cho adds that plowing a stop before the adjacent road can be wasted effort because the road blade pushes snow back onto the platform. She proposes paired work orders that close only when the road edge, platform, crossing, and ramp are clear. Crews would share one completion record instead of separately claiming that their own asset was serviced.

Council should replace department-based priority with a critical-journey standard. Emergency roads and machine exits would receive immediate road treatment; at the same time, sidewalk crews would clear connected routes serving hospitals, senior housing, transit hubs, and schools. Paired work orders would govern every crossing of those networks. Remaining sidewalks and residential roads would follow service targets based on accumulation and slope. Reports should publish the time when an entire journey becomes passable, not the first plow arrival. If one component is reopened and then buried by another crew, the order remains incomplete. This policy does put important sidewalks first, but not by delaying the roads required for ambulances or for the sidewalk equipment itself.

I support the journey-based standard. A ridge at a crossing turns apparently cleared pavement into 34. Choose…an emergency corridora functional barriera legal claima depot exit, demonstrating that asset-by-asset completion can conceal a broken pedestrian route. The obstacle matters most where users cannot safely step around it. Starting emergency-road and critical-sidewalk work together replaces a strict hierarchy with 35. Choose…private contractingequal completion timesparallel prioritiesclaim-based scheduling, recognizing that both networks enable urgent movement at the same time. If one cleared component is buried again, the joint order remains open because completion belongs to 36. Choose…insurance reportingvehicle ownershipindividual asset speedthe combined outcome, not the first department to report its own asset serviced. The proposed reversal activates after 37. Choose…more than five centimetresexactly one centimetreseventy vehicle claimstwo simultaneous deployments of snowfall, although the final policy replaces a simple road-versus-sidewalk hierarchy. Neighbourhood sidewalks move to 38. Choose…condition-based service targetsdepartmental completion claimsambulance-only treatmentunrecorded local discretion only after connected critical routes are completed, so accumulation and slope guide the later phase instead of immediate universal priority.