The Fixers — Feature Article Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 12 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
The Fixers — Feature Article Reading Comprehension — Answers
Part A: Literal comprehension
Answer using information stated in the article.
Answer: The owner must stay and watch, and ideally help.
Answer: They are often cheaper to replace than to fix once a technician's time is included; and some are designed to be hard to repair (glued together, with parts that cannot be bought separately).
Answer: An environmental argument (less landfill and fewer new products manufactured, shipped and packaged), and "repair confidence" (people learn that objects are not magic, stop being afraid of them and buy more thoughtfully).
- Athat repair cafés receive government funding
- Bthat manufacturers make spare parts, tools and repair manuals available
- Cthat broken items are recycled
- Dthat all appliances last at least ten years
Answer: that manufacturers make spare parts, tools and repair manuals available
Paragraph nine defines right-to-repair rules this way.
Part B: Inference
Use evidence from the article to support each answer.
Answer: It suggests the café changes people, not just objects: it builds interest, confidence and connection between generations, turning a reluctant visitor into a participant.
- Ahostile and dismissive
- Bwarm and admiring, while acknowledging their limits
- Cneutral and purely factual
- Dsarcastic
Answer: warm and admiring, while acknowledging their limits
The vivid, affectionate details and the circular, hopeful ending show admiration, but the writer also includes the critics' view and Imbert's admission.
Answer: To make the article balanced and credible. Including the counter-argument shows the writer is not simply promoting the movement, and Imbert's honest concession ("We're not going to fix the world one toaster at a time") makes her, and the café's wider value, more believable.
Answer: It suggests that repair skills are in danger of being lost as older volunteers age, and that passing them on to young people is one of the café's most important roles. It ends the article with a sense of both urgency and hope.
Part C: Vocabulary in context
- Adangerously
- Bin a way that removes doubt or suspicion because it is so straightforward
- Cin a complicated way
- Din a way that is hard to believe
Answer: in a way that removes doubt or suspicion because it is so straightforward
To disarm is to take away someone's guard or suspicion; the simplicity wins people over.
Answer: Thrown away or got rid of because it is no longer wanted.
Answer: The self-belief people gain when they learn that objects are understandable and fixable, which makes them less dependent and more thoughtful about what they buy.
- Apeople who oppose a cause
- Bpeople who publicly support a cause
- Clawyers in a court case
- Dmanufacturers
Answer: people who publicly support a cause
An advocate speaks up for an idea or policy.
Part D: Structure and language
Answer: It sets the scene vividly and draws the reader in with specific, relatable detail; the similes and fragments ("A lamp that flickers like a nervous eyelid") add lightness and energy, and the list suggests the large number of things people throw away.
Answer: The objects from the opening reappear repaired (the coat, the toaster), creating a circular structure. It gives a satisfying sense of completion and shows the café's success in concrete terms.
Answer: Any two: a scene-setting or anecdotal opening; direct quotations from people involved; background information and context; a counter-view; a human-interest focus; a circular or reflective ending; a headline.
Part E: Extended response
Model answer: Rather than arguing in the abstract, the writer persuades readers that repair cafés matter by grounding the issue in people and in small, concrete details. The opening list of objects, from a lamp that "flickers like a nervous eyelid" to a coat with its lining "torn from collar to hem", turns a large environmental problem into something familiar and domestic, inviting readers to see their own broken belongings. The people quoted then give the movement a human face. Rosa Imbert's description of visitors who are handed "a screwdriver" reveals the café's real purpose, which is not to provide a service but to teach, and her idea of "repair confidence" frames repair as a kind of independence. Hugh's practical voice ("Five minutes with a soldering iron and it'll outlive both of us") adds warmth and authority, as his forty years of experience lend credibility to the argument. The writer also uses the teenager's transformation, from "faintly embarrassed" to leaning in with her "nose almost touch[ing] the casing", as a miniature story of the café's impact. Importantly, the writer does not ignore critics, and Imbert's concession that "We're not going to fix the world one toaster at a time" makes the article's hopeful conclusion feel earned rather than naive. Finally, the circular ending, in which the coat now has "a cheerful, mismatched yellow" lining and the toaster "toasts on both sides", shows success in tangible terms, while Hugh's closing line looks to the future. Through people and precise detail, the writer persuades readers that repair is not only practical but meaningful.
Success criteria:
- Clear thesis answering the question
- Discusses both people (quotations, characters) and small details
- At least four short, accurately embedded quotations
- Explains the effect of choices on the reader, not just what happens
- Considers structure (opening, counter-view, ending)
- Fluent, formal analytical expression
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
Great work. Here's what to try next: