Report · Six trial Saturdays in Montejar. Facts, opinions and a sum worth getting right.
MONTEJAR. For six Saturdays in a row, between September and October, Market Street was closed to traffic from nine in the morning until nine at night. It was a trial run by the town council, and the results were presented yesterday in the council chamber. The November council meeting will decide whether the measure stays.
The figures. Before the trial, about 1,900 cars drove down the street on a normal Saturday. During the trial, the council counted pedestrians with two sensors placed at either end of the street: the average was 3,600 people per Saturday, compared with the 2,400 counted by the same sensors on Saturdays in the spring. Average noise fell from 68 to 55 decibels.
The shops. The traders’ association, which brings together 40 shops on the street, asked all its members one question: did you sell more, the same or less than on previous Saturdays? Twenty-four answered more; ten, the same; and six, less. Among those six are the two electrical appliance shops, whose customers, they explain, “need to park outside the door to take a washing machine home”.
The opinions. “It’s the best idea this council has had in years,” says Pilar Gasca, who owns the greengrocer’s. Ramiro Sanz, a taxi driver, thinks the opposite: “With the street closed, nobody comes into town on Saturdays any more.”
The figure doing the rounds. Since yesterday, a message has been circulating on social media celebrating that, thanks to the trial, “sales on the street have gone up by 60%”. The message gives the traders’ association as its source.
What comes next. The councillor for Transport, Elena Ruiz, points out that the trial took place in autumn, “in good weather”, and that the figures could be different in winter. That is why she proposes extending the trial until March before making a final decision.
Activities
1 Detective Inference
Which conclusion is backed by the figures in the report? Tick the correct hypothesis.
- a) Sales on the street went up by 60% during the six trial Saturdays.
- ✓b) During the trial, more people walked along the street than on spring Saturdays.
- c) Since the street was closed to traffic, hardly anyone comes into town on Saturdays.
- d) Every shop on Market Street came out ahead thanks to the Saturday trial.
What is it based on? Copy or summarise the clue from the text that proves it.
Correct hypothesis: b). Exactly: it’s a measured figure, not an opinion.
Key clue: “The same sensors counted an average of 3,600 people per Saturday, compared with 2,400 in the spring.” It’s a measurement made with the same method before and during the trial, so the two can be compared.
2 The Loom Order of events
News reports start with what matters most, not with what happened first. Put the events in time order. Write the order number (1, 2, 3…) in each box.
- 3 The council presents the results in the council chamber.
- 1 The sensors count 2,400 pedestrians per Saturday, in the spring.
- 5 The November council meeting decides whether the measure stays.
- 2 Market Street is closed to traffic for six Saturdays.
- 4 This report is published.
Correct order:
- The sensors count 2,400 pedestrians per Saturday, in the spring.
- Market Street is closed to traffic for six Saturdays.
- The council presents the results in the council chamber.
- This report is published.
- The November council meeting decides whether the measure stays.
The spring count is the oldest event, even though it appears in the second paragraph. The trial ran between September and October; the results were presented “yesterday”, the day before the report; and the November meeting hasn’t happened yet.
3 The Missing Page Coherence
A few days later a follow-up piece is published. Which one fits the report? Tick only one option.
- ✓a) The traders’ association explains that it didn’t measure sales: it only asked each shop whether it had sold more, the same or less.
- b) The council reports that during the trial about 1,900 cars still drove along the street every Saturday, just as before the closure.
- c) The two electrical appliance shops ask for car-free Saturdays to be extended to Sundays too, because business has been so good.
- d) Councillor Elena Ruiz asks for the measure to be made permanent at the November meeting, without waiting to see what happens in winter.
Answer: a). It fits the question the association asked, and it explains where the 60% comes from: 24 out of 40 shops.
- b) With the street closed to traffic, no cars could drive along it. The 1,900 were the cars on a normal Saturday, before the trial.
- c) They were among the shops that sold less, because their customers need to park outside. It makes no sense.
- d) She proposed exactly the opposite: extending the trial until March before deciding.
4 Spot the Contradiction Literal reading
Three statements don’t fit the report. Put an X next to the 3 statements that don’t fit the text.
- a) The street was closed to traffic from nine in the morning until nine at night.That’s what the first paragraph says.
- ✗b) The trial took place over six Sundays.It was six Saturdays.
- c) Ten shops said they had sold the same.Twenty-four more, ten the same and six less.
- ✗d) Average noise on the street went up during the trial.It fell, from 68 to 55 decibels.
- e) Ramiro Sanz, a taxi driver, thinks the measure keeps people away from the town centre.That’s his opinion, as the report quotes it.
- ✗f) The traders’ association measured how much money was taken every Saturday.It only asked whether each shop had sold more, the same or less.
5 The Gallery Visualisation
In the game you choose the illustration that answers this question: “Which chart correctly shows the pedestrians counted on Market Street?”. Here, you draw it yourself, with every detail the text gives you.
What should appear: 2,400 pedestrians per Saturday in the spring and 3,600 during the trial.
Reward drawings that include the details from the text, not artistic skill.
Ending
To read aloud once the answers have been checked.
Two days later, the traders’ association published a note to clear up the famous 60%. It wasn’t a rise in sales: it was the proportion of shops that said they had sold more. Twenty-four out of forty is exactly 60%. How much they sold, in euros, nobody measured.
What has been measured is the people: the same sensors counted 2,400 pedestrians per Saturday in the spring and 3,600 during the trial. The taxi driver’s line, “nobody comes into town any more”, is an opinion the figures don’t support. The greengrocer’s, “the best idea in years”, is also an opinion, even if it points in the same direction as the figures.
And the councillor has a good point: comparing spring Saturdays with sunny autumn ones is not the same as comparing a whole year. That is why some trials are worth extending before drawing conclusions.
Suggested marking
Each activity is worth 2 points (10 in total). In 1, one point for the hypothesis and one for the clue. In 2, give one point if only a couple of events are swapped. In 4, half a point for each correct cross and minus half a point for each true statement crossed out.