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When convenience has a cost

Read a text, answer ten questions and learn how the evidence supports each answer.

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01When a neighbourhood café introduced ordering by phone, its owner expected shorter queues and fewer mistakes. Customers could examine the menu at their own pace, adjust ingredients and pay before reaching the counter. During the first week, the average wait fell. From the owner’s perspective, the change appeared to be an uncomplicated improvement.

02Yet the comments told a less straightforward story. Some regular customers enjoyed collecting a drink without interrupting their walk to work. Others found the small-screen menu difficult to use or wanted to ask a question before choosing. A customer with an older phone could not complete the payment. These complaints did not necessarily mean the technology was badly designed; they showed that customers arrived with different needs and resources.

03The owner initially proposed putting a large sign near the door explaining the system. A member of staff pointed out that clearer instructions would not solve every problem. Someone without a working phone would still be unable to order, however well the process was explained. The café therefore kept phone ordering but restored a staffed till for people who preferred it.

04This arrangement created its own difficulty: staff had to manage two streams of orders fairly. The café began showing both types on the same kitchen screen and explaining the collection process more clearly. Waiting times rose slightly compared with the phone-only week, but complaints about access declined.

05The experience suggests that convenience should not be measured only by the speed of the average transaction. A system can be efficient for most people while making a simple task harder for others. Keeping an alternative may involve some cost, but that cost needs to be weighed against who would otherwise be excluded. The useful question is not whether technology is good or bad, but which combination of options serves the people using it.

Skills to work on in this practice

Questions 1–5 build confidence; 6–10 check transfer and detail. Use Practice for feedback after each answer, or Test yourself to check at the end.

Practise, then understand your answers

10 questions · 10 XP per correct answer · explanations included

Answer every question to see your score.0 / 10 answered
Question 1

What made the first week seem successful to the owner?

  1. The average wait fell.
  2. Every customer praised the system.
  3. Staff no longer needed to work.
Answer & explanation

The average wait fell.. Paragraph 1 gives reduced average waiting time, not universal approval.

Question 2

Why mention the customer with an older phone?

  1. To prove all older phones are unusable.
  2. To argue against every electronic payment.
  3. To illustrate a barrier that instructions alone may not solve.
Answer & explanation

To illustrate a barrier that instructions alone may not solve.. The example supports the access problem developed in paragraph 3.

Question 3

What did some regular customers value?

  1. Having fewer menu choices.
  2. Collecting drinks conveniently on the way to work.
  3. Being required to speak to staff.
Answer & explanation

Collecting drinks conveniently on the way to work.. Paragraph 2 describes this benefit.

Question 4

Which conclusion does paragraph 2 avoid?

  1. That every complaint proves poor technical design.
  2. That customers have different needs.
  3. That some customers liked the system.
Answer & explanation

That every complaint proves poor technical design.. It explicitly says the complaints did not necessarily mean bad design.

Question 5

What limitation did the staff member identify?

  1. A bigger sign always slows service.
  2. Nobody reads menus.
  3. Instructions cannot provide a working phone.
Answer & explanation

Instructions cannot provide a working phone.. Paragraph 3 distinguishes clearer explanation from access to the required device.

Question 6

What compromise was adopted?

  1. Accepting orders only from regulars.
  2. Phone ordering plus a staffed till.
  3. Removing all phone ordering.
Answer & explanation

Phone ordering plus a staffed till.. Paragraph 3 retains the digital option and restores the till.

Question 7

What problem followed the compromise?

  1. Managing two order streams fairly.
  2. The kitchen stopped receiving orders.
  3. All payments became impossible.
Answer & explanation

Managing two order streams fairly.. Paragraph 4 identifies coordination between the two streams.

Question 8

What happened to waiting times after the change?

  1. They fell to zero.
  2. The passage says they doubled.
  3. They rose slightly from the phone-only week.
Answer & explanation

They rose slightly from the phone-only week.. Paragraph 4 reports a slight rise without quantifying it.

Question 9

What is the writer’s main criticism of an average-speed measure?

  1. It proves that every system is unfair.
  2. It may hide difficulties experienced by some users.
  3. It is never useful for any purpose.
Answer & explanation

It may hide difficulties experienced by some users.. The final paragraph contrasts majority efficiency with barriers for others.

Question 10

Which recommendation best fits the conclusion?

  1. Balance efficiency with accessible alternatives.
  2. Always remove technology.
  3. Choose only the fastest process.
Answer & explanation

Balance efficiency with accessible alternatives.. The ending evaluates combinations of options and the cost of exclusion.

Make the reading stick

Summarise the passage in two sentences. Include the main change or argument, then explain one detail that supports it. Revisit the numbered paragraphs if an answer surprised you.

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Go deeper: five reading challenges · 15–20 minutes

Use these after the quiz to practise explaining, not just choosing an answer. Write in your own notes; these tasks are self-reviewed.

  1. Summarise the main change or argument in three sentences. Compare your summary with the opening and ending.
  2. Choose two details that support the main idea. Note the paragraph for each and explain the connection.
  3. Choose an unfamiliar word. Infer its meaning from context, then use it in a new sentence.
  4. Revisit one wrong option from the quiz. Explain why the passage does not support it, using a specific detail.
  5. Write 60–80 words applying or responding to one idea from the passage. Separate what the text says from your own opinion.

Self-check: Is each claim supported by the passage? Have you explained the connection rather than copied a sentence? Have you kept your own view separate from the writer’s?

A CLEAR WAY FORWARD

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