Chicago entrepreneur turns empty downtown office space into vertical gardens

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s main purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To explain why offices should return to traditional work
   2. To present a practical response to changing workplace patterns
   3. To compare Chicago with several other major cities
   4. To describe the history of indoor gardening
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To present a practical response to changing workplace patterns

   It presents one practical response to changing workplace patterns.

   However, it offers one example of how a changing workplace can lead to a new use for an existing building.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the author mention shelves, walls, and stacked structures?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To show that plants require outdoor sunlight
   2. To identify the project’s construction materials
   3. To clarify how vertical gardens are organized
   4. To prove that offices are difficult to renovate
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To clarify how vertical gardens are organized

   These examples clarify how vertical gardens use upward space.

   In a vertical garden, plants are arranged upward, often on shelves, walls, or stacked structures.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “that unused space” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Traditional garden land
   2. Home working areas
   3. Open land outside Chicago
   4. Downtown office space
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Downtown office space

   It refers to office space that is empty or used less often.

   As a result, many offices have been left empty or are used less often.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about the project’s expected impact?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It is intended as a complete national solution
   2. It offers a limited but meaningful experiment
   3. It will permanently eliminate office buildings
   4. It mainly benefits traditional outdoor farming
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It offers a limited but meaningful experiment

   The project is useful but cannot solve the entire office-space problem.

   It does not present vertical gardens as a complete answer to the large amount of unused office space.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How does the article organize its explanation?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Problem, design, practical context, and broader meaning
   2. Historical timeline, personal biography, and criticism
   3. Scientific experiment, financial results, and future predictions
   4. City comparison, employee interviews, and policy analysis
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Problem, design, practical context, and broader meaning

   It moves from the problem to the design and then its wider significance.

   The project shows that an unused office does not have to remain only a reminder of disruption.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why is vertical gardening especially suitable for some urban locations?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It requires large areas of open ground
   2. It avoids the need for any indoor space
   3. It can produce plants in compact areas
   4. It depends on unused meeting rooms
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It can produce plants in compact areas

   It allows plants to grow where available ground area is small.

   Vertical gardening is especially suited to places where open land is limited.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What contrast does the article make between traditional and vertical gardens?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Traditional gardens use walls, but vertical gardens use soil
   2. Traditional gardens spread outward, but vertical gardens build upward
   3. Traditional gardens are indoors, but vertical gardens are outdoors
   4. Traditional gardens need shelves, but vertical gardens need fields
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Traditional gardens spread outward, but vertical gardens build upward

   Traditional gardens spread outward, while vertical systems build upward.

   Unlike a traditional garden, which usually spreads across the ground, a vertical system can fit into a smaller indoor area.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.