How community colleges are evolving to fill local data center jobs

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

C1. 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 central purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To explain how one college links training with a contested industry
   2. To compare nursing careers with every technical occupation
   3. To evaluate the scientific reliability of fiber-optic communication
   4. To argue that residents should welcome all infrastructure projects
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain how one college links training with a contested industry

   It connects workforce training, individual opportunity, and controversy surrounding data-center expansion.

   The program reflects a broader effort to make community-college education responsive to emerging local industries.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention Williams’s hourly earnings?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To quantify a possible financial benefit of changing careers
   2. To prove that nursing assistants lack essential qualifications
   3. To show that technical training is available only to parents
   4. To establish that data centers guarantee permanent employment
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To quantify a possible financial benefit of changing careers

   Her wages concretely illustrate the potential economic incentive for retraining.

   Installing fiber could allow her to begin at $20 an hour.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about the fiber-stripping exercise?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It requires both technical accuracy and personal discipline
   2. It is mainly theoretical rather than practically oriented
   3. It can be completed safely without instructor supervision
   4. It is less demanding than Williams’s previous occupation
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It requires both technical accuracy and personal discipline

   The description emphasizes that success depends on controlled, delicate work.

   The task demands precision as well as patience: cutting through the strand instead of exposing it can ruin the attempt, while the exposed fiber must also be handled safely.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In the final paragraph, what does “That opportunity” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The possibility of benefiting from data-center-related employment
   2. The chance to study underwater photography in Florida
   3. The ability to repair slot machines in Las Vegas
   4. The prospect of avoiding all public disagreement
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The possibility of benefiting from data-center-related employment

   The phrase points back to employment and training possibilities created by expansion.

   That opportunity is accompanied by public unease.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. From a local case study to wider implications and controversy
   2. From polling data to a detailed history of nursing education
   3. From technical instructions to a rejection of vocational programs
   4. From national policy to unrelated regional examples
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   From a local case study to wider implications and controversy

   It moves from a specific classroom example toward broader economic and civic implications.

   In other places, that may involve training connected to established regional work, such as repairing slot machines in Las Vegas or studying underwater photography in the Florida Keys.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between colleges and local economies?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Colleges can adapt training to emerging employment opportunities
   2. Colleges primarily preserve occupations that communities have abandoned
   3. Colleges operate independently of regional economic conditions
   4. Colleges should avoid industries connected to technological change
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Colleges can adapt training to emerging employment opportunities

   Colleges are portrayed as adjusting curricula to meet changing regional labor demands.

   Community colleges are often expected to prepare students for the jobs available in their surrounding communities.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What limitation accompanies the program’s potential benefits?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Its associated industry faces substantial public resistance
   2. Its students cannot earn more than nursing assistants
   3. Its training excludes practical technical instruction
   4. Its facilities can operate only in large metropolitan areas
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Its associated industry faces substantial public resistance

   The industry offers jobs while remaining contested by residents concerned about proximity.

   Data centers are a polarizing investment, and a recent Gallup poll found that most Americans do not want them built near their homes.

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.