Test of Essential Academic Skills Reading

Each study table holds a small card about evening hours. Table lamps may be switched on after 6, while the ceiling lights stay dim so the room remains calm. Anyone playing sound without headphones is asked to move to the lobby.

Directions taped by the ferry ramp tell drivers to stop at the yellow line, set the parking brake, and leave the car in gear before walking upstairs. Keys stay with the driver. No one may return to a car until the dock bell rings twice.

A folded card stands in front of the almond pastries. Each one is filled with almond cream, brushed with honey after it leaves the oven, and topped with sliced almonds. The card adds that the filling is not chocolate.

The community garden board posts hose times for Saturday only. Plots 1 through 4 may water from 8:00 to 8:20, plots 5 through 8 from 8:20 to 8:40, and plots 9 through 12 from 8:40 to 9:00. A plot that misses its window has to wait for the next scheduled garden day.

A notice on the shelter glass described Friday's repair. Workers carried away the cracked bench, bolted a new bench to the pad, and then taped a fresh route map to the post. Riders were asked not to sit until the map was up.

A strip above the bench vise states that eye protection is required whenever the vise is in use. The same strip adds that the blue vises feel nicer than the gray ones. Four vises are mounted on the bench, two of each color.

The greens seller pinned a note to a crate that had sat in the sun. The note says the leaves are languid from the noon heat, so the stall mists them every hour. A second crate in the shade held bunches that still stood upright.

Beside the clinic elevator, a poster shows hands over a pump. The only sentence says to gel your hands before you press the button, so germs stay off the panel. No prices, hours, or phone numbers appear.

On the library blog, a staff member wrote that small late fines teach care and that the library should have kept them. The same post states that the board ended fines last March. The writer signs the post as a circulation clerk.

A deckhand wrote that bicycles must stay behind the white rope along the left rail. During Tuesday's turn, a bike that had not been clipped rolled into a passenger's bag. The note tells riders to use the rail hooks before the boat leaves the slip.

Two slips share one clip on the bakery oven. The morning slip says rye loaves need 40 minutes at 230 degrees, while the afternoon slip says those same loaves need 35 minutes if the pans were heated first. Neither slip mentions a different bread.

A garden volunteer wrote that the mulch pile should stay by the gate because wheelbarrows can reach it without rolling across the beds. The next sentence admits the pile narrows the path. The reason offered is access for barrows, not the look of the gate.

A rider's comment card says the 7:10 express was late on Monday, so this company can never run on time. The card names no other trip, date, or route. A clerk stamped the card received and filed it with the week's mail.

The workshop door carries three rules for the glue room and nothing else. Wear gloves, keep lids on the jars between uses, and wipe a spill before it dries. The sheet does not name brands or say when the room closes.

The market manager set a wooden bowl on the information table. A card on the bowl says to drop a token there if a scale receipt looks wrong, and the stall will recount that purchase before noon. Tokens still in the bowl after noon are logged for the next market day.

The lab window prints a short sequence for a urine sample. Write your full name on the cup, press the lid until it clicks, and set the cup in the steel slot rather than on the counter. Wash your hands only after the cup is already in the slot.

A slip inside a reserved book says the hold remains on the pickup shelf until Thursday at 8 in the evening. After that hour the book goes back to the open stacks. The slip names the title River Maps and the Oak Street branch.

A board on the dock assigns weekday whistle signals. The boat at 6:40 gets one whistle, the boat at 7:15 gets two, and the boat at 8:05 gets three. Weekend departures use a bell instead of any whistle.

A baker's card lists the path of one sourdough loaf. The dough is mixed, left to rest for an hour, and then shaped. The top is scored after shaping and before the loaf goes into a hot Dutch oven.

The plot captain calls the east-bib drip the most annoying sound in the garden. That line follows a plain report that the bib was leaking on Tuesday morning. A washer is already on order from the hardware stall.

A card by the front door of the bus says the bus can kneel at the curb, which means the step lowers to shrink the gap. Riders who want that lower step press the blue strip beside the door. The card never mentions a repair stop.

A poster inside the workshop door shows a pair of goggles on a hook. Under the drawing it says to hang them there on the way out so the next person can find a clean pair. Class times and prices are absent.

The flower seller's chalkboard asks people to come before 10 because the fullest bunches are saved for that first hour, and the seller loves the quiet trade. After 10, bunches are listed at four dollars. The fullest buckets stay at the front until that hour passes.

A nurse's memo says to pull each curtain until the panels overlap. Yesterday an open gap let people in the hallway see a patient's knee during a dressing change. A small sketch shows the two panels meeting in the middle.

Monday's laptop note and Wednesday's laptop note both sit on the reference desk. Monday allows a two-hour loan, and Wednesday allows three hours when the borrower is inside a booked study room. Walk-in seats stay on the two-hour rule.

A passenger leaflet urges people to sit on the upper deck in rough water because that deck has more railings per seat than the lower cabin. It does not say the upper deck is always empty. The lower cabin is described as having seats, just fewer railings for each one.

A customer wrote that one rye loaf was dark at the edges today, so this bakery always burns its bread. The slip mentions no second loaf, no other day, and no other baker. The counter clerk pinned it to the feedback board.

The garden bulletin tells workers to cover tender seedlings on nights that fall below 2 degrees and to weigh the cloth with stones. It also says to pull the cloth off after sunrise so the plants do not cook in trapped sun. The whole bulletin stays on that one cold-night job.

A line on the bus transfer says the slip is good for 90 minutes from the time stamped on it and will not open a gate after that. The sample stamp shown on the poster is 4:10. Unused minutes are not added to the next day.

A strip above the table saw says to lower the guard until it clicks, tighten the black knob, and only then switch the power on. The red lever raises the guard after the cut is finished. The saw must be unplugged before a blade is changed, not during a cut.

A slip on the cheese board says the goat round is wrapped in chestnut leaves and aged three weeks. The cow wedge beside it is wrapped in paper and aged six weeks. Both pieces are sold by weight rather than by the slice.

The clinic door lists the vaccine bay for the week. Monday and Wednesday the bay is open from 9 to 12, Tuesday and Thursday it is open from 1 to 4, and Friday the bay is closed. Walk-ins are accepted only inside those open stretches.

The children's librarian wrote down the setup she finished before story time. She spread the rug, stacked picture books on the low shelf, and last placed a basket of shakers by the door. Children may take a shaker only after they are seated on the rug.

A card tied to a ferry seat calls the lower cabin the pleasantest spot on the boat. The same card states that the cabin has 40 seats and a restroom, both of which appear on the deck plan. The praise and the counts are printed in the same paragraph.

A trainee card says the dough is laminated, meaning butter and dough are folded into thin layers before the roll is cut. A warm counter, the card warns, can smear those layers into a paste. The card is not talking about a plastic sheet.

Chalk at the garden gate tells walkers to stay on the wood chips so the seedlings along the edge are not stepped on. The words face people coming in from the street. No seedling is offered for sale on the sign.

A rider wrote to the transit board that the last bus home should keep its 11:40 departure. A proposal printed on the same page would move that trip to 11:10. The writer asks the board to leave the later time in place.

A slip on the clamp rack says to hang each clamp by its handle. Last week two clamps left on the floor were kicked into the aisle during a busy class. The rack has a labeled hook under every size.

By late morning the fish counter had collected a second price for the same iced cod. The morning note says cod is nine dollars a pound and was iced at 6, and the noon note says that cod is seven dollars a pound after 1 and is still on the morning ice. No other fish is named.

The clinic newsletter argues for keeping the quiet hour at 2 in the afternoon because noise readings in the hall dropped during that hour last month. The writer does not claim the hour treats any illness. The reason given is the lower reading, not a change in staffing.

A reader left a note saying that one torn page in a novel on Tuesday shows the library lets every book fall apart. No other damaged book is named. The note was tucked into the return bin.

On wet days the ferry notice sends passengers under the aft canopy and puts bags on the lower hooks. The open bow is closed when spray comes over the rail. Ticket prices are not part of the notice.

A tag on a metal tray says the tray is wiped with its own cloth and kept for plain rolls, because nut pastries are made on the wooden boards. Staff who have touched almond filling wash before they handle this tray. Nothing on the tag says the rolls are free of flour.

A sticker on the compost lid gives the order of work. Chop scraps small, tip them into the left bin, and turn that bin with the fork before leaving. The right bin is resting and should stay shut this week.

The depot log says a blue scarf was found on the Route 12 trip at 3:20 and placed in bin C. A red hat from Route 4 is in bin A. Found items are held for 30 days and then donated.

The workshop chalkboard lists three Saturday tool-loan slots and says each person may book only one. Slot A runs from 9:00 to 10:30, slot B from 10:30 to 12:00, and slot C from 1:00 to 2:30. The noon hour is left open for cleaning.

A vendor's card lists the morning setup in order. Unfold the table, clip on the cloth, set the scale, and only then bring the crates in from the van. Price cards go down after the crates are arranged.

After counting the facilities list, a clinic volunteer wrote that the lobby has six benches. The next sentence says the green bench feels like the most welcoming one. The volunteer plans to sit there during Thursday's shift.

A cart tag says the box is embargoed until January, so staff may not lend the letters inside it. Researchers may request the finding aid, which lists titles but not the letters themselves. The hold comes from the donor's written terms.

A card by the cabin windows says that a person who sees someone in the water should shout, point, and not jump in. The card includes no fare and no invitation to swim. A small arrow shows which crew member to call.

The head baker prefers butter from the dairy co-op because its flavor holds up in the croissants, and the baker wants to keep that supplier. A manager had suggested a cheaper carton from a warehouse. The slip is pinned above the mixer.

A garden email asks people to lay boards at the gate before Sunday's work party. Saturday's rain turned the entrance to mud, and two wheelbarrows stuck there. No other gate is mentioned.

The shelter frame holds a local card and an express card that share one fare. Route L stops at Pine, Oak, and the hospital and takes 28 minutes, while Route E stops only at Pine and the hospital and takes 16 minutes. Riders can see both cards without leaving the bench.

A shop steward says the shop should require dust masks at the sanding bench because the afternoon air test showed fine dust above the shop's own limit. Gloves are not discussed. The note asks the lead to post the rule before Monday.

A vendor posted that rain on Saturday and a sold-out jam stall prove rain always makes this market busier. The post gives sales for no other rainy day and no other product. Friends left short replies under the post.

The discharge sheet tells a patient to take the printed instructions, book the next visit before walking out, and call the nurse line if the bandage leaks. It fits on half a page. Nothing on the sheet asks for a public review.

A library slip says each card starts the month with 20 free pages, and every page after that costs 10 cents. Unused free pages disappear on the last day of the month. A student who has already printed 20 pages must pay for the next one.

Directions on the ferry bin say to take the jacket that matches the size diagram, clip the waist strap, and put the jacket back in the same bin before leaving. Children's jackets are in the blue bin and adult jackets in the gray bin. Jackets are not to be carried into the parking lot.

An order ticket says Mara's lemon cake is due at 2:30 and should read Happy Day, with no candles. A second ticket, for a rye loaf, is due at noon. The cake box is marked with a yellow sticker so it is not packed with the bread.

A work sheet says the crew planted 12 basil pots, 8 mint pots, and 15 parsley pots on Thursday. On Friday they added only 6 more basil pots. The sheet's question line asks for Thursday's herb total, not the two-day total.

A supervisor's note describes a detour setup. The first cone goes at the closed stop, two more cones go at the corner, and then a temporary stop sign is taped to the lamp post. Riders are told about the change only after that sign is taped.

Someone wrote on the mallet shelf that wooden mallets are obviously the better choice for every job. Under that boast, a count says the pegs hold four rubber mallets and two wooden ones. Any worker can check the count by looking.

A label on a bean sack says these heirloom beans come from a family strain kept and replanted for decades, not from a mixed seed sack. The seller simmered a small sample at the stall. The label sets the long-kept strain against ordinary mixed seed.

A card tied to the clinic bed rail says to press the red button if you need help getting up, and a staff member will come. Billing codes are not printed on the card. A drawing shows the button within reach of the pillow.

A branch librarian wants the large-print novels on the middle shelf because many older readers have asked not to bend down. A draft plan had put those novels on the bottom shelf. The librarian asks the page on duty to move them before Friday.

A crew note says to leave the starboard rail alone. The paint was still tacky at 8 in the morning, and a sleeve stuck to it. The port rail, painted a day earlier, is already dry.

The pastry lead left vanilla instructions and chocolate instructions on the same pass. The vanilla sheet cake gets a thin glaze and is cut into 12 pieces, while the chocolate sheet cake gets a thick frosting and is cut into 24 pieces. Both cakes use the same pan size.

A plot holder says the shared trowels should be labeled with plot numbers because three trowels vanished from the common bucket last month. The writer still calls the tools shared. No one is asked to stop lending them.

A comment says that being the only rider on Tuesday's bus at 10 at night proves nobody in this city rides the bus at night. Other nights, routes, and stops are not mentioned. The comment was left on a paper form at city hall.

The loan board tells a worker to write a name on the tag, hang that tag on the empty hook, and bring the tool back by closing. Those three steps are the whole notice. Sharpening angles are posted on a different wall.

An inspector's note says a red flag on a scale means it failed the morning check and must not be used until the inspector clears it. A green flag means the scale passed. At 11, the produce scale nearest the olives still wears a red flag.

The lab card says not to eat or drink anything except water after 9 at night, to arrive at 7:30 in the morning, and to bring the card to window 2. Coffee and tea count as drinks on this card. Morning pills are allowed only if a clinician has already said so.

A calendar note says the knitting group uses room B on the first Tuesday and must return the key to the bowl by 8 in the evening. The chess club uses room A on Thursdays. Room B seats ten people.

The ferry log records that the 9:00 boat left 4 minutes late, the 10:30 boat left on time, and the 12:00 boat left 11 minutes late. The crew circled the largest gap in red. On time means a gap of zero minutes.

The morning queue card sends croissants into the oven first, muffins second, and sandwich loaves third. Cookies go in only after the loaves come out. The first timer of the day is clipped to the croissant tray.

A notebook records that the north bean row is 6 meters long and was planted on April 3. The following sentence says the writer thinks this row looks tidier than the south row. The south row's length is not written down.

A brochure says fare capping means that after you pay for three rides in one day, later rides that day cost nothing. The count resets at midnight. A paper transfer is described later as a different slip and is not the cap.

A sign by the shop sink says to hang your apron on the left hook before you wash, so sawdust does not go down the drain. The hook is drawn beside the faucet. Soap prices are not listed.

The apple seller would rather sell crates from orchards within 30 miles than truck in distant fruit, and the sign says neighbors deserve that choice. Three nearby orchard names are listed underneath. Distant fruit is mentioned only as the option the seller rejects.

A clinic log says to replace the pack at bed 4. At 2 it was soft and no longer cold against a wrist. The pack at bed 2 was still firm, and the replacement is to come from the freezer.

Two slips were left in the same library book, and they do not set the same clock. The first says a DVD loans for 7 days and cannot be renewed, and the second says a novel loans for 21 days and may be renewed once. The book itself is the novel, with the DVD slip tucked in by mistake.

A deck memo says the ramp light should stay on after sunset because two passengers missed the step during last week's dusk loading. Music on deck is not mentioned. The memo asks for the light to stay on starting Friday.

A review says one blueberry muffin was dry on Friday, so this bakery cannot bake a moist muffin. No other muffin and no other day are described. The review was slid under the front door.

The harvest note tells volunteers to weigh the picked beans, set one bag aside for the food pantry, and divide the rest among the people who picked that morning. Scales are kept in the shed. Planting instructions are on a separate sheet.

A sticker on the bus bike rack says that if the latch will not close, the bike cannot ride. The driver will not bring a bike inside the bus. A second hook is only for the front wheel of a bike whose latch has already closed.

Steps on the finish-room door say to stir the can, wipe the shelf, brush one thin coat, and wait until the surface looks dull before a second coat. Sanding is allowed only after the second coat has dried overnight. The fan stays on the whole time.

A tag on a flower bucket says the tulips were cut this morning at 5:40 and should be recut at home. The roses in the next bucket were cut yesterday. Tulips are eight dollars a bunch, and the tag does not give a rose price.

A clinic note says the nurse will recheck blood pressure 15 minutes after the first reading and again 15 minutes after that recheck. The first reading was taken at 10:05. No medicine is changed on this visit.

A librarian listed the exhibit work in the order it was done. The case was lined with cloth, the old map was set in the center, and the caption card was placed at the front. The glass lid went on last, and visitors may look only after that lid is closed.

A passenger wrote that the morning trip was the nicest crossing of the year, then recorded two figures underneath. The crossing took 22 minutes, and the boat carried 60 people. The praise sits above the figures, not in place of them.

A card by the proofer says the dough is proofed when it has risen and a finger dent springs back slowly. A dent that stays flat means the dough has gone too far. The card is about rising dough, not about checking a receipt.

A flyer on the garden gate says to bring tools back by 6 so the shed can be locked and the morning crew can find them. The lockbox code is not printed on the flyer. Nothing on it offers tools for sale.

A neighborhood letter says the bus shelter needs a bench because riders with sore knees wait there in the rain. The city drawing shows a roof and no seat. The writer asks for a seat before winter.

A note on the blade cabinet says to retire blade 3. This morning that blade left burn marks on a pine board, while blade 1 cut a piece of the same pine cleanly. The retired blade is to be tagged and set on the high shelf.

Shoppers at the corner post can read a berry card and a squash card without turning around. The berry card says a pint is five dollars and was picked today, and the squash card says one squash is two dollars and was picked yesterday. The cards are written in different ink.

A clinic memo says the side entrance should open at 7 in the morning because 14 patients waited in the rain before the main door opened last Tuesday. The gift shop is not mentioned. The memo is addressed to the facilities lead.

A complaint says table 4 was noisy for ten minutes, so this library is never quiet enough to read. No other table and no other hour are described. The form was dropped in the suggestion box by the entrance.

A dock sign says the ticket window opens at 6:15, shuts for 20 minutes at noon, and sells same-day tickets only. Engine repairs are not described. Next month's trips cannot be bought at this window.

A label clipped to the wire rack says buns on that rack are still cooling and are not boxed until the center is no longer hot. Buns already in paper bags have been released to the counter. Clerks are told not to guess by the color of the crust.

A greenhouse card says to open the roof vent first, then the door vent, and to water only the trays on the east bench. The west bench was watered yesterday and should stay dry today. Both vents get closed if the wind starts to rattle the panels.

An agency note says senior passes are issued at the downtown window on Wednesdays from 10 to 2, and applicants must bring a photo ID. Youth passes are issued on Fridays at the same window. The window is on the second floor, beside the photo booth.

A workshop order says a customer needs three shelves, each 80 centimeters long, cut from a board that is 260 centimeters. This estimate ignores the width of the saw cut. The order asks how much board length the three shelves themselves use.

The soup stall listed its sample routine on a card. Heat the pot, ladle a small cup, offer a spoon, and wipe the counter only after that spoon is returned. Bread is set out before the pot is heated.

A patient calls the lab visit the smoothest one so far, on a slip that also records the time and the procedure. The visit took 25 minutes and included one blood draw. No other patient's visit is described.

A library list titled Weeded titles says those books were removed from the shelf because they are worn or unused, and they will go to the book sale. A few titles on the list are marked for repair instead of the sale. The list has nothing to do with pulling weeds outdoors.

A ferry note taped above the ticket window says to buy the bicycle ticket at that same window so the crew's count matches the bikes that roll aboard. The view from the upper deck is not described. The note does not offer bicycles for sale.

The night baker wants to keep feeding the rye starter because the loaves made from it have the flavor regulars ask for. A suggestion on the whiteboard would throw the starter out and use only packaged yeast. The baker asks to be scheduled for the evening feed.