Help: A tropical fish

[Solena]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #146 "Conversations and Comprehension Test", question 1

Boy: I want to buy a fish.
Woman: Do you want a tropical fish or a cold water one?
Boy: I want a really colorful fish. Can you show me some of the tropical fish you have?
What is the boy looking for? ..........

(a) A red and yellow fish
(b) A cold water Goldfish
(c) A tropical fish

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #146 "Conversations and Comprehension Test", answer 1

Boy: I want to buy a fish.
Woman: Do you want a tropical fish or a cold water one?
Boy: I want a really colorful fish. Can you show me some of the tropical fish you have?
What is the boy looking for? A tropical fish.

Correct answer: (c) A tropical fish
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Help: A tropical fish

Solena

[Nicole2112]

Hi Learner,

I'm not one of the official teachers, but maybe I can help. In this dialogue, the boy asks to be shown the store's selection of tropical fish. Since tropical fish are what he asks to see, I assume that tropical fish are what he's looking for. "Red and yellow" isn't necessarily what he's looking for because it is only one of many combinations that could be called "colorful" (he may prefer a blue, green, and purple fish!), and we know that he doesn't want a cold-water goldfish because when the woman asks him "cold-water or tropical" he asks to see the tropical fish.

Does that help? I'm new at this forum and I'm not entirely certain I understand how it works.