What central idea does the essay develop?

An honest estimate builds trust by naming uncertainty and setting a clear next step. (The essay argues that trustworthy estimates distinguish known facts from uncertainty and create an agreement about what happens next.)

Why can false certainty place risk on the person with less information?

That person may make plans based on a price or date that was never well supported. (The essay contrasts invented certainty with a range and checkpoints, implying that unsupported promises can leave the customer carrying the surprise.)

What does “competence” most nearly mean in the first sentence?

The ability to do work skillfully (Certainty can make a worker sound capable and professional, so “competence” refers to the ability to perform work skillfully.)

Which contrast does the essay use to show known and unknown costs?

A cracked cord and hidden motor damage (The second paragraph says a cracked cord has a known cost while hidden damage inside the motor does not.)

The Honest Estimate: Level 4 Reading Comprehension Questions

At a repair counter, certainty can sound like competence. A customer brings in a silent mixer or a lamp that flickers, and the worker wants to offer one cause, one price, and one date. That clean answer is comforting. It may also be fiction.

An honest estimate is not a shrug. It separates what can be seen from what must be discovered. The cracked cord has a known cost; the hidden damage inside the motor does not. A careful worker can explain the first test, give a reasonable range, and name the point when new permission will be needed. This turns uncertainty into a plan instead of a surprise.

The same habit belongs outside repair shops. Editors cannot know how many revisions an argument will need, and builders sometimes uncover trouble behind a wall. Pretending otherwise moves risk onto the person who has less information. By contrast, a clear estimate shares both knowledge and doubt.

We often treat trust as a reward for being right. I think it grows more reliably when people show where their knowledge ends and promise the next clear step. Accuracy matters, but so does honest revision. A useful estimate is therefore not a prediction carved in stone. It is an agreement about how two people will proceed as reality becomes clearer.

Comprehension questions