Read the following passage.
A. At the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, the last rider in the saddle bronc finals was Tom Three Persons, a member of the Blood Tribe (Kainai) who had been born at Standoff, Alberta. He was the only Canadian in the finals and the favourite of the home crowd, but for his final ride he drew Cyclone, a black bronc that few riders could handle. In 1912 there was no time limit: a ride ended when either the horse or the cowboy gave up. Three Persons stayed in the saddle until Cyclone had bucked himself tired, and the ride made him the saddle bronc champion of that first Stampede.
B. The event had older roots. Calgary's first agricultural exhibition took place in 1886. The rodeo was the idea of Guy Weadick, an American trick roper who had been to Calgary and thought it a prime spot for a big rodeo, and four local businessmen, among them George Lane and Patrick Burns, backed it with their money. Despite its success, the Stampede was not repeated until August 1919, when a Great Victory Stampede was held after the First World War. In 1923 the annual exhibition joined with the Stampede, and that year Weadick also brought in chuckwagon races, known as the Rangeland Derby.
C. The Stampede opens every July with a parade, and the rodeo and other events run for 10 days. The rodeo has six major events, among them bull riding and steer wrestling, and more than 2 million dollars in prize money. In the chuckwagon races, each wagon is pulled by four horses and accompanied by mounted outriders, and the race starts with a tight figure-eight turn in the infield. A team of veterinarians inspects every chuckwagon horse on arrival and again each night before racing. At Elbow River Camp, visitors can explore 26 tipis and meet Indigenous artisans from the First Nations of Treaty 7.
D. In recent years, animal rights groups have accused the Stampede, and rodeos in general, of cruelty to animals. In 1986, twelve horses were euthanized after chuckwagon collisions and other accidents, and in 2002 six horses were put down after a disastrous pileup in the chuckwagon races. The worst accident came in 2005, when nine spooked horses plunged into the Bow River during the annual trek from the Stampede Ranch into Calgary. Organizers then cancelled that trail ride indefinitely as a precaution. They have also been ordered to prove that livestock are safe during the events, although internal and external investigations have cleared them of any blame.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
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Correct Answer: C
Why this is correct: Paragraph C says a team of veterinarians inspects every chuckwagon horse on arrival and again each night before racing. A check by a vet is a health check, and each night means every evening.
Passage Reference: A team of veterinarians inspects every chuckwagon horse on arrival and again each night before racing.
Tips: Chuckwagon horses appear in more than one place. Find where their health is looked after, not where they get hurt, and check when it happens.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the 1912 bronc final and Tom Three Persons' ride on Cyclone, with no word about checking horses.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it says when chuckwagon races began, but not how the horses are looked after.
- D: Paragraph D reports horse deaths and an order to prove safety, but it does not describe nightly checks.
- E: The nightly inspection of every chuckwagon horse by veterinarians is described in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: He was the only Canadian in the finals and the favourite of the home crowd, but for his final ride he drew Cyclone, a black bronc that few riders could handle.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A describes Cyclone as a black bronc that few riders could handle. It never counts the riders Cyclone had thrown, and it never compares Cyclone with the other horses at the 1912 rodeo.
Tips: Ask yourself whether Cyclone is ever set beside other horses in Paragraph A.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Cyclone is described in Paragraph A as a hard horse to ride. But no other horse is named, so no ranking is made.
- B: Paragraph B covers the founders and the early years of the event, with no horses named.
- C: Paragraph C describes today's rodeo and chuckwagon races, not the horses of 1912.
- D: Paragraph D counts horses that died in accidents, which says nothing about riders being thrown in 1912.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Despite its success, the Stampede was not repeated until August 1919, when a Great Victory Stampede was held after the First World War.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B says that, despite its success, the Stampede was not repeated until August 1919. That is seven years after the first one in 1912.
Tips: Find the year of the second Stampede and count back to 1912.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer describes the first Stampede in 1912 but says nothing about when the next one came.
- C: Notice that paragraph C says the Stampede now happens every July, which is about today, not the early gap.
- D: The fourth paragraph covers accidents from 1986 onward, not the years after the first event.
- E: The gap until the 1919 Great Victory Stampede is stated in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: In 1912 there was no time limit: a ride ended when either the horse or the cowboy gave up.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A says that in 1912 there was no time limit. A ride ended when either the horse or the cowboy gave up. That means there was no set length, and the ride went on until one of them quit.
Tips: Find how a ride worked back then. Check what decided its length, and whether one side had to quit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B covers how the Stampede began and came back in 1919, not how long a ride could last.
- C: The third paragraph lists the events of today's rodeo, but it gives no rules about timing.
- D: Horse deaths and criticism fill paragraph D. The rules for riding are not there.
- E: The rule of 1912, that a ride lasted until the horse or the cowboy gave up, is in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In 1986, twelve horses were euthanized after chuckwagon collisions and other accidents, and in 2002 six horses were put down after a disastrous pileup in the chuckwagon races.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says that in 2002 six horses were put down after a disastrous pileup in the chuckwagon races. A pileup is a crash, and six is several.
Tips: Chuckwagons appear in three paragraphs. Find the one with the year 2002.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph mentions a horse named Cyclone in 1912, but no crash or deaths.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it tells when chuckwagon races began, not about accidents in them.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer describes how a chuckwagon race starts and how horses are checked, but no crash.
- E: The 2002 pileup in which six horses were put down is reported in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The rodeo was the idea of Guy Weadick, an American trick roper who had been to Calgary and thought it a prime spot for a big rodeo, and four local businessmen, among them George Lane and Patrick Burns, backed it with their money.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says the rodeo was the idea of Guy Weadick, a trick roper. A trick roper entertains people by doing tricks with a rope, and 'the idea of' means he first thought of it.
Tips: Ask who first thought of the rodeo. Then check how the writer describes that man's job.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph is about a rider and a horse at the first Stampede, not about who planned the rodeo.
- C: Look at paragraph C: it describes today's rodeo events, not the person who started them.
- D: Notice that paragraph D mentions organizers only when it discusses accidents and investigations.
- E: Guy Weadick, the trick roper whose idea the rodeo was, is named in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Organizers then cancelled that trail ride indefinitely as a precaution.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D. It says nine horses plunged into the Bow River during the annual trek in 2005. The trail ride was then cancelled indefinitely. An annual event happens every year, and cancelled means called off.
Tips: Horses get hurt in more than one year here. Ask which event ended with horses 'in a river', and what was stopped after it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes one famous ride in 1912, not an event that was later stopped.
- B: The start of the Stampede and its growth are the story of paragraph B. Nothing is called off there.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer lists what happens at today's Stampede, with no river and no cancelled event.
- E: The trail ride cancelled after horses plunged into the Bow River appears in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: At Elbow River Camp, visitors can explore 26 tipis and meet Indigenous artisans from the First Nations of Treaty 7.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph C says that at Elbow River Camp visitors can meet Indigenous artisans from the First Nations of Treaty 7. Artisans are craftspeople, and meeting them means guests can talk with them.
Tips: Indigenous people appear in more than one place. Ask which one describes something guests can do today, not something from the past.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes a rider at the 1912 Stampede, not a place where guests meet artisans today.
- B: Paragraph B stays with the founding years. It has no camp and no artisans.
- D: The fourth paragraph deals with criticism about animal welfare, not with what visitors can do.
- E: Elbow River Camp, where visitors meet Indigenous artisans, is described in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Three Persons stayed in the saddle until Cyclone had bucked himself tired, and the ride made him the saddle bronc champion of that first Stampede.
Why this is correct: In paragraph A, Tom Three Persons is the only Canadian in the finals. His ride on Cyclone made him the saddle bronc champion. So the one Canadian in the last round won.
Tips: Find out who 'the single Canadian' was. Then follow that rider through the contest and check how it turned out for him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: The second paragraph names the founder and the backers of the Stampede, not a winner.
- C: Look at paragraph C: it mentions prize money today, but it names no champion.
- D: Notice that paragraph D deals with accidents and criticism, and no rider wins anything there.
- E: The Canadian finalist who became the saddle bronc champion, Tom Three Persons, is in Paragraph A.
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