Read the following passage.
A. The moose is the largest member of the deer family, and a big bull stands taller at the shoulder than the largest saddle horse. Their range stretches from the Alaska boundary across Canada's forests to the eastern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador, and they live in every province and territory except Prince Edward Island. Much of their range lies in the great boreal forest, along the margins of its lakes, muskegs and streams. Canada is thought to have between half a million and a million moose. They also matter to people: moose hunting generates over 500 million dollars in economic activity each year, and moose are a traditional food for Indigenous peoples.
B. Only males, called bulls, grow antlers; females, called cows, do not. The antlers usually begin growing in April, and while they grow they are soft and spongy, with blood vessels running through them under a velvety skin. By early September they have hardened, and the bulls rub the dried velvet off against tree trunks. A mature bull's rack may spread more than 180 centimetres, although a span of 120 to 150 centimetres is more likely. Bulls sometimes fight with their antlers when competing for cows, but a bull with large antlers can usually fend off rivals just by showing them off. In November the antlers begin to fall off.
C. In winter, moose browse almost entirely on twigs and shrubs such as balsam fir, poplar, birch, willow and red osier dogwood, and a large adult eats 15 to 20 kilograms of twigs a day. When food becomes scarce toward spring, they strip bark from trees, especially poplars. In summer they eat leaves and great quantities of water plants, and they sometimes dive 5.5 metres or more for plants growing on a lake bottom. From spring through early autumn they use natural mineral licks, and they also visit roadsides where salt was spread during the winter.
D. Moose also face serious threats. Winter ticks, despite their name, are associated with warmer weather, and tens of thousands of them may feed on the blood of a single moose; calves are especially vulnerable. Meningeal worm, a parasite that white-tailed deer carry without harm, is deadly to moose, and there is a long history of moose dying where the two species overlap. Logging and mining also open up remote moose habitat to hunters and predators. Roads are a danger too: in New Brunswick, about 400 moose are killed by motorists each year, most of them in spring and summer.
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.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: B
Why this is correct: Look at the start of paragraph B: only males, called bulls, grow antlers. Females, called cows, do not. So female moose have no antlers.
Passage Reference: Only males, called bulls, grow antlers; females, called cows, do not.
Tips: Find where the writer explains which moose have antlers. Then check what it says about the females.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: A big bull's height is given in paragraph A, but nothing about which moose carry antlers.
- C: The third paragraph is about what moose eat in winter and summer, not about antlers.
- D: Paragraph D lists ticks, worms, logging and roads as dangers. Antlers do not come up.
- E: Paragraph B opens with the fact that cows do not grow antlers.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Winter ticks, despite their name, are associated with warmer weather, and tens of thousands of them may feed on the blood of a single moose; calves are especially vulnerable.
Why this is correct: In paragraph D, winter ticks, despite their name, are associated with warmer weather. Thousands of them feed on a moose's blood. A tick is a blood-sucking pest, and mild weather is warmer weather.
Tips: Find the 'pest that sucks blood'. Then check what kind of weather it does well in, and whether that matches 'mild'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph gives the moose's size, range and value to people. No pests are named.
- B: Paragraph B mentions blood vessels inside growing antlers, which have nothing to do with a pest.
- C: In paragraph C, you read about winter and summer food, but no creature that feeds on moose.
- E: Winter ticks, linked with warmer weather and feeding on blood, appear in paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: In winter, moose browse almost entirely on twigs and shrubs such as balsam fir, poplar, birch, willow and red osier dogwood, and a large adult eats 15 to 20 kilograms of twigs a day.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C: in winter moose browse almost entirely on twigs and shrubs. Twigs are small branches and shrubs are bushes, and winter is the cold season.
Tips: Two paragraphs mention winter. Look for the one about food.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A tells where moose live and how many there are, not what they eat.
- B: The second paragraph describes antlers through the year, which is not about food.
- D: Winter ticks are named in paragraph D, but it gives no details of the moose's winter diet.
- E: The winter diet of twigs and shrubs is set out at the start of paragraph C.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Roads are a danger too: in New Brunswick, about 400 moose are killed by motorists each year, most of them in spring and summer.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says about 400 moose are killed by motorists each year in New Brunswick. Motorists are people driving cars, and 400 is several hundred.
Tips: Scan for 'New Brunswick'. Then check that the number of moose that die fits 'several hundred'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer lists where moose are found across Canada. But New Brunswick and road deaths are not named.
- B: The second paragraph is about how antlers grow and fall, not about traffic.
- C: Paragraph C says moose visit salty roadsides, but it does not say any are hit by cars.
- E: The figure of about 400 moose killed by motorists in New Brunswick is given in paragraph D.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In November the antlers begin to fall off.
Why this is correct: In paragraph B, the antlers begin to fall off in November. We learn when this happens, but no reason is given. Saving energy for winter is never mentioned.
Tips: Check whether the passage gives a reason for the antlers falling, not only the month.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes the size and range of moose, with nothing about antlers dropping.
- B: November is named in paragraph B as the month the antlers drop, but no cause is offered.
- C: Winter food shortages come up in paragraph C, yet they are not linked to antlers.
- D: Paragraph D is about ticks, parasites, logging and roads, not antlers.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: By early September they have hardened, and the bulls rub the dried velvet off against tree trunks.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: once the antlers have hardened, the bulls rub the dried velvet off against tree trunks. The velvet is the soft skin that covers the growing antlers.
Tips: Trees appear in paragraph C too. There, moose eat the bark.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A talks about bulls only to describe their height.
- C: In paragraph C, trees come up because moose strip their bark for food, not to clean antlers.
- D: The fourth paragraph describes threats to moose. No bull uses a tree there.
- E: Bulls rubbing the dried velvet off against tree trunks is described in paragraph B.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: In summer they eat leaves and great quantities of water plants, and they sometimes dive 5.5 metres or more for plants growing on a lake bottom.
Why this is correct: In paragraph C, moose sometimes dive 5.5 metres or more for plants growing on a lake bottom. Diving 5.5 metres means going deep below the surface to eat.
Tips: Lakes show up more than once in this passage. Ask which mention has moose going down under the surface for food.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says moose live near lakes and streams, but it does not say they dive.
- B: The second paragraph measures antlers in centimetres. It has nothing about water or diving.
- D: In paragraph D, the dangers are things like ticks and traffic, not feeding under the water.
- E: The dive of 5.5 metres or more for lake-bottom plants is in paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Canada is thought to have between half a million and a million moose.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph A gives a rough total for all of Canada and says where moose are found. It does not give numbers for any single part of Canada, so no comparison is made.
Tips: This is a ranking. Check whether the passage compares Ontario with other parts of Canada.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: One rough total for the whole country sits in paragraph A, and it is never broken down by place.
- B: The second paragraph deals with antlers and with bulls competing for cows, not with how many moose live where.
- C: Paragraph C describes food and mineral licks and gives no population figures.
- D: New Brunswick is named in paragraph D for road deaths, which is not a count of living moose.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Their range stretches from the Alaska boundary across Canada's forests to the eastern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador, and they live in every province and territory except Prince Edward Island.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: moose live in every province and territory except Prince Edward Island. So Prince Edward Island is the one place in Canada without moose.
Tips: The statement names 'Prince Edward Island'. Find it, then read the words just before it carefully.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: In paragraph B, you learn how antlers change during the year, not where moose are missing.
- C: The third paragraph lists the plants moose eat, with no places named.
- D: Paragraph D names New Brunswick for road deaths but says nothing about Prince Edward Island.
- E: The exception of Prince Edward Island is given in paragraph A, where the range is described.
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