Read the following passage.
A. For thousands of years, plains bison moved across the Great Plains in the millions, and before European settlement tens of millions of them roamed the prairies freely. Bison shaped the grassland through their grazing and sustained the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land. As the fur trade, farming and settlement spread west, the herds were hunted without limit and their habitat was lost. Within a single human lifetime, bison in North America fell to fewer than 1,000 animals, and by the 1880s the great herds of the plains had been pushed to the brink of extinction.
B. A turning point came early in the next century. The Canadian government purchased one of the last and largest remaining herds, the Pablo-Allard herd of Montana, and between 1907 and 1912 more than 700 wild bison were shipped by train to Elk Island National Park, east of Edmonton. Most were later moved on to Buffalo National Park near Wainwright, Alberta, but about forty stayed at Elk Island, and today's herd there descends from those few animals. Because the Elk Island bison have no record of cattle or wood bison genes and are free of diseases of concern, they have become a source for new herds.
C. In December 2005, after an absence of 120 years, 71 plains bison from Elk Island arrived at Grasslands National Park: 30 male calves, 30 female calves and 11 yearlings. They spent their first winter in a holding area and were released on May 24, 2006, into about 181 square kilometres of the park's West Block. Their grazing, combined with fire, creates a patchwork of habitats. Their habit of wallowing, or rolling in the dirt, leaves shallow bowls of bare soil that fill with water after spring runoff or heavy rain. The park now keeps its herd at 400 to 500 animals.
D. Animals removed from park herds help start new ones. In 2019 six adult bison went from Grasslands to Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon. In 2017, 16 plains bison from Elk Island were released in Banff National Park, and by 2024 the herd had grown to more than 130 animals. Short sections of wildlife-friendly fence and herding keep the free-roaming herd inside a home range of about 1,200 square kilometres. The work has been shaped by Indigenous ceremony and knowledge, through collaboration with First Nations including the Stoney Nakoda, Siksika, Piikani and Kainai Nations.
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: D
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. In 2017, 16 plains bison were released in Banff National Park. By 2024 the herd had grown to more than 130. That is well over a hundred in seven years.
Passage Reference: In 2017, 16 plains bison from Elk Island were released in Banff National Park, and by 2024 the herd had grown to more than 130 animals.
Tips: Many paragraphs give herd sizes. Find the one that names Banff and two years.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A tells how bison numbers crashed in the past. It is not about a new herd growing.
- B: Paragraph B describes the herd bought from Montana in the early 1900s. Banff is not mentioned.
- C: Paragraph C gives the size of the Grasslands herd, 400 to 500. It does not talk about Banff.
- E: Paragraph D reports the growth in Banff, from 16 bison in 2017 to more than 130 by 2024.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: They spent their first winter in a holding area and were released on May 24, 2006, into about 181 square kilometres of the park's West Block.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells you the bison were released into about 181 square kilometres of the West Block. It gives the size of the area. It says nothing about roads or visitors watching the animals.
Tips: The West Block is named only once. Check if that sentence says anything about visitors.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the past, when bison covered the plains. No park or visitors appear.
- B: Paragraph B names Elk Island and Buffalo National Park. The West Block and roads are not there.
- C: Be careful here. Paragraph C gives the size of the West Block, but it does not say how people can see the herd.
- D: Paragraph D describes fences and herding in Banff. It has no road for visitors at Grasslands.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Most were later moved on to Buffalo National Park near Wainwright, Alberta, but about forty stayed at Elk Island, and today's herd there descends from those few animals.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph B. Most of the Montana bison were moved on, but about forty stayed at Elk Island. Today's herd there comes from those few animals. About forty is a few dozen.
Tips: Elk Island comes up in three paragraphs. Pick the one that explains where its own herd came from.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A tells you bison fell to fewer than 1,000 in North America. It names no herd or park.
- C: Paragraph C says the Grasslands bison came from Elk Island. It does not say where the Elk Island herd came from.
- D: Paragraph D sends Elk Island bison to Banff to start a new herd. It does not look back at Elk Island's own start.
- E: The forty bison that stayed and started today's Elk Island herd are in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Their habit of wallowing, or rolling in the dirt, leaves shallow bowls of bare soil that fill with water after spring runoff or heavy rain.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. Wallowing means rolling in the dirt. It leaves shallow bowls of bare soil. These fill with water after spring runoff or heavy rain. Shallow bowls are hollows.
Tips: Paragraph A also says bison shaped the land. Check which paragraph talks about water in the ground.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions bison shaping the grassland by grazing. Grazing is eating plants, not making hollows.
- B: Paragraph B covers the purchase and the Elk Island herd. It does not describe what bison do to the land.
- D: Paragraph D mentions fences and herding in Banff. It does not say the bison change the soil.
- E: The hollows from rolling in the dirt, which later fill with water, are described in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The Canadian government purchased one of the last and largest remaining herds, the Pablo-Allard herd of Montana, and between 1907 and 1912 more than 700 wild bison were shipped by train to Elk Island National Park, east of Edmonton.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells you the Canadian government bought the Pablo-Allard herd of Montana. The bison were then shipped to Elk Island. You learn what was bought and where it went, but not why. Meat for settlers is never mentioned.
Tips: Ask why. The text says what the government bought, not the reason it bought it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions settlement spreading west. But no herd is bought there, and no reason for buying one is given.
- B: The purchase itself is in Paragraph B. Still, it gives no purpose for it and never mentions meat.
- C: Paragraph C is about the Grasslands release in 2005. The Montana purchase is not part of it.
- D: Paragraph D is about starting new herds today. Feeding settlers does not come up.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: In December 2005, after an absence of 120 years, 71 plains bison from Elk Island arrived at Grasslands National Park: 30 male calves, 30 female calves and 11 yearlings.
Why this is correct: The group that arrived at Grasslands, in paragraph C, was 71 bison: 30 male calves, 30 female calves and 11 yearlings. Calves and yearlings are young animals, so the whole group was young.
Tips: This is about the first group that went to Grasslands. Check the age of every animal in it. Was any of them fully grown?
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the millions of bison in the past. It does not give the age of any group.
- B: Paragraph B counts more than 700 bison sent by train. It does not say how old they were.
- D: In Paragraph D, six adult bison go from Grasslands to Wanuskewin Heritage Park. This later move was of grown animals, not young ones.
- E: The calves and yearlings in the first Grasslands group are listed in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Within a single human lifetime, bison in North America fell to fewer than 1,000 animals, and by the 1880s the great herds of the plains had been pushed to the brink of extinction.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A has this fact. Tens of millions of bison once roamed the prairies. Within a single human lifetime, they fell to fewer than 1,000. One person's life is a human lifetime.
Tips: Look at how bison numbers changed long ago. Check the number they dropped to and how much time it took.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B gives numbers like 700 and forty for one herd. It does not show the whole species falling.
- C: Paragraph C gives numbers for the Grasslands herd. That herd grew, it did not shrink.
- D: Paragraph D reports herds growing today, such as more than 130 in Banff. It does not describe a crash.
- E: The drop to fewer than 1,000 within one lifetime appears in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: The work has been shaped by Indigenous ceremony and knowledge, through collaboration with First Nations including the Stoney Nakoda, Siksika, Piikani and Kainai Nations.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. The Banff work was shaped by Indigenous ceremony and knowledge. It came through working with First Nations such as the Stoney Nakoda, Siksika, Piikani and Kainai Nations.
Tips: Indigenous peoples also appear in Paragraph A. Choose the paragraph about working together now.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says bison supported Indigenous peoples long ago. It does not describe nations helping with a return today.
- B: Paragraph B names the Canadian government as the buyer of the Montana herd. No First Nations take part.
- C: Paragraph C describes the Grasslands release. It names no partners at all.
- E: The First Nations who worked on the Banff project are named in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Bison shaped the grassland through their grazing and sustained the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph A. Bison shaped the grassland by grazing. They also sustained the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land. Shaped means changed, and sustained means supported.
Tips: Paragraph C also talks about grazing. The words 'long ago' point you to the earliest time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B covers the purchase in the early 1900s. It says nothing about people who relied on bison.
- C: In Paragraph C, grazing and fire create a mix of habitats today. That is about the new herd, not long ago.
- D: Paragraph D names First Nations working on the Banff project now. It is not about how bison supported people long ago.
- E: Both things bison did long ago, shaping the grassland and supporting people, are in Paragraph A.
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