Read the following passage.
A. In July 2017, a large number of North Atlantic right whales were found dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Fisheries and Oceans Canada responded by closing the snow crab fishery for the year, and it asked commercial ships to slow down for the rest of the summer. The same year, rising deaths in Canada and the United States led to the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event. The dead, injured and sick whales counted in it make up more than 20 per cent of the population, and in most of these cases the cause was entanglement in fishing gear or a collision with a vessel.
B. Right whales are stocky black whales with no dorsal fin, and they can grow to about 16 metres. They feed on copepods and other tiny crustaceans by swimming slowly with their mouths open. Whalers named them the right whales to hunt because they floated after they were killed. European whalers hunted them off eastern Canada from the 1500s until a ban in 1935. Rough patches of skin called callosities grow on each whale's head, and researchers use their unique patterns to tell individuals apart. In October 2025, NOAA Fisheries estimated that 384 were alive at the start of 2024.
C. Entanglement is one of the gravest dangers the whales face. By one estimate, more than 85 per cent of right whales have been caught in fishing gear at least once. Ropes can cut into the body and cause serious injuries and infections, and an entangled whale may tow gear for months or even years before it is freed, sheds it or dies. A gap of three years between births is considered healthy, but females now have calves every 7 to 10 years on average, and biologists believe the stress of entanglement is one of the reasons.
D. Canada's fishing rules now depend on finding whales. Aircraft, vessels and underwater microphones on buoys and gliders watch and listen for them. When a right whale is detected, an area of about 2,000 square kilometres is closed to lobster, crab and other fixed gear fisheries for 15 days. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence after June 1, a repeat detection during days 9 to 15 keeps the area closed for the whole season. An area cannot reopen until two flights have found no right whales there. Canada released a Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy in February 2026, and by January 2026 43,348 units of lost gear and 978 kilometres of rope had been removed from its waters and shoreline.
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: D
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence after June 1, a whale may be detected again during days 9 to 15. If so, the area stays closed for the whole season.
Passage Reference: In the Gulf of St. Lawrence after June 1, a repeat detection during days 9 to 15 keeps the area closed for the whole season.
Tips: Paragraph A also mentions a fishery closed for a long time. Find the closure that depends on a whale being found again.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In Paragraph A, the snow crab fishery closed for the year after the 2017 deaths. That was not about a whale being detected twice.
- B: Paragraph B covers the whale's body, food, name, hunting history and numbers. Fishing closures are not part of it.
- C: Paragraph C explains how gear hurts whales and slows births. It gives no rule for closing fishing areas.
- E: The text does include this rule. The season-long closure after a repeat detection is in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In July 2017, a large number of North Atlantic right whales were found dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A tells you many right whales were found dead in the Gulf in July 2017. It gives no ages. So you cannot tell if most of them were young.
Tips: Check whether any paragraph describes the dead whales themselves, not just how many died.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The 2017 deaths open Paragraph A. Even so, it says nothing about how old the dead whales were.
- B: Paragraph B gives the whales' size, food and markings, plus a 2024 population estimate. It does not give the ages of whales that died.
- C: Paragraph C gives figures on entanglement and the gap between births. None of them describes the whales that died in the Gulf.
- D: Paragraph D covers finding whales and closing areas. The ages of dead whales are not mentioned.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Fisheries and Oceans Canada responded by closing the snow crab fishery for the year, and it asked commercial ships to slow down for the rest of the summer.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph A. After whales were found dead in July 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada asked commercial ships to slow down. The request lasted for the rest of the summer, which is several weeks.
Tips: Ask who made the request and who received it. Then check that it came after the deaths and lasted a while.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: In Paragraph B, the whales swim slowly while they feed. No one asks ships to do anything.
- C: Paragraph C describes injuries from fishing gear. Ship speed is not discussed.
- D: Paragraph D says vessels help watch for whales. It gives no request about their speed.
- E: The text does say this. The request for ships to slow down after the 2017 deaths is in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Whalers named them the right whales to hunt because they floated after they were killed.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph B. Whalers named them the right whales to hunt because they floated after they were killed. A floating body stays at the surface, so it was easy for hunters.
Tips: The idea is where the whale's name came from. Check what reason is given for that name.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A reports whales found dead in 2017. It does not explain where their name came from.
- C: Paragraph C describes harm from fishing gear. It says nothing about how the whale got its name.
- D: Paragraph D is about finding whales and fishing rules. The whale's name is never explained there.
- E: Paragraph B explains the name clearly. The whales floated after they were killed.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: A gap of three years between births is considered healthy, but females now have calves every 7 to 10 years on average, and biologists believe the stress of entanglement is one of the reasons.
Why this is correct: Read Paragraph C. A healthy gap between births is three years. Females now have calves every 7 to 10 years on average. Biologists believe the stress of entanglement is one of the reasons.
Tips: Paragraph A also blames entanglement for harm. Find the paragraph that links it to births.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A links entanglement to deaths, injuries and sickness. It says nothing about how often females give birth.
- B: Paragraph B gives the number of whales alive, not how often females have young.
- D: Paragraph D covers detection, closures and removing lost gear. Births are not mentioned.
- E: The text covers this idea. The longer gap between calves, and the part entanglement plays, is in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Canada released a Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy in February 2026, and by January 2026 43,348 units of lost gear and 978 kilometres of rope had been removed from its waters and shoreline.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D gives the name of the Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy and its date, February 2026. That is all. It never says who wrote the plan or whether fishing crews helped.
Tips: Ask who wrote the plan. A name and a release date do not tell you the authors.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names Fisheries and Oceans Canada for acting in 2017. It says nothing about a later gear plan.
- B: Paragraph B mentions whalers from the past. They have nothing to do with writing a modern plan.
- C: Paragraph C describes how gear injures whales. No plan and no authors appear in it.
- D: The strategy and its release date appear in Paragraph D. The people who wrote it are never named.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The dead, injured and sick whales counted in it make up more than 20 per cent of the population, and in most of these cases the cause was entanglement in fishing gear or a collision with a vessel.
Why this is correct: Go to the end of Paragraph A. In most of the counted cases, the cause was fishing gear or a collision with a vessel. Both come from people's work at sea.
Tips: Think about the crisis itself and what caused most of the harm. Do those causes come from people?
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B mentions hunting that ended in 1935. That is history, not the cause of the recent cases.
- C: Paragraph C shows how gear injures whales. It does not say what share of the counted cases came from people.
- D: Paragraph D describes fishing rules and gear removal. It gives no causes for the dead and injured whales.
- E: Paragraph A links most counted cases to fishing gear or ships, so the text does cover it.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: By one estimate, more than 85 per cent of right whales have been caught in fishing gear at least once.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C says more than 85 per cent of right whales have been caught in gear at least once. It talks about females only when it discusses calves. It never compares males and females.
Tips: A comparison needs facts about both groups. Check if males are ever mentioned.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A counts dead, injured and sick whales as one group. It does not split them into males and females.
- B: Paragraph B describes the whale's size, feeding and history. It shows no difference between the sexes.
- C: Paragraph C has one entanglement figure for all right whales together. Females come up only in the part about births.
- D: Paragraph D is about detection and closures. Males and females never come up.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Ropes can cut into the body and cause serious injuries and infections, and an entangled whale may tow gear for months or even years before it is freed, sheds it or dies.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. An entangled whale may tow gear for months or even years. That goes on until it is freed, sheds the gear or dies. Months or years is a very long time.
Tips: Paragraph D also mentions lost gear and rope. Look for gear that stays on a living whale.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A blames entanglement for many counted cases. It does not say how long gear stays on a whale.
- B: Paragraph B describes feeding and body features. Fishing gear is not mentioned.
- D: Paragraph D reports lost gear and rope taken out of the water. That is not gear pulled along by living whales.
- E: The text does describe this. Whales that tow gear for months or years are in Paragraph C.
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