Read the following passage.
A. The James Webb Space Telescope was the result of more than 20 years of planning and development. It is a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Canada's part was two pieces of hardware, built by Honeywell and fully funded by the CSA. The Fine Guidance Sensor lets the telescope work out its position, find its targets and stay locked on them with high precision. The second piece, a science instrument called NIRISS, was designed to study starlight passing through the atmospheres of planets around other stars. In return, Canadian scientists receive a guaranteed share of observing time.
B. Webb left Earth on December 25, 2021, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Because it was too large to fit inside the rocket when open, it was folded up like origami. Unfolding took about two weeks, and the trip to its final position took about two more. The telescope now circles a point called L2, some 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, and a sunshield the size of a tennis court protects it from the Sun's heat. Its main mirror, 6.5 metres wide, is made of 18 gold-coated segments. Over months of commissioning, engineers aligned the segments so that they would act as a single mirror.
C. The first full-colour image was released the following July. Called Webb's First Deep Field, it showed thousands of galaxies in a patch of sky about as big as a grain of sand held at arm's length. NASA described it as the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far. The full set of first images followed on July 12. Infrared matters because light from the most distant galaxies has been stretched into longer wavelengths as the universe expands. Infrared light can also pass through clouds of dust, where new stars and planets are forming.
D. Today, astronomers from around the world compete for time on the telescope. For Cycle 5, its fifth year of operations, the Space Telescope Science Institute reviewed a record 2,855 proposals and in March 2026 announced 254 selected programs. They include about 8,009 hours of prime observing time, and the teams behind them come from 37 countries, including seven Canadian provinces. Canadian astronomers have access to 5 per cent of the time set aside for these general programs. A team has exclusive use of its data for one year. After that, the observations are made available to other scientists and the public.
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. The Cycle 5 programs were announced in March 2026, which is spring. The teams come from 37 countries, including seven Canadian provinces. Those are the seven parts of Canada.
Passage Reference: They include about 8,009 hours of prime observing time, and the teams behind them come from 37 countries, including seven Canadian provinces.
Tips: Find the selection announced in 2026. Then check how many parts of Canada its teams are from.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A does talk about Canadian scientists. It says they get a share of time in return for Canada's hardware, but it never counts provinces.
- B: Paragraph B follows the launch, the unfolding and the mirror work. People from Canada are not mentioned there.
- C: Paragraph C is about the first images and why infrared light helps. It says nothing about who wrote proposals.
- E: You can find the seven Canadian provinces near the middle of Paragraph D, in the sentence about the Cycle 5 teams.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Over months of commissioning, engineers aligned the segments so that they would act as a single mirror.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells you engineers aligned the mirror segments during commissioning. It does not say which company those engineers worked for. Honeywell is named only in Paragraph A, as the builder of Canada's two pieces.
Tips: Two facts sit in two paragraphs here. Ask whether the text ever joins the builder in Paragraph A to the mirror work in Paragraph B.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names Honeywell as the builder of the guidance sensor and NIRISS. It does not link that firm to the mirror work.
- B: The mirror alignment is in Paragraph B, but only the word engineers is used. Their employer is never given.
- C: Paragraph C describes the first deep field image and infrared light. Nobody adjusting mirrors appears in it.
- D: Paragraph D covers proposals, hours and data rules today. The mirror and its alignment are not part of it.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Canada's part was two pieces of hardware, built by Honeywell and fully funded by the CSA.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph A. Canada's part was two pieces of hardware, built by Honeywell and fully funded by the CSA. Honeywell is the one firm, and full funding means the whole cost.
Tips: Two facts must hold here: one firm made both contributions, and the agency paid for all of it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B names the rocket and the launch site. It gives no builder and no payment for any part.
- C: Paragraph C talks about images and light from far away. Money and makers do not come up.
- D: Paragraph D mentions Canadian astronomers and their share of time. It does not say who paid for anything.
- E: Paragraph A gives both facts in one sentence: Honeywell built the two pieces and the CSA paid for them.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Unfolding took about two weeks, and the trip to its final position took about two more.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. Unfolding took about two weeks. The trip to the final position took about two more weeks. So the two steps took about the same time.
Tips: Find the two lengths of time and check if they are the same.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A covers planning, partners and Canada's hardware. It has no travel times.
- C: Paragraph C gives the date of the first images. It does not compare the trip with the unfolding.
- D: Paragraph D counts hours of observing time today. Those hours are not about the journey.
- E: The two time spans are compared in Paragraph B, where each one is about two weeks.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Called Webb's First Deep Field, it showed thousands of galaxies in a patch of sky about as big as a grain of sand held at arm's length.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells you what the first deep field image showed. It does not say how long the telescope looked to make it. So the several days is not in the text.
Tips: Check whether any paragraph gives a length of time for taking the picture.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about planning and Canada's hardware. The first images are not described there.
- B: Paragraph B covers the launch, the trip and the mirror. It says nothing about the first picture.
- C: Paragraph C describes the first deep field image and what it shows. It never gives the time spent collecting its light.
- D: Paragraph D is about how astronomers get time on the telescope today. The first image is not mentioned.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: After that, the observations are made available to other scientists and the public.
Why this is correct: Read the end of Paragraph D. A team has its data to itself for one year by default. After that, the observations go to other scientists and the public, which means everyone else.
Tips: Paragraph C also mentions something being released. Look for a rule that applies after a fixed time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says Canadian scientists get a share of observing time. Sharing data after a waiting time is not in it.
- B: Paragraph B describes the trip to L2 and the sunshield. It has no rules about data.
- C: Paragraph C reports that the first image came out in July. It says nothing about a waiting time for every team's data.
- E: The one-year rule and the later sharing are the last two sentences of Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Infrared matters because light from the most distant galaxies has been stretched into longer wavelengths as the universe expands.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. Light from the most distant galaxies has been stretched into longer wavelengths as the universe expands. That is why infrared matters for this telescope.
Tips: This one is about light from the most remote star systems. Check what happens to that light as space grows.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions starlight passing through planet atmospheres. It does not explain how light changes over great distances.
- B: Paragraph B says the sunshield blocks heat from the Sun. That is about keeping the telescope cool, not about far galaxies.
- D: Paragraph D is about how observing time is shared today. The universe and its growth are not discussed.
- E: Paragraph C gives this reason for using infrared, in the sentence about distant galaxies.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Over months of commissioning, engineers aligned the segments so that they would act as a single mirror.
Why this is correct: The last sentence of Paragraph B is the match. During months of commissioning, engineers aligned the 18 segments. The goal was for them to act as a single mirror.
Tips: Paragraph A also talks about precision. Look for the sentence about the mirror pieces.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the guidance sensor that keeps the telescope pointed. It does not talk about adjusting mirror pieces.
- C: Paragraph C shows what the telescope saw once it was working. The mirror work before that is not in it.
- D: Paragraph D deals with the telescope's use in Cycle 5. It does not go back to the months after launch.
- E: The months of mirror alignment are described at the close of Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: For Cycle 5, its fifth year of operations, the Space Telescope Science Institute reviewed a record 2,855 proposals and in March 2026 announced 254 selected programs.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D gives the number. For Cycle 5, the institute reviewed 2,855 proposals and announced its choice in March 2026. That is close to three thousand, in spring 2026.
Tips: Several paragraphs have large numbers. Check what each number is counting.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions more than 20 years of planning. Those are years, not a count of proposals.
- B: Paragraph B has numbers too, like 18 segments and 1.5 million kilometres. None of them is a count of plans.
- C: Paragraph C tells you the first image held thousands of galaxies. That is a number of galaxies, not of proposals.
- E: This number is in Paragraph D, in the sentence about Cycle 5.
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