Read the following passage.
A. The Métis sash is a brightly coloured woven belt with fringed ends. Many Métis consider it a visual symbol of their identity, pride and heritage. It is typically wrapped around the waist by men and worn over the shoulder by women. Today the sash is often part of ceremonial dress, worn to honour people for their achievements and to recognize membership in a Métis community. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, an Order of the Sash is given to Métis community members for cultural, political or social contributions to their people.
B. The weaving behind the sash is older than the sash itself. Finger weaving was well established in Eastern Woodland traditions, where it produced tumplines, garters and other household items. Plant fibres were used until Europeans introduced wool, and nations such as the Six Nations Confederacy and the Potawatomi then blended the two traditions to make the finger-woven sash. French settlers in Québec created their own version as a cottage industry in the village of L'Assomption. It was called the ceinture fléchée, or arrow belt, because of its patterns. First Nations and Métis artisans made sashes too, often with a softer, looser weave and beads in the design.
C. In the days of the voyageurs, the sash was a working tool as well as festive clothing. It held a coat closed and supported the back when a person lifted heavy objects. It could serve as a rope for carrying canoes overland, as a sling or bandage, or as an emergency bridle and saddle blanket. On the land, threads removed from its fringed ends could serve as a sewing kit. Threads were used to mark the days on a trapline, and in a buffalo hunt a sash could identify the hunter's kill.
D. Demand grew so strong that the Hudson's Bay Company had loom-woven sashes mass-produced in Coventry, England. These Coventry sashes, an interpretation of the arrow sash, became more and more linked with Métis identity and pride. They remained in wide use until the early 1900s, when the fur trade declined and the Canadian government's colonization efforts made them less popular. In the 20th century the sash took on new significance as a sign of pride for Métis people. Most sashes made today are loom woven and inspired by the Coventry sashes of the Hudson's Bay Company.
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. Demand grew so strong that the Hudson's Bay Company had sashes mass-produced in Coventry, England. Mass-produced means made in large numbers.
Passage Reference: Demand grew so strong that the Hudson's Bay Company had loom-woven sashes mass-produced in Coventry, England.
Tips: Find a company having sashes made in England. Check that the text says they were made in large numbers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes how the sash is worn today and what it means. No company or factory appears.
- B: Paragraph B mentions sashes made in the village of L'Assomption. Those sashes came from a cottage industry, not a company in England.
- C: Paragraph C lists the everyday jobs a sash could do. It does not say who made the sashes.
- E: Paragraph D names both the company and Coventry, England, so this one is in the reading.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: First Nations and Métis artisans made sashes too, often with a softer, looser weave and beads in the design.
Why this is correct: The clue is at the end of Paragraph B. First Nations and Métis artisans made sashes with a softer, looser weave. A looser weave is less tight.
Tips: Look for sashes made by Métis and First Nations weavers. How tightly were theirs made, compared with other kinds?
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the meaning of the sash and how people wear it. It says nothing about how firmly it is woven.
- C: Paragraph C explains how the sash was used as a tool. The weave is not described.
- D: Paragraph D mentions loom-woven sashes from England and today. It does not compare how tight they are.
- E: The softer, looser weave of First Nations and Métis sashes appears in Paragraph B, so the text does say this.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Demand grew so strong that the Hudson's Bay Company had loom-woven sashes mass-produced in Coventry, England.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says the Hudson's Bay Company had sashes mass-produced in Coventry because demand grew so strong. That explains why more sashes were needed. It never says why Coventry was chosen, and it never mentions wages.
Tips: Paragraph D gives one reason for making many sashes. Ask whether that reason has anything to do with pay.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the sash today and the Order of the Sash. Wages and factories do not come up.
- B: Paragraph B describes early makers in homes and a village. It says nothing about what workers were paid.
- C: Paragraph C lists uses such as a rope and a bandage. It does not say where sashes were made.
- D: Paragraph D comes closest because it names Coventry. The only reason it gives is strong demand, and pay is never mentioned.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: On the land, threads removed from its fringed ends could serve as a sewing kit.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. On the land, threads taken from the fringed ends could serve as a sewing kit. You use a sewing kit to mend clothes.
Tips: Ask what the loose ends of a sash could do out on the land. Check that this helps with mending clothes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions the fringed ends too. But it only describes how the sash looks, not what the ends were used for.
- B: Paragraph B mentions garters and household items made by finger weaving. It says nothing about fixing clothes.
- D: Paragraph D follows the sash from the early 1900s to today. It gives no use for the ends.
- E: The sewing kit from the fringed ends is described in Paragraph C, so this is supported.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: It is typically wrapped around the waist by men and worn over the shoulder by women.
Why this is correct: The answer sits in Paragraph A. Men usually wrap the sash around the waist. Women usually wear it over the shoulder. Those are two different ways.
Tips: Look at what the text says about men and women. Check that each group wears the sash in its own way.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B tells how the sash was first made. It does not say who wears it where.
- C: Paragraph C says the sash held a coat closed and supported the back. It does not compare men and women.
- D: Paragraph D describes how the making of sashes changed and how popular they were. It says nothing about waist or shoulder.
- E: Paragraph A gives both ways of wearing the sash, so the text answers this.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: They remained in wide use until the early 1900s, when the fur trade declined and the Canadian government's colonization efforts made them less popular.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. Coventry sashes stayed in wide use until the early 1900s. Then the fur trade declined, and the sashes became less popular. Fur comes from animal skins.
Tips: Find when sashes started to go out of fashion. Then check the reasons, and whether a shrinking trade in skins is one of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A shows the sash worn at ceremonies today. It does not describe a drop in its use.
- B: Paragraph B tells how the sash began. Nothing in it becomes less popular.
- C: Paragraph C mentions voyageurs and a buffalo hunt. It never says the sash went out of use.
- E: Paragraph D links the fall of the fur trade to the sash losing favour, so the text covers this.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: It was called the ceinture fléchée, or arrow belt, because of its patterns.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph B. French settlers made a sash called the ceinture fléchée, or arrow belt. It got that name because of its patterns, and patterns are the shapes that decorate it.
Tips: Some sash names appear in the text. Check which one comes from the shapes that decorate it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names the Order of the Sash. It does not explain where the name of any sash came from.
- C: Paragraph C describes the jobs a sash could do. It gives no names for kinds of sash.
- D: Paragraph D uses the words 'arrow sash' and 'Coventry sashes'. Still, it does not say how either name began.
- E: Paragraph B explains the name arrow belt, so the reading backs this statement.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, an Order of the Sash is given to Métis community members for cultural, political or social contributions to their people.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A tells you there is an Order of the Sash in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It gives no dates. So you cannot tell which one started it first.
Tips: To say which came first, you need dates or an order. Check whether Paragraph A gives either.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names both places with an Order of the Sash. It does not say which one began giving it first.
- B: Paragraph B is about finger weaving and early sashes. It does not talk about giving sashes to anyone.
- C: Paragraph C describes the sash as a tool in the voyageur days. Manitoba and Saskatchewan do not appear.
- D: Paragraph D talks about the sash as a sign of pride in the 20th century. It gives no dates for any Order.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Plant fibres were used until Europeans introduced wool, and nations such as the Six Nations Confederacy and the Potawatomi then blended the two traditions to make the finger-woven sash.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. Plant fibres were used until Europeans introduced wool. So before wool came, weavers worked with plant materials.
Tips: Look for the material that weavers used before wool arrived.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says the sash is woven. It does not say what it was made from in the past.
- C: Paragraph C lists uses of the sash, such as a bandage. It does not name the materials.
- D: Paragraph D describes loom-woven sashes from England. Plant fibres and wool are not mentioned.
- E: The change from plant fibres to wool is right there in Paragraph B.
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