Read the following passage.
A. Canadian football is a team sport that grew out of rugby, which immigrants, civil servants and military personnel brought to Canada. By the 1870s, players in Canada had developed a mixed form of the rugby game. Over time the sport took on its own shape. Today each team has 12 players on the field, and the offence gets only three downs to gain 10 yards. The professional game is run by the Canadian Football League, which took that name in 1958, and its championship, the Grey Cup, was first played in 1909.
B. Under the 2026 rulebook, the playing field is 110 yards long and 65 yards wide, measured between the goal lines and the sidelines. Behind each goal line is a goal area that stretches back 20 yards to a dead ball line. Lines cross the field every 5 yards, and short cross stripes sit twenty-eight yards in from each sideline. The goal posts stand on each goal line, 18 feet 6 inches apart, joined by a crossbar 10 feet above the ground. A coloured ribbon is fixed to the very top of each post.
C. After the kickoff, most plays start from a scrimmage, and the defending players must line up at least one yard back from the line of scrimmage. The offence then tries to move the ball forward. If it gains 10 yards within its three downs, a new series begins; if it does not, the ball goes to the other team as first down where the last play ended. A touchdown is worth 6 points, a field goal 3 and a safety touch 2. A single point, or rouge, is scored when a ball kicked into a team's goal area becomes dead there in that team's possession.
D. The rules have changed often since the early days. In 1905 the Ontario Rugby Football Union cut teams to 12 players a side, adopted the snapback to put the ball into play and required the offence to make 10 yards on three downs. The forward pass arrived in stages: limited use was allowed in 1927, and it was approved for all leagues in 1931. Change has continued into the present: for 2026, the CFL stopped giving a single point when a kick goes directly out of bounds in the opponent's goal area. It also ended tie games in the regular season, so if two extra mini-games leave the score level, teams take turns trying 2-point converts until one wins.
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: B
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: it says short cross stripes sit twenty-eight yards in from each sideline. The sidelines are the sides of the field, and twenty-eight is 28.
Passage Reference: Lines cross the field every 5 yards, and short cross stripes sit twenty-eight yards in from each sideline.
Tips: Find where the passage describes the lines on the field. Then check the distance of the short lines from both sides.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A covers the history of the sport and its main features, not the markings on the field.
- C: Paragraph C tells how a series of downs works and how points are scored. It says nothing about painted lines.
- D: The fourth paragraph follows rule changes from 1905 to 2026. The size or place of field markings is not part of it.
- E: The short cross stripes twenty-eight yards in from each sideline are described in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: It also ended tie games in the regular season, so if two extra mini-games leave the score level, teams take turns trying 2-point converts until one wins.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says the CFL ended tie games in the regular season and explains how a winner is now found. It gives no reason for the change, so nothing is said about keeping fans in their seats.
Tips: Paragraph D tells what changed. Check whether it also says why.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names the league and its championship, but it does not discuss tied games or the fans.
- B: The field and the goal posts are what paragraph B describes. Game results are not mentioned there.
- C: Scoring is explained in Paragraph C. Tied games and the reasons behind rules are left out.
- D: The fourth paragraph reports that ties were ended and how a winner is now decided. The purpose behind the change is not stated.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: The forward pass arrived in stages: limited use was allowed in 1927, and it was approved for all leagues in 1931.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says the forward pass arrived in stages and was approved for all leagues in 1931. Throwing the ball forward is a forward pass, and 1931 is in the early 1930s.
Tips: Moving the ball forward is mentioned in more than one paragraph. Decide which one tells you when throwing it forward became legal for every league.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer gives dates for the league's name and the first Grey Cup, but nothing about passing.
- B: The field's size and markings fill Paragraph B. Passing the ball is not mentioned.
- C: Paragraph C says the offence tries to move the ball forward. But it does not mention a forward pass or when it was allowed.
- E: Approval of the forward pass for all leagues in 1931 is reported in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Canadian football is a team sport that grew out of rugby, which immigrants, civil servants and military personnel brought to Canada.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says Canadian football grew out of rugby, which immigrants, civil servants and military personnel brought to Canada. Newcomers are immigrants, and soldiers are military personnel.
Tips: The word 'rugby' shows up more than once. Look for a list of people who carried it into the country.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Notice that paragraph B describes the field in yards and feet. It says nothing about where the sport came from.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer explains downs and scoring, not the origins of the game.
- D: The Ontario Rugby Football Union appears in Paragraph D, but that paragraph is about rule changes, not how rugby reached Canada.
- E: The rugby roots of the sport, and the people who brought rugby to Canada, are in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: A single point, or rouge, is scored when a ball kicked into a team's goal area becomes dead there in that team's possession.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C explains the single point, or rouge. It is scored when a ball kicked into a team's goal area becomes dead there in that team's possession. Play stopping with the ball in their hands means it becomes dead in their possession.
Tips: Look at paragraph D: it also mentions a single point. Ask which paragraph explains how it is earned.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph lists the main features of the game, such as 12 players and three downs, but not the rouge.
- B: The goal area is measured in Paragraph B, but no points are scored there in that paragraph.
- D: Notice that paragraph D mentions the single point. But only to say one case no longer counts: a kick going straight out of bounds. It does not explain when the point is scored.
- E: The rule for scoring a rouge after a kick into the goal area is given in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In 1905 the Ontario Rugby Football Union cut teams to 12 players a side, adopted the snapback to put the ball into play and required the offence to make 10 yards on three downs.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says that in 1905 the Ontario Rugby Football Union cut teams to 12 players a side. The year 1905 is in the early 1900s, and a side is a team.
Tips: The number 12 appears twice. A year and the word 'cut' tell you which one is about a change.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it says teams have 12 players today, but it does not say when the number was reduced.
- B: The second paragraph is about the field's size and markings. The number of players is not given.
- C: The defending players line up in Paragraph C, yet nobody counts them there and no year is given.
- E: The 1905 decision to cut teams to 12 players a side is in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The professional game is run by the Canadian Football League, which took that name in 1958, and its championship, the Grey Cup, was first played in 1909.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph A says the professional game is run by the Canadian Football League, which took that name in 1958. The year 1958 is in the late 1950s.
Tips: The league is named in more than one place. Look for a year that fits the statement's decade and is tied to its 'current name'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Notice that paragraph B measures the field and the goal posts. It does not name the league.
- C: Paragraph C covers downs and scoring. The league and its history are not part of it.
- D: The CFL makes rule changes in Paragraph D, but that paragraph does not say when the league got its name.
- E: The year the Canadian Football League took its name, 1958, is given in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Change has continued into the present: for 2026, the CFL stopped giving a single point when a kick goes directly out of bounds in the opponent's goal area.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: for 2026 the CFL stopped giving a single point in one case. That is when a kick goes directly out of bounds in the opponent's goal area. Going straight out of play means going directly out of bounds.
Tips: 'No longer' tells you a ball booted out of play used to earn a point. Check which place says that point was dropped.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A introduces the sport and its league. Kicks and points are not discussed.
- B: Paragraph B measures the goal area and the dead ball line. It says nothing about what happens when a kick leaves the field.
- C: Paragraph C explains when a rouge is scored. But it does not mention the recent change for kicks going out of bounds.
- E: The 2026 change for kicks going directly out of bounds in the goal area is reported in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: If it gains 10 yards within its three downs, a new series begins; if it does not, the ball goes to the other team as first down where the last play ended.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C: the offence must gain 10 yards within its three downs. If it does not, the ball goes to the other team where the last play ended. Not gaining enough ground in three tries means not making the 10 yards.
Tips: Three paragraphs mention three downs. Find the one that says what happens after a failure.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph says the offence gets three downs to gain 10 yards, but not what happens if it fails.
- B: Notice that paragraph B measures the field and places the posts. It does not describe a change of possession.
- D: In paragraph D, the writer says three downs to make 10 yards became the rule in 1905. It does not say what follows a failure.
- E: What happens when the offence fails to gain 10 yards is explained in Paragraph C.
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