Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Soot from wildfire smoke darkens the ice, and research on the Athabasca Glacier suggests it can raise melt by as much as 10 per cent.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: it says soot from wildfire smoke darkens the ice. Research on the Athabasca Glacier suggests it can raise melt by as much as 10 per cent. More melt means ice is lost faster.
Tips: The statement links 'burning forests' to 'the loss of glacier ice'. Check how the fires affect the ice, and whether the loss gets quicker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A blames nothing in particular for the retreat. It says glaciers are thinning faster but names no cause such as smoke.
- B: Paragraph B explains how Peyto's gains and losses are measured, with no mention of fires or smoke.
- C: The Athabasca appears in Paragraph C only as a river fed by meltwater, not as a place where smoke was studied.
- E: The soot from wildfire smoke that can raise melt by up to 10 per cent is described in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The river system is fully allocated, mainly for irrigation.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says the Bow River system is fully allocated, mainly for irrigation, and that glacier melt matters in dry summers. It never predicts that farmers will receive less water after the glaciers disappear.
Tips: Irrigation is mentioned, but check whether the passage goes on to predict cuts for farmers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A says glacier loss will affect farming practices in general. But it does not say any water will be taken away from farmers.
- B: Paragraph B deals with measuring Peyto, and farms are not part of it.
- C: Paragraph C is the nearest because it mentions irrigation on the Bow. Yet it stops before saying what will happen to farmers later.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it looks at how fast the ice may go, not at how river water will be shared out.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: In most years the glacier has lost much more mass than it has gained.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph says that in most years Peyto has lost much more mass than it has gained. Its losses, the ice that melts, are bigger than its gains, the snow that builds it up.
Tips: Notice that paragraph D has one bad year. This statement is about most years, so look for the long record.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it says glaciers across Western Canada are thinning, but it keeps no year-by-year count of gains and losses.
- C: Notice that paragraph C measures how much meltwater reaches rivers, not whether a glacier grew or shrank each year.
- D: Paragraph D gives one extreme year of melt, which is not the same as a record over most years.
- E: The second paragraph closes by saying Peyto has lost much more mass than it has gained in most years.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Photographs of it date back to the 1890s, and in 1968 the United Nations chose it as a reference glacier for the International Hydrological Decade.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says photographs of Peyto date back to the 1890s. It does not say who took them or where that person came from, so the photographer is never named.
Tips: Paragraph B tells you when the first photographs were taken. Ask whether it also says who took them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes what Rocky Mountain glaciers do for water. It does not mention photographs.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it is the closest, since it dates the first photographs. But the person behind the camera is never mentioned.
- C: The third paragraph is about river flow at Calgary and Banff, with no early photographs.
- D: Notice that paragraph D names one glaciologist, Mark Ednie, but only for his view on the future, not for any early pictures.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Studies suggest that Peyto and the glaciers near it will lose most of their mass by 2100, but glaciologist Mark Ednie believes that if current trends continue, it will happen much sooner.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: studies suggest Peyto and the glaciers near it will lose most of their mass by 2100. But glaciologist Mark Ednie believes it will happen much sooner. Two different timelines show that experts disagree.
Tips: Look for two different views on timing in one sentence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says glaciers are retreating at ever-increasing rates, but it gives no dates and no disagreement.
- B: Paragraph B reports Peyto's past losses. It does not look ahead to when the ice will be gone.
- C: The third paragraph is about river flow in the past, not about forecasts for the glacier.
- E: The two timelines for Peyto, by 2100 or much sooner, are set side by side at the end of Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: A model of the 2000s found that glacier ice melt equalled about 3 per cent of the Bow River's yearly flow at Calgary, but 8 to 20 per cent of its flow in August.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph C describes a model of the 2000s. It found glacier ice melt equalled about 3 per cent of the Bow River's yearly flow at Calgary. Three per cent over a whole year is a small part.
Tips: Two figures are given for the same city. Match 'a typical year' with the figure for the whole year, not for one month.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A calls glaciers a crucial source of fresh water, which sounds large, and it gives no share for any river.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it covers how scientists measure Peyto, not how much water reaches Calgary.
- D: The fourth paragraph gives melt figures for Peyto in metres, not the glacier share of any river's flow.
- E: The figure of about 3 per cent of the Bow River's yearly flow at Calgary appears in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Soot from wildfire smoke darkens the ice, and research on the Athabasca Glacier suggests it can raise melt by as much as 10 per cent.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says soot from wildfire smoke darkens the ice and can raise melt. It gives no date for when the soot began to collect, so 2014 cannot be found anywhere in the text.
Tips: Look at paragraph D: it describes the soot. Check whether it also gives a starting year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A dates the start of retreat to the middle of the twentieth century, but it says nothing about soot.
- B: Paragraph B gives the 1890s and 1968 for photos and research, not for any darkening of the ice.
- C: The third paragraph has dates for river studies, and fires are not part of it.
- D: The soot itself is in Paragraph D, which makes it tempting, yet no starting year is given there.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In the year to August 2023, a research station near Peyto's base recorded 6.5 metres of melt, and the glacier retreated 80 metres, about four times its long-term average of 20 metres.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says Peyto retreated 80 metres in the year to August 2023. That is about four times its long-term average of 20 metres. Four times the average is several times faster than normal.
Tips: Scan for '2023'. Then compare the two distances given and see if one is several times the other.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says retreat is speeding up across Western Canada, but it gives no figures for Peyto.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it is about Peyto too. But it describes how the glacier is measured, not how far it moved back in one year.
- C: The third paragraph is about water in the Bow River. The glacier's front and its movement are not mentioned.
- E: Notice that paragraph D compares the 80-metre retreat with the long-term average of 20 metres.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: They hold water in years of heavy snowfall and low temperatures, then add to streamflow in years with less snow and more heat.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: glaciers hold water in years of heavy snowfall and low temperatures. Then they add to streamflow in years with less snow and more heat. Saving in good years and giving back in poor years is the same idea.
Tips: In paragraph C, the writer also mentions dry years. Only one paragraph describes both the saving and the giving back.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B measures snow in spring and melt in summer on one glacier. But it does not describe glaciers storing water for later years.
- C: The third paragraph shows melt mattering most in dry years. Yet it never says glaciers build up a store in snowy, cool years.
- D: Notice that paragraph D is about how quickly the ice may disappear, not about how glaciers balance wet and dry years.
- E: The idea of glaciers holding water in snowy years and releasing it in warm ones opens Paragraph A.
