Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Puffins eat small marine animals, mainly fish such as capelin and sand lance.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: it says puffins eat small marine animals, mainly fish such as capelin and sand lance. Mainly means most of their food, so small fish are the biggest part of their diet.
Tips: The word 'fish' appears in Paragraph D too. There it is about fishing, not about eating.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the puffin's colours and where it nests. It does not say what the bird eats.
- C: Paragraph C is about tourists watching puffins from boats, not about their food.
- D: The fourth paragraph mentions fishing nets and the cod fishery, but those are dangers to puffins, not their meals.
- E: The puffin's main food, fish such as capelin and sand lance, is named at the start of Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The public cannot land on the islands without a permit, so visitors watch from tour boats operating from nearby communities between spring and fall.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph C says the public cannot land on the islands without a permit. A permit is special permission, so ordinary visitors stay on the boats.
Tips: In paragraph D, the writer also talks about protected places. Look for the paragraph that mentions a permit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says puffins nest on small, rugged islands, but it gives no rule about people going there.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it is all about how puffins catch and carry fish.
- D: The fourth paragraph says colonies are now reserves and sanctuaries, but it does not say who may land on them.
- E: The rule that the public needs a permit to land on the islands is in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Adults carry fish crossways in their bills back to the chick, which is usually fed four to ten times a day.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says adults carry fish crossways in their bills back to the chick. A bill is a beak, and the chick is the young bird waiting at the nest.
Tips: The bill is described in two places. Ask which one shows the bill carrying food back home.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it describes the colourful bill in the breeding season, but not what the bill carries.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer tells how visitors watch the colony. Feeding the chicks is not described.
- D: Paragraph D covers threats and protection over the centuries, not how adults feed their young.
- E: Adults carrying fish in their bills back to the chick is described in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Fishing nets were still a danger: in 1980 some eight thousand puffins were killed, mainly in gill nets, in Witless Bay.
Why this is correct: The fourth paragraph says that in 1980 some eight thousand puffins were killed, mainly in gill nets, in Witless Bay. Gill nets are fishing gear, and eight thousand birds is several thousand.
Tips: Witless Bay is named twice. Only one of those times talks about fishing nets and dead birds.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A describes what puffins look like and where they live. No deaths are counted.
- B: In paragraph B, the writer gives a record number of fish in one bill, not a number of dead birds.
- C: Paragraph C names Witless Bay as a place for tours, but it says nothing about birds caught in nets.
- E: The loss of some eight thousand puffins in gill nets in 1980 is reported in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: After breeding, it sheds the colourful plates on its bill, and in winter it looks so different that people once thought it was another species.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: it says that after breeding, the puffin sheds the colourful plates on its bill. To shed means to let something fall away, and the colourful plates are the vivid parts. The breeding season is when the young are raised.
Tips: Match 'fall away' with 'sheds' and 'vivid parts' with 'colourful plates'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: The second paragraph shows the bill holding fish, but the bill does not change colour there.
- C: Notice that paragraph C explains the rules for boats and aircraft near the colony, not changes in the bird's appearance.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it is about losses and protection of puffin colonies, not about the bird's seasonal look.
- E: In paragraph A, the writer says the colourful plates on the bill are shed after breeding.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The tours also give people a chance to spot icebergs and whales.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C says the tours also give people a chance to spot icebergs and whales. Icebergs are huge pieces of floating ice.
Tips: Think of the word for a huge piece of floating ice, then find the paragraph about the tours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph says puffins live at sea most of the year, but it does not mention ice or tours.
- B: Notice that paragraph B describes diving and feeding under the water, not sights for visitors.
- D: In paragraph D, the writer talks about the cod fishery and nets, and ice is never mentioned.
- E: Icebergs are listed in Paragraph C among the extra sights on the tours.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Major declines probably began in the 1600s, when fishermen from Europe harvested them for food, and shooting, egg collecting and habitat destruction in the 1800s destroyed or depleted many colonies.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: it says major declines probably began in the 1600s, when fishermen from Europe harvested puffins for food. Harvesting them for food means catching them to eat, and a decline means fewer birds.
Tips: Look at paragraph B: it is about food for puffins. This statement is about puffins as food for people.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph explains that people once mistook winter puffins for another species, which is not about hunting.
- B: Notice that paragraph B tells what puffins eat, not how people used puffins as food.
- C: Look at paragraph C: it describes visitors today who come only to watch the birds.
- E: In paragraph D, the writer names fishermen from Europe who harvested puffins for food as the start of the decline.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The public cannot land on the islands without a permit, so visitors watch from tour boats operating from nearby communities between spring and fall.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells us that visitors watch the puffins from tour boats between spring and fall. It gives the season and the distance rules for boats, but it never says how long one tour takes.
Tips: The tours are described, but check whether any paragraph gives their length in hours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes the bird and its nesting places, with no tours at all.
- B: Notice that paragraph B gives numbers about feeding chicks, but none about trips for people.
- C: The boat tours are described in Paragraph C, with their season and distance rules, but a trip's length in hours is missing.
- D: In paragraph D, the writer covers declines, nets and protection, not tourism.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: A puffin swims at the surface like a duck, then dives head first and uses its short, powerful wings to chase prey underwater.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: it says a puffin dives head first and uses its short, powerful wings to chase prey underwater. The wings are the limbs a bird flies with, so the puffin uses them to push itself along below the surface.
Tips: Look for the paragraph that describes the puffin diving and chasing fish.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it describes the puffin's colours and its life at sea, but not how it swims.
- C: The third paragraph mentions aircraft flying over the reserve, not puffins moving under the water.
- D: Notice that paragraph D talks about birds drowning in nets, which is not the same as how they swim.
- E: Look at paragraph B: it explains that puffins use their wings to chase prey underwater.
