CELPIP Reading for Information Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump

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CELPIP Reading for Information Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump

This Reading Module has 9 questions similar to the kinds of questions that you can expect to find on an actual CELPIP Test. Practice Celpip Test Reading for Information “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump” with answers.

Time: 10 minutes

Part 1

Directions: Read the following information article.

A. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a buffalo jump located where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains begin to rise from the prairie 18 km west of Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada on highway 785. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of the museum of Blackfoot culture. Joe Crowshoe Sr. OC (1903 – 1999) — Aapohsoy’yiis (Weasel Tail) — a ceremonial Elder of the Piikani Nation in southern Alberta, was instrumental in the development of the site. The Joe Crow Shoe Sr. Lodge is dedicated to his memory. He dedicated his life to preserving Aboriginal culture and promoting the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and in 1998 was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for “saving the knowledge and practices of the Blackfoot people.”

B. The buffalo jump was used for 5,500 years by the indigenous peoples of the plains to kill buffalo by driving them off the 11 metre (36 foot) high cliff. The cliff itself is about 300 metres (1000 feet) long, and at its highest point drops 10 metres into the valley below. The site was in use at least 6,000 years ago, and the bone deposits are 12 metres (39 feet) deep. After falling off the cliff, the injured buffalo were finished off by other Blackfoot warriors at the cliff base armed with spears and clubs. The buffalo carcass was used for a variety of purposes, from tools made from the bone, to the hide used to make dwellings and clothing. The importance of the site goes beyond just providing food and supplies. After a successful hunt, the wealth of food allowed the people to enjoy leisure time and pursue artistic and spiritual interests. This increased the cultural complexity of the society.

C. In Blackfoot, the name for the site is Estipah-skikikini-kots. According to legend, a young Blackfoot wanted to watch the buffalo plunge off the cliff from below, but was buried underneath the falling buffalo. He was later found dead under the pile of carcasses, where he had his head smashed in.

D. Head-Smashed-In was abandoned in the 19th century after European contact. The site was first recorded by Europeans in the 1880s, and first excavated by the American Museum of Natural History in 1938. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1968, a Provincial Historic Site in 1979, and a finally a World Heritage Site in 1981 for its testimony of prehistoric life and the customs of aboriginal people.

E. Not in any of the paragraphs

Part 2

Directions: Decide which paragraph (A, B, C, or D) contains the information in each of the following statements. If the information is not discussed in any of the paragraphs, choose “E”.

1. The site was named after someone who was killed by falling buffalo.

A B C D E

2. The buffalo jump was designated a World Heritage Site because it reveals the historic culture and way of the indigenous people.

A B C D E

3. An indigenous elder helped develop the site.

A B C D E

4. Some hunters waited at the bottom of the cliff to kill the injured buffalo.

A B C D E

5. Indigenous people killed buffalo for thousands of years by chasing them off a cliff.

A B C D E

6. Europeans were the first foreigners to discover the site.

A B C D E

7. An indigenous leader received an award for helping to preserve the knowledge of the Blackfoot people.

A B C D E

8. The site is located near the Rocky Mountains.

A B C D E

9. The warriors chased the buffalo on horseback.

A B C D E

CELPIP Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump Vocabulary

On horseback (riding a horse)
Buffalo jump (cliff area used to kill buffalo)
Smashed in (crushed)
Foothills (hills near mountains)
Blackfoot (a tribe of indigenous people)
Plain (large flat area)
Carcass (dead body)
Dwelling (home)
Plunge (fall)
Finished off (killed)
Armed (carrying weapons)
Excavate (dig a hole in the ground to discover things)