Read the following passage.
A. Lunenburg stands on Mi'kmaq traditional territory. The Mi'kmaq call the site E'se'katik, which means place of clams, and to the French it was known as Merliguesche. In 1753 the British government settled 1,453 foreign Protestants at Lunenburg, a place that had been home to a small Acadian settlement. Many had been recruited in southwestern Germany, and most of them spoke German. The British hoped these settlers would help counter the French and Catholic presence in Nova Scotia. Every settler received a free lot in town with a garden, plus farm land in the county. The streets were laid out on a rectangular grid, much like the plan of Halifax.
B. The first years were hard, but by the late 18th century Lunenburg supplied Halifax with many farm products. Its people had also entered the offshore fishery, and at first they fished off the Labrador coast. In the late 1860s, new trawling techniques sent the town's schooner fleet to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the Western Bank. Cod dried by a method known as the Lunenburg cure found steady markets in the West Indies, particularly Puerto Rico. The racing schooner Bluenose was launched from a local shipyard in 1921.
C. A fishing boom reported in 1888 did not last. The fish export trade became centred in Halifax, where fast steamships left directly for the West Indies as well as other markets. At the same time, buyers came to prefer fresh fish to dried fish. Local business owners, especially the Smith and Zwicker families, made changes to win back the lost trade. From the late 1920s, cold storage, processing plants and diesel trawlers replaced cod-drying flakes and the old schooners. Today the town has one of the largest fish-processing plants in Canada, owned and run by High Liner Foods.
D. The old town has kept its original layout and overall appearance, and many of its houses and public buildings are made of wood, some of them from the 18th century. A local feature is the Lunenburg bump, a five-sided dormer. Almost all of the old town is privately owned. Owners face rising property values, maintenance costs and the challenge of keeping historical accuracy in restoration work. Many tourists come, especially in summer. In 1995 Old Town Lunenburg was made a United Nations World Heritage Site. The World Heritage description calls it the best surviving example of a planned colonial settlement built by the British in North America.
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: E
Why this is correct: In paragraph A, we learn who the British settled at Lunenburg in 1753 and why they wanted those settlers there. It never says why this particular spot was chosen. The harbour is not mentioned at all.
Passage Reference: In 1753 the British government settled 1,453 foreign Protestants at Lunenburg, a place that had been home to a small Acadian settlement.
Tips: A founding story invites you to expect a reason for the location. Check whether the writer actually gives one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A covers the founding in 1753, the settlers and the street plan. A reason for choosing this piece of coast is missing.
- B: The second paragraph follows the fishing fleet out to Labrador and the Grand Banks. It does not explain why the town was placed where it is.
- C: In paragraph C, steamships leave Halifax. There is nothing about shelter for ships at Lunenburg.
- D: The old town today and its World Heritage listing fill paragraph D. Nothing is said about the harbour or why the site was picked.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Its people had also entered the offshore fishery, and at first they fished off the Labrador coast.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: at first the people of Lunenburg fished off the Labrador coast. Later, in the late 1860s, the fleet went to the Grand Banks and the Western Bank, which are the more distant grounds.
Tips: Fishing turns up in two paragraphs. Find where the boats went before they moved to farther waters.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph is about the first settlers and their free lots of land. Fishing trips are not part of it.
- C: Paragraph C deals with fishing too, but with trade moving to Halifax and new trawlers. Labrador is never named there.
- D: In paragraph D, you read about the wooden buildings and the old town today. It says nothing about where crews used to fish.
- E: Paragraph B gives both steps in order: Labrador first, then the Grand Banks after new trawling methods arrived.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: At the same time, buyers came to prefer fresh fish to dried fish.
Why this is correct: In paragraph C, buyers came to prefer fresh fish to dried fish. Fresh fish has not gone through drying. So customers favouring it is the same idea as the statement.
Tips: Dried cod appears in paragraph B as a success. Find the paragraph where the market turns against it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes the settlement in 1753 and the land each family received. Buyers of fish do not come into it.
- B: Dried cod sells well in the West Indies in paragraph B. That is the older product, not the new taste for fresh fish.
- D: The fourth paragraph is about the old buildings and visitors today, not about what fish customers wanted.
- E: Paragraph C explains the change in taste directly, in its sentence about fresh fish and dried fish.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Local business owners, especially the Smith and Zwicker families, made changes to win back the lost trade.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C: the Smith and Zwicker families were local business owners who made changes to win back the lost trade. The trade had gone to Halifax, so it had gone elsewhere. Winning it back means recovering it.
Tips: Find the part where the town loses its sales to another place. Then look for two families who tried to fix that.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, settler families get free lots of land. No family is saving a business.
- B: The second paragraph describes the town's early success with farm products and cod. No trade had been lost yet.
- D: Property owners and their costs today are in paragraph D, which is a different problem from lost trade.
- E: Paragraph C names two families, the Smiths and the Zwickers, and says they worked to win the lost trade back.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Almost all of the old town is privately owned.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says almost all of the old town is privately owned. Almost all means nearly every part, and privately owned means in private hands. So the statement matches.
Tips: Paragraph A gives out land long ago. The statement is about ownership today.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Each settler got a free lot in town in paragraph A, but that was in the 1750s. Who owns the buildings now is not covered there.
- B: The second paragraph is about farm products, fishing grounds and the Bluenose. Ownership of the town's buildings is not mentioned.
- C: In paragraph C, High Liner Foods owns a fish plant, which is one business, not the old town.
- E: Paragraph D says it in a short sentence of its own, right after the Lunenburg bump.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Owners face rising property values, maintenance costs and the challenge of keeping historical accuracy in restoration work.
Why this is correct: In paragraph D, owners face rising property values, maintenance costs and the challenge of keeping restoration historically accurate. Maintenance costs are the money needed to keep a house in good repair.
Tips: Find where the owners of the old town are described today. Then check what troubles them, and whether money is one of those troubles.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph describes the settlers' free lots and the grid of streets. The cost of looking after houses is not raised.
- B: Farming, fishing and a famous schooner are in paragraph B. It says nothing about houses or repairs.
- C: Changes in the fish trade, such as cold storage and diesel trawlers, fill paragraph C, not the cost of old houses.
- E: Paragraph D lists the problems owners face, and maintenance costs are one of them.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The British hoped these settlers would help counter the French and Catholic presence in Nova Scotia.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: the British hoped the settlers would help counter the French and Catholic presence in Nova Scotia. Wanting settlers to counter a presence means wanting them to offset its influence. So the statement matches.
Tips: Find where the newcomers first arrive. Then check what the British wanted them to do once they were there.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: In paragraph B, there is early hardship and farm products sent to Halifax. The aim behind the settlement is not discussed.
- C: The third paragraph tells how the fish trade slipped away to Halifax. It has nothing about the French or Catholics.
- D: Paragraph D calls Lunenburg a planned British settlement. What the British hoped the settlers would do is never stated there.
- E: The British hope is clear in paragraph A, in the sentence just after the settlers' language is mentioned.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Today the town has one of the largest fish-processing plants in Canada, owned and run by High Liner Foods.
Why this is correct: In paragraph C, the town has one of the largest fish-processing plants in Canada, run by High Liner Foods. The plant is compared with others in Canada. But the text never says how many people work there or compares it with other employers in town.
Tips: Large in Canada is not the same as the biggest employer in town. Check what the comparison really is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph is about the settlers of 1753 and their land. Modern businesses and jobs are far outside its time.
- B: A local shipyard and the fishing fleet appear in paragraph B, but not High Liner Foods or numbers of workers.
- C: Paragraph C names the plant and its size among Canadian plants. Whether it is the town's biggest employer is left unsaid.
- D: In paragraph D, many tourists come. But tourism jobs, or any jobs, are not compared with the fish plant.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In 1995 Old Town Lunenburg was made a United Nations World Heritage Site.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: in 1995 Old Town Lunenburg was made a United Nations World Heritage Site. The year 1995 falls in the middle of the 1990s, and becoming such a site is gaining that status.
Tips: Find where the old town gains its United Nations status. Then check whether the date given falls in the middle of the 1990s.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives an earlier date, 1753, when the British settled the town. The United Nations does not appear there.
- B: The second paragraph mentions dates such as 1921 for the Bluenose, but nothing about World Heritage status.
- C: In paragraph C, the story runs from 1888 to the fish plant of today. No listing of the town is mentioned.
- E: Paragraph D gives the year and the United Nations title in the same sentence, near its end.
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