Read the following passage.
A. The Château Frontenac stands on Cap Diamant, a large cape above the St. Lawrence River, on ground with a long past. It sits over the archaeological remains of the Saint-Louis Forts, and it was built near the Citadel that Frontenac had begun in the late 17th century. The hotel takes its name from Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, who was governor of New France from 1672 to 1682 and again from 1689 to 1698. In October 1864, delegates planning Confederation met privately in a grand building that stood on this spot.
B. Construction began in 1892 for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, headed by William Van Horne, and the hotel opened in 1893. The railway's directors wanted to encourage luxury travel and hoped the hotel would draw wealthy tourists onto their trains. The New York architect Bruce Price, inspired by French castles, based its fortress-like design on the medieval chateaux of the Loire Valley. It was the first of many Chateau-style hotels that Canadian railway companies went on to build, and the model for the rest.
C. The hotel kept growing. The Citadel Wing was added in 1899, later work gave it a central tower, and in 1993 the Claude-Pratte Wing opened with an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre. During the Second World War the hotel hosted the two Quebec Conferences, in August 1943 and September 1944. Almost all the Allied delegates stayed there, and Canada's prime minister, Mackenzie King, met Britain's Winston Churchill and the American president, Franklin Roosevelt. In 1945 the Food and Agriculture Organization was founded in the hotel.
D. Today the Château Frontenac, run by Fairmont, is still a working hotel. A 75-million-dollar renovation finished in 2014 rebuilt about three-fifths of the rooms, expanded the meeting space and changed the restaurants. As of 2026, the hotel's website lists 610 rooms and suites, four restaurants, a spa and a heated indoor pool with a view of Old Quebec. Its concierge team arranges city tours for guests. In 2018 the roof held four beehives with about 70,000 bees, whose honey is harvested twice a year for cocktails and dishes.
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: D
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. Four beehives sit on the roof. The honey from the bees is used in cocktails and dishes. Bees are insects, and cocktails and dishes are drinks and food.
Passage Reference: In 2018 the roof held four beehives with about 70,000 bees, whose honey is harvested twice a year for cocktails and dishes.
Tips: Look for insects that live up top at the hotel. Check what they make and where it ends up.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the land under the hotel and its name. There are no bees there.
- B: Paragraph B describes the design of the building. It says nothing about bees or honey.
- C: Paragraph C lists wings and wartime meetings. Food from the roof is not mentioned.
- E: The beehives and their honey are in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The railway's directors wanted to encourage luxury travel and hoped the hotel would draw wealthy tourists onto their trains.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph B. The railway's directors hoped the hotel would draw wealthy tourists onto their trains. Rich travellers are wealthy tourists.
Tips: Find what the rail company wanted. Check which visitors it planned to bring onto its trains.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the site and the governor. It does not say what the railway wanted.
- C: Paragraph C mentions wartime delegates staying at the hotel. It does not talk about trains or rich tourists.
- D: Paragraph D describes the hotel today. It does not mention the railway's early hopes.
- E: Paragraph B gives the directors' hope that wealthy tourists would take their trains.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The hotel takes its name from Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, who was governor of New France from 1672 to 1682 and again from 1689 to 1698.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph A. The hotel takes its name from Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac. He was governor of New France from 1672 to 1682 and again from 1689 to 1698. That is two times.
Tips: Find the man the hotel is named after. Check the dates and count how many times he was in charge.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B names the railway head and the architect. It does not explain where the hotel's name comes from.
- C: Paragraph C names wartime leaders who met at the hotel. None of them gave the hotel its name.
- D: Paragraph D names Fairmont as the company running the hotel. That is not the source of the name.
- E: The name and the governor are both in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: During the Second World War the hotel hosted the two Quebec Conferences, in August 1943 and September 1944.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C explains this. During the Second World War, the hotel hosted two Quebec Conferences. Canada's prime minister met Britain's Winston Churchill and the American president there.
Tips: Paragraph A has a meeting too. Check which one happened during a war.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions a meeting in 1864 on the same spot. That was one meeting, before the hotel was built.
- B: Paragraph B tells how the hotel was built. It mentions no war and no meetings.
- D: Paragraph D is about the hotel today, including its meeting space. It does not mention wartime leaders.
- E: You can find the two wartime conferences in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Construction began in 1892 for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, headed by William Van Horne, and the hotel opened in 1893.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. Construction began in 1892. The hotel opened in 1893, one year later.
Tips: Find the year building started and the year it opened, then count.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives dates for the governor and for 1864. It does not say when the hotel opened.
- C: Paragraph C gives dates when wings were added. The first opening is not among them.
- D: Paragraph D gives the year a renovation finished. It does not say when the hotel first opened.
- E: Paragraph B gives both years: building began in 1892 and the hotel opened in 1893.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: As of 2026, the hotel's website lists 610 rooms and suites, four restaurants, a spa and a heated indoor pool with a view of Old Quebec.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. As of 2026, the hotel's website lists 610 rooms and suites. That is more than six hundred.
Tips: Look at what the hotel's own web page shows. Is the number of places for guests above six hundred?
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the ground the hotel stands on. It gives no room count.
- B: Paragraph B describes how the hotel was built and designed. It gives no number of rooms.
- C: Paragraph C mentions new wings. It does not give the total number of rooms.
- E: Paragraph D gives the number of rooms and suites today: 610.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: It was the first of many Chateau-style hotels that Canadian railway companies went on to build, and the model for the rest.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. The hotel was the first of many Chateau-style hotels that Canadian railway companies went on to build. The earliest of a group means the first of many.
Tips: Ask whether this hotel came before or after the others in the same style. Then check who put them up.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the ground the hotel stands on and its name. It does not compare it with other hotels.
- C: Paragraph C describes wings added later and wartime meetings. Other railway hotels are not mentioned.
- D: Paragraph D talks about Fairmont, which runs the hotel today. It does not say the hotel came first among others like it.
- E: Paragraph B states it. The hotel was the first of many Chateau-style railway hotels.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The Citadel Wing was added in 1899, later work gave it a central tower, and in 1993 the Claude-Pratte Wing opened with an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells you the Claude-Pratte Wing opened in 1993 with an indoor swimming pool. Who paid for the pool is never stated. No paragraph mentions the provincial government.
Tips: Knowing when something opened does not tell you who paid. Look for a payer.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the site before the hotel. A pool is not mentioned.
- B: In Paragraph B, the railway company builds the hotel. A pool and its cost are not mentioned.
- C: Paragraph C gives the year the pool wing opened. It leaves out who paid for it.
- D: Paragraph D lists a heated indoor pool today. The source of the money for it is not given.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The Citadel Wing was added in 1899, later work gave it a central tower, and in 1993 the Claude-Pratte Wing opened with an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. In 1993 the Claude-Pratte Wing opened with an indoor swimming pool. A wing is a new section, and 1993 is in the early 1990s.
Tips: Paragraph D also has a pool. Only one paragraph gives the year it opened.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the old site and the year 1864. It does not mention a pool.
- B: Paragraph B describes the hotel's design in the 1890s. It mentions no pool.
- D: Paragraph D mentions a heated indoor pool today, but it does not say when it was added.
- E: Paragraph C gives the year the pool wing opened: 1993.
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