Read the following passage.
A. Peggy's Point Lighthouse, usually called the Peggy's Cove lighthouse, stands on a wide point of bare granite beside the fishing village of Peggy's Cove, about a 40-minute drive southwest of Halifax. The white, eight-sided concrete tower is about 15 metres high, with a red lantern on top. The village is home to about 40 residents, but the point around the lighthouse drew more than 700,000 visitors in 2019. It ranks among the busiest tourist stops in the province, and it may be the world's most photographed lighthouse.
B. The first light at the point was set up in 1868 to mark the eastern entrance to St. Margaret's Bay. It was a wooden tower built on top of the keeper's house. It showed a red light, and a silver-plated mirror made its kerosene lamp look brighter. Early in the twentieth century the wooden tower was replaced by the present concrete one, a little to the west. The light is officially named for Peggy's Point rather than the cove, because its purpose is to mark the point. The cove has its own small light on the government wharf.
C. The rock under the lighthouse is granite about 375 million years old. It formed when molten rock cooled several kilometres deep in the Earth's crust, and it was later exposed at the surface by erosion. Much later, thick ice sheets covered the area. When they melted for the last time, about 12,000 years ago, they left the granite polished smooth and dropped large boulders across the land. When surf throws salt spray into the air, the smooth rock near the water turns black and slippery.
D. The main danger comes from the sea. Rogue waves break over the rocks, and people standing close to the edge have been swept away and killed. In 2009 a woman spent about 12 minutes in the water before someone threw her a life preserver. In 2015 a young Ontario man was swept off the rocks and disappeared, and three months later another was rescued after slipping into the sea. The province then put up more warning signs. In 2021 a large viewing deck was added, meant to keep tourists off the wave-washed rocks in storms. The deck also lets officials close the trails to the rocks during major storms, but daring visitors can still climb onto them.
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: B
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. The first light was a wooden tower built on top of the keeper's house. The keeper is the person in charge of the light, and the house is where he lived.
Passage Reference: It was a wooden tower built on top of the keeper's house.
Tips: This is about the very first light. Check what it sat on, and who lived in that building.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the concrete tower that stands there today. It does not mention a house under the light.
- C: Paragraph C is about the granite and the ice sheets. No building is described there.
- D: Paragraph D talks about accidents and a viewing deck. The first light is not part of it.
- E: The keeper's house appears in Paragraph B, with the first wooden tower built on top of it.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: The province then put up more warning signs.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D describes accidents in 2009 and 2015. Right after them, it tells you that the province put up more warning signs. Warning signs tell people about danger.
Tips: Think about the accidents at the point. Check what officials did about the risk afterwards.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the tower and the number of visitors. It does not mention any signs.
- B: Paragraph B tells the history of the light. It says nothing about warnings for visitors.
- C: Paragraph C explains why the rock is slippery. It does not say what officials did about it.
- E: The new warning signs are in Paragraph D, just after the accidents.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The village is home to about 40 residents, but the point around the lighthouse drew more than 700,000 visitors in 2019.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph A. About 40 people live in the village. In 2019 more than 700,000 visitors came to the point. That is far more visitors than residents.
Tips: Find two numbers about people in the same sentence and compare them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B gives dates from the history of the light. It has no visitor numbers.
- C: Paragraph C gives the age of the granite in years. It does not count people.
- D: Paragraph D talks about a few visitors who were swept away. It does not compare visitors with residents.
- E: Paragraph A gives both numbers: about 40 residents and more than 700,000 visitors in 2019.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The white, eight-sided concrete tower is about 15 metres high, with a red lantern on top.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A gives the height of the tower, about 15 metres. It also says the site ranks among the busiest in the province. But it never compares the tower's height with other lighthouses.
Tips: Popular and photographed are not the same as tall. Check what the text really compares.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives the tower's height, but it does not say that no other lighthouse is taller.
- B: Paragraph B describes the old wooden tower and the new one. It does not compare their height with anything.
- C: Paragraph C is about the rock under the tower. Height is not discussed.
- D: Paragraph D describes risks from waves. It does not rank lighthouses.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: When they melted for the last time, about 12,000 years ago, they left the granite polished smooth and dropped large boulders across the land.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph C. Thick ice sheets covered the area. When they melted about 12,000 years ago, they left the granite polished smooth. So the ice left the rock smooth.
Tips: Match 'a covering of ice' with the ice sheets and see what they left behind.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In Paragraph A, the lighthouse stands on bare granite. How the rock became smooth is not explained.
- B: Paragraph B covers the history of the light. Ice and rock are not part of it.
- D: Paragraph D talks about waves washing over the rocks today. It does not mention ice from long ago.
- E: Paragraph C explains this. The ice sheets left the granite polished smooth.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The light is officially named for Peggy's Point rather than the cove, because its purpose is to mark the point.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. The light is officially named for Peggy's Point rather than the cove. The reason is that its purpose is to mark the point. A point is a piece of land.
Tips: This is about the light's official name. Check which place the name comes from, and why.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives both names, Peggy's Point and Peggy's Cove. It does not explain which one is official or why.
- C: Paragraph C describes the rock at the point. It does not discuss any name.
- D: Paragraph D is about danger from the sea. The name of the light is not mentioned.
- E: The official name and the reason for it are both in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: When surf throws salt spray into the air, the smooth rock near the water turns black and slippery.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C explains this. When surf throws salt spray into the air, the rock near the water turns black and slippery. Turning black means a change of colour, and slippery rock is hard to stand on.
Tips: Look for a colour word linked to the rock, not to the tower.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the white tower and the red lantern. It does not say the rock changes colour.
- B: Paragraph B mentions a red light, but that is the lamp, not the rock.
- D: Paragraph D talks about waves and people falling in. It does not say the rock turns black.
- E: Spray turning the rock black and slippery is described in paragraph C.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In 2021 a large viewing deck was added, meant to keep tourists off the wave-washed rocks in storms.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. In 2021 a large viewing deck was added. It was meant to keep tourists off the wave-washed rocks in storms. A deck is a platform, and storms are bad weather.
Tips: Find the big platform. Check what it is for, and whether bad weather is part of the reason.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the tower and the village. No deck or platform is mentioned.
- B: Paragraph B mentions a wharf with a small light. A wharf is not a viewing deck.
- C: Paragraph C explains why the rock is dangerous. It does not say what was built to protect people.
- E: The viewing deck and its purpose are both given in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: It showed a red light, and a silver-plated mirror made its kerosene lamp look brighter.
Why this is correct: The answer is in Paragraph B. The first light was red. A silver-plated mirror made its kerosene lamp look brighter. A shiny reflector is that mirror.
Tips: Think about the very first light. Check its colour and what made it look stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions a red lantern on the tower today. It does not describe the first lamp or a mirror.
- C: Paragraph C talks about the rock turning black. It does not mention light or colour from a lamp.
- D: Paragraph D is about waves and safety. The first lamp is not described.
- E: Paragraph B describes the first red light and the mirror behind its lamp.
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