Read the following passage.
A. In August 1896, gold was discovered on Rabbit Creek, a small stream that feeds the Klondike River and was soon renamed Bonanza Creek. Accounts vary, but the discovery is generally credited to Keish, also called Skookum Jim Mason, of the Tagish First Nation. With him were his nephew Káa Goox, or Dawson Charlie, his sister Shaaw Tláa, or Kate, and her husband, the American prospector George Carmack. Because of the racial attitudes of the time, Carmack registered the discovery claim under his own name, since a claim by a First Nation person might not have been accepted.
B. News of the strike reached the outside world in July 1897 and set off a stampede. Over 100,000 people started out, though only about 30,000 reached Dawson City. Most sailed north to Skagway or Dyea in Alaska. From Dyea, the Chilkoot Trail followed a centuries-old path first used by Chilkoot Tlingit traders, while the White Pass Trail began at Skagway. The North West Mounted Police required each stampeder to bring a tonne of supplies, enough for a year, so many climbed the pass 30 or 40 times. At Bennett Lake they boarded rafts and boats for an 800 km trip to Dawson City.
C. Dawson City grew up in the traditional territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, also known as the Han. The trader Joseph Ladue staked the flat where the Klondike River meets the Yukon, a place where the Han had long dried salmon, and made a fortune selling lots and lumber. At the height of the rush, the shifting population of Dawson was estimated at 20,000 to 30,000, the largest community west of Winnipeg and north of Seattle. Over 300 businesses opened, from saloons and dance halls to hardware stores and blacksmiths. When Parliament created the Yukon Territory on 13 June 1898, Dawson became its capital.
D. After the 1899 gold strike at Nome, Alaska, drew miners away, individual miners sold out to large companies that dug the creek beds with huge machines called dredges. The Chilkoot fell out of use once a railway over the White Pass was completed in 1900. During the rush, miners and other settlers displaced the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in from their fishing camp, and Chief Isaac led their move to Moosehide. In 1998 they negotiated land claim and self-government agreements. By the 1940s Dawson was a village of fewer than 1,000 permanent residents. On Bonanza Creek, dredge tailings still fill the valley, and scars remain visible on the hillsides.
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. After the 1899 gold strike at Nome, Alaska, miners were drawn away. A strike here means a find of gold.
Passage Reference: After the 1899 gold strike at Nome, Alaska, drew miners away, individual miners sold out to large companies that dug the creek beds with huge machines called dredges.
Tips: Look for a second gold field and the year 1899.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A tells who found the gold in 1896 and who registered the claim. Nobody leaves in this paragraph.
- B: Paragraph B describes the stampede that began in 1897. People are arriving here, not leaving for another gold field.
- C: Paragraph C shows Dawson City at its busiest, with up to 30,000 people. It says nothing about miners going away.
- E: Nome and the year 1899 both appear in Paragraph D, so you can find this in the reading.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Over 300 businesses opened, from saloons and dance halls to hardware stores and blacksmiths.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph C. Over 300 businesses opened in Dawson, from saloons and dance halls to hardware stores and blacksmiths. Over 300 means more than three hundred.
Tips: Dawson City comes up in several paragraphs. Only one of them counts its businesses.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A covers the gold find and the first claim. Shops and other businesses are not mentioned.
- B: Paragraph B names Dawson City as the end of a long trip. It does not say what opened there.
- D: Paragraph D gives a number for Dawson, but it counts people living there in the 1940s, not businesses.
- E: You can count the businesses yourself in Paragraph C. The number is over 300.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The North West Mounted Police required each stampeder to bring a tonne of supplies, enough for a year, so many climbed the pass 30 or 40 times.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. The North West Mounted Police made each stampeder bring a tonne of supplies. That was enough for a year, and a year is twelve months.
Tips: Find the police rule for gold seekers. Then check how long their goods had to last.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions the racial attitudes of the time and who registered the claim. There is no police rule about supplies.
- C: Paragraph C mentions Parliament creating the Yukon Territory. It says nothing about what travellers had to carry.
- D: Paragraph D talks about land claim agreements in 1998. They have nothing to do with supplies for the trail.
- E: The police rule sits clearly in Paragraph B, together with the tonne of supplies.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: After the 1899 gold strike at Nome, Alaska, drew miners away, individual miners sold out to large companies that dug the creek beds with huge machines called dredges.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D tells you that individual miners sold out to large companies. These companies dug the creek beds with huge machines called dredges. So big firms took over from people working alone.
Tips: Two groups are involved here. Check who used the machines and who they replaced.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A shows the first people who found gold in 1896. No companies or machines appear.
- B: Paragraph B describes stampeders carrying their own supplies over the pass. Large firms are not part of that trip.
- C: Paragraph C mentions Joseph Ladue, who made a fortune from lots and lumber. The paragraph calls him a trader, not a mining company with machines.
- E: Paragraph D names both the big companies and their dredges, so the reading does cover it.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The trader Joseph Ladue staked the flat where the Klondike River meets the Yukon, a place where the Han had long dried salmon, and made a fortune selling lots and lumber.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. Joseph Ladue staked the flat where the two rivers meet. He made a fortune selling lots and lumber. The paragraph never says why he staked it, and it does not mention gold there.
Tips: Paragraph C tells you what Ladue did. Ask whether it also tells you why.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the gold found on Rabbit Creek. Ladue does not appear in it.
- B: Paragraph B follows the stampeders on the trails and the lake. It says nothing about Ladue.
- C: Paragraph C tells you what Ladue did and how he made money. It gives no reason for staking the flat.
- D: Paragraph D covers the years after the rush. Ladue and his plans are not mentioned.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: On Bonanza Creek, dredge tailings still fill the valley, and scars remain visible on the hillsides.
Why this is correct: You can find this at the end of Paragraph D. On Bonanza Creek, dredge tailings still fill the valley. Scars also remain visible on the hillsides, and hillsides are slopes.
Tips: Two paragraphs name Bonanza Creek. Look for the one about what you can still see.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names Bonanza Creek too, but only at the moment gold was found. No damage is described yet.
- B: Paragraph B describes a pass that people climbed many times. It says nothing about marks left on the land.
- C: Paragraph C describes the flat where the Han had long dried salmon. It does not talk about damage to the land.
- E: The scars on the hillsides by Bonanza Creek are right there in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Because of the racial attitudes of the time, Carmack registered the discovery claim under his own name, since a claim by a First Nation person might not have been accepted.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph A. The discovery is generally credited to Keish. But George Carmack registered the claim under his own name. So the man who recorded it was not the finder.
Tips: Two people matter here. Ask who is usually credited with the find and who recorded the claim.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B describes the long trip of the stampeders to Dawson City. Nobody registers a claim there.
- C: Paragraph C says Joseph Ladue staked a flat by the river. That is a different man and a different piece of land.
- D: Paragraph D mentions land claim agreements in 1998. Those are not the claim for the first gold find.
- E: Paragraph A names both men, Keish and Carmack, so the text has what you need.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The North West Mounted Police required each stampeder to bring a tonne of supplies, enough for a year, so many climbed the pass 30 or 40 times.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph B. Each stampeder needed a tonne of supplies, so many climbed the pass 30 or 40 times. Thirty or forty times is dozens of times.
Tips: Focus on the steep mountain crossing. How many times did travellers go up it, and why?
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is set on Rabbit Creek, where the gold was found. No mountain pass appears in it.
- C: Paragraph C describes Dawson City, where the trip ended. The climbing is not part of this paragraph.
- D: Paragraph D mentions the railway over the White Pass and the Chilkoot after 1900. It does not count anyone's climbs.
- E: Paragraph B gives the number of climbs, 30 or 40, so the reading supports this.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: At Bennett Lake they boarded rafts and boats for an 800 km trip to Dawson City.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells you the boats went 800 km from Bennett Lake to Dawson City. That tells you the distance only. The text never says how many days or weeks the trip took.
Tips: Distance and time are not the same. Check which one the text gives for the boat trip.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the first gold find. There is no boat trip in it.
- B: Be careful with Paragraph B. It does describe the boat trip from Bennett Lake, but it tells you how far, not how long.
- C: Paragraph C starts with people already in Dawson City. It does not say how long it took to get there.
- D: Paragraph D covers the years after the rush. It gives no travel times at all.
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