Read the following passage.
A. Laura Secord was born Laura Ingersoll in 1775, and in 1795 her father moved the family to Upper Canada. About 1797 she married James Secord, a young merchant of Queenston. Early in the War of 1812, James was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights, and she rescued him from the battlefield. On June 21, 1813, she heard that the Americans planned a surprise attack on the British outpost at Beaver Dams. She probably learned this by listening to American officers who were dining at her house.
B. Because James was disabled, she decided to carry the warning herself. Early the next morning she set out to find Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. Fearing that she would meet American guards on the direct road, she chose a roundabout route through fields and woods. That evening she came upon a camp of warriors, and their chief took her to FitzGibbon. Two days later, on June 24, about 400 warriors ambushed the American force near Beaver Dams, and its commander surrendered to FitzGibbon. The official reports of the victory did not mention Secord.
C. The years that followed were hard. FitzGibbon wrote certificates to support the family's petitions to the government, and in the one from 1827 he said that she had come to him on June 22, 1813, and that because of her information he had placed the warriors to meet the Americans. Even so, her requests for a pension failed, and when James died in 1841 he left her without money. In 1860, when she was 85, the visiting Prince of Wales learned of her walk. She prepared a written account of her war service for him, and he later sent her a reward of 100 pounds.
D. After 1860 the story grew, and parts of it were invented. In an 1864 book, William F. Coffin had her take a cow along as cover and milk it in front of American guards, although she never mentioned a cow. Another tale had her walking barefoot at night, but she herself said, 'I left early in the morning.' In the next century, doubts ran the other way. In 1932 the historian W. Stewart Wallace concluded that she had carried a message, probably on June 23, but had arrived too late for it to be of value. FitzGibbon's certificate of 1827, which came to light only later, gives an earlier date for her arrival.
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: Paragraph D names the historian W. Stewart Wallace and the year 1932. He concluded she carried her message, probably on June 23, but arrived too late for it to be of value. A historian is a writer, and 1932 is in the 1930s.
Passage Reference: In 1932 the historian W. Stewart Wallace concluded that she had carried a message, probably on June 23, but had arrived too late for it to be of value.
Tips: Look for a date in the 1930s and the words 'too late'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer explains how she first heard about the attack in 1813. No later writer judges her there.
- B: Paragraph B tells how she reached FitzGibbon and how the battle went, but nobody in it doubts her timing.
- C: The third paragraph gives FitzGibbon's 1827 certificate, which says her news was useful, the opposite of arriving too late.
- E: Wallace's 1932 conclusion that she came too late appears near the end of Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: FitzGibbon wrote certificates to support the family's petitions to the government, and in the one from 1827 he said that she had come to him on June 22, 1813, and that because of her information he had placed the warriors to meet the Americans.
Why this is correct: Notice what paragraph C reports from FitzGibbon's 1827 certificate. He wrote that she had come to him. Because of her information, he had placed the warriors to meet the Americans. That is her news shaping his plan, in writing.
Tips: Two paragraphs mention FitzGibbon's certificates. Find the one that says what her news made him do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer names no officer who received her news. It ends with American officers talking at her house.
- B: Paragraph B shows her reaching FitzGibbon and the battle itself, but nothing he wrote about her afterwards.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it brings up the 1827 certificate only for the date it gives. It says nothing about how he placed his fighters.
- E: FitzGibbon's written statement about placing the warriors because of her information is in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The official reports of the victory did not mention Secord.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph ends by saying that the official reports of the victory did not mention Secord. Formal reports are official reports, and not being mentioned means her name was left out.
Tips: Find the battle and what happened right after it. Then check whether the reports of the battle gave her any credit.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A ends before the battle, with her hearing about the planned attack.
- C: The certificates in paragraph C were written by FitzGibbon years later for her petitions. They are not the reports made after the battle.
- D: In paragraph D, the writer covers later stories and a 1932 historian, not the reports written in 1813.
- E: The last sentence of Paragraph B tells us the official reports did not name her.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Early the next morning she set out to find Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B describes when she set out, the route she chose and the camp she reached. It never says whether anyone went with her, so a companion on the walk is not in the passage.
Tips: Ask who went with her. The passage only follows her own steps.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph names her father and her husband, but nobody who joined her on the walk.
- B: Notice that paragraph B says she set out and chose a longer route, but it names no companion at any stage.
- C: The family petitions in paragraph C came years later. Nobody there walks with her.
- D: Paragraph D retells invented details such as the cow, but no relative on the journey.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Early in the War of 1812, James was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights, and she rescued him from the battlefield.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: James was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights, and she rescued him from the battlefield. Rescuing him means she brought him to safety.
Tips: James is mentioned in three paragraphs. Find the one where she helps him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: The second paragraph says James was disabled, but it does not tell how he was hurt or who helped him.
- C: Notice that paragraph C mentions James only when he dies in 1841, leaving her without money.
- D: Paragraph D turns to stories and doubts after 1860. Her husband does not appear.
- E: Her rescue of James at Queenston Heights is described in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In 1860, when she was 85, the visiting Prince of Wales learned of her walk.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells us the visiting Prince of Wales learned of her walk in 1860. It does not say who told him, so the claim that FitzGibbon was the source is not supported.
Tips: Find where the prince hears about her walk. Check whether it names the person who told him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is set in 1813 and before. There is no prince in it.
- B: The second paragraph shows FitzGibbon at the battle, but no link between him and any royal visitor.
- C: Notice that paragraph C says the prince learned of her walk and mentions FitzGibbon's certificates. Yet it never says FitzGibbon told the prince.
- D: Notice that paragraph D refers to the 1827 certificate and its date, not to any conversation with the prince.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: She prepared a written account of her war service for him, and he later sent her a reward of 100 pounds.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C says she prepared a written account of her war service for the Prince of Wales. He later sent her a reward of 100 pounds. The prince is the royal visitor.
Tips: 'Royal visitor' points to the Prince of Wales. Then look for money.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Look at paragraph A: it has American officers visiting her house, but they are not royal and they give her nothing.
- B: The second paragraph shows her giving news to FitzGibbon, not receiving money from anyone.
- D: Notice that paragraph D mentions a book by Coffin, which is someone else's writing, and no payment to her.
- E: The prince's reward of 100 pounds, sent after her written account, is in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: She probably learned this by listening to American officers who were dining at her house.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph A: she probably learned of the planned attack by listening to American officers. They were dining at her house. 'Most likely' matches 'probably', and dining means eating.
Tips: Americans appear in every paragraph. Look for the ones who were eating.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: In paragraph B, the writer mentions American guards on the road. But they are what she avoided, not where her news came from.
- C: Paragraph C is about what FitzGibbon wrote later, not how she first heard of the plan.
- D: The fourth paragraph mentions American guards in an invented cow story, not the officers at her table.
- E: Her overhearing of American officers at dinner is described in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In an 1864 book, William F. Coffin had her take a cow along as cover and milk it in front of American guards, although she never mentioned a cow.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says that William F. Coffin's 1864 book had her take a cow along as cover and milk it in front of American guards. A cow is a farm animal, and 'as cover' means to fool the enemy.
Tips: Find the paragraph about invented details, then look for the animal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer describes her early life and how she heard the news. No animal appears.
- B: Paragraph B describes her real route through fields and woods, with no animal and no book.
- C: Her own written account for the prince appears in paragraph C. That is not another writer's claim about a cow.
- E: Coffin's cow story from 1864 is told in Paragraph D.
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