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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #60161 Easy Coastal lighthouse operations

Read the following passage.

A. Lighthouses mark dangerous rocks, harbour entrances, and headlands for ships. Before electric lamps and GPS, keepers climbed spiral stairs to light oil lamps and wind clockwork mechanisms that rotated lenses. The distinctive flash pattern of each light helped sailors identify location in fog or darkness. Many towers were built of stone thick enough to withstand Atlantic storms that could throw spray over the lantern room.

B. Automation changed lighthouse work in the twentieth century. Fewer people live on-station year-round, though technicians still visit for maintenance. Heritage groups restore interiors as museums while keeping the navigational light active under marine authority rules.

C. Fog signals remain important where radar and GPS can fail or confuse near cliffs. Low-frequency horns travel far over water, and each station may use a unique timing pattern. Mariners are trained to use sound with charts, not as a sole guide. Bird nesting on cliffs near lights requires seasonal limits on noisy maintenance. Researchers also study whether bright beams affect migrating birds and how shields can reduce glare inland.

D. Tourism brings visitors to famous lights for views and history, but stairs and cliffs create safety risks. Parks staff set path closures in high wind and post warnings about slippery rocks. Gift shops and stamp programs fund repairs to railings and roofs. Local fishers sometimes still treat the light as a working aid first and a postcard second, reminding visitors that the beam is not only decoration.

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.

 - 1. Flash patterns helped sailors identify which light they were seeing.

 - 2. Early keepers sometimes used oil lamps and clockwork lens drives.

 - 3. Automation reduced year-round living on many stations.

 - 4. Heritage groups may restore towers as museums while lights stay active.

 - 5. Foghorns can use unique timing patterns.

 - 6. GPS means mariners never need sound signals near cliffs.

 - 7. Bright beams may affect migrating birds.

 - 8. High wind can lead to path closures at tourist lights.

 - 9. Local fishers may still see the light mainly as a working aid.

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