CELPIP Reading Part 3 Practice Test: The Halifax Explosion of 1917

Paragraph A

In the early twentieth century, Halifax was a busy but fairly modest port city. That changed with the outbreak of the First World War. Its deep harbour, which stays free of ice through the winter, made Halifax a vital link between North America and Europe. Merchant ships gathered in the sheltered Bedford Basin, at the top of the harbour, before crossing the Atlantic together under naval escort. Soldiers, food and weapons flowed through the city, and both its population and its economy grew quickly. Yet the same traffic that brought prosperity also brought risk, since vessels carrying dangerous cargo regularly passed close to crowded neighbourhoods.

Paragraph B

On the morning of December 6, 1917, the French cargo ship Mont-Blanc, loaded with explosives bound for the war in Europe, was making its way into the harbour when it collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo, which was heading out to sea, in the Narrows, the slim channel that links the basin to the outer harbour. The collision started a fire on board. Knowing exactly what they were carrying, the Mont-Blanc’s crew quickly abandoned ship and rowed to the opposite shore, while the burning vessel drifted toward a pier in Richmond, a working-class district in the city’s north end. Most residents did not realize the danger, and many stopped to watch the smoke from the streets and from their windows. Shortly after nine o’clock, the ship blew up.

Paragraph C

The blast flattened much of Richmond and was felt many kilometres away. Roughly 2,000 people were killed and about 9,000 were injured, a large number of them by flying glass. Many of these injuries were to the eyes, and the city’s hospitals were quickly overwhelmed. Among those who died was Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher who, rather than run, stayed at his post to send a telegraph message warning an approaching passenger train to stop. The following day, a heavy snowstorm struck the city, slowing rescue efforts and leaving thousands of homeless survivors exposed to the cold. Help soon arrived from across Canada and beyond, most famously from Boston, whose relief train brought doctors, nurses and supplies.

Paragraph D

Rebuilding took years, and many survivors spent the winter in temporary shelters while new housing was planned. A relief commission was created to manage aid and reconstruction, and in the north end it oversaw the construction of the Hydrostone, a planned neighbourhood of homes made from fire-resistant concrete blocks and laid out along tree-lined boulevards. The first inquiry blamed the Mont-Blanc, but later court rulings found both ships equally at fault for the collision. Today, the disaster is remembered each December 6 at a memorial bell tower in Fort Needham Park, which overlooks the area that was destroyed. To thank Boston for its help, Nova Scotia sent the city a Christmas tree in 1918, and it has sent one every year since 1971.