Canada is surrounded on three sides by oceans. To the north, the Arctic Ocean borders Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Off the west coast of British Columbia is the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, meanwhile, sits to the east of Canada’s Maritime provinces, which include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

Good afternoon,

I am writing to you regarding the new violin teacher that my daughter has been assigned. My daughter, who is eight years old, has been studying violin at your music school since she was three. As you know, Tara, my daughter’s teacher over this five-year span, recently became seriously ill and had to stop teaching. This was a great disappointment to both my daughter and me, as Tara was truly exceptional at her job. We sincerely hope that she recovers soon.

Neither my daughter nor I have been impressed with the teacher chosen to take over Tara’s students. At first I thought the problem was one of adjustment and that it would resolve itself once the teacher was used to the new school and students. However, after 2 months, nothing has improved, and I have come to realize that the teacher is simply unprofessional and poorly qualified. She has been late for almost every one of my daughter’s lessons. While I can understand occasionally being held up in traffic, this problem has become habitual. Since my daughter’s lessons are only 30 minutes long, the 5 to 10 minutes she loses each week due to her teacher’s tardiness are significant. Furthermore, I seriously question whether this teacher should be teaching young children. She has very little patience and frequently loses her temper when my daughter makes a mistake. In addition, my daughter is sent home from each lesson with more pieces than any 8-year-old should be expected to learn in a week. Music is supposed to be her hobby, not her job.

Since beginning with this new teacher, I have noticed both my daughter’s confidence and interest in playing the violin have declined significantly, a fact which likely led to the lower-than-usual mark she received on her recent music exam. Therefore, effective immediately, I would ask you to assign her to an alternate instructor. I have been very impressed with your school until now, but if you are unable to find a suitable replacement for this teacher, I will have no other choice but to cancel all of my daughter’s future lessons.

Sincerely,

Mario Perez

A. One of the most popular tourist attractions of the Maritime Provinces is Green Gables House in Prince Edward Island. Of course, Anne herself is a fictional character in the novels of Lucy Maud Montgomery. However, the places Anne supposedly inhabited, especially the Green Gables farmhouse, attract many thousands of tourists every year. Shopkeepers market items based on the novels, even straw hats with red braids so that young girls can look like Anne. She is also celebrated in a permanently running live musical in the capital city of Charlottetown.

B. Anne and her story have attracted Canadian fans since 1908. The dated language and Anne’s enthusiastic monologues of the original text are challenging to read, but once you meet Anne Shirley, rescued from an orphanage by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, you are hooked into her life. Anne’s story is based on Montgomery’s own life. Born in a PEI village, Montgomery was an orphan by age seven and raised by her strict, Cuthbert-like grandparents in Cavendish. Montgomery had a lonely childhood and depended on imaginary friends, just like Anne did. Like Anne, Montgomery was lively, intelligent, and flirtatious, and, like Anne, she supported herself as a teacher.

C. Montgomery wrote six novels about Anne, portraying her life from age 11 to 40. The first book, Anne of Green Gables, appeals to women of all ages. Many readers have tried to analyze this appeal, which boils down to this: Anne shows us the key to essential happiness. She represents all women, especially during the formative years, wanting to be smart, funny, honest, and optimistic. Anne agonized over her red hair, frequently a stigma that invites teasing. All women may not worry about red hair, but all worry about their faults and their looks, especially at Anne’s age in the first book.

D. The Anne books, translated into more than 30 languages, attract readers worldwide. The Japanese are among the most ardent of Anne fans, often flying more than 10,000 kilometers for 18 hours to spend a few days visiting Anne sites in PEI. Japanese is spoken at most of the tourist attractions and shops in PEI. Anne even attracted the attention of Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton during their visit to Canada in 2011. Anne of Green Gables was the Duchess’s favourite book as a child, so she made sure their tour included PEI. Like most Anne enthusiasts, Kate yearned to see Anne’s homeland.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

A recent surge of high-profile data breaches has prompted renewed interest in cybersecurity. At issue is the security and confidentiality of thousands of terabytes of business and government data. Some experts are now warning that, unless drastic steps are taken to strengthen cybersecurity, the entire process of digitalization could be threatened.

The past few months have been really unnerving for a lot of decision-makers. People read the news and they realize that breaches could happen to their company, often jeopardizing years of work, if not their organization’s very survival,” said Mona Jackman, a federal government policy analyst. “It’s gotten to the point where people are questioning the whole digital revolution. I can’t really say I blame them. When you look at the scale of the leaks and the strength of the organizations that were hacked, you have to feel vulnerable. If you are a small business owner who depends on proprietary information, isn’t it better to leave everything offline and stick with pen and paper methods?

Those who say that hacking could somehow harm the IT industry don’t understand the long-term technological forces that are at work. Solutions are being found as more cash is infused into the system,” opined Cassandra Black, an IT industry analyst. “Security consultants make thousands of dollars installing firewalls, authentication software, and cyberactivity monitoring systems. Cybersecurity companies have been flourishing; these high-profile hacking cases are like free publicity for them.

However, not everyone believes that more costly, sophisticated systems are the answer to modern cybersecurity threats. “When dealing with hackers, the best tool we have in our arsenal is education,” weighs in Mark Levinstein, Chief Information Officer at a large Canadian engineering consulting firm. “Most of these large leaks were the results of very simple phishing scams, whereby hackers were unwittingly given network access by employees. I don’t worry for the IT industry, because these are basic issues that can be resolved at a low cost, but we need proper training and coordination across the sector.