Read the passage and answer the question.\n\nThe old lighthouse keeper, Mr Lim, had tended the lighthouse for forty years. When the harbour authority announced that it would be automated, he was deeply saddened. His daughter, Nora, tried to comfort him, but she knew that nothing could replace the sense of purpose it had given him. "It has been my life," he whispered, looking at the lighthouse as its beam swept slowly across the darkening sea.\n\nIn the sentence "she knew that nothing could replace the sense of purpose it had given him", what does the word "it" refer to?
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Worked Solution
Step 1: Identify the sentence: "she knew that nothing could replace the sense of purpose it had given him."
Step 2: Ask: what gave Mr Lim a sense of purpose? The lighthouse — he tended it for forty years and was saddened when it was automated.
Step 3: Verify: "it had given him [a sense of purpose]" — the lighthouse gave him this sense of purpose. "It" = the lighthouse.
Step 4: Eliminate other options: "Nora" is "she"; "harbour authority" fits an earlier "it" but not this one; "sense of purpose" is what was given, not the giver.
Answer: The lighthouse
Correct answer: The lighthouse
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