Question

Dr. William H. Dall is familiar with the region of country in which the Klondyke goldfields are located through having been on several expeditions to the region in Alaska next to the gold district.
"When I was there," he says, "I did not find gold, but knew of it being taken out for fifteen years or more. It was first discovered there in 1866."
The yellow metal is not found in paying quantity in the main river but in the small streams, which cut through the mountains on either side. These practically wash out the gold. The mud is carried into the main river, while the gold is left on the rough bottoms of these side streams. In most cases, the gold lies at the bottom of thick gravel deposits. The gold is covered by frozen gravel in winter. During summer, until the snow is all melted, the surface is covered by muddy fast-moving water. When the snow is all melted and the springs begin to freeze, the streams dry up. At the approach of winter, in order to get at the gold, the miners find it necessary to dig into the gravel formation.
Formerly, they stripped the gravel off until they came to the gold. Now, they sink a pole to the bottom of the gravel and tunnel along underneath in the gold-bearing layer. The way in which this is done is interesting, as it has to be done in cold weather, when everything is frozen.
The miners build fires over the area where they wish to work and keep these lighted over that territory for twenty-four hours. Then, at the end of this period, the gravel is melted and softened to a depth of perhaps six inches. This is then taken off and other fires are built until the gold-bearing layer is reached. When the pole is down that far, other fires are built at the bottom, against the sides of the layer, and tunnels are made in this manner.

Passage 2

adapted from Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail
by Arthur R. Thompson

In an hour and a half, they came to the foothills, where the stream fell noisily over a bed of boulders in a pretty, small valley. We decided to sink a hole on the bank where a bed of gravel had been deposited. From the nature of the rocks, they concluded that bedrock was not far below the surface. Pickaxes, shovels, and a gold pan had been brought, and the men took turns at the digging. It was hard work, for many large stones were frozen into their places, and these could only be pried loose at the risk of a bent axe. When a depth of twelve inches was reached, Pennock filled the pan with a sample of the gravel and took it to the stream, while the others gathered around him, eager to know the result of the test. Not a color was found, but there was black sand and in it two small rubies.
The discovery of the rubies did not seem to offset the disappointment of the men at finding no gold—a fact at which David wondered, until his uncle informed him that those gems were quite commonly found in the Northwest and that such small ones were of little value.
Meanwhile, the work in the next hole went steadily on. By the middle of the afternoon, the hole was three feet and a half deep, and solid rock was gained. At the bedrock, where all their hopes rested, they found a few, unimportant colors.
Uncle Will, usually so cheerful, was quite downcast at this result. He had heard the rumors of gold from men whom he trusted and was obliged to conclude they had themselves been misled. Still, there might be a good deal of gold on this creek, for a single hole is usually not enough to determine the character of a steep-sided ravine. At least one more pole must be sunk where the gravel was deeper, before all hope need be abandoned. It turned out that the other party, under Mr. Bradford, had met with even less success. Rubies they had found but not a single color of gold. However, they had not reached bedrock at the end of the first day.
6
Read this sentence from "All About the Klondyke Gold Mines."

In most cases, the gold lies at the bottom of thick gravel deposits.

Which statement from the story “Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail” describes a similar detail about finding gold?
A.
We decided to sink a hole on the bank where a bed of gravel had been deposited.
B.
At the bedrock, where all their hopes rested, they found a few, unimportant colors.
C.
Not a color was found, but there was black sand and in it two small rubies.
D.
Meanwhile, the work in the next hole went steadily on.

Answer 1

B. "At the bedrock, where all their hopes rested, they found a few, unimportant colors."

This matches the detail that gold is found at the bottom (bedrock beneath gravel) of the gravel deposits.