The firstnavigational lights in the New World wereprobably lanterns hung at harbor entrances.The first lighthouse was put up bythe Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1716 on

Little BrewsterIsland at the entrance to Boston Harbor, Paid for and maintained by“light dues”levied（征收）on ships,the original beacon was blown up in 1776.Until then

there were only adozen or so true lighthouses in the colonies.Little over a century later,therewere 700 lighthouses.

The first eightlighthouses erected on the West Coast in the 1850s featured the same basic NewEngland design.a Cape Cod dwelling with the tower rising from the center or

standing close by.In New England andelsewhere,though,lighthouses reflected a variety of architectural styles.

Since most stationsin the Northeast were set up on rocky eminences（高处）,enormous towers were not the rule .Some were made ofstone and brick,others of wood or

metal.Some stood onpilings or stilts;some were fastened to rock with iron rods.Farther south,from Maryland through the Florida Keys,thecoast was low and sandy.It was

often necessary tobuild tall towers theremassive structures like the majestic lighthouse in Cape Hatteras,North Carolina,which was lit in 1870.190 feet high,it isthe tallest

brick lighthouse inthe country.

Not withstandingdifferences in construction appearance,most lighthouses in America shared several features.alight,living quarters,and sometimes a bell(or,later,a

foghorn).They alsohad something else in common.a keeper and usually the keeper's family.Thekeeper's essential task was trimming the lantern wick（灯芯）in order to

maintain asteady,bright flame.The earliest keepers came from every walk of life, theywere seamen,farmers,mechanics,rough mill hands and appointments were often

handed out by localcustoms commissioners as political plums.

After theadministration of lighthouse was taken over in 1852 by the United StatesLighthouse Board,and agency of the Treasury Department,the keeper corpsgradually

became highlyprofessional.Why does theauthor mention the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

A.It was theheadquarters of the United States Lighthouse Board.

B.Many of thetallest lighthouses were built there.

C.The first lanternwicks were developed there.

D.The firstlighthouse in North America was built there.