English Comprehension
The Lamp-Lighter
Every evening, as the November dusk thickened, Mr Ashworth wheeled his ladder out from the back of the ironmongers and began his round. He was the last lamp-lighter in the borough — perhaps in the whole county — and the council kept him on more out of sentiment than necessity. The electric lamps in the new estates blinked on with a flick of an unseen switch, but in the old streets behind St Bartholomew's the gas lamps still burned, and somebody had to coax them awake.
Mira watched from the upstairs window. She was meant to be doing her spellings. Her grandfather had been a lamp-lighter too, before the war, and he had told her once that Mr Ashworth knew every flagstone in the borough by name. She had laughed at the time, but she half-believed it now.
Mr Ashworth paused beneath the lamp on the corner. He set the foot of his ladder, climbed three rungs, and reached up with his long brass pole. There was a small pop, and a soft orange flame bloomed inside the glass. He climbed down, moved the ladder a few yards, and did it again. He did not look up at Mira's window, though Mira was certain he knew she was there.
The streetlamps were not, in truth, very useful. Half the borough had stopped looking up at them altogether. But on foggy nights — and there were many foggy nights in November — the gas lamps cast a softer, kinder light than the white electrics, and old Mrs Henshaw said it was the only honest light left in the town. Mira didn't know what she meant, but it sounded important.
When Mr Ashworth had reached the last lamp at the bottom of the hill, he turned, lifted his cap, and walked home through a borough that, for a few hours at least, looked the way it had looked a hundred years before.
Questions
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What time of day does Mr Ashworth begin his round?
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Why does the council keep Mr Ashworth on, according to the writer?
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Find and copy one word from paragraph 1 that means "to encourage gently".
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What does the writer mean by "the gas lamps still burned"? Tick one.
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How can you tell that Mira respects her grandfather's story about Mr Ashworth, even though she once laughed at it?
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"He set the foot of his ladder, climbed three rungs, and reached up with his long brass pole."
What does the writer's use of short, list-like clauses suggest about Mr Ashworth's work? -
Mrs Henshaw says the gas lamps give the "only honest light left in the town". What do you think she means by "honest light"?
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Find evidence from the passage that Mr Ashworth and Mira understand one another without speaking.
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Which one word best describes the overall mood of the passage?
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Would you like to live in a street lit by gas lamps? Give two reasons, using ideas from the passage.
Answer Key & Marking Notes
- 1 mark. Evening / dusk / as November dusk thickened.
- 1 mark. B — "for sentimental reasons".
- 1 mark. "coax" (from "had to coax them awake").
- 1 mark. C — they were still being lit. (Tests inference of figurative vs literal language.)
- 2 marks. She still watches him work every evening; the writer says she "half-believed" the story now. Award 1 for each idea — observation + belief.
- 2 marks. Suggests his work is practised, methodical and unhurried — he does each lamp the same way and has done it for years. Award 1 for "routine/practised", 1 for "calm/unhurried".
- 2 marks. Look for ideas around the gas lamps being older, warmer, less harsh, more truthful or more connected to the past than electric light. Up to 2 for a developed answer.
- 1 mark. He does not look up at her window, but the writer says she is "certain he knew she was there".
- 1 mark. A — nostalgic.
- 2 marks. Any two reasons grounded in the passage: e.g. the soft orange light is kinder than electric light; gas lamps connect the borough to its past; you would see the lamp-lighter doing his round. Award 1 per reason with evidence.
Total: 14 marks. Children comfortable around 11/14 are at GL Assessment "pass" level on this style of passage. Don't worry about timing on a first attempt — this is a teaching paper.