Hi Everyone!! This article will share Light in the Night Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Black Beauty, The Story of an Invitation and The Lumber Room so, make sure to check these posts as well.
Light in The Night Questions & Answers
Question 1: Before streetlamps were introduces, what did people do on cloudless, moonlit nights? Why did they need to wait for these weather conditions?
Answer: Before street lamps were introduced, people would take advantage of the moonlight on cloudless nights and go out to socialise. If the moonlight was hidden by clouds or if the moon was not full or nearly full, there would be no light when it was dark because there were no streetlamps.
Question 2: Before streetlamps were introduces, what were the dangers that people faced if they went out at night?
Answer: Before streetlamps were introduced, the dangers that people would face if they went out at night were:
- They could trip, fall, and injure themselves.
- They could fall into water and drown
- They could be attacked or robbed.
Question 3: Who were link boys? And what did they do?
Answer: The link boys were young men who would, for a small fee, hold a burning torch or lamp ahead of people so that they could see the way through the dark streets.
Question 4: What did the work of a lampfighter involve?
Answer: At first, in Paris, the work of a lamplighter involved, for payment, putting up a lamp outside the house of their employer and making sure it was lit. Once streetlamps had been introduced, the lamplighters work changed. They would walk the same route twice a day and, as they checked, cleaned, fixed, lit, or put out the lights, they would notice what was going on around them. Many lamplighters helped to make their routes safer. Their job required energy, strength, agility, and reliability. They had to keep the lights clean, make sure the wicks were trimmed to the right length, light tens of lamps in the evening, and put them all out again in the morning.
Question 5: Roughly how many gas lamps are there in London today?
Answer: In London today, there are roughly 1,500 gas lamps.
Question 6: How many people are employed to light these lamps today?
Answer: Five people are employed to light these lamps today.
Question 7: What were some of the unpleasant aspects of the early oil lamps?
Answer: Some of the unpleasant aspects of the early oil lamps were that the oil in them had an unpleasant odour and they had to be carefully cleaned and maintained so that the glass did not get dirty.
Light in The Night Questions & Answers
Question 8: What was dangerous about the gas lamps that were introduced in the 1800s?
Answer: The dangerous thing about the gas lamps that were introduced in the 1800s was that every now and then one would blow up.
Question 9: What powers modern streetlamps?
Answer: Modern streetlamps are powered by electricity.
Question 10: What did the German tourist in London say was the effect of the streetlamps?
Answer: The German tourist in London said that the streetlamps made the city seem festive (cheerful and jovially celebratory).
Question 11: How did the introduction of gas lamps change the work of lamplighter?
Answer: The gas lamps did not require the same amount of work as the oil lamps: they were much quicker to light and that was all that needed to be done (they did not have to be maintained – no oil, no wicks) so the work of lamplighters was greatly reduced and required fewer skills. This had an impact on the status and place in the community of the lamplighters.
Question 12: Copy the sentences that are true. Change the ones that are not true so that they are correct and then write them out.
(a) London had streetlamps before Paris – False
Correct Sentence – London had streetlamps after Paris.
(b) London grew rapidly in the 1700s – True
(c) Lamplighters work all day – False
Correct Sentence – Lamplighters work twice a day, in the mornings and evenings.
(d) The oil lamps used to give off a pleasant smell – False
Correct Sentence – The oil lamps used to give off an unpleasant smell.
(e) Lamplighters used ladders to climb up and light the oil lamps – True
(f) Charles Dickens was a lamplighter – False
Correct Sentence – Charles Dickens was not a lamplighter. (He was an author.)
Question 13: Read the lines and answer the questions:
“The authorities realized the benefits they bought and took over the installation and maintenance of them.”
(a) What is meant by ‘the authorities’?
Answer: ‘The authorities’ refers to the people in charge of the country such as the city council, the government, the rulers etc.
(b) What were the benefits of having street lamps?
Answer: The streetlamps reassured people and made them feel safer. They allowed people to keep working and entertaining after dark.
Question 14: Read the lines and answer the questions:
‘There’s no more going the rounds to trim by daylight, no more dribbling down of the oil on the hats and bonnets of ladies and gentlemen when one feels in spirits. Any low fellow can light a gaslamp.’
(a) Who said this?
Answer: A character in Charles Dickens’ book, The Lamplighters.
(b) The three sections that are underlined are examples of old-fashioned. Discuss what each one means and write down your answers.
Answer: Going the rounds – a round refers to the act of visiting a number of people or places (in this case, the locations of the lampposts); each lamplighter would have a number of areas which they were responsible for – their rounds. They had to walk the same route twice a day and as they checked, cleaned, fixed, lit or put out the light, they would notice what was going around them.
When one feels in spirits – when one has that mood/inclination; get astonished or get surprised in an annoying way. Men and women in good dress, going under the lamp posts, used to find drops of oil dripping on their hats and bonnets which made their journey spoilt.
Any low fellow – here low means ranking below other people or things in importance or class, unskilled, less-good. The gas lamps were much quicker to light and did not requite lot of work of the oil lamps. No one needed to climb on the ladder to the lamp posts. Any short height individual could light them.
So, these were Light in The Night Questions & Answers.