Reading: The Lamp on the Roof

English, Grade 7. Read the story, then answer the questions.

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6 questions. 0 answered correctly so far.

The story

Every evening at six, the power in Nadia's street went off. Her little brother Tomi called it "the dark hour", and he hated it. Nadia did not mind the dark. What she minded was that her homework had to wait.

One Saturday, her uncle brought a small solar lamp from the market. It had a flat panel the size of a book and a lamp no bigger than an egg. "Put the panel in the sun all day," he said, "and you will have light all night."

Nadia climbed onto the flat roof and laid the panel in the brightest corner. At six o'clock the street went dark, and she switched on the lamp. Nothing happened.

She did not give up. She read the paper that came in the box, slowly, twice. The wire from the panel had to click into the lamp, and hers had only been pushed halfway. On Sunday she pressed it in until it clicked, and left the panel on the roof again.

That evening, when the dark hour came, a small white circle of light filled the table. Tomi stopped complaining and opened his reading book. Nadia smiled and opened hers.

Questions

Question 1 of 6

What time does the power go off in Nadia's street?

Explanation

The first sentence says "Every evening at six, the power in Nadia's street went off."

Question 2 of 6

Hint

Look for words in quotation marks in the first paragraph.

Explanation

Tomi called it "the dark hour".

Question 3 of 6

Why did the lamp not work on Saturday evening?
Hint

Read the fourth paragraph again.

Explanation

The story says the wire "had only been pushed halfway". When Nadia pressed it in until it clicked, the lamp worked.

Question 4 of 6

Which word best describes Nadia in this story?
Hint

Think about what she did when the lamp did not work.

Explanation

When the lamp failed, Nadia did not give up. She read the instructions slowly, twice, and tried again. That shows patience.

Question 5 of 6

Model answer

To show how small the lamp was. Most readers know the size of an egg, so the comparison helps them picture it.

Question 6 of 6

Model answer

At the start Tomi hated the dark hour. At the end he "stopped complaining and opened his reading book", because the lamp gave them light to read by.

Finished?

0 of 6 answered correctly.