Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow. My tea is nearly…
2024
Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow.
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It’s time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at tea time and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria may go to the sea;
And my papa’s a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I’m stronger and choose what I’m to do,
O Leerie, I’ll go around at night and light the lamps with you
For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door;
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And O ! Before you hurry by with ladder and with light,
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight !
The poet looks at the lamp-lighter’s profession with -
- A.
wonder
- B.
jealousy
- C.
curiosity
- D.
confusion
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Tone / attitude-detection questions ask you to name the speaker's emotional stance toward what is being described, using textual cues such as word choice, exclamations, and what the speaker wishes for or imagines — not merely a summary of what happens in the passage. Distinguishing labels like wonder, jealousy, curiosity, and confusion means matching each word's core meaning (fascinated admiration; resentful envy; passing interest; puzzlement) against the evidence the text actually gives.
The speaker here is a child watching Leerie light the street lamps every evening. Rather than staying a passive observer, he sets aside the more conventional futures around him — Tom driving, Maria going to sea, papa banking — and instead pictures himself, once he is older, going around at night to light the lamps with Leerie. That eager wish, together with the affectionate, detailed picture of Leerie's ritual (the lantern, the ladder, his fixed arrival at tea-time), signals a child marvelling at Leerie's work and longing to share in it. That reaction is wonder.
Jealousy needs resentment at lacking what another has; the speaker shows none toward Tom, Maria, or papa, and his feeling toward Leerie's round stays warm rather than bitter.
Curiosity is a passing wish to watch or learn; the speaker goes further, planning to personally take up the lantern and ladder — a stronger, participatory reaction.
Confusion needs uncertainty about what is happening; the poem instead describes Leerie's routine in clear, familiar detail, leaving nothing puzzling for the speaker.
Every cue in the poem — the eager wish to join him, the fond detail, the exclamatory tone — points the same direction, confirming wonder as the poet's attitude.