Text 1: The light at Penmorfa, by Carys Ellwood
An original contemporary magazine feature.
At dusk, volunteer keeper Sian Llewellyn climbs the narrow stairs of Penmorfa lighthouse with a tin of cleaning cloths under one arm. The lamp is still working, but salt has clouded one of its glass panels. She polishes it, checks the timer and writes the evening’s weather in the logbook.
The lighthouse has no resident keeper now. Sian and two other volunteers take turns visiting it, especially after storms. Their checks include looking for damage to the railings, clearing leaves from the drain and making sure the emergency telephone works.
‘People imagine it’s all about switching on the light,’ Sian says. ‘The light does that by itself. Our job is to notice what might stop it doing so.’
Before leaving, she walks once around the tower, tests the door and looks out towards the rocks. The beacon flashes steadily across the darkening water.
Text 2: A watch kept above the sea, by A Correspondent
An original newspaper report written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.
In this newspaper report from 1891, a journalist describes the work of the keeper at a coastal lighthouse.
The keeper’s day begins before sunrise, when he climbs to the lantern room and wipes the glass clear of soot and sea spray. He trims the lamp’s wick, fills its reservoir with oil and examines the mechanism that turns the great lens.
For hours he must keep watch over the water. Should fog gather, he sounds the warning bell at regular intervals, and he records changes in the weather in a book kept for that purpose. At night he tends the flame and sees that its light remains bright and unobstructed.
The duties are not finished when the sun rises. The keeper cleans the lantern room, carries fresh oil upstairs and inspects the steps and railings for damage. In rough weather he must also make certain that the doors are fastened against the wind.
Few sailors see the keeper at his work, yet many depend upon the light he tends.
Explain briefly, using information from both texts, the duties involved in keeping the lighthouses working. You should make it clear which text you are referring to.
123 exam-style questions on Eduqas GCSE English Language 2.3 Summary and synthesis, covering 2.3.3 Synthesising from more than one text. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.