The evening sun was now shining full on their backs, as the turnpike‑man returned to his gate after collecting toll from the waggon. The young woman, whose face had been concealed, turned and looked at the passer‑by. She was of a fair and gentle countenance, with large, deep‑set eyes that seemed to express both patience and weariness. The man beside her, evidently her husband, walked with a heavy tread and a gloomy air, as though burdened by some inward disquiet.

They moved slowly along the dusty road towards the village, the woman carrying a child whose small hands clung to her shawl. Though the couple spoke little, there was an uneasy tension between them, as if some unspoken trouble lay beneath their silence. The man’s eyes were fixed on the ground, while the woman glanced anxiously at him from time to time.

As they approached the village inn, the sound of voices and laughter drifted out into the road. The man paused, hesitated, and then turned towards the doorway, muttering something indistinctly. The woman followed him with reluctance, tightening her hold on the child as they stepped inside.

1. What time of day is described in the extract?
2. Who returned to his gate after collecting toll?
3. What did the young woman turn to look at?
4. How is the young woman’s countenance described?
5. What feature of her eyes is mentioned?
6. Who is the man walking beside the young woman?
7. How was the man walking?
8. What was the condition of the road they walked along?
9. What was the woman carrying?
10. What was the woman wearing?
11. What kind of tension existed between the couple?
12. What lay “beneath their silence”?
13. Where were the man’s eyes fixed as they walked?
14. How did the woman look at the man from time to time?
15. Where were the couple walking towards?
16. What sounds drifted out from the building?
17. What did the man do before turning towards the doorway?
18. What word describes the man’s muttering?
19. How did the woman follow the man?
20. What did the woman do as she stepped inside?

Creative Fiction Writing: Write an imaginative piece that starts with the line: ‘When the sun set, I was ready for adventure.’