Answer: Thirty-one years.

Answer: His hands have grown stiff, and it is the last night of crossings.

Answer: A new bridge upstream opens in the morning.

The first paragraph says the new bridge upstream would open in the morning.

Answer: four

A nurse, two teenagers and an old man: four passengers.

Answer: A tomato from his garden; he says it is the last of the season.

Answer: the passengers are regulars and the ferry is part of a close community

Knowing names and destinations shows years of familiar, personal contact.

Answer: He will miss the ferry deeply but does not want to admit it, so he talks about the practical benefits of the bridge instead. Ines understands what he is not saying.

Answer: He wants to say goodbye or thank Tomas, but the feeling is too big for words, or he is too emotional to speak, so a nod has to say it for him.

Answer: The bridge is attractive, like a necklace, but unwanted, at least by Tomas and Ines. It suggests quiet resentment or sadness that something new is replacing something loved.

Answer: It has become a keepsake that stands for the passengers' gratitude.

He holds it "as though it were something rare" and shows it to Ines at the end; the tomato stands for thanks for thirty-one years of service.

Answer: Ines laughs at her grandfather's joke about being paid in tomatoes, then finds that they are both crying. The laughter and tears together show love and warmth alongside grief for what is ending.

Answer: Muttered means made a low, quiet, unclear sound. Comparing the engine to her grandfather suggests that the boat and the man are alike: old, familiar and gentle, and closely connected.

Answer: moved slowly, carried by the water

Drifting is slow movement carried along by water or air.

Answer: He held the rail to keep his balance so he would not fall while the boat moved.

Answer: Tall supporting towers or posts that hold up the bridge.

Model answer: Although Tomas insists that "Faster is good", the writer reveals his grief through his actions and through what he leaves unsaid. His answer to Ines's question is presented as an evasion, and the line "That was not an answer, and they both knew it" signals that his true feelings are too painful to speak. The writer also uses the tomato as a symbol of what the ferry has meant: Tomas turns it over "as though it were something rare" and keeps it in his pocket rather than eating it, treating a simple gift as a treasure. On the empty return trip he sits "with his eyes closed, listening", which suggests he is trying to hold on to every detail of a life that is ending. Finally, the closing image of grandfather and granddaughter both crying confirms what he will not say. By showing emotion through small gestures rather than stating it, the writer makes Tomas's quiet sadness more powerful.