Here is an excerpt from the autobiography of a short story writer. Read it carefully and answer the questions that follow.
My father loved all instruments that would instruct and fascinate. His place to keep things was the drawer in the ‘library table’ where lying on top of his folder map was a telescope with brass extensions, to find the moon and the Big Dripper after supper in our front yard, and to keep appointments with eclipses. In the back of the drawer you could find a magnifying glass, a kaleidoscope and a gyroscope kept in black buckram box, which he would set dancing for us on a string pulled tight. He had also supplied himself with an assortment of puzzles composed of metal rings and intersecting links and keys chained together, impossible for the rest of us, however, patiently shown, to take apart, he had an almost childlike love of the ingenious. In time, a barometer was added to our dining room wall, but we didn’t really need it. My father had the country boy’s accurate knowledge of the weather and its skies. He went out and stood on our front steps first thing in the morning an took a good look at it and a sniff. He was a pretty good weather prophet. He told us children what to do if we were lost in a strange country. ‘Look for where the sky is brightest along the horizon,’ he said. ‘That reflects the nearest river. Strike out for a rive and you will find habitation’. Eventualities were much on his mind. In his care for us children he cautioned us to take measures against such things as being struck by lightening. He drew us all away from the windows during the severe electrical storms that are common where we live. My mother stood apart, scoffing at caution as a character failing. So I developed a strong meteorological sensibility. In years ahead when I wrote stories, atmosphere took its influential role from the start. Commotion in the weather and the inner feelings aroused by such a hovering disturbance emerged connected in dramatic form.

1. Why did the writer’s father spend time studying the skies?
The writer's father spent time studying the skies because he was fascinated by instruments that would instruct and fascinate, such as a telescope and a magnifying glass.

2. Why the writer thinks that there was no need of a barometer?
The writer believes that there was no need for a barometer because her father had an accurate knowledge of the weather and the skies, and could predict the weather by observing the sky and taking a sniff in the morning.

3. What does the bright horizon meant for the writer’s father?
The bright horizon meant for the writer's father that there was a nearby river, and that it was a good direction to find habitation if lost in a strange country.

4. How did her father influence the writer in her later years?
Her father influenced the writer by instilling in her a strong meteorological sensibility and a sense of caution for natural events.

5. Explain the underlined words and phrases in the passage.

• To keep appointments – means to schedule or plan for specific events, in this case, eclipses.
• Kaleidoscope – is a device used to view patterns and colors created by reflections in a series of mirrors.
• Assortment of puzzles – refers to a collection of various puzzles.
• To take apart – means to disassemble or break down.
• A barometer – is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure.
• Took a good look at it – means observing or examining something closely.
• Fascinate – means to captivate or hold the interest of.
• Habitation – settlement; residence; occupation
• My mother stood apart – indifference; carelessness; keep herself away