THINK AS YOU
READ PAGE
79
1. Where was it most likely that the two
girls would find work after school?
Answer:
Sophie and Jansie were about to graduate from high school. There were only a
few months remaining. Jansie was well aware that both of them had been assigned
to the biscuit factory. Sophie had fanciful ideas about her future job. Jansie
was a cynic and a pessimist. She was well aware that shop labour did not pay
well, and Sophie's father would not allow her to work there.
2. What were the options that Sophie was
dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from having such dreams?
Answer:
Sophie aspired to open a shop. It'd be the most incredible store the city had
ever seen. Alternatively, she may pursue acting as a career and run the
boutique as a side-line. She also considered pursuing a career as a fashion
designer. Jansie's feet were planted firmly on the ground. Sophie needed to be
sensible and abandon all of her utopian ambitions because they all required a
lot of money and experience.
THINK AS YOU
READ PAGE
81
1. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told
her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Answer:
Sophie was well-acquainted with her father. If he found out about her meeting
with Danny Casey, a young Irish footballer, he would be furious. She kept it a
secret from him. When Geoff informed his father, he grew enraged. Ms head was
turned away from him, and he looked at her with contempt. Sophie shifted her
weight in her seat at the table.
2. Does Geoff believe what Sophie says
about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Answer:
No, Geoff isn't convinced by Sophie's account of her meeting with Danny Casey.
"It can't be true," he exclaims as he looks around in bewilderment.
"I don't believe it," he adds once more. Sophie then describes how
Danny Casey approached her and took a position alongside her. "What does
he look like?" Geoff inquires. As a result, he doesn't appear to believe
Sophie met Danny Casey.
3. Does her father believe her story?
Answer:
Sophie's father, does not trust her narrative. When Geoff told him Sophie had
met Danny Casey, his father stared down his nose at her. He completely
disregards her. He thinks it's just another 'crazy storey.' He then moves on to
another famous football player, Tom Finny.
4. How does Sophie include her brother
Geoff in her fantasy of her future?
Answer:
Geoff was the first one to find out what she was hiding. As a result, she told
him about her rendezvous with Danny Casey. She also informed him of her plans
to meet him the following week. She had suspicions regarding aspects of his
life about which she had no knowledge. She yearned to meet them. She hopes he
would take her with him one day. She imagined herself riding alongside Geoff.
5. Which country did Danny Casey play
for?
Answer:
Danny Casey played for Ireland.
THINK AS YOU
READ PAGE
85
1. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know
about her story with Danny?
Answer:
Jansie was fascinated by things that had nothing to do with her. She was
curious about other people's lives. She'd tell everyone in the neighbourhood
about it. Sophie didn't want Jansie to know about her relationship with Danny,
so she kept it a secret. It could also be a case of mutual competition and
one-upmanship on her part. Sophie was taken aback when she learned that Geoff
had told Jansie about her Danny encounter.
2. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Answer:
Sophie did not meet Danny Casey in person. The young Irish footballer piqued
her interest. She anticipated his arrival. She sat in the park, expecting Casey
to appear but knowing he would not. She was depressed. Sadness was a difficult
burden to bear. She was always engrossed in a fantasy world in which she
imagined Casey meeting her.
3. Which was the only occasion when she
got to see Danny Casey in person?
Answer: Sophie only got to see Danny Casey in person once, when the family went to see United play on Saturday. Sophie, her father, and Derek, Sophie's son, all went down near the goal. Geoff climbed with his friends to a higher level. United won by a score of 2-0. Casey, her idol, scored the game's second goal. On the edge of the penalty box, she witnessed the Irish talent move around two large defenders. From a distance of a dozen yards, he beat the cautious goalkeeper. Sophie was beaming with pride. She was overjoyed.
UNDERSTANDING
THE TEXT PAGE
85
1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and
friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
Answer:
Sophie and Jansie have completely different likes and personalities. Sophie has
beautiful dreams and is transported to a magical realm. She's an incurable
escapist who can't seem to wake up from her slumber. Jansie is a realist who is
grounded in reality. Sophie wishes to engage in a complex activity. Jansie
understands that these goods cost a lot of money, which their families lack.
Jansie also knows they're supposed to go to the biscuit factory. Sophie is even
advised to be practical and pragmatic by her. Sophie thinks Jansie is nosy and
refuses to confide in her.
2. How would you describe the character
and temperament of Sophie’s father?
Answer:
Sophie's father has a chubby face that appears to be filthy and sweaty. He
doesn't appear to be a gentle or refined man. Sophie is afraid of his machismo.
He is a cynic who does not trust his daughter's fantastical tales. He is a huge
football fan. He hopes Casey will be as good as Tom Finney when he grows up. He
hopes the young footballer remains free of all distractions. At the playground,
he gives Casey instructions. Sophie's father screams with excitement and pride
when the Irish talent beats the timid goalkeeper. He celebrates his victory by
going to a tavern.
3. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff
more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?
Answer:
Sophie's fantasies and long-cherished dreams are the only ones Geoff hears. Her
father is overbearing and abrasive. Sophie's wonderful stories irritate him.
Derek, even as a child, makes fun of her burgeoning wealth. Jansie, her
classmate, is a 'nosey' girl who can't be trusted with a secret. Geoff is the
only one who can be trusted to keep Sophie's secrets to himself.
Geoff represents an older brother who now has come
of age and travelled to places she has never been. She wished her brother would
take her to those locations one day. He sympathises with her and warns her that
Casey might have a string of girls. He forewarns her that he will never return.
4. What socio-economic background did
Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s financial status?
Answer:
Sophie is from a lower-middle-class background. She is an escapist with
fantastical dreams. She fantasises about having things she can't have in real
life. Jansie informs her that the boutique requires a substantial sum of money.
Sophie is well aware that her family is cash-strapped. "If I ever come
into money," she continues, "I'll purchase a boutique." Derek,
even as a small child, recognises her irrationality.
Their socioeconomic background is reflected in
Geoff's occupation. He is a mechanic's apprentice. Every day, he travels to the
other side of town for work. His jacket has no form. Her father is not
well-educated. He's a man who takes a lot of deep breaths. He sits at the table
in his vest. He grunts and tosses one of tiny Derek's sneakers onto the sofa
from his chair. In the same room as the stove, filthy laundry is stacked in a
comer. Sophie's father rides his bicycle to the pub. All of these indications
point to a lower-middle-class upbringing.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT PAGE
85-86
Discuss in pairs
1. Sophie’s dreams and disappointments
are all in her mind.
Answer:
Sophie is a young high school student from a lower-middle-class background. She
wants to get out of the circumstance she's in right now. She's an
uncontrollable fantasist and escapist. Her ambition is to create a boutique.
Jansie, Sophie's classmate with her feet firmly planted on the ground, informs
Sophie that running a shop requires a lot of money and experience, both of
which she lacks. Sophie, who lives in her own wonderful world, aspires to be an
actress or a fashion designer. She, too, aspires to be a hero. Danny Casey, the
football's wonder-boy, piques her interest. She only sees him play once, when
he scored United's second goal. She imagines him approaching her and informs her
brother about the encounter. She continues to wait for him on the next date,
but he never shows up. She becomes depressed and carries her grief with her all
of the time. As a result, her dreams and disappointments are the product of her
imagination.
2. It is natural for teenagers to have
unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of
such fantasising?
Answer:
Teenagers are bursting with energy and ambition. They have pleasant fantasies
and fantasise endlessly. It's only normal for them to act in this way. Every
adolescent has a dream. Every brilliant scientist or author has a fantasy. One
cannot endeavour to accomplish a goal if there is nothing to aspire to. Dreams
lead to success's golden gate. Some youngsters live in a fantasy world. They
experience dreams that aren't real. It's the equivalent of a child requesting
the moon. Their toes are buried in muck, and they fantasise about the stars in
the sky. Disappointment and disillusionment are the result of such fantasising.
A failure is a person who has a dream but does not achieve it. Those who
succeed in realising their ambitions become heroes and successes in their
fields. Even if we don't realise our dreams, I believe it is preferable to have
them. Will these grey-headed, grey-bearded people have dreams if the teenagers
don't have them? Allow the teenagers to do their thing.
WORKING WITH
WORDS PAGE
86
Notice the
following expressions. The highlighted words are not used in a literal sense. Explain
what they mean.
• Words had to be prized out of him like
stones out of a ground.
• Sophie felt a tightening in her throat.
• If he keeps his head on his shoulders.
• On Saturday they made their weekly pilgrimage to
the United.
• She saw … him
ghost past the lumbering defenders
Answer:
(i) Words had to be prized out of
him. He was so silent that words had to be extracted from him with great
difficulty or force.
(ii) A
tightening in her throat. Sophie felt a stiffness in her throat and felt upset.
(iii)
keeps his head on his shoulders. If he is sensible or intelligent.
(iv) They
made their weekly pilgrimage. They went to see the football match every week as
if they were visiting a holy place.
(v) Ghost past. Making a silent move or running to dodge/deceive.
NOTICING FORM PAGE
86
Notice the highlighted words in the
following sentences:
1. “When I
leave,’ Sophie said, coming home
from school, “I’m going to have a boutique.”
2. Jansie, linking arms with her along the street,
looked doubtful.
3. “I’ll find
it,” Sophie said, staring far down
the street.
4. Jansie, knowing they were both earmarked for
the biscuit factory, became melancholy.
5. And she
turned in through the open street door leaving
Jansie standing in the rain.
- When we add
“ing” to a verb we get the present participle form. The present participle form
is generally used along with forms of “be’, (is, was, are, were, am) to
indicate the present continuous tense as in “Sophie was coming home from
school.”
- We can use
the present participle by itself without the helping verb, when we wish to
indicate that an action is happening at the same time as another.
- In example 1,
Sophie “said” something, “Said”, here, is the main action.
- What Sophie
was doing while she was “saying” is indicated by “coming home from school”. So, we get the information of two actions
happening at the same time. We convey the information in one sentence instead
of two.
- Analyse the
other examples in the same way.
- Pick out five
other sentences from the story in which present participles are used in this
sense.
Answer:
1. “She thinks money grows on trees, don’t she, Dad? said little Derek, hanging
on the back of his father’s chair.
2. She was conscious of a vast world out there
waiting for her …
3. She saw herself riding there behind Geoff.
4. Here I sit, she said to herself, wishing Danny
would come, wishing he would come and sensing the time passing.
5. She waited, measuring in this way the changes
taking place in her.
6. Sitting here waiting and knowing he will not come
I can see the future…
THINKING
ABOUT LANGUAGE PAGE
87
Notice these words from the story.
• “chuffed”, meaning delighted or very pleased
• “nosey”, meaning inquisitive
• “gawky”, meaning awkward, ungainly.
These are words that are used in an
informal way in colloquial speech.
Make a list of ten other words of this
kind.
Answer:
(i) “boutique”,
meaning a shop selling fashionable clothes or expensive gifts.
(ii) “dad”,
meaning father.
(iii) “scooping”,
meaning picking up something with a spoon.
(iv) “prized
out”, meaning extract some information with difficulty or force.
(v) “muttered”,
meaning murmured.
(vi) “pub”,
meaning a place where one can drink.
(vii) jeered”,
meaning taunted.
(viii) “damn”,
meaning ‘go to hell!’
(ix) “ghost
past”, meaning moved unseen and unheard.
(x) “huh”,
meaning an expression showing disagreement.
WRITING PAGE
87
- Think of a person who you would like to
have as your role-model.
- Write down the points to be discussed
or questions to be asked, if you were asked to interview that person on the
Television show.
Answer: INTERVIEWING SUNIL GAVASKAR
1. Welcome to our talk show, Sunil. What are your
feelings at this point in your life?
2. Sachin Tendulkar has surpassed your record for
most consecutive test hundreds. What's your reaction to that?
3. How do you stay active and clever at your age?
4. Can you tell me about your present foreign
commitments?
5. Would you rather write cricket books or provide
broadcast commentary?
6. Have you considered coaching India?
7. Would you be interested in being directly
involved in fostering nascent talent if the opportunity arose from the proper
quarters?
8. How do you intend to assist players in obtaining
a better deal?
9. How do you strike a balance between your
international commitments and your personal obligations?
10. Aside from cricket, what are your other
passions?
THINGS TO DO PAGE
87
1. Look for other stories or movies where
this theme of hero worship and fantasising about film or sports icons finds a
place.
Answer:
Extension Activity: To be attempted under the guidance of the teacher.
10. An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Question Answer | |
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