NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo - Going Places

Q1: Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meanings from the context.
incongruity: quality of being unsuitable
prodigy: a young person endowed with exceptional qualities
chuffed: very pleased
solitary elm: a secluded tall tree
arcade: a passage or a walkway with shops and stalls on either side
amber glow: orange-yellow light of the lamp
wharf: a place beside the water bodies for loading or unloading of the ships
pangs of doubt: a sudden realization of uncertainty about something

Think As you Read

Q1: Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Ans: The two girls, Sophie and Jansie, were already earmarked for work in the biscuit factory, so it was most likely that they would take jobs there after school.
Q2: What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her to have such dreams?
Ans: Sophie dreamed of opening a boutique and of becoming an actress or a fashion designer. She imagined rising to the position of manager and saving enough money to start her own shop. Jansie discouraged such dreams because their family was lower-middle-class; she was practical and knew that those ambitions required time and money the family did not have.
Q3: Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Ans: Sophie knew her father would be angry and disapproving if he heard she had been with Danny Casey. When Geoff told their father, Sophie felt ashamed and uncomfortable; she wriggled where she sat because she feared his reaction.
Q4: Did Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans: No. Geoff did not believe Sophie. He looked round in disbelief and said, "It can't be true" and "I don't believe it." He asked questions about Casey's appearance, showing that he was unconvinced that Sophie had really met him.
Q5: Does her father believe her story?
Ans: No. Sophie's father did not believe her and warned her that such "wild stories" could get her into trouble.
Q6: How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of future?
Ans: Sophie imagined travelling with Geoff to exciting places, picturing herself in a yellow dress as the world welcomed them. Geoff symbolised freedom and the wider world she longed to join, so she placed him at the centre of her daydreams.
Q7: Which country did Danny Casey play for?
Ans: Danny Casey played football for Ireland.
Q8: Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Ans: Sophie feared that Jansie would gossip and spread the tale throughout the neighbourhood, so she did not want Jansie to know.
Q9: Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Ans: No. Sophie had fabricated the encounter with Danny Casey to attract her brother Geoff's attention.
Q10: Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?
Ans: The only time Sophie saw Danny Casey in person was at a match when the family went to watch United on a Saturday. Sophie, her father and little Derek stood near the goal while Geoff watched higher up with his friends. United won two-nil, and Sophie saw Casey drive in the second goal: he went round two defenders and beat the hesitant goalkeeper from about a dozen yards. Sophie glowed with pride.

Understanding the Text

Q1: Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
Ans: Sophie was a dreamer who used her imagination to escape her daily life; she aspired to become a fashion designer or an actress and to rise above her working-class background. Jansie was far more practical and realistic; she reminded Sophie that they were likely to work in the biscuit factory and discouraged expensive or unlikely ambitions.
Q2: How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father?
Ans: Sophie's father is a coarse, hard-working man with a plump face, often grimy and sweaty from labour. He is strict, unsentimental and quick to dismiss what he sees as foolish talk. He loves football, shouts encouragement to players like Casey, and shows pride when they succeed. He is a realist who expects his family to conform to their social position.
Q3: Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?
Ans: Sophie admired Geoff because he was quiet, thoughtful and seemed to have access to a wider world. To her, Geoff symbolised freedom and the possibility of escape from the dull and cramped life at home.
Q4: What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family's financial status?
Ans: Sophie belonged to a lower-middle-class family. Indicators include the small crowded house where she lived with her parents and two brothers, her mother's stooped back from hard household work, the expectation that Sophie should leave school to work, her father's manual labour, and Geoff's job as an apprentice mechanic far from home. The family's cramped and tired domestic life also points to limited means.

Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs.
Q1: Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.
Ans: Sophie often created fantasies to escape the squalor and boredom of daily life. She invented a meeting with Danny Casey partly to attract her brother's attention and partly to live briefly in a more glamorous world. When events did not match her expectations - for example, when Casey failed to arrive again - she experienced disappointment. Her dreams were products of her imagination, and their collapse left her hurt but unwilling to accept the ordinary reality.
Q2: It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasising?
Ans: Advantages: Fantasising can inspire ambition and provide motivation to work towards higher goals. It encourages creativity, hope and a sense of possibility, which can be helpful in difficult circumstances. Disadvantages: If fantasies are unrealistic and unsupported by effort or resources, they can create a painful gap between expectation and reality, leading to disappointment, frustration or wasted time. Excessive daydreaming can also prevent practical planning and action.

Working with words

Q. 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

Ans: (i) Phrase Meaning: Words had to be prized out of him - He was so silent that words had to be forced from him with difficulty.
(ii) Phrase Meaning: ... a tightening in her throat - Sophie felt a constriction or nervousness in her throat, showing her emotional upset.
(iii) Phrase Meaning: ... keeps his head on his shoulders - He is sensible or level-headed.
(iv) Phrase Meaning: ... they made their weekly pilgrimage - They went to the football match each week as if it were a regular and important ritual.
(v) Phrase Meaning: ... ghost past - To move silently and quickly past someone, almost unseen.

Noticing Form

Notice the highlighted words in the following sentences:
(i) "When I leave,' Sophie said, coming home from school, "I'm going to have a boutique."
(ii) Jansi, linking arms with her along the street, looked doubtful.
(iii) "I'll find it," Sophie said, staring far down the street.
(iv) Jansie, knowing they were both earmarked for the biscuit factory, became melancholy.
(v) 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 is generally used with forms of "be" (is, was, are, were, am) to indicate continuous tenses, as in "Sophie was coming home from school."
• We can also use the present participle alone without a helping verb to indicate that one action happens at the same time as another.
• In example (i), Sophie "said" something; "said" is the main action.
• What Sophie was doing while she was saying it is given by "coming home from school". This conveys two simultaneous actions in one sentence.
• Analyse the other examples in the same way.
• Pick out five other sentences from the text in which present participles are used in this sense.

Ans: 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

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.
Ans: (i) "boutique", meaning a shop selling fashionable clothes or luxury items.
(ii) "dad", meaning father.
(iii) "scooping", meaning picking up with a spoon or similar tool.
(iv) "prized out", meaning extracted with difficulty.
(v) "muttered", meaning spoke in a low or unclear voice.
(vi) "pub", meaning a public house where people drink and socialise.
(vii) "jeered", meaning mocked or taunted.
(viii) "damn", an expletive expressing anger or dismissal.
(ix) "ghost past", meaning moved by without being noticed.
(x) "huh", an interjection expressing surprise or disagreement.

Writing

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.
Ans: Interviewing Sunil Gavaskar:
Welcome, Sunil Gavaskar, to our chat show. How do you feel at this stage of your life?
Sachin Tendulkar has broken your record for the highest number of Test centuries. How do you react to that?
What helps you to keep fit and sharp at this age?
What are your current international engagements?
Do you prefer writing books on cricket or working as a television commentator?
Have you ever considered coaching the Indian team?
Would you like to be involved in grooming young talent if the right opportunity arose?
What plans do you have for improving players' contracts and welfare?
How do you balance international engagements with personal and family commitments?
What interests do you pursue outside cricket?