THINK AS YOU READ

Q1. Where was it most likely that the two

girls would find work after school?
Ans: Sophie and Jansie would soon pass out of
their school. Only a few months were left. Jansie
knew very well that both of the them were
earmarked for biscuit factory. Sophie had wild
dreams about her career. Jansie was a realist. She
knew that they did not pay well for shop work and
Sophie's father would not allow her to work there.

Q2. What were the options that Sophie was

dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage
her from having such dreams?
Ans: Sophie wanted to open a boutique. It would
be the most amazing shop that city had ever seen.
Alternatively, she would become an actress and
have the boutique as a side business. She also
thought of being a fashion designer. Jansie had
her feet firmly planted to the ground. She wanted
Sophie to be sensible and drop all her utopian
plans because all of them required much money
and exprience.
 Q1. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told
her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Ans: Sophie knew her father well. He would be
angry if he knew of her meeting with the young
Irish footballer, Danny Casey. She didn't tell him.
When Geoff told his father about it, he became
angry. He turned Ms head to look at her with
disdain. Sophie wriggled where she was sitting at
the table.

Q2.Does Geoff believe what Sophie says

about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans: No, Geoff doesn't believe what Sophie says
about her meeting with Danny Casey. First, he
'ooks round in disbelief and says, "It can't be true".
\gain he says, "I don't believe it." Sophie then
1arrates how Danny Casey came and stood
)eside her. Geoff asks her, "What does he look
ke?" So, he doesn't seem to be convinced that
'Ophie met Danny Casey.
Q3. Does her father believe her story?
Ans: No, Sophie's father does not believe her
story. When Geoff tells him that Sophie met Danny
Casey, his father looked at SopMe with disdain. He
ignores her totally. He thinks that it is yet another
'wild story'. He begins to talk about Tom Finny,
another great football player.

Q4. How does Sophie include her brother

Geoff in her fantasy of her future?
Ans: Geoff was always the first to share her
secrets. So, she told him about meeting Danny
Casey. She also told him about her plan to meet
him next week. She suspected areas of his life
about wMch she knew nothing. She longed to
know them. She wished that someday he might
take her with him. She saw herself riding there
behind Geoff.
Q2. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
[Delhi 2014]
Ans: No, Sophie did not really meet Danny Casey.
She was very fascinated by the young Irish
footballer. She imagined his coming. She sat in
the park, waiting for Casey and knowing that he
would not come. She felt sad. Sadness was a hard
burden to carry. She was always lost in a dreamy
world where she imagined Casey meeting her.

Q3. Which was the only occasion when she

got to see Danny Casey in person?
Ans: The only occasion when Sophie got to see
Danny Casey in person was when the family went
to watch United on Saturday. Sophie, her father
and little Derek went down near the goal. Geoff
went with his mates higher up. United won two-nil.
Her idol Casey drove in the second goal. She saw
the Irish genius going round two big defenders on
the edge of penalty area. He beat the hesitant goal
keeper from a dozen yards. Sophie glowed with
pride. She was very happy.
Q1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates
and friends. What were the differences
between them that show up in the story?
Ans: Sophie and Jansie are poles apart in tastes
and temperament. Sophie has fantastic dreams
and floats in a fairy land. She is an incurable
escapist who won't come out of her dreams.
Jansie is down to earth-a realist. Sophie wants to
do something sophisticated. Jansie knows that
these things require a lot of money which their
families do not possess. Jansie also knows that
they were earmaked for the biscuit factory. She
even advises Sophie to be sensible and practical.
Sophie considers Jansie 'nosey' and does not
want to confide in her.
Q4. Compare and contrast Sophie and
Jansie?
OR
Jansie is Sophie's classmate and friend but
doesn't entertain any ·wild dreams'like her.
Why?
Ans: Sophie and Jansie are classmates and
friends, but the similarity ends here. They are
poles' apart in thinking and temperament. Sophie
is an incurable dreamer and escapist. She dreams
of big and beautiful things, which are beyond her
reach.
On the other hand, Jansie is realistic and practical.
She knows that they are poor and will have to
work in the biscuit factory after leaving school.
She is well aware that big things require big
money and experience, which they don't have. It is
better to live in reality and think accordingly.
l5. What job is Geoff engaged in? How
ioes he differ from his sister, Sophie?
Ans: Geoff is a grown up boy. He left school three
years ago. Now he is an apprentice mechanic. He
has to travel to his work each day to the far side of
the city. He speaks little but listens to his sister's
'wild stories'. But he is not a day dreamer like her.
He knows the financial limitations of his family. He
cautions Sophie against entertaining dreams for a
celebrity like Danny Casey.
Q6. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff's
silence?
Ans: Geoff was almost grown up now. He spoke
little. Words had to be extracted out of him like
stones out of the ground. Sophie was jealous of
his silence. She knew that when he was not
speaking, he was away somewhere. He was out in
the surrounding country-in those places she had
never been. She wanted to share her brother's
affection.

Q7. What does Sophie tell Geoff about her

meeting with Danny Gasey? How does
Geoff react to it?
Ans: Sophie tells Geoff that she met Danny
Casey. Geoff is surprised. He looks round abruptly
and asks 'where?' Sophie replies that she met him
in the arcade. Geoff can't believe her. He says, "It's
never true." He asks her, "What does he look like?"
She replies that he has green eyes and is not very
tall. Geoff is still not convinced.
Q8. How does Sophie's father react when
Geoff tells him about her meeting with
Danny Casey?
Ans: Geoff informs his father that Sophie had a
meeting with Danny Casey. He turns his head on
his thick neck to look at her in disbelief. His
expression is one of disdain. He ignores the news
and goes on to talk about Tom Finney. He hopes
that Danny will he like Tom Finney one day. When
Sophie says that Casey is going to buy a shop, he
reacts sharply. "This is another of your wild
stories."

Q9. "He don't believe you-though he'd like

to.· Who says so, about whom and in what
context?
Ans: Geoff says so to Sophie about their father.
He reacted sharply to her account of meeting
Danny Casey. Geoff said that she had met him in
the arcade and then told him how it had been.
Their father said aggressively that she was going
to talk herself into a load of trouble. Sophie asked
Geoff to confirm that it was true. It was then that
Geoff uttered these remarks. *-
Q11.Who was Danny Casey? How did the
members of Sophie's family react towards
him?
Ans: Danny Casey was a young Irish football
player. He played for the United. The Irish prodigy
could easily dodge the defenders and score goals.
Sophie's father was a football fan. He admired old
heroes like Tom Finney and young wonder boy
Casey. Geoff had a large poster of United first
team squad on his bed room wall. There were
three coloured photographs of Casey in the row
below it. Every Saturday they went to watch
United play.