Question

Read the following extract and solve the given below.

“She thinks money grows on trees, don’t she, Dad?”, said little Derek, hanging on the back of his father’s chair. Their mother sighed. Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered at the incongruity of the delicate bow which fastened her apron strings. The delicateseeming bow and the crooked back. The evening had already blacked in the windows and the small room was steamy from the stove and cluttered with the heavy-breathing man in his vest at the table and the dirty washing piled up in the corner. Sophie felt a tightening in her throat. She went to look for her brother Geoff.

I. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option from those given in the brackets.     (1)

The literal meaning conveyed via the phrase ‘the evening had already blacked in the windows’ is the ______ (arrival of night / shadow over ambitions).

II. What was mother most likely thinking when she sighed?     (1)

1. “Life would have been different if money did grow on trees!”
2. “I wish he would stop troubling my dear Sophie.”
3. “We can only wish; we’ve never had enough anyway.”
4. “I’m too tired to respond to such comments anymore.”
5. “Our struggles will never end; no matter what Sophie dreams of.”
Select the most suitable option.

1. 1, 3 and 5
2. 2, 4 and 5
3. 1 and 4
4. 2 and 3

III. The delicate bow on Sophie’s mother’s apron and her crooked back highlights the theme of ______.     (1)

1. appearance vs. reality
2. resilience through hardship
3. the fragility of youth
4. the complexity of familial love

IV. The line from the extract that correctly captures Sophie’s emotional response to the contrast between her dreams and the limitations of her current circumstances is ‘______.’     (1)

V. What does the writer emphasise by associating the term ‘cluttered’ with ‘heavy breathing’?     (1)

VI. How does the setting of the room contribute to the mood of the extract?     (1)

Answer 1

I. The literal meaning conveyed via the phrase ‘the evening had already blacked in the windows’ is the arrival of the night.

II. 1, 3 and 5

Explanation:

Option a) is correct because (1) aligns with the tone of resignation and wistfulness in the mother’s sigh. (3) is a direct reflection of their financial hardships. The mother’s sigh likely conveys her acceptance of the reality that money has always been scarce for their family. (5) mother’s awareness of the impracticality of Sophie’s grand dreams, given their circumstances. (2) doesn’t fit as the context does not indicate the mother perceives Derek’s remark as ‘troubling Sophie.’ (4) suggests irritation or fatigue, but the mother’s sigh in this context appears more reflective of their financial struggles and her resignation.

III. The delicate bow on Sophie’s mother’s apron and her crooked back highlights the theme of appearance vs. reality.

Explanation:

The delicate bow on Sophie’s mother’s apron symbolises grace and beauty, whereas her crooked back represents the harsh realities of her life, such as physical toil and hardship.

IV. The line from the extract that correctly captures Sophie’s emotional response to the contrast between her dreams and the limitations of her current circumstances is ‘Sophie felt a tightening in her throat.’

V. The writer emphasises the oppressive and suffocating environment of Sophie’s household. The heavy breathing of her father is not just a physical sound but a metaphor for the overwhelming weight of fatigue, labour, and monotony that dominates their lives.

VI. The setting of the room, which is cluttered and steamy from the stove, creates a sense of discomfort and hardship. This contributes to the family’s daily weariness and tension, which Sophie is acutely aware of.