18 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhat does Sophie say she will have when she leaves school?
(A) A house by the sea(B) A boutique(C) A car(D) A football club - 1 markWho is Sophie talking to when she first describes her dream of owning a boutique?
(A) Geoff(B) Danny Casey(C) Jansie(D) Her father - 1 markWhat does the narrator say Jansie knows both girls are “earmarked” for?
(A) The biscuit factory(B) Acting school(C) University(D) A boutique - 1 markWhat is Sophie’s father eating when she comes home?
(A) Porridge(B) Roast chicken(C) Fish and chips(D) Shepherd’s pie - 1 markWho says, “She thinks money grows on trees, don’t she, Dad?”
(A) Geoff(B) Little Derek(C) Sophie’s mother(D) Jansie - 1 markWhat is Geoff’s occupation?
(A) A footballer(B) A shopkeeper(C) An apprentice mechanic(D) A schoolteacher - 1 markWhat was Geoff doing when Sophie went looking for him?
(A) Tinkering with a part of his motorcycle(B) Reading a newspaper(C) Sleeping(D) Watching television
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Sophie chooses the bench under the solitary elm to wait for Danny Casey.
Reason (R): She had always thought it “the perfect place… for a meeting of this kind. For those who wished not to be observed.”
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the characters in Column A with their identity in Column B, and choose the correct combination.
Column A: (1) Sophie (2) Jansie (3) Geoff (4) Little Derek
Column B: (i) Apprentice mechanic (ii) Little brother (iii) Dreams of a boutique or being an actress (iv) Practical friend who discourages fantasising
(A) 1-iv, 2-iii, 3-ii, 4-i(B) 1-ii, 2-i, 3-iv, 4-iii(C) 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii(D) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv - 1 markMatch the word or phrase in Column A with its meaning in Column B, and choose the correct combination.
Column A: (1) Chuffed (2) Nosey (3) Gawky (4) Prized out
Column B: (i) Awkward, ungainly (ii) Delighted, very pleased (iii) Forced out with effort (iv) Inquisitive
(A) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv(B) 1-iii, 2-i, 3-iv, 4-ii(C) 1-iv, 2-iii, 3-ii, 4-i(D) 1-ii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-iii
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: Geoff keeps back the part of Sophie’s story about the promised second meeting.
Statement II: Jansie later confronts Sophie, having heard about the meeting from her own “our Frank.”
(A) Both I and II are true(B) Both I and II are false(C) I is true, II is false(D) I is false, II is true
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange the following events in the order in which they occur in the story.
(1) Jansie confronts Sophie about the story
(2) Sophie waits by the canal for Casey
(3) Sophie tells Geoff, “I met Danny Casey”
(4) The family watches United win 2-0
(A) 3, 1, 4, 2(B) 1, 3, 4, 2(C) 3, 4, 1, 2(D) 4, 3, 1, 2
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markSophie says she will be “a natural” straight away, comparing herself to ______.
(A) Edla Willmansson(B) Her mother(C) Mary Quant(D) Jansie - 1 markAccording to the story, words had to be ______ out of Geoff like stones out of the ground.
(A) guessed(B) prized(C) written(D) shouted
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following is NOT one of Sophie’s own fantasy careers?
(A) Boutique manager(B) Apprentice mechanic(C) Actress(D) Fashion designer
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered at the incongruity of the delicate bow which fastened her apron strings. The delicate-seeming 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.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what image does Sophie notice about her mother?
(A) The incongruity of the delicate bow against the crooked back(B) Her mother’s new apron(C) Her mother’s happiness at the sink(D) Her mother singing while she works
Passage
Here I sit, she said to herself, wishing Danny would come, wishing he would come and sensing the time passing. I feel the pangs of doubt stirring inside me. I watch for him but still there is no sign of him. I remember Geoff saying he would never come, and how none of them believed me when I told them. I wonder what will I do, what can I tell them now if he doesn’t come? But we know how it was, Danny and me — that’s the main thing. How can you help what people choose to believe? But all the same, it makes me despondent, this knowing I’ll never be able to show them they’re wrong to doubt me.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what feeling does Sophie describe as “stirring inside me”?
(A) Hunger(B) Excitement only(C) Anger(D) Pangs of doubt
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markRead the following statements about the story and choose how many of them are TRUE.
(1) Sophie’s father immediately believes her story about Danny Casey.
(2) Geoff reveals the “date bit” (the promised second meeting) to Frank.
(3) Sophie waits at the canal bench for Danny Casey.
(4) The story is narrated only in the third person throughout.
(A) One(B) Two(C) Three(D) Four
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) “When I leave,” Sophie said, coming home from school, “I’m going to have a boutique.”
- (C) The story opens with Sophie telling Jansie, coming home from school, about her plan to have a boutique.
- (A) The narrator says Jansie, “knowing they were both earmarked for the biscuit factory, became melancholy.”
- (D) “Sophie’s father was scooping shepherd’s pie into his mouth as hard as he could go.”
- (B) Little Derek says this, “hanging on the back of his father’s chair.”
- (C) Geoff is “three years out of school, an apprentice mechanic, travelling to his work each day to the far side of the city.”
- (A) He was “kneeling on the floor in the next room tinkering with a part of his motorcycle over some newspaper.”
Assertion-Reason
- (A) A is true, and R (both true) is exactly her own stated reason for choosing that private, screened spot.
Match the Following
- (C) Sophie dreams of a boutique or acting (iii), Jansie is the practical friend (iv), Geoff is the apprentice mechanic (i), and Derek is the little brother (ii).
- (D) Chuffed means delighted (ii), nosey means inquisitive (iv), gawky means awkward (i), and “prized out” means forced out with effort (iii).
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Both statements are directly supported by the text.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (C) Sophie first tells Geoff (3), the family then watches the Saturday match (4), Jansie confronts her the following week (1), and after dark she waits by the canal (2).
Fill in the Blanks
- (C) “I’ll be like Mary Quant,” Sophie said. “I’ll be a natural.”
- (B) “Words had to be prized out of him like stones out of the ground.”
Odd One Out
- (B) Boutique manager, actress and fashion designer are all careers Sophie names for herself. Apprentice mechanic is Geoff’s actual job, not one of Sophie’s dreams.
Passage-Based Questions
- (A) The passage says Sophie “wondered at the incongruity of the delicate bow which fastened her apron strings. The delicate-seeming bow and the crooked back.”
- (D) “I feel the pangs of doubt stirring inside me,” she says to herself while waiting.
True / False
- (A) Only statement 3 is true. Statement 1 is false (he disbelieves her), statement 2 is false (Geoff keeps that part back), and statement 4 is false (the story shifts into first and second person).
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