CBSE Class 12 English 2026: question 9(a)
Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2026, paper 301/5/1, section C, question 9(a), for 6 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.
Q9(a) · 6 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedGoing Places
Read the following extract and answer the questions:
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. She went to look for her brother Geoff.
He was kneeling on the floor in the next room tinkering with a part of his motorcycle over some newspaper spread on the carpet. He was three years out of school, an apprentice mechanic, travelling to his work each day to the far side of the city. He was almost grown up now, and she suspected areas of his life about which she knew nothing, about which he never spoke.
(Going Places)
- (i)1 mark
Complete the following suitably:
The phrase 'the incongruity of the delicate bow … and the crooked back' of Sophie's mother conveys ___________. - (ii)1 mark
Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank.
The description of Sophie's 'mother's back' in the extract expresses Sophie's ____________ (conflicted/confident) state of mind. - (iii)1 mark
What role does the man in the vest play in enhancing the tone of the passage?
- (A)he brings a sense of peace to the setting.
- (B)he deepens the oppressive atmosphere.
- (C)he reinforces the narrator's emotional connection.
- (D)he introduces a moment of comic relief.
- (iv)1 mark
What is the most plausible interpretation of Sophie's physical reaction of 'a tightening in her throat'?
- (A)a desire to express something, restrained by uncertainty
- (B)apprehension about her upcoming encounter with Geoff
- (C)a surge of inner turmoil triggered by her surroundings
- (D)a symptom indicating that she may be unwell
- (v)1 mark
Why does Sophie decide to go look for Geoff?
- (vi)1 mark
What is Sophie's perception of Geoff's nature?
Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 301/5/1.
Hints
Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.
Hint 1
Incongruity means two things that do not fit together.
Hint 2
Look at the setting words: steamy, cluttered, heavy-breathing.
Hint 3
The last line of the extract describes how Geoff is.
Step-by-step solution
Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.
Verified: two independent solves agree and the official marking scheme matchesChecked 2026-11-01
- 1 mark
(i) the contrast between the delicate bow and the harsh reality of the mother's hard, tiring life.
- 1 mark
(ii) conflicted. Sophie feels both pity and unease about her mother.
- 1 mark
(iii) (B) The heavy-breathing man in his vest deepens the oppressive atmosphere.
- 1 mark
(iv) (C) Her throat tightens from inner turmoil caused by the stifling surroundings.
- 1 mark
(v) She goes to Geoff to escape the oppressive atmosphere and find relief, since she is comfortable with him.
- 1 mark
(vi) She sees Geoff as quiet and reserved, someone who keeps secrets and never speaks about parts of his life.
Answer: (i) contrast between delicate bow and crooked back; (ii) conflicted; (iii) B; (iv) C; (v) to escape the oppressive atmosphere; (vi) reserved, secretive
Where the marks are
- (i) contrast/incongruity (1 mark)
- (ii) conflicted (1 mark)
- (iii) B (1 mark)
- (iv) C (1 mark)
- (v) escape/relief (1 mark)
- (vi) reserved/secretive (1 mark)
Revise the chapter
- Chapter: Going Places (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
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