CLASS 12 · FLAMINGO · CHAPTER 2
Original student-friendly answers for Lost Spring and its textbook activities.
17 worked answers · short steps first, explanations when you need them
Textbook pages Lost Spring
Question Notice these expressions
Explain each phrase in the story’s context.
Searching; lasting poverty; working hard all day; dim shelters; a home; burdening a child.
Question Think as You Read: Saheb 1
State what he seeks and trace his family’s move.
He searches for useful things and money in Seemapuri; his family came from Bangladesh.
Question Think as You Read: Saheb 2
Mention the custom and the author’s question about poverty.
It is called a tradition, but the author thinks poverty may be the real reason.
Question Think as You Read: Saheb 3
Weigh the security of the job against the loss of freedom.
The job gives wages and meals, but he loses freedom and looks less carefree.
Question Think as You Read: Mukesh 1
Name the industry associated with the town.
Its glass-bangle industry.
Question Think as You Read: Mukesh 2
List the unsafe conditions and their effect on health.
Furnace heat, poor ventilation, dim rooms and glass dust can damage workers’ health and eyesight.
Question Think as You Read: Mukesh 3
Contrast his chosen ambition with inherited work.
Mukesh wants to become a mechanic; his family accepts bangle-making as their fate.
Question Understanding the Text 1
Name hardships that push people away and needs they seek in cities.
Disasters, lack of work and poverty may push families to seek food and jobs in cities.
Question Understanding the Text 2
Explain what was promised, what happened and its effect on Saheb.
The narrator’s unfulfilled school promise shows how careless promises can disappoint children.
Question Understanding the Text 3
Name the social and economic barriers described in the chapter.
Poverty, debt, caste, middlemen, lack of education and weak law enforcement keep them trapped.
Question Talking about the Text 1
Suggest training, an apprenticeship and practical support.
He can seek a safe garage apprenticeship or vocational course, with help for training and travel.
Question Talking about the Text 2
Mention physical dangers and the effect on children’s lives.
Heat, smoke, glass dust and poor lighting cause injury and illness; child workers also miss school.
Question Talking about the Text 3
Protect children while supporting families’ basic needs.
Enforce child-protection laws, keep children in school and support families with safe adult livelihoods.
Question Thinking about Language
Look for comparisons using ‘like’, and images that give abstract ideas a physical form.
1 irony; 2 metaphor; 3 metaphor; 4 contrast; 5 simile; 6 contrast/metaphor; 7 contrast; 8 metaphor; 9 metaphor; 10 irony/hyperbole; 11 metaphor.
Question Things to Do 1
Choose one example and explain both its attractive product and workers’ hardship.
Write about a product or building, the workers’ difficult conditions and the contrast between them.
Question Writing / Report
Report benefits, barriers and findings from your own interviews.
Digital tools can help with payments and information, but interviews should check access, skills and concerns.
Question Understanding the Text
Connect the season of growth with the childhood the children miss.
Poverty takes away their childhood, education and hopes for the future.