ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Question Paper 3 with Answers
Maximum Marks: 40
Time: 1 1/2 Hours
Section – A [10 Marks]
Attempt all questions
Question 1.
Choose the correct answers to the questions from the given options. (Do not copy the question, Write the correct answer only.)
(i) The poet is trying to highlight the…………….. in the poem Nine Gold Medals:
(a) purpose of the games
(b) spirit of the game
(c) nature of the game
(d) features of the game
Answer:
(b) spirit of the game
(ii) The central idea of the poem ‘Abou Ben Adhem’ is:
(a) Importance of selflessness.
(b) Importance of kindness and love.
(c) Importance of self-interest.
(d) Importance of self-preservation.
Answer:
(b) Importance of kindness and love.
(iii) The had predicted the emergence of the sun for a brief period of time in the story ‘All Summer in a Day’.
(a) Ray Bradbury
(c) Margot
(b) William
(d) Scientists
Answer:
(d) Scientists
(iv) Why were the children on Venus suddenly excited?
(a) They were going to get the rain once in seven years
(b) The sun was to appear once in seven years
(c) The moon was to shine once in seven years
(d) The children were going to school after seven years
Answer:
(b) The sun was to appear once in seven years
(v) In the lesson ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ Jesse Owens had his eyes fixed on winning:
(a) Hundred metres race
(b) Running broad jump
(c) Long jump
(d) Hundred meters hurdles
Answer:
(b) Running broad jump
(vi) What is the message in the lesson ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’?
(a) The essential thing in life is to do anything to win
(b) The essential thing in life is never bow down
(c) The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well
(d) The essential thing in life is to be a winner
Answer:
(c) The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well
(vii) Which couple sets the background against which all the events of the final act take place?
(a) Lorenzo and Jessica
(b) Nerissa and Gratiano
(c) Portia and Bassanio
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Lorenzo and Jessica
(viii) What makes the music pleasant to Nerissa’s ears?
(a) Her excitement to meet Gratiano
(b) She does not find it pleasant
(c) Night
(d) Silence
Answer:
(d) Silence
(ix) Bassanio says-
“I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
Here to this devil, to deliver you.”
Portia’s reaction to this is:
(a) “Tis well you offer it behind her back;”
(b) “I take this offer, then, pay the bond thrice,”
(c) “Your wife would give you little thanks for that”
(d) “These be the Christian husbands!”
Answer:
(c) “Your wife would give you little thanks for that”
(x) In Act IV, scene (ii), what are Nerissa and Portia doing when the scene opens?
(a) They are looking for Shylock’s house
(b) They are fighting
(c) They are leaving Venice
(d) They are leaving Belmont
Answer:
(a) They are looking for Shylock’s house
Section-B [10 Marks]
DRAMA
(The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare – Acts 4 and 5)
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Portia : Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh : if thou cut’st more
Or less than a just pound, – be it but so much
As makes it light or heavy in the substance
Or the division of the twentieth part
Of one poor scruple, nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair, —
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.
(i) Who are the two people in conversation? The speaker lays down a condition, what is it? [2]
Answer:
The two people in conversation are Portia, disguised as the lawyer, and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. As per the bond, Shylock can take only a pound of flesh. It does not permit him to take a single drop of blood. He must weigh a pound of flesh accurately, without shedding even a ‘jot’ of blood.
(ii) Another person, present here, applauds the speaker for his judgment. Who is this person? Why does he react in this manner? [2]
Answer:
Gratiano, a friend of Bassanio and Antonio who are also present in the court, is very happy when Portia comes out with this condition. When Portia allows Shylock to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body, nearest to his heart, Shylock calls Portia a great judge, Daniel. But now seeing that the tables have turned against Shylock, he applauds and makes fun of Shylock and ridicules him.
(iii) What would be the penalty if the law is broken? Give details. [2]
Answer:
If Shylock sheds a single drop of blood while taking his pound of flesh, as per the bond, then all his property would be confiscated, and he would have to face a death sentence. His life would be at the mercy of the Duke. Finally, the duke spares Shylock’s life and half his property goes to the state of Venice and the other half, which was to go to Antonio, is given to Lorenzo and Jessica, on Antonio’s request. Shylock is made to sign a deed in which half his property is bequeathed to his daughter and son-in-law. Also, Shylock has to turn into a Christian. Therefore, he is left completely defeated and drained.
(iv) The tables have turned. How? Who is responsible for it? [2]
Answer:
Portia’s wit and intelligence turn the tables against Shylock. Antonio has lost all hope and is sure that the Jew will take his revenge and Antonio will have to pay the penalty of breaking the bond with his life. Shylock is all ready to take his pound of flesh when he is stopped by Portia stating that Shylock can only have a pound of flesh without shedding a single drop of blood. Shylock has no choice but to let go of his enemy. In fact, he not only has to forget about getting his principal but also loses all his property and has to face the humiliation of turning into a Christian. All this happened because of Portia.
Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Portia : You were to blame, I must be plain with you,
To part so slightly with your wife’s first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.
I gave my love a ring, and made him swear Never to part with it:
(i) Who is the speaker blaming and for what? [2]
Answer:
The speaker of the above lines is Portia. She is blaming Gratiano, Nerissa’s husband, for parting with the ring that his wife had given him. He had promised Nerissa that he would never part with the ring under any circumstances.
(ii) What is the speaker boasting about? What shocks the speaker? [2]
Answer:
The speaker, Portia, is boasting about the love and commitment that her husband has for her. She says that she can swear by anything that if it were her husband, he would have never parted with his ring under similar conditions. Portia is shocked to hear from Gratiano that Bassanio had ended up giving his ring to the lawyer who had saved Antonio’s life.
(iii) How does the speaker react to this revelation? What conditions does the speaker put down and for whom? [2]
Answer:
Portia is shocked and she can’t believe that Bassanio could part with such a precious gift as this one. Portia threatens her husband, Bassanio that she would not come to his bed till she sees the ring. She shows her anger and displeasure and tells Bassanio that she is sure that he has given the ring to a woman and not a man. She also threatens Bassanio that if that lawyer ever came near her she would become as liberal as Bassanio with the lawyer and give him her body, her husband’s bed and everything else.
(iv) Who is ‘my love’? What has this person done? How does this person justifies himself? [2]
Answer:
‘My love’ here refers to Bassanio, Portia’s husband. Bassanio has given his ring to the lawyer who saved Antonio. The ring had been given to Bassanio by Portia saying that he would never part with the ring, under any circumstances. Bassanio justifies himself by saying that had Portia known why, for whom, and how unwillingly he had given away the ring, she would never have been so displeased.
Section-C [10 Marks]
PROSE – SHORT STORIES
(Treasure Trove – A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)
Question 4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
That night I walked over to Luz Long’s room in the Olympic village to thank him. I knew that if it hadn’t been for him I probably wouldn’t be jumping in the finals the following day. We sat in his quarters and talked for two hours – about track and field, ourselves, the world situation, a dozen other things.
When I finally got up to leave, we both knew that a real friendship had been formed. Luz would go out to the field the next day trying to beat me if he could. But I knew that he wanted me to do my best—even if that meant my winning.
(i) How did the rivalry between the two players come to an end? [2]
Answer:
Seeing Owens disturbed, Luz Long approached him and tried to calm him down by giving suggestions. Suddenly all the tension seemed to flow away from his body as the truth what Long told him struck him. Full of confidence, he drew a line, a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump and qualified with almost a foot to spare. That night he went to Long’s room and thanked him. They sat and talked for two hours on every topic.
(ii) How did Luz Long react to Jesse winning the gold? [2]
Answer:
When Owens finished his jump he found Luz Long beside him congratulating him. He gave him a firm handshake which was far from any jealousy. He did not bother about the wrath of Hitler and congratulated Owens. He failed but helped a capable world record holder to set other records.
(iii) Why did Hitler glare at both of them? [3]
Answer:
Luz Long broke his own past record but did not win. But Jesse Owens set the Olympic record of jumping 26 feet 5 – 5/16 inches. Luz Long came to his side congratulating him by shaking his hands hard. Hitler was watching all this and he was not a hundred yards away from them. He could not tolerate the defeat of his athlete and besides congratulating the other athlete, he glared at both of them.
(iv) Why the reference to Coubertin has been made? [3]
Answer:
Coubertin is said to be the founder of the modem Olympic Games. He believed that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. Luz Long did not win but he presented the true example of this spirit.
Question 5.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Aw, you didn’t write that!” protested one of the boys.
“I did”, said Margot. “I did”.
“William!” said the teacher.
But that was yesterday. Now the rain was slackening, and the children were crushed in the great thick windows.
(i) Who is the speaker? Who is addressed here? Where are they? [2]
Answer:
One of the boys of Margot’s schoolroom is the speaker. He is addressing Margot when she reads the poem in the class in a quiet voice. He thinks that Margot is telling a lie and accuses her of not having written the poem herself. They are on the planet Venus where the sun shines only once in seven years and that too for an hour.
(ii) Where is the teacher right now? What happened in her absence? [2]
Answer:
The teacher has gone out of the classroom for some work. In her absence, the classmates bully and tease Margot as they hate her because they think that she is different from them. She belongs to a different planet, Earth and knows how the sun looks like. They forcibly take her to a closet and lock her inside.
(iii) What is being mentioned here? What is the significance of it, in the story ? [3]
Answer:
The poem that Margot has written about the appearance of the sun, has been mentioned here. The significance of this is that the children living on Venus have forgotten how the sun looks as they had only seen it seven years ago when they were too young and now they can’t recall the appearance of the sun. They have been living in a dark, water-logged world of continuous rain. They only discuss and write about the sun and that’s why they are jealous of Margot because she has come from the planet Earth and has seen the sun.
(iv) Why were the other children against her? What does it show of their disposition? [3]
Answer:
The other children of the planet Venus were against Margot because they found her different from them in many ways. Firstly, she came from the Earth and had experienced the sun, and secondly, she never mixed with them. She neither played games nor sang songs like them. Therefore, they developed an antipathy towards her and confronted her many times. They felt jealous of her and hated her because they thought that she was lying about the sun.
This shows that children have a natural tendency of being jealous towards those who have experienced something which they have not. They are intolerant towards those who are different from them. They become mean and insensitive and bully the other.
Section-D [10 Marks]
POETRY
(Treasure Trove – A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)
Question 6.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
“What writest thou ?” – The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”
“And is mine one ?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.”
(i) What was being written in the book by the angel? How did Ben Adhem learn of it? [2]
Answer:
The angel in Abou Ben Adhem’s room had a golden book in its hand. The angel was writing, in the book, the names of the people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem asked the angel what was being written in the golden book in the hands of the angel. The angel answered him and thus he learned about it.
(ii) Did the angel respond to Abou Ben Adhem’s inquiry? Was it in favour of Ben Adhem? [2]
Answer:
On seeing the angel write something in the golden book, Ben Adhem asked what it was writing. The angel answered Ben Adhem and told him that it was making a list of people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem was amused to hear this and asked whether his name too was in the list. The angel told him that his name was not on the list. This saddened him a little.
(iii) What was the speciality of the list that the angel was preparing? Did Ben Adhem wish to be on that list? [3]
Answer:
Abou Ben Adhem asked the angel about the list that it was preparing. The angel replied that the list was of people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem was pious and good and according to him, he loved God. So he asked the angel whether his name too was on the list. The angel answered in the negative. Though he behaved cheerfully, Ben Adhem was saddened because he wished to be in the list.
(iv) Ben Adhem immediately asked to be enlisted in the list of people who loved fellow humans. Why do you think he did that? What is the connection of that list with the list of people who loved God? [3]
Answer:
Abou Ben Adhem wished and expected to be in the list of the people who loved God. But when the angel told him that he was not in the list, he was disappointed. Nevertheless, he instantly overcame his displeasure and requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved their fellow human beings. Both these lists have a deep connection with each other. Ben Adhem got his name registered in the other because he knew when a person loves his fellow men, he is loved by God, and being loved by God is greater than loving God.
Question 7.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish
His dreams and his efforts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure as I’m standing here telling this story
Now its’ a strange one, but here’s what occurred.
The eight other runners stopped in their tracks
The ones who had trained for so long to compete
One by one they all turned around and came back to help him
And lifted the lad to his feet.
(i) Why does the poet say that the boy dashed his dreams in the dirt? [2]
Answer:
Before the start of the race, the boy must have had great hopes regarding his future and it is obvious that he had been imagining his success for a long time. But in the beginning of the race, the boy stumbles and falls down feeling embarrassed and hurt. The boy fell down in the dirt and the poet says that his dreams too dashed in the dirt. By this, the poet refers to the breaking of the boy’s dreams and aspirations.
(ii) Did all the runners run for help simultaneously? [2]
Answer:
Though all the runners ran to help the boy, they didn’t do it simultaneously. They did it one by one. As soon as the boy fell down, the runners broke away from the race and ran to help him. At first, one of the runners rushed to him and then the others followed suit one by one. Finally, all the other eight runners reached out to him and picked him up.
(iii) Why does the poet put so much emphasis on the training the runners had for competition? [3]
Answer:
The nine runners had been through rigorous training before entering the competition. The poet puts emphasis on their training because they were trained to compete with each other and move ahead leaving all the others behind. The generous act of the athletes went against their training when they selflessly broke away from the race and went to help their competitor. Moreover, they picked him up and ran with him to the finishing line. The poet emphasises how their intrinsic humanity overpowered their competitive training.
(v) How does the reaction of the eight athletes imply the spirit of sportsmanship? [3]
Answer:
The spirit of sportsmanship motivates a sportsperson to play a game without being insensitive to basic human values. It basically means that though sportspersons participating in the same event compete for success and glory with the same intensity and anxiety, they must not treat one another as ‘enemies’. Here, the athletes have shown a high degree of sportsmanship by sacrificing their own dreams, to help another athlete who was competing with them as a rival.