ICSE 10th Literature in english Sample Paper 6

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Sample Paper 6
ICSE Class X 2023-24
Literature in English
English Paper - 2
Time: 2 Hours Max. Marks: 80
General Instructions:
1. Answer to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately.
2. You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes.
3. This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
4. The time given at the head of this Paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
5. The paper has four Sections.
6. Section A is compulsory-All questions in Section A must be answered.
7. You must attempt one question from each of the Sections B, C and D and one other
question from any Section of your choice.
8. The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].

Section A
(Attempt all questions from this Section)

QUESTION 1.
Choose the correct answers to the questions from the given options.
(Do not copy the questions, write the correct answers only.) [16]

(i) In the poem Nine Gold Medals, what are the athletes waiting for?
(a) The waving of the flag (b) The sound of the gun
(c) The sound of the trumpet (d) The waving of the hand

(ii) In the poem Abu Ben Adhem, what is the angel compared to?
(a) Halo (b) Lotus
(c) Rose (d) Lily

(iii) How does Lorenzo recognize Portia even before he sees her when the two young women
return from Venice?
(a) By the clothes she wears (b) By the sound of her voice
(c) By the perfume she uses (d) By her touch

(iv) In the short story The Blue Bead, what were the contents of the locked chest?
(a) Silver and gold (b) Turquoises and opals
(c) Diamonds and opals (d) Platinum and turquoises
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(v) In the short story My Greatest Olympic Prize, Jesse Owens could not clear two of the three
long-jump trials because he _____.
(a) was nervous
(b) was over-confident
(c) was angry over the ‘master race’ theory of Hitler
(d) feared that lutz Long might defeat him

(vi) Who does Salarino wish ‘my gossip’ to be in Act 3 Scene I?

(a) An honest woman (b) An old woman
(c) A young lady (d) A trustworthy man

(vii) In the short story The Little Match Girl, why did the young girl sell matches?
(a) To save up money to buy new slippers
(b) To earn money to help support her poor family
(c) To earn enough money to buy a Christmas tree
(d) To buy a roast goose

(viii) In the poem Daffodils, the expression ‘I gazed and gazed’ the repetition of the word gazed
emphasises?
(a) Surprise (b) Action
(c) Passivity (d) Bewilderment

(ix) In the short story An Angel in Disguise, how did Maggie become a disabled person?
(a) She was disabled by birth
(b) She had fall from a window and had injured her spine
(c) She was suffering from a dangerous disease
(d) She had injured her leg while playing and was unable to walk

(x) In the drama, The Merchant of Venice, what did the people call the Goodwins?
(a) A dangerous shallow part (b) The shallow flats
(c) The place of shipwreck (d) A deadly site

(xi) In the short story All Summer in a Day, why don’t the other students like Margot?
(a) Margot picks on William.
(b) Margot’s experiences are very different than the other students’.
(c) Margot thinks she is better than the others.
(d) Margot does not like to take showers.

(xii) In the poem The Patriot, which figure of speech is used in the line : ‘with myrtle mixed in
my path like mad’ ?
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor
(c) Imagery (d) Alliteration

(xiii) In The Merchant of Venice, the devil is _____.

(a) Shylock (b) Tubal
(c) Chus (d) None of these
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(xiv) In the poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the caged bird sings about _____.
(a) the unknown things that he longs for and for freedom
(b) shadows and unknown things
(c) freedom and fat worms
(d) fear and rage

(xv) What does Salanio say about Antonio in Act 3 Scene I?

(a) Antonio was good and kind. (b) Antonio was good and generous.
(c) Antonio was good and honest. (d) Antonio was polite and courteous.

(xvi) “I say my daughter is my flesh and my blood.” Who says these words and to whom in Act
3 Scene 1?
(a) Salarino to Shylock (b) Shylock to Salarino
(c) Shylock to Lorenzo (d) Shylock to Antonio

Section B
(Answer one or more questions from this Section)

DRAMA
The Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare

QUESTION 2.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
I will be bound to pay it ten times o’er
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart.
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down truth. To the Duke. And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority.
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.
[as Balthazar]
It must not be. There is no power in Venice
Can alter a decree established;
‘Twill be recorded for a precedent
And many an error by the same example
Will rush into the state. It cannot be.

(i) Who is the speaker of the given lines? Who is speaking as Balthazar? [3]

(ii) Who will be ‘bound to pay ten times’ and of what? Why does the speaker offer to pay ten
times of the original sum? [3]

(iii) What else does the speaker offer? Who is he/she offering it to? [3]
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(iv) State Portia’s opinion regarding changing the law of Venice. [3]

(v) What does Bassanio suggest as an ultimate step? [4]

QUESTION 3.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
Bassanio : How many cowards, whose hearts are all as false
As stairs of sand wear yet upon their chins
The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars;
Who, inward search’d, have livers white as milk;
And these assume but valour’s excrement
To render them-redoubted. Look on beauty,
And you shall see it’ is purchased by the weight,

(i) Where is Bassanio? What is he doing? [3]

(ii) Why does Bassanio reject the golden as well as the silver casket? [3]

(iii) What does Bassanio mean by ‘The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars;’ ? [3]

(iv) Which casket appeals to Bassanio? What characteristics of Bassanio are highlighted by his
choice? [3]

(v) Explain ‘purchased by the weight’ with reference to the given lines. [4]

Section C
(Answer any one or more questions from this Section)

PROSE : Short Stories

(Treasure Trove – A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)

QUESTION 4.
Read the following lines from Ray Bradbury’s short story All Summer in a Day and answer the
questions that follow.
A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be
crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus and this was the
school room of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world
to set up civilisation and live out their lives.
‘It’s stopping, it’s stopping!’

(i) What kind of people reside on the planet Venus? How are they described in the given lines?
Why are they described so? [3]

(ii) What is referred to as the ‘raining world’ ? Why? [3]

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(iii) Describe the condition of Venus when it rains. [3]

(iv) ‘It’s stopping, It’s stopping!’ What is stopping? What does it tell us about the lives of the
characters? [3]

(v) State how the story is based on science fiction. Give reasons to support your answer. [4]

QUESTION 5.
Read the following extract from Jesse Owens’ short story, My Greatest Olympic Prize and
answer the questions that follow.
“Believe me, I know it,” I told him-and it felt good to say that to someone.
For the next few minutes we talked together. I didn’t tell Long what was ‘eating’ me, but
he seemed to understand my anger and he took pains to reassure me. Although he’d been
schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn’t believe in the Aryan-supremacy business
any more than I did. We laughed over the fact that he really looked the part, though. An
inch taller than I, he had a lean, muscular frame, clear blue eyes, blond hair and a strikingly
handsome, chiseled face. Finally, seeing that I had calmed down somewhat, he pointed to
the take-off board.

(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines? Who is he talking to and what are they talking about? [3]

(ii) How does Jesse Owens calm down? [3]

(iii) How is Luz Long’s view different from Hitler’s supremacy theory? [3]

(iv) Describe Luz Long’s physical appearance. [3]

(v) What did Luz Long share with Jesse Owens? How did his advice affect Jesse’s
performance? [4]

Section D
(Answer one or more questions from this Section)

POETRY
(Treasure Trove : A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)

QUESTION 6.
Read the following extract from Robert Browning’s poem The Patriot and answer the questions
that follow .
The air broke into a mist with bells,
The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.
Had I said, “ Good folk, mere noise repels–
But give me your Sun from yonder skies!”
They had answered, “ And afterward, what else”?
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(i) What do you think is happening in the above lines? [3]

(ii) What do you think about the mood of the speaker of the above lines? Why is he in that
mood? [3]

(iii) Describe ‘the air broke into a mist’. [3]

(iv) Explain “But give me your Sun from yonder skies” with reference to the above lines. [3]

(v) “The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.” Explain with reference to the above lines.
Where are these people now? What does it reflect about the people? [4]

QUESTION 7.
Read the following extract from David Roth’s poem Nine Gold Medals and answer the questions
that follow.
“Then all nine runners joined hands and continued
The one hundred meters reduced to a walk
And the banner above that said ‘Special Olympics’
Could not have been nearer the mark.”

(i) Why were these Olympic games called ‘Special Olympics’ ? [3]

(ii) Explain ‘then all runners joined hands’. [3]

(iii) Justify how the words on the banner turned significant? [3]

(iv) What is the message of this poem? [3]

(v) How many participants were there in the above-mentioned race? What made the race to be
‘reduced to a walk’ ? [4]

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