Students can refer to the following Sample Paper ICSE Class 10 English Literature Set B with Answers provided below based on the latest syllabus and examination guidelines issued for ICSE English Literature. All specimen papers have been prepared covering all chapters given in ICSE English Literature book for Class 10. You should also refer to ICSE Class 10 English Literature Solutions.
Sample Paper ICSE Class 10 English Literature Set B with Answers
SUBJECT: LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
CLASS: X
TIME: 2hours MM: 80
NOTE: Attempt FIVE questions in all. You must attempt at least ONE question from each section A ,B and
C and any two other questions.
SECTION A: DRAMA
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
QUESTION 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff; you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them, they are not worth the search.
(a)Who is the speaker of the above lines? What does Gratiano say about the people whose faces are like
standing pond? [3]
(b)Explain the given extract. [3]
(c)How has Bassanio squandered his wealth? [3]
(d) Which childhood instance does Bassanio give? Why does he give this example? [3]
(e) What all does Bassanio say while praising Portia? With whom does he compare Portia? [4]
QUESTION 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Glancing an eye of pity on his losses,
That have of late so huddled on his back,
Enow to press a royal merchant down,
And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint,
From stubborn Turks and Tartars, never train’d
To offices of tender courtesy.
(a)Who is the speaker of the above lines? Why does he give the example of Turks and Tartars? [3]
(b)Why does Shylock refer holy Sabbath? Which three examples does Shylock give to justify his action of
taking a pound of flesh? [3]
(c)Whom can Bassanio question but not the Jew (According to Antonio)? [3]
(d)What all does Shylock speak about the slaves? [3]
(e)How does Antonio compare himself when he says that he has to die? How does Bassanio react to
this?
QUESTION 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Behold there stand the caskets, noble prince:
If you choose that wherein I am contain’d,
Straight shall our nuptial rites be solemnized.
(a) What are the three conditions that the Prince of Arragon repeats? [3]
(b) How does Prince of Arragon describe the golden casket? [3]
(c) Which casket does he choose? Why? [3]
(d) What does he find inside the casket? How does he react? [3]
(e) Which news does Portia’s servant bring at the end of this scene? How does Portia react to the news?
SECTION B: POETRY
A COLLECTION OF POEMS
QUESTION 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood.
Or so the story is told.
(a)Which figure of speech has been used in the line ‘In bleak and bitter cold’? State how the following line is connected with the theme of the poem: [3]
‘Their dying fire in need of logs.’
(b) What character traits would you associate with ‘the first man’ and the ‘next man’ ? Why? [3]
(c) What is meant by ‘tattered clothes’? Why does the third one give his coat a hitch? [3]
(d) What game is the poet referring to while mentioning the last man of the group? [3]
(e) Describe the relevance of the poem in relation to the present society? [4]
QUESTION 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by,
And then the old man shook his head,
And with a natural sigh.
(a)What did old Kaspar took from the boy? Why did the boy stand expectant? [3]
(b)What all did Kaspar’s father suffer due to the war? [3]
(c) Give a brief description of the destruction caused by the war? [3]
(d) Who won the battle? How does the opinion of the children differ from that of Kaspar? [3]
(e) Write the theme of the poem. [4]
QUESTION 6
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, Never, Never let
Them near your television set
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
(a)Describe what the poet has seen at every house? Why is he upset with what he has seen? [3]
(b) How does television prove to be useful and convenient for the parents? [3]
(c) According to the poet, what ill effects does TV have on children? [3]
(d) Who will give dirty looks to whom? Why? What all other tantrums will follow this? [3]
(e) The poet advises children to read books for entertainment. What is your opinion? Give reasons for
your answer.
SECTION C: PROSE
A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES
QUESTION 7
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were
crossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping
push against the spokes of wheels.
(a)What is a pontoon bridge? Why were many people crossing that bridge? [3]
(b) Where did the old man come from? Give a brief description of his physical appearance. [3]
(c) How old was the old man? What did the narrator advise him? How did the old man react? [3]
(d) How many animals did he have? What do these animals symbolise? [3]
(e) The story is set on an Easter Sunday, which symbolically shows renewal and peace. How is it ironi cal
with reference to the events in the story? [4]
QUESTION 8
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
My words are like the stars that never change. Whatever Seattle says, the Great Chief at Washington
can rely upon with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or seasons. The White Chief
says that Big Chief at Washington sends us greetings of friendship and goodwill.
(a) How does Chief Seattle compare the population of Red Indians with that of White people? [3]
(b) Why does Chief Seattle consider the offer of White Chief just and generous? Why does he blame
Red Indians for their untimely decay? [3]
(c) Who were Haidas and Tsimshians? Why does Chief Seattle mention them? [3]
(d) What all does Chief Seattle speak about the God of Whites? [3]
(e) How are the ancestors of Red Indians different from that of Whites? [4]
QUESTION 9
Answer the following questions with reference to Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘Face in the Dark’.
(a)What kind of weather was there when Oliver was returning to his school? How does it add to the setting of the story? [4]
(b) What kind of man was Oliver as described earlier by the author? How did he prove himself the opposite of this description? [4]
(c) Mr. Oliver’s encounter with the boy and the watchman could either be real or figment of his imagination. Give your comments in the context of the story. [8]