ICSE 10th Literature in English Sample Paper 03 Page 1

Sample Paper 03
ICSE Class X 2024-25
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 question, write the correct answer only.)

(i) What metaphor does Antony use to depict Caesar’s dead body?
(a) A slain tiger (b) A dead lion
(c) A hunted deer (d) A fallen eagle

(ii) In Brutus’ line, “The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated,” what does
“glory not extenuated” signify?
(a) Caesar’s legacy was tarnished due to his actions.
(b) Caesar’s fame was not exaggerated.
(c) Caesar’s achievements were not belittled.
(d) Caesar’s pride was hurt.

(iii) Why does Brutus accuse Cassius of having an “itching palm”?

(a) Cassius was excessively superstitious.
(b) Cassius failed to distribute resources fairly among the troops.
(c) Cassius accepted bribes.
(d) Cassius was suspicious of Brutus’ loyalty.
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(iv) When asked about his sleep disturbance, how does Lucius respond?
(a) He confesses walking in his sleep.
(b) He denies crying out in his sleep or having any dreams.
(c) He claims to have heard strange noises but saw nothing.
(d) He admits to having a vivid dream involving Caesar’s ghost.

(v) How does Titinius pay tribute to Cassius before ending his own life?
(a) By placing a laurel branch on Cassius’s head
(b) By crowning him with a wreath
(c) By covering Cassius’ body with a cloak
(d) By performing a ritual

(vi) What does Pindarus report to Cassius from the hilltop?

(a) The discovery of a hidden path to safety
(b) The capture of Antony
(c) The encirclement of Titinius
(d) Brutus’s rallying cry to the troops

(vii) Which of the following lines contains the same literary device as the one in H.W. Longfellow, ‘Is thronged
with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.
(a) ‘The stranger at my fireside cannot see The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear’;
(b) ‘Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires
(c) ‘Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night
(d) ‘The spirit-world around this world of sense. Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere

(viii) What happens to the pit during the lions’ battle?

(a) It shakes with thunderous applause.
(b) It darkens as the lions’ shadows loom over it.
(c) It gets covered in sand and mane.
(d) It emanates a strong smell of rotten flesh.

(ix) How does Angelou describe the air after the departure of great souls?
1. Heavy
2. Ominous
3. Light
4. Sterile
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 1 and 3
(c) 1 and 4 (d) 1 only

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(x) Who, according to Frost, can truly understand his joy in finding “the least display of mind”?
(a) Those who know him personally
(b) Nobody
(c) The mite
(d) Those with similar intellect

(xi) Which statement best reflects Bhisma Lochan Sharma’s response to the chaos caused by his singing?
(a) He regrets causing distress and attempts to stop singing.
(b) He is indifferent and continues singing regardless.
(c) He revels in the disruption and panic caused.
(d) He struggles between the joy of singing and the chaos it creates.

(xii) Arrange the following events from the story in the correct sequence:
1. The photographer suggests using the sulphide process to remove the ears entirely in the print.
2. The photographer proposes capturing the photograph with the protagonist’s face three-quarters full.
3. The photographer suggests using the delphide process to put in new eyebrows.
4. The photographer asks the protagonist to expand his lungs.
(a) 2, 4, 1, 3 (b) 4, 2, 1, 3
(c) 2, 4, 3, 1 (d) 4, 2, 3, 1

(xiii) What is Adjoa’s primary difficulty when interacting with Nana?

(a) Adjoa struggles to articulate her thoughts effectively.
(b) Nana is initially distracted before she listens to Adjoa.
(c) Nana shows reluctance to engage in conversations.
(d) Nana cannot comprehend Adjoa’s thoughts.

(xiv) What injury does Martin sustain in the short story The Elevator?
(a) Bruised ribs (b) Sprained ankle
(c) Broken arm (d) Broken leg

(xv) In The Pedestrian, what is the relationship between these statements?

Statement 1 : Crime was ebbing.
Statement 2 : The police force had been reduced to one car.
(a) Statement 1 is a contradiction of Statement 2.
(b) Statement 1 is the cause for Statement 2.
(c) Statement 2 is the cause for Statement 1.
(d) Statement 1 is independent of Statement 2.
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(xvi) Why was M. Hamel dressed in his special attire during the lesson?
(a) He wanted to demonstrate how attire reflects one’s nationality.
(b) He wore it to mark the importance of the final French lesson.
(c) He had planned a special lesson for both students and villagers.
(d) He was attending an event later on the significance of French.

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

DRAMA
The Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare

QUESTION 2.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Artemidorus : O Caesar, read mine first; for mine’s a suit
That touches Caesar nearer: read it, great Caesar.
Caesar : What touches us ourself shall be last served.

(i) How is Artemidorus feeling in the above line?

Give reason for Artemidorus’ feelings. Does his worry get resolved?

(ii) How does Artemidorus plead with Caesar? What is the significance of the word ‘suit’ here?

(iii) How does Caesar respond to Artemidorus’ appeal?

What does his reaction tell us about Caesar?

(iv) Do you agree that Caesar was being stubborn in the above extract? Give reasons justifying your answer.

(v) Explain the line : “What touches us ourself shall be last served.”
Can you say that this line depicts a split between his public and private self?

QUESTION 3.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Cassius : I an itching palm?
You know that you are Brutus that speak this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.
Brutus : The name of Cassius honours this corruption,
And chastisement cloth therefore hide his head.
Cassius : Chastisement!
Brutus : Remember March, the ides of March remember:
Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake?
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What villain touch’d his body, that did stab,

And not for justice? What, shall one of us
That struck the foremost man of all this world
But for supporting robbers, shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honours
For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.

(i) What does ‘an itching palm’ mean here?

Why does Brutus use the phrase?

(ii) What happened on ides of March?

Why does Brutus remind Cassius of it?

(iii) How does Cassius feel when he hears Brutus’ words? How does he defend himself?

(iv) Did Brutus feel that Cassius was acting like Caesar? Why? What does Brutus say he would rather be than
being a dishonest Roman?

(v) What was Brutus’s main argument against Cassius that led to the above dialogue?
Why had Brutus not taken any action against Cassius yet?

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 extract from Stephen Leacock’s short story, ‘With the Photographer’ and answer the
questions that follow:
‘The photographer beckoned me in. I thought he seemed quieter and graver than before. I
think, too, there was a certain pride in his manner.
He unfolded the proof of a large photograph, and we both looked at it in silence.
‘Is it me?’ I asked.
‘Yes,’ he said quietly, ‘it is you, and we went on looking at it.’

(i) Where was the narrator?

Why had he gone there?
Why do you think that there was a certain pride in the photographer’s manner?

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(ii) What does the word ‘proof’ mean in this context?

Why did the narrator ask, ‘Is it me?’

(iii) Which of the narrator’s facial features had the photographer altered?

(iv) What was the only part of the narrator’s face that seemed original in the photograph?
How did the photographer plan to ‘fix’ this?

(v) At the end of the story the narrator flies into a rage. What makes him angry?
How would you justify the narrator’s angry outburst?

QUESTION 5.

Read the following extract from Ray Bradbury’s short story, ‘The Pedestrian’ and answer the questions that
follow:
‘He would stand upon the corner of an intersection and peer down long moonlit avenues of sidewalk in four
directions, deciding which way to go, but it really made no difference;’

(i) What was Leonard Mead’s occupation?

What did he love to do?
When is the story set?

(ii) To what does Mead compare his walk through the empty streets?
Mention two reasons he gives for making this comparison?

(iii) Why had Mead decided to change his footwear from hard-heeled shoes to sneakers?

(iv) What happened quite suddenly as he was making his way home?
What was Mead’s immediate reaction?

(v) Why was Mead taken away by the police car?

Would you call this a horror story or a piece of science fiction?
Give reasons for your answer.

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

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

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QUESTION 6.

Read the following extract from Maya Angelou’s poem ‘When Great Trees Fall’ and answer the questions that
follow.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken

(i) What do the eyes see ‘briefly’ ?

(ii) How does the use of the word ‘briefly’ connect to our response while experiencing grief?

(iii) What happens when we experience a moment of ‘hurtful clarity’ ?

(iv) What kind of words does our memory ‘gnaws on’ ?

(v) “Promised walks never taken”

Why were the walks not taken?
What significance does it have in the poem?

QUESTION 7.

Read the following extract from H. W. Longfellow’s poem ‘Haunted Houses’ and answer the questions that
follow.
The spirit-world around this world of sense
Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapour dense
A vital breath of more ethereal air

(i) How supernatural and material worlds exist according to the extract?

(ii) Which figure of speech is used in the above extract?

(iii) How are the supernatural and material world connected to each other?

(iv) Explain ‘The spirit-world around this world of sense. Floats like an atmosphere’ [Analysis) (3)

(v) How are human emotions affected by the spirit world?

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