(English Medium) ICSE Class 10 - CISCE Important Questions

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
(Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: Robert Frosty)

(i) Who is ‘I’ referred to in the extract? Which season of the year is it? What evidence is there in the poem to support your answer? 

(ii) Who has made him aware of his mistake? How does it make the speaker aware of his mistake? What does it seem to say? 

(iii) What are the three sounds heard? 

(iv) What has been said earlier by the poet about the owner of the woods? 

(v) What does lovely, dark and deep suggest? What is the underlying significance in the repetition of the last two lines of the extract? Mention the moral tag that the poet attaches to the poem. 

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The morning stretched calm, beautiful, and warm.
Sprawling half-clad, I gazed out at the form
Of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
I saw the old stone lantern brightly lit.
(A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945: Vikram Seth)

(i) In which country did the incident described in the poem occur? What had caused the flashes? What happened to his home soon after? 

(ii) Describe the injuries suffered by the Doctor. 

(iii) What was his wife’s name? What happened to a house standing before them? 

(iv) How does he describe the people he met on the way? 

(v) Why were the people walking with their hands away from their bodies? What was common to all of them? What message does the poem convey? 

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“That only leaves October, November, and December,”’ said the Queen. "And after that, we shall have to begin all over again.”
“No, we shan’t,” said the King, “because I think twelve daughters are enough for any man and after the birth of dear little December I shall be reluctantly compelled to cut off your head.”
He cried bitterly when he said this, for he was extremely fond of the Queen.

(i) Why did the king change the names of his daughters so many times? 

(ii) In what way was Princess September different from her sisters?  What reason does the author give for this difference in their temperaments? 

(iii) Which unusual birthday tradition did the King of Siam observe? Mention some of the gifts that he gave. 

(iv) Why did Princess September put the Nightingale in a cage? What reasons did she give to the bird for putting it in a cage and then keeping it there? 

(v) How did the bird behave upon being locked in a cage? What is the message of the story? 

The Last Leaf explores the theme of Friendship and Self-sacrifice. Discuss this with close reference to O’Henry’s ‘The Last Leaf’.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
These three had elaborated old Major’s teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism.

(i) Who had elaborated on Old Major’s teachings? 

(ii) When and where did they hold their secret meetings? How did the meetings end? 

(iii) What had the Old Major said about the ‘nature of this life of ours’? 

(iv) Who were the most faithful disciples? How did they contribute towards the preparations for the rebellion? 

(v) How did the animals celebrate the day after the rebellion? 

Give an account of how Napoleon and his companions were unjust and cruel in their behavior towards the other animals.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
NEXT MORNING, I HAD AN IDEA. IT WAS nothing clear cut, merely speculative, But I considered it all the way to school. Then, after assembly, as soon as they were quiet I waded in. This might be a bit rough, I thought, but here goes.
“I am your teacher, and I think it right and proper that I should let you know something of my plans-for this class.”

(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines? Where is he? In what mood was he when he entered the class? 

(ii) What did the narrator expect from his students at this moment? 

(iii) Who entered soon after this? What did she do that made the narrator angry? What challenges did he give her? 

(iv) What was the effect of the challenge on her? What plan did the narrator have in mind regarding the conduct of the young ladies? Whose help did he seek for this? 

(v) What did the narrator expect from the boy? What was the reaction of the children when they heard the narrator’s expectations? 

Give an account of the incidents of racial discrimination that Braithwaite has described in the novel ‘To Sir With Love’. 

"Boxer lives his life in patience and unquestioning service." How far is this statement true? Throw light on Boxer's character. 

What was the blue bead?

In H.C. Anderson's story, what forces the Little Match Girl to go about selling matches on the street?

When Luz Long said, 'something must be eating you' he meant that Jesse Owens must be ______.

"We'll keep her a day or two longer; she is so weak and helpless." Who said these words? To whom?

What was the very first thing that the children noticed when it stopped raining on Venus in Ray Bradbury's story. 'All Summer in a Day'?

Which of the following lines tells us that the poet Wordsworth carried a mental picture of the daffodils?

Why according to Maya Angelou, does the caged bird sing?

The line 'The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway' in Browning's poem 'The Patriot' means ______.

Identify the list in which Abou Ben Adhem's name appeared right at the top.

That special human quality does the poem 'Nine Gold Medals' celebrate?

To whom does Portia compare Bassanio as he steps forward to take the casket test?