(English Medium) ICSE Class 10 - CISCE Question Bank Solutions for English 2 (Literature in English)

What is the central conflict of the story “All Summer in a Day”?

What is the climax of Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day?”

What is the setting of “All Summer in a Day”?

What does “I think the sun is a flower” mean in Ray Bradbury’s short story “All Summer in a Day”?  

Why was Margot unhappy on Venus in “All Summer in a Day”?

What makes Margot different from the other children? Why does this cause the other children dislike Margot?

What is the central conflict of the story “All Summer in a Day”?

What are examples of simile, metaphor, and personification in “All Summer in a Day”?

Why was Margot unhappy on Venus in “All Summer in a Day”?

What is the theme of all summer in a day by Ray Bradbury?

What is the climax of Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day?”

What is the setting of “All Summer in a Day”?

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.
(i) Name the speaker. Why did the speaker appeal to the Jew for mercy? Earlier who else in the play appealed for mercy? 
(ii) What are the three qualities of mercy which the speaker has stated just before the extract? 
(iii) Give the meaning of‘But mercy is above this sceptred sway’. How does Shylock turn down Portia’s plea for mercy? What does he insist on? 
(iv) What is Bassanio ready to do for Antonio in the court? Why is Bassanio snubbed immediately by the disguised Portia? 
(v) Mention two prominent character traits of Shylock as highlighted through the scene from which the extract has been taken. Substantiate your answer with examples from the text. 

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Inspector: [Sharply] Are you sure there was nobody in the room already?
De Levis: [Taken aback] I don’t know. I never thought. I didn’t look under the bed if you mean that.
Inspector: [Jotting I Did not look under bed. Did you look under it after the theft?
De Levis: No. I didn’t.
Inspector: Ah! Now, what did you do after you came back from your bath? Just give us that precisely.

(i) What reply did De Levis give to the inspector’s last question in the extract? 
(ii) What made De Levis check the contents of his pocketbook? What did he find there?
Whom did he go to upon discovering the theft? 
(iii) Who was Robert? Where was Robert’s room? At what time did he take De Levis’ clothes and boots? 
(iv) What is the Inspector’s final theory of the theft? 
(v) Whom did De Levis accuse of stealing his money? What were his reasons for making this accusation? 

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Mabel: [Utterly surprised] Ronny! Do they want me in Court?
Dancy: No.
Mabel: What is it, then? Why are you back?
Dancy: Spun.
Mabel: [Blank] Spun? What do you mean? What’s spun?
Dancy: The case. They’ve found out through those notes.
Mabel: Oh [Staring at his face] Who?
(i) Where are Mabel and Dancy at this time? What was Mabel doing just before this conversation? 
(ii) Why did Mabel say, “Do they want me in court?” Explain the meaning of spun in the extract? 
(iii) What ‘notes’ is Dancy talking about now?. How does Mabel react immediately after the extract”: 
(iv) Dancy leaves a note for his best friend towards the end of the play. What is the name of his best friend? What is written in the note?
(v) What does Dancy do at the end? Why does he do that? What is your opinion of Mabel and Dancy? 

With close reference to the story ‘The Bet’ by Anton Chekhov, mention the clauses of the bet as laid down between the young lawyer and the old banker. Give an account of the events that follow the bet .

Give an account of how lies were against Snowball after his expulsion, in order to paint him as a traitor.

Which courtesies did Braithwaite ask his class to observe and how did the students react to these ‘new rules’? Describe the incident that brought about a change in  Denham’s hostile attitude towards Braithwaite

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?