Oswal 61 Sample Question Papers ICSE Class 10 English-II Solutions
Section-A
Answer 1.
(i) (b) food, shelter, warm clothes and her grandmother
(ii) (a) public adulation and glory are short lived.
(iii) (a) Wandering herdsmen
(iv) (b) she wanted to check if her little clay cups were still in the cave where she had left them.
(v) (b) Stars
(vi) (b) her tone was full of anger and astonishment
(vii) (c) singing with fear and desperation for freedom
(viii) (b) The sun was to appear after seven years
(ix) (b) Love for the humankind is love for God.
(x) (c) Both (a) and (b)
(xi) (a) Lorenzo and Jessica
(xii) (d) Silence
(xiii) (c) “Your wife would give you little thanks for that”
(xiv) (a) They are looking for Shylock’s house
(xv) (b) Lorenzo
(xvi) (b) Whets his knife
Section-B
Answer 2.
(i) The two people in conversation are Portia, disguised as the lawyer, and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. As per the bond, Shylock can take only a pound of flesh. The bond does not permit him to take a single drop of blood. Also, he must weigh a pound of flesh accurately, without shedding even a ‘jot’ of blood.
(ii) Gratiano, a friend of Bassanio and Antonio who are also present in the court, is very happy when Portia comes out with this condition. When Portia allows Shylock to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body, nearest to his heart, Shylock calls Portia a great judge, Daniel. But now seeing that the tables have turned against Shylock, he applauds and makes fun of Shylock and ridicules him.
(iii) If Shylock sheds a single drop of blood while taking his pound of flesh, as per the bond, then all his property would be confiscated, and he would have to face a death sentence. His life would be at the mercy of the Duke. Finally, the duke spares Shylock’s life and half his property goes to the state of Venice and the other half, which was to go to Antonio, is given to Lorenzo and Jessica, on Antonio’s request. Shylock is made to sign a deed in which half his property is bequeathed to his daughter and son-in-law. Also, Shylock has to turn into a Christian. Therefore, he is left completely defeated and drained.
(iv) Portia’s wit and intelligence turn the tables against Shylock. Antonio has lost all hope and is sure that the Jew will take his revenge and Antonio will have to pay the penalty of breaking the bond with his life. Shylock is all ready to take his pound of flesh when he is stopped by Portia stating that Shylock can only have a pound of flesh without shedding a single drop of blood. Shylock has no choice but to let go of his enemy. In fact, he not only has to forget about getting his principal but also loses all his property and has to face the humiliation of turning into a Christian. All this happened because of Portia.
(v) Portia is a witty woman whose ingenious plan saves the day by not only reversing Antonio’s death sentence, but also bestowing fortune on Lorenzo and Jessica, which was rightfully theirs. She is also confident and well-versed in politics and is thorough with the rule of her land which comes to her advantage in pushing Shylock in his own spun web of deceit.
Answer 3.
(i) The speaker of the above lines is Portia. She is blaming Gratiano, Nerissa’s husband, for parting with the ring that his wife had given him. He had promised Nerissa that he would never part with the ring under any circumstances.
(ii) The speaker, Portia, is boasting about the love and commitment that her husband has for her. She says that she can swear by anything that if it were her husband, he would have never parted with his ring under similar conditions. Portia is shocked to hear from Gratiano that Bassanio also had ended up giving his ring to the lawyer who had saved Antonio’s life.
(iii) Portia is shocked and she can’t believe that Bassanio can part with such a precious gift. Portia threatens her husband, Bassanio that she will not come to his bed till she sees the ring. She shows her anger and displeasure and tells Bassanio that she is sure that he has given the ring to a woman and not a man. She also threatens her husband that if that lawyer ever came near her she would become as liberal as Bassanio and give him everything she has.
(iv) ‘My love’ here refers to Bassanio, Portia’s husband. Bassanio has given his ring to the lawyer who saved Antonio’s life. The ring had been given to Bassanio by Portia saying that he would never part with the ring, under any circumstances. Bassanio justifies himself by saying that had Portia known why, for whom, and how unwillingly he had given away the ring, she would never have been so displeased.
(v) Portia is simply pulling Bassiano’s and Gratiano’s leg by making a demand of seeing the rings that she had herself taken from them in disguise of the judge and Nerissa as her clerk. She obviously knows that they don’t have their rings with them, which is why she boasts so much about the love and oath that were sealed in those rings, only to scare their husbands. She later reveals the rings and further extends the joke by telling their husbands that they are having an affair with the judge and the clerk who gave them their rings. However, she reveals at the end that it was herself disguised to save Antonio’s life.
Section-C
Answer 4.
(i) After having his dinner, Mr. Thompson went to the little chamber where Maggie was lying. He found a pair of large bright eyes looking at him from the snowy bed. The looks were tender, grateful and pleading. This gave him extreme joy. Joe Thompson sat down and for me first time, examined the child carefully under the lamplight. The tender face was attractive and full of childish sweetness on which suffering had not been able to leave its marks. This strengthened Mr. Thompson’s sympathy for Maggie.
(ii) On the first day, after returning from his work, Joe Thompson encountered the girl’s childish face for the first time. He sat down beside her and taking her soft little hand confirmed her name. She affirmed in a trembling voice that her name was Maggie. Mr. Thompson asked about her sickness, then her treatment, and about the pain. The girl replied that she had some pain but now as she was in the soft bed, it felt good and comfortable. She was satisfied and grateful to Mr. Thompson.
(iii) At first Mrs. Thompson was against taking care of Maggie and insisted her husband to send her back to the poorhouse immediately. Thompson reminded her of the Bible and explained to her that it was a small thing for them to keep that poor motherless child for a single night. The voice was very strong but simultaneously there was moisture in his eyes. Mrs. Thompson did not answer but a soft feeling crept into her heart. She then spent the whole day with Maggie and at night she made an effort to be indifferent to Maggie in front of her husband. She kept silent on that theme and gave the child a toasted slice of bread which was softened with milk and butter added with a cup of tea. This showed that the chords of her heart were struck with sympathy for the child.
(iv) Earlier Mrs. Thompson was adamant for sending the poor child back to the poorhouse. But with the passage of time, the harshness of her behaviour converted into softness and her heart began to melt towards little Maggie. The tenderness innocence, patience, gratitude, nature and purity of the child moved her a lot and she asked her husband to keep her for one or two days more on the pretext of her weakness and helplessness before sending her back. Finally, she gave up her decision of sending Maggie to the poorhouse and accepted her wholeheatedly.
(v) The sick and helpless child brouhgt light and happiness to Thompson’s house. She was a blessing for them. For a long period of time, it had been dark, cold and miserable because Mrs. Thompson had no one to take care or love. That is why she became a sore, irritable and ill-tempered woman. Now the sweetness of that sick child who was also thirsty for getting someone’s love became honey to her soul as she carried her in her heart as well as arms. As for Joe, there was not a single man in the whole neighbourhood who drank as precious wine as the Maggie came as an angel in disguise in their house and filled its dreary chambers with love.
Answer 5.
(i) Seeing Owens disturbed, Luz Long approached him and tried to calm him down by giving suggestions. Suddenly all the tension seemed to flow away from his body as the truth what Long told him struck him. Full of confidence, he drew a line, a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump and qualified with almost a foot to spare. That night he went to Long’s room and thanked him. They sat and talked for two hours on every topic.
(ii) When Owens finished his jump he found Luz Long beside him congratulating him. He gave him a firm handshake which was far from any jealousy. He did not bother about the wrath of Hitler and congratulated Owens. He failed but helped a capable world record holder to set other records.
(iii) Luz Long broke his own past record but did not win. But Jesse Owens set the Olympic record of jumping 26 feet 5 – 5/16 inches. Luz Long came to his side congratulating him by shaking his hands hard. Hitler was watching all this and he was not a hundred yards away from them. He could not tolerate the defeat of his athlete and instead of congratulating the other athlete, he glared at both of them.
(iv) Coubertin is said to be the founder of the modern Olympic Games. He believed that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. Luz Long did not win but he presented the true example of this spirit.
(v) Jesse Owens recalls the incident in Olympic village with Luz Long where he bonded with him over their sport event. Their conversation with each other laid the foundation of their friendship, but what made it special was Luz’s reaction towards Jesse’s victory which wasn’t fake at all. Jesse had broken an Olympic record and while the whole stadium was glaring at him, Luz shook his hand proudly with a smile, which was worth more than all the gold medals and cups Jesse had.
Section-D
Answer 6.
(i) The angel in Abou Ben Adhem’s room had a golden book in its hand. The angel was writing, in the book, the names of the people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem asked the angel what was being written in the golden book in the hands of the angel. The angel answered him and thus he learned about it.
(ii) On seeing the angel write something in the golden book, Ben Adhem asked what it was writing. The angel answered Ben Adhem and told him that it was making a list of people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem was amused to hear this and asked whether his name too was in the list. The angel told him that his name was not on the list. This saddened him a little.
(iii) Abou Ben Adhem asked the angel about the list that it was preparing. The angel replied that the list was of people who loved God. Abou Ben Adhem was pious and good and according to him, he loved God. So he asked the angel whether his name too was on the list. The angel answered in the negative. Though he behaved cheerfully, Ben Adhem was saddened because he wished to be in the list.
(iv) Abou Ben Adhem wished and expected to be in the list of the people who loved God. But when the angel told him that he was not in the list, he was disappointed. Nevertheless, he instantly overcame his displeasure and requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved their fellow human beings. Both these lists have a deep connection with each other. Ben Adhem got his name registered in the other because he knew when a person loves his fellow men, he is loved by God, and being loved by God is greater than loving God.
(v) The key factor in Romantic style of poetry is that it uses simple words to convey complex emotions altogether. The poem “Abou Ben Adhem” is an appreciation and celebration of human emotion of fraternity and love which, according to the poet is next to Godliness. In the end it is revealed that God’s favourites are those who love his creations. This is expressed in an easy flowing language with a simple rhyme scheme of aabbccdd, but the message it delivers is powerful and timeless.
Answer 7.
(i) The poet says that the sparkling waves danced in the breeze, but the beauty of the bright daffodils surpassed their beauty. The daffodils seemed to dance with the breeze with much more liveliness and their sight seemed happier than the waves which did not bring as much joy as the yellow flowers.
(ii) Jocund company means a cheerful company of someone. In this stanza by ‘jocund company’ the poet refers to the joyful company of the daffodils. He was amazed at the beautiful vision and could not help to be happy. They were successful in changing the pensive mood of the poet.
(iii) Wealth comes to the poet by an uncountable happiness from the site of daffodils. Its remembrance causes a transformation from the melancholy mood to a joyful mood and fills the poet’s heart with happiness. Sweet memories from the scene are more valuable than money.
(iv) In these lines the poet says that there are the other things which are producing the beauty. But the happiness of the golden Daffodils is more than other natural scenes. The poet wants to be here all the day. He thinks that their value is more than money.
(v) The rhyme scheme followed in the poem is “ababcc”. The lines explain that the poet was so enchanted at the sight of the flowers that he kept on looking at them. It appeared that he has received some sort of precious wealth as a permanent kind of happiness far more valuable than money.
ICSE 61 Sample Question Papers
All Subjects Combined for Class 10 Exam 2023
The dot mark ◉ field are mandatory, So please fill them in carefully
To download the Sample Paper (PDF File), Please fill & submit the form below.