Cbse class 10th English

most repeated questions

1. Did the letter reach God? Why did

the postmaster send a reply go
Lencho?
answer:- the letter was not delivered to
the God because he didn't want to
jeopardize him great faith in God. The
mailman responded to Lencho. As a
result, the postal delivered the 70
pesos to the Lencho. The postmaster
and post office staff gathered 70 from
his own earnings and sent it to
Lencho.

2. What does Mandela refer to as 'an

extraordinary human disaster ?

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 Ans:- Nelson Mandela reffered to it as
an extraordinary human disaster
because it was the practice of South
Apartheid. During the apartheid
government, people were separated
based on their skin colour. Black
people lacked adequate constitutional
rights.

3. Why did Ebright lose interest in

tagging butterflies?
Ans:- Ebright used to brand butterflies
wings and then release them. In reality
thousands of monarch butterflies lived in
the basement of his house . He began to
lose interest in it because it was a
monotonous job with little feedback.

4. Why did Bholi not marry Bishamber ?

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 Ans:- Bholi was devoted to her parents
and for their sake respect and
pleasure she agreed to marry
Bishamber. When Bishamber wanted
5,000 rupees as dowry and insulted
her father, she refused to marry him in
order to safeguard Ramlal's dignity.

5. What excited Rajvir ? Why did

Pranjol not share his excitement ?
Ans :- The beautiful secenery and wide
range of green tea gardens excited Rajvir.
Pranjol did not share his excitement since
he was bom and brought up in Assam, a
place familiar to him.

6. What was Horace Danby’s hobby ?

How did he manage to fulfill it ?

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 Ans:- Horace Danby was fond of
collecting rare and expensive books.
He managed to fulfill it by breaking
open a safe each year.
(d) Since no one noticed her shabby
shawl, Matilda (Mme Loisel) left the
ball in a hurry. Her character depicts
her false pride and vanity in material
things.

7. Why did Matilda (Mme Loisel) leave

the ball in a hurry ? What does it show
about her character?
Ans:- Since no one noticed her shabby
shawl, Matilda (Mme Loisel) left the
ball in a hurry. Her character depicts
her false pride and vanity in material
things.

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8. What lesson on death and suffering
did the Buddha teach Gotami in the
chapter, ‘The Sermon at Banaras’?

Ans:- In his sermon at Banaras,

Buddha taught Gotami that the life of
mortals is brief, troubled and combined
with pain. Death is common for all, it
cannot be avoided. He compared
human life to ripe fruits that eventually
decay or as earthen vessels that will
break someday. Neither a father nor
his kinsmen can save anyone.
Weeping or grieving cannot bring back
the dead to life nor bring peace of
mind but only cause pain and suffering
to the grieving body. One should
accept death without lamentation,
complaint and overcome sorrow and

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 grief thus, bringing peace of mind,
which is a blessing.

9. What do we learn about the financial

condition of the bakers of Goa?

Ans:- The bakers of Goa led a

prosperous life. Baking was a
profitable profession in the old days as
bakers never starved. The families and
servants of these bakers always
looked happy and prosperous. Their
plum physique is an open testimony of
their prosperity.

10. In the poem ‘Trees’, where are the

trees? What are their roots, twigs, etc
trying to do?

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 Ans:- In the poem ‘Trees’, the trees are
inside the house. The roots work to
disengage themselves from the cracks in
the veranda floor. When the tree grows,
it’s leaves strain towards the glass. The
small twigs and boughs try to move to the
doors while growing.

11. Which book did Ebright’s mother get

for him? How did it change his life?

Ans:- Ebright’s mother got him a

children’s book titled ‘The Travels of
Monarch X’. The book described how
Monarch butterflies migrate to Central
America. This opened the world of
science to yound and enthused
collector, Ebright.

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 12. School education turned Bholi from
a dumb cow into a bold girl. How did
she save her father from a huge
expense and become his support in
his old age?

Ans:- Bholi, despite her name, slowly

gained her confidence through her
teacher. With the help of her teacher, she
got a good education.

She understood how society works and

was brave enough to stand up against the
evns present in society. She saved her
father from huge expenses and became
his support in his old age by refusing to
marry Bishamber who was an old, lame
man. She refused to pay the dowry of five
thousand. She stood up with courage and

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acted boldly despite knowing that she
may not get married. Bholi decided to
serve her parents in their old age and
serve in the same school in which she
studied.

13. Once we decide to achieve

something, so many difficulties come
in our way. With focused attention we
can make that achievement. How did
Valli succeed in fulfilling her desire of
riding a bus?

Ans:- Eight-year-old Valli’s desire was

to take a ride on the bus that travelled
between her village and the nearest
town. Her desire was so strong that it
made herd-overcome her fears
prompting her to plan her trip

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 meticulously. She collected all the
details of the journey and saved every
coin that came her way. She
maintained her self-respect so much
that she does not even get tempted to
go for shopping. After taking all the
precautions to ensure that she has a
safe journey, she fulfilled her dream of
riding in a bus. Despite her young age,
she returned back home safely. Valli
taught us that once we decide to
achieve something, many difficulties
may come our » way but with courage
and confidence, we can accomplish
the task.

14. How did Horace get entry into the

house?

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 Ans:- Horace had befriended the pet
dog and he knew where the keys were
hung.

15. How did the young seagull’s parents

teach him the art of flying?

Ans:- The parents of the young seagull

were very wise. On seeing that their
child was quite weak and scared and
is afraid to fly, they, at once, decided to
be strict with him. They warned him
that they would not feed him anymore
as he was a grown up seagull. He
would starve to death if he did not fly.
They tempted him by showing flesh
and eating it in front of him but they did
not offer it to him. Hunger provoked

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 the young seagull to fly and ultimately,
he made efforts and was successful.

16. Describe how Horace Danby plan

his work?

Ans:- Horace Danby was an intelligent

and clever thief. He robbed a safe
every year which would suffice him for
twelve months. He planned his
robbery very carefully. He studied the
complete situation of the house at
Shoover Grange for two weeks. In the
meantime, he had studied the situation
of rooms, electric wires,: path and its
garden. He had studied the detailed
plan of the drawing room. He also
knew about the keys as he had seen
where the housekeeper hang the keys

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 every time. He befriended the pet dog
to escape him while robbery. Thus, he
made all the security arrangements by
ensuring that there was no problem in
breaking in there.

17. Write the character sketch of Helen,

the young girl.
Ans:- Helen was a very industrious
girl; she always did her best to learn.
She had such a natural, innate
passion for learning which always
motivated her. Manual alphabet,
reading, arithmetic, etc., all were
formidable challenges for her initially,
but Helen overcame them.

18. What made the boys follow the

footprints?

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 Ans :- The boys saw freshly made
footprints on the mud but there was no
one to be seen leaving those
footprints. This thing intrigued the boys
and hence, they decided to follow
those footprints without feet which
were actually left by Griffin.

19. Why did the postmaster reply to

Lencho’s letter?

Ans:- The letter did not reach God.

The postmaster was a kind, generous,
helpful, and God-fearing man. The
postmaster did not want to shake
Lencho's faith in God, and thus,
replied to Lencho's letter by sending
him money under the name of God.

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20.Why did Lencho write a letter to
God?

Ans :- Lencho's crops were destroyed

by the hailstorm. He wrote a letter to
God asking for a hundred pesos. He
needed the money to sow his field
again and survive till the new crops
came.

21. What were Lencho’s feelings when

the hail stopped ?

Ans:- When the rain began, Lencho

was very happy. But, when hailstones
destroyed his crops completely he
became very unhappy. After the hail
stopped, Lencho thought that God is

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 the only hope to save his family. So he
wrote a letter to God.

22. How did Valli react when she saw

the dead cow by the roadside ?

Ans:- Valli was extremely excited

about her bus journey. She had
carefully planned and saved for this
journey. On her return journey, when
she saw the dead cow on the roadside
she became sad. She lost her
enthusiasm to see the dead cow. She
became pensive and had negative
views towards life.

23. Don’t you worry, Pitaji! In your old

age I will serve you and mother”.
Through this statement the narrator

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wants to highlight the moral values
Bholi was imbued with. Based on the
reading of the lesson, what made Bholi
aware of her rights and how did she
use them ?

Ans:- Bholi as a child was mostly

ignored or made fun of. Her peers
made fun of their looks while her
parents gave up on her finding a good
home to marry. In the end, they found
a greedy old widowed man for her to
marry. Bholi despite the treatment
meted out by her parents displayed
utmost respect and concern for them.
She showed love and affection
towards her parents and rarely
disobeyed their words. This attitude is
noticed when despite knowing the

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attitude of her to-be husband she
willingly agrees to get married to him
for the sake of her parents.

Bholi while being submissive was also

a determined and confident girl who
gained her self-respect through her
education. Her teacher during the
course of Bholi’s education. Her
teacher during the course of Bholi’s
education made her aware of these
rights. She wasn’t ready to demean
nerself but stood up confidently
against the proposal of the greedy
man and told her parents that she
would take care of them.

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 24. Why did Matilda not want ot see her
rich friends ?

Ans:- Matilda was not satisfied with

what her life had to offer and was
ashamed of her status. As she was
humiliated by her lower-middle-class
existence, she, generally, avoided
meeting her rich friends like Mme
Forestier, a wealthy lady, whom she
knew from her days at the convent
school.

25.What is the twist at the end of the

story the necklace?

Ans:- Matilda had borrowed a diamond

necklace, she lost it.

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In order to replace it, they had to borrow
money, use all the savings. They bought it
for thirty-six thousand Francs and it took
them ten years to repay the money.

Matilda had to live a horrible life of

necessity to help save all that they could.

One Sunday, while walking at the

Champs-Elysees, Matilda met Jeanne.

As they had paid back the debt now,

Matilda disclosed the fact that she had
lost Jeanne’s necklace and replaced it
with a new one which led them to such
misery.

It was then that Jeanne tells Matilda that

her necklace was not worth more than

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five hundred Francs, it was of false
diamonds.

26.What were the three mistakes that

Matilda committed?

Ans:- Always unhappy,

Borrowed the necklace and lost it,
Did not disclose the loss to the friend.

27.What attitude did the lawyer have to

the country life? How did his
experience at New Mullion change it?

Ans:- Away from the hustle and bustle

of city life, the people in the country
led a pleasant, simple, honest, helpful
and peaceful life.

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 His experience in New Mullion with the
smart hack driver – who humiliated
and befooled him with his clever tricks
and quick thinking, made the lawyer
change his overview towards country
life.

28.Mandela says that his country’s

greatest wealth is its people and not
the purest diamonds. Justify his
statement.

Ans:- The strength of a country lies in

it’s people. The great patriots of South
Africa were Mandela’s comrades in the
struggle for freedom. They fought for
an idea, went to prison, were pushed
to their limits but did not give in. Such
great men achieved freedom which

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 cannot be achieved by possessing the
purest of diamonds. Thus, these men
are more precious than diamonds.

29.Why is 10th May, 1994 important for

South Africa?
Ans:- 10th May 1994 is important for
South Africa because it marks the end
of Apartheid. The first democratic
elected government, headed by
Nelson Mandela was formed on this
day.

30. What was Bholi’s teacher’s role in

changing the course of her life?

Ans:- Bholi's teacher played an

important role in changing the course
of her life. She was polite and friendly

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 which touched her heart. She
encouraged Bholi every time and was
affectionate towards her. She asked
Bholi to put aside her fear of not being
able to speak properly. She
transformed Bholi into a confident girl
who could read, write and speak
properly which is what eventually led
to her having self-respect and dignity.

31. What could Amanda do if she were

a mermaid?

Ans:- If Amanda were a mermaid, she

would drift slowly on a languid emerald
sea. She would be the sole inhabitant
of the relaxed green sea and would
move slowly in it.

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32. How did Griffin attack Mrs. Hall?

Ans:- On seeing that Griffin's room

was open, they peeped round the
door, saw
nobody, and decided to investigate.
They saw the clothes and bandages
that he always wore were lying about
the room. All of a sudden Mrs Hall
heard a sniff close to her ear. A
moment later the hat on the bedpost
leapt up and dashed itself into her
face. Springing into the air, the
bedroom chair charged
straight at her, legs foremost. As she
and her husband turned away in
terror, the extraordinary chair pushed
them both out of the room and

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 then appeared to slam and lock the
door after them.

33.Who are the characters in the poem?

What are their pet names?
Ans:- The characters in this poem are
Belinda, a little black kitten named Ink,
a little grey mouse named Blink, a
yellow dog named Mustard, a pet
dragon named Mustard and a pirate.

34. Why does Chubukov suspect the

arrival of Lomov?

Ans:- As Lomov asks Chubukov for his

daughter, Natalya's hand in marriage,
he delightfully accepts. He was
expecting the arrival of Lomov

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 because he knew of his daughter's
interest in him.

34.Comment on the teacher-student

relationship shared between Anne and
Mr. Keesing.
Ans:- Mr Keesing was a strict and
innovative teacher. He had a good
sense of humour also. To make Anne
realize her indiscipline, he asked her
to write essays on chatterboxes. He
appreciated Anne’s arguments and
poetry given in defense of her being a
talkative person.

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35.Why did Buddha choose Benaras to
preach his first sermon?

Ans:- Most holy place, on banks of

sacred river Ganges
Many people come to get rid of
sorrows and sufferings, to repent for
their sins.
Buddha wanted to lessen their sorrows
and sufferings and so, he chose
Benaras.

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