ICSE Specimen Question Paper
LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
ENGLISH Paper – 2
(Two hours)
Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately.
You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes.
This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
The time given at the head of this paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
Attempt five questions in all.
You must attempt one question from each of the Sections A, B and C and any two other
questions.
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].
SECTION A - DRAMA
Shakespeare : As You Like It
Question 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Orlando : Why, what‟s the matter?
Adam : O unhappy youth!
Come not within these doors; within this roof
The enemy of all your graces lives.
(i) Who is the enemy of Orlando‟s graces? Briefly state how that person has
come to be Orlando‟s „enemy‟. [3]
(ii) Why does Adam say that Orlando should not come „within these doors‟?
Mention another instance from an earlier part of the play where the „enemy‟
had planned harm against Orlando‟s „graces‟. [3]
(iii) Who had given a similar warning to Orlando earlier? Briefly state what that
person had said to Orlando. [3]
(iv) Why does Adam call Orlando an „unhappy youth‟? What advice does
Adam give Orlando? [3]
(v) What does Orlando finally decide to do along with Adam? Describe
Adam‟s sense of devotion to duty. [4]
Question 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Silvius: My errand is to you, fair youth
My gentle Phebe did bid me give you this:
[giving a letter]
I know not the contents; but, as I guess
By the stern brow and waspish action
Which she did use as she was writing of it,
It bears an angry tenor : pardon me;
I am but as a guiltless messenger.
Rosalind: [Reading the letter] Patience herself
would startle at this letter, …….
(i) Where are Silvius and Rosalind at this time? Who else is with Rosalind?
What had Rosalind been complaining about prior to Silvius‟ entrance? [3]
(ii) What does Rosalind reveal about the contents of the letter which Silvius
has given her? [3]
(iii) How does Oliver, who enters the scene a little later, recognize Rosalind
and her companion? [3]
(iv) What was Oliver‟s feelings for Orlando in the earlier part of the play?
What is his feeling towards Orlando now? Briefly mention how this
change in Oliver was brought about. [3]
(v) What has Oliver brought for Rosalind from Orlando? What effect does
this have on Rosalind and what light does this throw on Rosalind‟s
character? [4]
Question 2
ead the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Silvius: My errand is to you, fair youth
My gentle Phebe did bid me give you this:
[giving a letter]
I know not the contents; but, as I guess
By the stern brow and waspish action
Which she did use as she was writing of it,
It bears an angry tenor : pardon me;
I am but as a guiltless messenger.
Rosalind: [Reading the letter] Patience herself
would startle at this letter, …….
) Where are Silvius and Rosalind at this time? Who else is with Rosalind?
What had Rosalind been complaining about prior to Silvius‟ entrance? [3]
i) What does Rosalind reveal about the contents of the letter which Silvius
has given her? [3]
ii) How does Oliver, who enters the scene a little later, recognize Rosalind
and her companion? [3]
v) What was Oliver‟s feelings for Orlando in the earlier part of the play?
What is his feeling towards Orlando now? Briefly mention how this
change in Oliver was brought about. [3]
v) What has Oliver brought for Rosalind from Orlando? What effect does
this have on Rosalind and what light does this throw on Rosalind‟s
character? [4]
Loyalties : John Galsworthy
Question 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
De Levis: Society! Do you think I don‟t know I‟m only
tolerated for my money? Society can‟t add injury
to insult and have my money as well, that‟s all. If
the notes are restored I‟ll keep my mouth shut; if
they‟re not, I shan‟t. I‟m certain I‟m right. I ask
nothing better than to be confronted with Dancy;
but, if you prefer it, deal with it in your own way –
for the sake of your esprit de corps.
(i) Where is De Levis at the moment and to whom is he talking? Why is he
so agitated? [3]
(ii) What had Dancy done earlier that evening which makes De Levis say that
he can „jump like a cat‟? [3]
(iii) What is the name of the horse that De Levis sells and how much is he paid
for it? Who bought it off him? [3]
(iv) Why did Dancy give De Levis the „weed‟? What race does it win later
and what were the odds on it? [3]
(v) What does the phrase esprit de corps mean? In what way does De Levis
face social ostracism for his accusation of Dancy? [4]
Question 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Gilman: [Taking the client’s chair, to the left of the table] Mr.
Twisden, I believe? My name‟s Gilman, head of Gilman‟s
Department Stores. You have my card.
Twisden: [Looking at the card] Yes. What can we do for you?
Gilman: Well, I‟ve come to you from a sense of duty, Sir, and also a
feelin‟ of embarrassment……..
(i) Who is Mr. Twisden and what is the name of his firm? Where in London
is it situated? [3]
(ii) Which two visitors have just left the office? What news had they given
Twisden about something odd that General Canynge had noticed about
Dancy on the night of the theft? [3]
(iii) Who had given Gilman the stolen fifty pound note? What was this
person‟s line of work and for how long had Gilman known him? [3]
(iv) How did this person account for being in possession of the note? [3]
(v) What decision about the case does Twisden take immediately following
this new turn of events? What are your feelings for Dancy in the light of
these new revelations and why? [4]
SECTION B – POETRY
Golden Lyre
Question 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Wide through the landscape of his dreams
The lordly Niger flowed;
Beneath the palm-trees on the plain
Once more a king he strode;
And heard the tinkling caravans
Descend the mountain – road.
[The Slave’s Dream – H.W. Longfellow]
(i) Where is the slave at this moment? Describe his present condition. [3]
(ii) Explain the first two lines of the extract. Why are the caravans described
as „tinkling‟? [3]
(iii) What images and sounds of the wildlife of his native land pass through the
slave‟s dream „like a glorious roll of drums‟? [3]
(iv) What causes a tear to fall from the sleeper‟s lids? [3]
(v) Contrast the slave‟s earlier life as a king with his present pathetic
condition. What are your feelings for him at the end of the poem? [4]
11 ICSE Specimen Question Paper
Question 6
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
[Night of the Scorpion – Nissim Ezekiel]
(i) Describe the night when the poet‟s mother was stung by a scorpion.
Where had the scorpion hidden itself and what did it do after stinging the
mother? [3]
(ii) What expression has the poet used to describe the coming of the peasants?
What did they do to „paralyze the Evil One‟? [3]
(iii) Why did the peasants pray for the scorpion to sit still? Mention any one
thing that the peasants said as they sat around the poet‟s mother. [3]
(iv) What did the poet‟s father do to relieve the pain of his wife? [3]
(v) For how long did the mother suffer? What did the mother say when she
recovered? What are your feelings for the mother and father after reading
the poem? [4]
SECTION C – PROSE
A Treasure Trove of Short Stories
Question 7
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Jim, darling,” she cried, “don‟t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off
and sold it because I couldn‟t have lived through Christmas without giving
you a present. It will grow out again – you won‟t mind, will you? I just
had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say „Merry Christmas!‟ Jim, and
let‟s be happy. You don‟t know what a nice – what a beautiful, nice gift I
have got for you.”
(i) What was the expression on Jim‟s face as he stepped inside the flat? What
was the reason for this expression? [3]
(ii) Describe the present that Della has bought for Jim. [3]
(iii) Give a brief description of the flat that Jim and Della live in so as to highlight
their poor financial condition. [3]
(iv) How much of money had Della saved at the start of the story? How had she
been able to save this amount? [3]
(v) How would you describe the sacrifice made by the two characters in the
story? Were they foolish or wise in doing what they did? Give your reasons
briefly. [4]
Question 8
The Tiger in the Tunnel is a story of the extraordinary courage of an ordinary
watchman while performing his duty. By referring to incidents in the story describe:
(a) The ordinary life of Baldev as a watchman.
(b) The extraordinary courage shown by him while on duty. [16]
Animal Farm : George Orwell
Question 9
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was
happening, hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag, and
slipped out of the farm by another way. Moses sprang off his perch and
flapped after her, croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had chased
Jones and his men out on to the road and slammed the five – barred gate
behind them. And so, almost before they knew what was happening, the
Rebellion had been successfully carried through: Jones was expelled,
and the Manor Farm was theirs.
(i) What did Mrs. Jones see on looking out of her bedroom window? [3]
(ii) What was the immediate cause for the Rebellion? [3]
(iii) How did the animals celebrate their first day of freedom from human tyranny? [3]
(iv) What did the animals see on their tour of the farmhouse and what unanimous
resolution did they pass? [3]
(v) What was the first of the seven commandments that embodied the principles
of Animalism?
Where were these commandments written and how was it done? [4]
Question 10
In Chapter VIII, the humans, led by Frederick, boldly attack Animal Farm. Narrate
how the attackers were beaten back in what came to be known as „The Battle of the
Windmill‟ and how the animals later celebrated their victory. [16]
To Sir with Love : E.R. Braithwaite
Question 11
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
I felt drained of strength and thought; yet somehow I managed to leave
that office, navigate the passage, lift and corridor, and walk out of the
building into the busy sunlit street. I had just been brought face to face
with something I had either forgotten or completely ignored for more
than six exciting years – my black skin.
(i) How had the receptionist behaved before and after she learned that
Braithwaite had been called for an interview with Mr. Symonds? [3]
(ii) What post had Braithwaite applied for? How had the Appointments Office
helped in this regard? [3]
(iii) What had Mr. Symonds told Braithwaite to make him feel drained of
strength and thought? [3]
(iv) What does Braithwaite do immediately following this first interview to
prevent further humiliation? [3]
(v) Later, Braithwaite talks about a casual encounter which changed the course of
his life. Where and with whom did this encounter take place and how did it
affect his future course of life? [4]
Question 12
How had his class behaved on their trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum that
made Braithwaite feel proud of them? Who had earlier objected to the trip and
why? Under what conditions was it allowed to go ahead? [16]
