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How did the lady in red… (Class 10 English 2024, Q11i)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2024, set 2/1/1 · 6 marks · Long answer

CBSE Class 10 English 2024: question 11(i)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2024, paper 2/1/1, section C, question 11(i), for 6 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q11(i) · 6 marks · Long answerA Question of Trust

How did the lady in red manage to outsmart and out maneuver the other thief, Horace Danby, by robbing the safe without leaving a single fingerprint?

(A Question of Trust) Answer in about 100-120 words.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2024 board paper, set 2/1/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Recall who she pretended to be.

Hint 2

Think about why Horace, a thief himself, obeyed her.

Hint 3

Ask who touched the safe and whose fingerprints remained.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. The woman in red pretended to be the lady of the house. Her mannerisms, gestures and sophisticated language made her convincing.

    2 marks

  2. Horace Danby trusted her and did not inform the police. He was himself there to steal, so he feared exposure. Believing her to be the owner's wife, he opened the safe for her.

    2 marks

  3. Having seen him open the safe, she let him remove only the jewels he wanted, took all the jewels herself, and left no fingerprints on the safe because he had handled it.

    1 mark

  4. Thus she outsmarted him and Horace took the blame.

    1 mark

Answer: She posed as the lady of the house, got Horace to open the safe, took the jewels and left his fingerprints on it.

Where the marks are

  • She pretends to be the lady of the house with sophisticated behaviour (2 marks)
  • Horace trusts her and opens the safe; he does not call the police (2 marks)
  • She takes the jewels without leaving her own fingerprints (1 mark)
  • Expression and accuracy (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from A Question of Trust, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2024 board paper, set 2/1/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.