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Read the given extract and… (Class 10 English 2024, Q7b)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2024, set 2/2/1 · 5 marks · Case-based

CBSE Class 10 English 2024: question 7(b)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2024, paper 2/2/1, section C, question 7(b), for 5 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q7(b) · 5 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedThe Trees

Read the given extract and answer the questions :

My head is full of whispers
Which tomorrow will be silent.
Listen. The glass is breaking.
The trees are stumbling forward
into the night. Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
its pieces flash now in the crown
of the tallest Oak.

(The Trees)

  1. (i)

    Identify the figure of speech used in the line : "The Trees are stumbling forward into the night".

    1 mark
  2. (ii)

    Explain the significance of the line : "The moon is broken like a mirror, its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest Oak." Answer in about 40 words.

    2 marks
  3. (iii)

    Complete the sentence with the appropriate option. In the third line, the word 'Listen' is used to ______.

    1. (A)serve no purpose but to complete the sentence.
    2. (B)emphasize listening carefully to the sound of glass breaking.
    3. (C)emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place.
    4. (D)make the reader more attentive.
    1 mark
  4. (iv)

    What does the line : "My head is full of whispers which tomorrow will be silent" tell us about the poet's state of mind ?

    1 mark

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

Hints

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

Hint 1

Can trees really stumble? Name the device that gives human traits to non-humans.

Hint 2

The broken moon and the flashing pieces stand for something larger changing.

Hint 3

Ask what feelings come with whispers that will soon fall silent.

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. (i) Personification. The trees are given the human action of stumbling.

    1 mark

  2. (ii) The image shows the turmoil of a great change. The moon seems shattered like a mirror, and its fragments gleam in the tallest oak. The old order is breaking and the trees (women) are moving forward. The tall oak signals that the movement is succeeding in the end.

    2 marks

  3. (iii) (C) emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place.

    1 mark

  4. (iv) It shows the poet is restless, anxious and uncertain. Her mind is full of confused doubts now, and she expects them to go silent tomorrow, once the change has come.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) Personification; (ii) the breaking moon and the oak crown show upheaval and the success of the change; (iii) C; (iv) restless, apprehensive

Where the marks are

  • Identifies personification (1 mark)
  • Explains the significance of the broken moon and the oak as upheaval and victory (2 marks)
  • Chooses option C (1 mark)
  • States a restless/apprehensive state of mind (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: The Trees (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from The Trees, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2024 board paper, set 2/2/1: 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.