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Horace ends up in prison… (Class 10 English 2025, Q11a)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2025, set 2/1/1 · 6 marks · Long answer

CBSE Class 10 English 2025: question 11(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 2/1/1, section C, question 11(a), for 6 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

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

Horace ends up in prison only to regret that a man should not trust anyone blindly without finding out the truth. Do you think his own foolishness was responsible for his arrest? Give a reasoned answer.
(A Question of Trust)
Answer in 100–120 words.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2025 board paper, set 2/1/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

List the mistakes Horace made at the house.

Hint 2

How did he behave when the lady in red appeared?

Hint 3

Link the outcome to the lesson about blind trust.

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. Opening: Yes, Horace's own foolishness largely led to his arrest, though he was also tricked.

    1 mark

  2. He went to rob the safe in a house he had not studied properly. He believed the lady in red when she claimed to be the mistress and trusted her without checking.

    1 mark

  3. He opened the safe for her, and being careless, took no precautions such as wearing gloves, so his fingerprints were left everywhere.

    1 mark

  4. The lady ran away with the money, leaving him to be caught, and his carefully planned robbery came to nothing.

    1 mark

  5. Though a skilled safe-cracker, he was overconfident and his blind trust led to prison. His own lack of caution was responsible.

    1 mark

  6. Conclusion: the lesson is never to trust anyone blindly without knowing the truth.

    1 mark

Answer: Yes. Horace's blind trust and carelessness, along with the deception of the lady in red, put him in prison.

Where the marks are

  • Three relevant value points (3 marks)
  • Expression and coherence (2 marks)
  • 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 paper2025 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.