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Read the following extract and… (English 2025 2/1/1 Q7b)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2025, set 2/1/1 · 5 marks · Reading comprehension

CBSE Class 10 English 2025: question 7(b)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 2/1/1, 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 · Reading comprehensionCompetency-basedA Tiger in the Zoo

Read the following extract and answer the questions:

He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
(A Tiger in the Zoo)

  1. (i)

    Identify and name any one figure of speech in the above extract.

    2 marks
  2. (ii)

    Fill in the blank with one word.
    The tiger’s stalking on ‘pads of velvet’ suggests a movement that is ___________.

    1 mark
  3. (iii)

    Based on the given lines from the poem, which words would best describe the feelings of the tiger?
    (A) Calm and content
    (B) Both subdued and angry
    (C) Both frustrated and happy
    (D) Both angry and famished

    1. (A)Calm and content
    2. (B)Both subdued and angry
    3. (C)Both frustrated and happy
    4. (D)Both angry and famished
    1 mark
  4. (iv)

    Select the option that applies the same rhyme scheme as the first four lines of the given extract.
    (A) The people along the sand / All turn and look one way / They turn their back on the land / They look at the sea all day
    (B) Along the sand, the people / All turn and look one way / They turn back on the sand / They look at the sea all day
    (C) The people along the sand / Look one way and all turn / Their backs on the land / They look at the sea all day
    (D) The people along the sand / They turn their back on the land / They look one way / At the sea all day.

    1. (A)The people along the sand / All turn and look one way / They turn their back on the land / They look at the sea all day
    2. (B)Along the sand, the people / All turn and look one way / They turn back on the sand / They look at the sea all day
    3. (C)The people along the sand / Look one way and all turn / Their backs on the land / They look at the sea all day
    4. (D)The people along the sand / They turn their back on the land / They look one way / At the sea all day.
    1 mark

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

In (i), look for two opposite ideas joined together or a comparison.

Hint 2

For (ii), what does velvet feel like and how do such pads move?

Hint 3

For (iv), find which lines of the extract rhyme and match the pattern.

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) Oxymoron: "quiet rage" combines two contradictory ideas, calmness and anger. (Alternatively, Metaphor: "pads of velvet quiet", where the softness of the paws is compared to velvet.) One mark for identifying the figure and one for naming it.

    2 marks

  2. (ii) soft (also acceptable: stealthy, smooth, restrained)

    1 mark

  3. (iii) (B) Both subdued and angry. The tiger is confined and restrained, yet it has "quiet rage".

    1 mark

  4. (iv) (B) The lines rhyme abcb, like the extract (cage/rage, stripes/grass). In option B, one/day and sand/sand follow the same pattern: the 2nd and 4th lines rhyme.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) Oxymoron – 'quiet rage'; (ii) soft; (iii) B; (iv) B

Where the marks are

  • Identifies a figure of speech from the extract (1 mark)
  • Names it correctly (1 mark)
  • Soft / restless / restrained / stealthy (1 mark)
  • Option B – subdued and angry (1 mark)
  • Option B – matching rhyme scheme (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: A Tiger in the Zoo (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from A Tiger in the Zoo, 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.