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Answer any four of the following… (English 2025 2/1/1 Q8)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2025, set 2/1/1 · 12 marks · Short answer

CBSE Class 10 English 2025: question 8

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 2/1/1, section C, question 8, for 12 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q8 · 12 marks · Short answerNelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Answer any four of the following five questions in 40–50 words each (4×3=12).

  1. (i)

    Mandela in his speech says, “The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people.” Explain the significance of the word “wound” as used by Mandela.
    (Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom)

    3 marks
  2. (ii)

    ‘Dust of Snow’, by Robert Frost is a poem about nature and simplicity. Elaborate.

    3 marks
  3. (iii)

    Explain the reasons for Rajvir’s excitement on seeing the plantation and Pranjol’s lack of enthusiasm.
    (Glimpses of India – Tea from Assam)

    3 marks
  4. (iv)

    Analyze how Wells employs humour, rhyme, and exaggerated traits to not only entertain, but also educate readers about various wild animals. Explain.
    (How to Tell Wild Animals)

    3 marks
  5. (v)

    Mijbil’s transportation to England was no less than a nightmare for the author. Justify the statement using incidents from the lesson.
    (Mijbil the Otter)

    3 marks

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

Pick the four you remember best and write about 40-50 words each.

Hint 2

Give two content points and write in connected sentences.

Hint 3

Use a specific detail from the lesson or poem in each answer.

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) Mandela calls apartheid a "wound" because it caused deep, lasting pain to Black South Africans. Decades of oppression and brutality, built on a cruel and inhuman system, left scars of fear, humiliation and a sense of inferiority. Like a wound, it needed long healing.

    3 marks

  2. (ii) The poem shows nature's power in a simple event. A crow shakes hemlock snow on the speaker, and his sour mood changes and part of his day is saved. A tiny, ordinary act of nature thus heals, and the poem tells this in simple words and imagery.

    3 marks

  3. (iii) Rajvir, seeing the vast, green tea plantation for the first time, is thrilled by the magnificent view. Pranjol, an Assamese boy brought up on a plantation, finds it ordinary and so is unexcited.

    3 marks

  4. (iv) Wells uses witty rhymes and playful exaggeration, such as the lion and the leopard descriptions, to make readers laugh. Behind the humour he gives distinguishing traits of animals, such as the hyena's behaviour, so readers remember how to identify them. It teaches observation while entertaining.

    3 marks

  5. (v) The author could not take a direct flight, as pets were not allowed. Mijbil was packed in a small box of 18 inches square. When the author returned from a meal, Mijbil had shredded the lining. On the aircraft he escaped, raced down it, and caused squawks and shrieks. The journey was thus a nightmare.

    3 marks

Answer: Any four of (i)–(v) answered as above

Where the marks are

  • Each answer: two relevant value points (2 marks)
  • Each answer: clear expression and coherence (1 mark)
  • Any four answers to be marked (4 x 3 = 12 marks)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, 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.