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Read the following extract and… (English 2025 2/2/1 Q7a)

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

CBSE Class 10 English 2025: question 7(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 2/2/1, section C, question 7(a), for 5 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q7(a) · 5 marks · Reading comprehensionCompetency-basedFire and Ice

Read the following extract and answer the questions.

Some say the world will end in fire
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.

(Fire and Ice)

  1. (i)

    The speaker offers evidence to support his preference for one theory over the other. Mention the evidence.

    1 mark
  2. (ii)

    What is the prediction of the poet about how the world will come to an end? Answer in about 40 words.

    2 marks
  3. (iii)

    "Fire" and "Ice" are used in the poem as _______.

    1. (A)similes
    2. (B)metaphors
    3. (C)repetition
    4. (D)oxymorons
    1 mark
  4. (iv)

    Comment on the overall mood of the extract.

    1 mark

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

Hints

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

Hint 1

For (i), look at the third line: what has the speaker 'tasted'?

Hint 2

For (ii), ask what fire and ice stand for, and which one the speaker supports.

Hint 3

For (iii), check whether the poem uses 'like' or 'as' to compare.

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) The speaker backs his preference with evidence from his own experience: what he has 'tasted of desire' makes him side with those who favour fire.

    1 mark

  2. (ii) The poet predicts that the world may end either in fire or in ice. Fire stands for desire and passion, which can consume and destroy everything through greed, lust and anger. Ice stands for hatred, which can also destroy. Since he has felt desire, he believes fire could end the world.

    2 marks

  3. (iii) (B) metaphors. Fire and ice are not compared using 'like' or 'as'. They stand directly for desire and hatred.

    1 mark

  4. (iv) The mood is reflective and sombre, even frightening. The speaker thinks calmly about the destructive power of human emotions and the end of the world.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) His own experience/taste of desire; (ii) the world may end in fire (desire) or ice (hatred), and he favours fire; (iii) B; (iv) contemplative and sombre

Where the marks are

  • Names the speaker's experience of desire as evidence (1 mark)
  • Prediction: fire (desire) or ice (hatred) may end the world, stated with two relevant points (2 marks)
  • Option B metaphors (1 mark)
  • Mood stated as reflective, sombre or similar, with a reason (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: Fire and Ice (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Fire and Ice, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2025 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.