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Read the given extracts and… (Class 10 English 2025, Q6a)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2025, set 2/6/1 · 5 marks · Reading comprehension

CBSE Class 10 English 2025: question 6(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 2/6/1, section C, question 6(a), for 5 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q6(a) · 5 marks · Reading comprehensionCompetency-basedNelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Read the given extracts and answer the questions for any one of the two given.

It is from these comrades in the struggle that I learned the true meaning of courage. Time and again, I have seen men and women risk and give up their lives for an idea. I have seen men and women stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defies the imagination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

(Nelson Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom)

  1. (i)

    What effect does the experience as described in the lines below have on the speaker?
    Time and again, I have seen men and women risk their lives for an idea.

    1 mark
  2. (ii)

    Select one inference about the idea of courage from the given context:
    I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

    1. (A)being fearless
    2. (B)absence of fear
    3. (C)feeding your fears
    4. (D)ability to overcome fear
    1 mark
  3. (iii)

    Answer in about 40 words, with reference to the extract:
    According to the author, what does true courage entail? How does this perspective differ from a common misconception about courage?

    2 marks
  4. (iv)

    Fill in the blank with the correct phrase from the bracket in the context of the given extract:
    Men stood up to torture showing strength and resilience that is ________ (impossible to understand / seeped in reality).

    1 mark

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2025 board paper, set 2/6/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Look at the sentence after 'time and again' to see what the speaker learned.

Hint 2

For (iii), contrast the phrase 'not the absence of fear' with 'the triumph over it'.

Hint 3

For (iv), 'defies the imagination' tells you what kind of strength it is.

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 experience made the speaker realise the true meaning of courage (resilience and strength, and conquering fear).

    1 mark

  2. (ii) D – ability to overcome fear. Courage is the triumph over fear, not its absence.

    1 mark

  3. (iii) True courage means conquering fear: the brave person feels afraid but triumphs over the fear. The common misconception is that courage is the absence of fear. The author instead stresses that courage lies in facing and overcoming fear, not avoiding it.

    2 marks

  4. (iv) impossible to understand. The strength 'defies the imagination'.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) He learned the true meaning of courage; (ii) D; (iii) true courage is triumph over fear, not its absence; (iv) impossible to understand

Where the marks are

  • (i) Realisation of the meaning of courage/resilience (1 mark)
  • (ii) D (1 mark)
  • (iii) Courage is triumph over fear (1) and differs from the misconception that it is the absence of fear (1)
  • (iv) impossible to understand (1 mark)

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 2/6/1: 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.