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(A) Some say the world will… (Class 10 English 2026, Q7A)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2026, set 2/1/1 · 6 marks · Reading comprehension

CBSE Class 10 English 2026: question 7(A)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2026, paper 2/1/1, section C, question 7(A), for 6 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q7(A) · 6 marks · Reading comprehensionCompetency-basedFire and Ice

(A) 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.
(Stanza 1)

But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
(Fire and Ice)

  1. I.

    Complete the following suitably:
    According to Robert Frost, fire refers to ________.

    1 mark
  2. II.

    Why does the poet believe both fire and ice can destroy the world equally?

    2 marks
  3. III.

    Fill the blank with one word:
    In the line "But if it has to perish twice", 'it' refers to the ________.

    1 mark
  4. IV.

    Select the option with same rhyme scheme as lines in Stanza 1:
    (A) They are all gone away,
    The House is shut and still,
    There is nothing more to say.
    (B) Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
    Life is but an empty dream!
    For the soul is dead that slumbers.
    (C) The dog chased the ball down the lane,
    He ran with such incredible speed,
    His tail was a blur, a joyful glee.
    (D) The Sun is high,
    The clouds drift past,
    In the blue sky which is so vast.

    1. (A)They are all gone away, / The House is shut and still, / There is nothing more to say.
    2. (B)Tell me not, in mournful numbers, / Life is but an empty dream! / For the soul is dead that slumbers.
    3. (C)The dog chased the ball down the lane, / He ran with such incredible speed, / His tail was a blur, a joyful glee.
    4. (D)The Sun is high, / The clouds drift past, / In the blue sky which is so vast.
    1 mark

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 2/1/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Think about which human emotions Frost links with fire and with ice.

Hint 2

Fire is linked with 'desire' and ice with 'hate'. How can each emotion destroy?

Hint 3

For IV, write the last words of the printed stanza (ice, desire, fire) and label them a-b-b. Then find the option whose last two lines rhyme but whose first line does not.

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) According to Robert Frost, fire refers to violent desire, passion, greed or lust.

    1 mark

  2. (II) Fire stands for desire, avarice and passion. From his own experience the poet knows that these burn quickly and can turn destructive if left unchecked.

    1 mark

  3. Ice stands for hatred, coldness and indifference. These slowly damage personal bonds, families, friendships and societies, so ice too is great enough for destruction and 'would suffice'.

    1 mark

  4. (III) world

    1 mark

  5. (IV) (D). As printed, Stanza 1 ends in 'ice / desire / fire', a rhyme scheme of a-b-b. Option D ends in 'high / past / vast': line 1 stands alone, and lines 2 and 3 rhyme, giving the same a-b-b pattern.

    1 mark

Answer: (I) desire/passion/greed; (II) fire (desire, passion) and ice (hatred, indifference) are both powerful destructive forces; (III) world; (IV) D

Where the marks are

  • Fire = violent desire/passion/greed (1 mark)
  • Fire as desire/passion explained as destructive (1 mark)
  • Ice as hatred/indifference explained as destructive (1 mark)
  • 'it' = world (1 mark)
  • Option (D), rhyme scheme a-b-b like ice/desire/fire (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

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 paper2026 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.