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Read the following source… (Social Science 2024 32/1/1 Q34)

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2024, set 32/1/1 · 4 marks · Case-based

CBSE Class 10 Social Science 2024: question 34

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2024, paper 32/1/1, section E, question 34, for 4 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q34 · 4 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedPrint Culture and the Modern World

Read the following source carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Printed Words

This is how Mercier describes the impact of the printed word, and the power of reading in one of his books:

'Anyone who had seen me reading would have compared me to a man dying of thirst who was gulping down some fresh, pure water.... Lighting my lamp with extraordinary caution, I threw myself hungrily into the reading. An easy eloquence, effortless and animated, carried me from one page to the next without my noticing it. A clock struck off the hours in the silence of the shadows, and I heard nothing. My lamp began to run out of oil and produced only a pale light, but still I read on. I could not even take out time to raise the wick for fear of interrupting my pleasure. How those new ideas rushed into my brain! How my intelligence adopted them!'

  1. 34.1

    How does the passage reflect the immersive nature of reading of Mercier?

    1 mark
  2. 34.2

    Why did Mercier describe himself as a virtual writer?

    1 mark
  3. 34.3

    How did reading influence Mercier's intellectual capacity and his engagement with new concepts? Explain in any two points.

    2 marks

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2024 board paper, set 32/1/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Look at what Mercier did not notice while reading.

Hint 2

Think about what 'virtual writer' says about his closeness to the text.

Hint 3

Look at the last two sentences of the passage on ideas and intelligence.

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) Mercier compares himself to a man dying of thirst gulping fresh water, showing how eagerly he read. He did not notice the clock striking, and he read on by a pale light, so external distractions did not disturb him.

    1 mark

  2. (ii) He felt deeply engaged with the text, as though he were part of its creation. He was so closely connected to it that he absorbed its ideas as if he were the writer.

    1 mark

  3. (iii) Reading made him lose track of time: his lamp ran out of oil and he still read on.

    1 mark

  4. (iii) He says new ideas rushed into his brain and his intelligence adopted them, showing a receptive mind eager to take in new concepts.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) Total absorption: he ignored time and distractions. (ii) He was so immersed in the text that he felt part of its creation. (iii) He lost track of time, and new ideas rushed in and were readily adopted by his intelligence.

Where the marks are

  • Immersive nature shown by thirst comparison or ignoring distractions (1 mark)
  • Virtual writer: deep engagement with the text (1 mark)
  • Loses track of time while reading (1 mark)
  • New ideas rush in and are adopted by his intelligence (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Print Culture and the Modern World, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2024 board paper, set 32/1/1: 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.