CBSE Class 10 English A Question of Trust Worksheet

Extract-Based Questions

Q. 1. How foolish people are when they own valuable things, Horace thought. A magazine article had described this house, giving a plan of all the rooms and a picture of this room. The writer had even mentioned that the painting hid a safe! But Horace found that the flowers were hindering him in his work. He buried his face in his handkerchief. Then he heard a voice say from the doorway, “What is it? A cold or hay fever?” Before he could think, Horace said, “Hay fever,” and found himself sneezing again. The voice went on, “You can cure it with a special treatment, you know, if you find out just what plant gives you the disease. I think you’d better see a doctor, if you’re serious about your work. I heard you from the top of the house just now.”

Question. According to the extract, Horace was sneezing due to a
(a) sudden allergy
(b) prior infection
(c) long-standing disease
(d) nasal pain
Answer : B

Question. In the line – Before he could think, Horace said, “Hay fever,” –the response was
(a) rehearsed.
(b) spontaneous and natural.
(c) hesitant.
(d) rapid and hostile.
Answer : B

Question. Choose the image that correctly describes the location of the safe, based on the given extract.

(a) Option (1)
(b) Option (2)
(c) Option (3)
(d) Option (4)
Answer : C

Question. The line from the extract that can be considered an example of sarcasm is
(a) How foolish people are when they own valuable things.
(b) Horace found that the flowers were hindering him in his work.
(c) You can cure it with a special treatment.
(d) I think you’d better see a doctor, if you’re serious about your work.
Answer : D

Question. Which magazine could have published the article mentioned in the given extract?
(a) Paws & Claws
(b) Outdoors & Landscaping
(c) Interiors
(d) The Investor
Answer : C

Q. 2. But he never got the chance to begin his plan. By noon a policeman had arrested him for the jewel robbery at Shoot over Grange. His fingerprints, for he had opened the safe without gloves, were all over the room, and no one believed him when he said that the wife of the owner of the house had asked him to open the safe for her. The wife herself, a gray-haired, sharp-tongued woman of sixty, said that the story was nonsense. Horace is now the assistant librarian in the prison. He often thinks of the charming, clever young lady who was in the same profession as he was, and who tricked him. He gets very angry when anyone talks about ‘honour among thieves’.

Question. Based on the extract, choose what you think are the main feelings Horace probably has, for the young lady who tricked him, when he thinks about her?

(a) anger and blame
(b) admiration and respect
(c) respect and gratitude
(d) anger and vengeance
Answer : B

Question. Honour among thieves is an example of an
(a) idiom
(b) slogan
(c) proverb
(d) lyric
Answer : A

Question. Choose the option that lists evidence that the police might have used against Horace, to arrest him.
(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer : D

Question. The plan devised by Horace was to
(a) tell about the safe to owner of the house.
(b) blackmail the wife of the owner later.
(c) look for another safe for stealing jewellery.
(d) tell police the truth before the lady could deceive him.
Answer : C

Question. Given below are four situations in Mr. Verma’s house. Choose the situation that depicts Mr. Verma being sharp-tongued with his family members.
(a) Mr. Verma’s wife shares a life problem with him and he advices her honestly.
(b) Mr. Verma’s daughter scores poor marks in his exams and Mr. Verma remains silent.
(c) Mr. Verma’s son cooks food for the first time and he is criticized by his father immediately.
(d) Mr. Verma’s sister buys a new car to surprise him and he is overjoyed with the news.
Answer : C

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question. “Society must be protected from men like you.” Comment on the irony of the given quote.
Answer : The words “Society must be protected from men like you” are spoken by the young lady in red and are ironical because she herself was a thief. She duped Horace Danby robbed the house and walked away with the jewellery kept in the safe.

Question. In the chapter “A Question of Trust”, Horace Danby’s final arrest was a blessing in disguise. Comment briefly.
Answer : Horace Danby’s final arrest was blessing in disguise for the lady in red as got a good fortune in form of jewellery without working hard for it. At the same time, she could escape with the jewellery unnoticed because everyone’s focus was on the other thief whose finger prints were found on the safe.

Question. “A Question of Trust” is a story about the robbery of the robber. Expound.
Answer : No doubt, ‘A Question of Trust’ is a story about the robbery of the robber. Horace Danby was not an ordinary thief. He planned meticulously before attempting a robbery but still he was fooled by a young lady in red who posed herself as the owner of the house. She made him break open the safe without Horace realising that she was a thief. To keep herself safe, she ensured that the fingerprints of Horace were left everywhere on the site. Thus it is true that it is the story about the robbery of the robber.

Question. The woman posing as house owner’s wife had laid out a careful plan to dupe Horace Danby. Cite any two instances from the text that suggest the same.
Answer : The woman posing as house owner’s wife was a young and smart thief. She spoke to Horace in an authoritative tone and carried herself with confidence. She had laid out a careful plan to du. Horace is evident from the fact that she stayed calm even after seeing a thief in the house. She fabricated a story about forgetting the number to open safe also conveys this.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Based on the story, would it be fair to say that deception is a crucial aspect of robbery. Do you agree? Why/why not?
Answer : The young woman deceived Horace Danby by making him believe that she was the wife of the house owner. She caught hold of the jewels worth fifteen thousand pound, by deceiving Horace. She would never have been able to get them without Horace’s help and she was aware of this fact. But I believe that deceiving other is any form is not correct. If is not good others harm others for one’s own benefit. Thus I strongly disagree that deception is a crucial aspect of robbery. Deception, in fact is not a crucial aspect of any tout.

Question. “How foolish people are when they own valuable things” Does this statement hold true for Horace Danby himself? Support your answer with instances from “A Question of Trust”.
Answer : Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but he faltered when he was to rob the safe or shot ever Grange. These were about fifteen thousand pounds worth of jewels in the safe. But he acted foolishly and was tricked by a young lady who posed herself to be the owner of the house. Horace should have realized that the magazine article had described the house and many others would also have read it. He should have come prepared for it. Secondly, he had collected less information about the owner and his family e.g. the age of owner wife. If he had known that the owner and his wife were an elderly couple he would immediately have caught the lady in red. Thus we can say that Horace acted foolishly at some points.

Question. Thieves and swindlers have no sense of moral righteousness. Comment with references to instances from “A Question of Trust”.
Answer : Thieves and snowless work for their own benefit and are dived of all feelings and emotions. They have no sense of moral righteousness. This is true in the case of the young lady in red who didn’t think even once that Horace would be caught by the police without getting any share of the robbery. She walked away with all the jewels her conscience didn’t prick her that she was an equal partners in the robbery. It was only Horace who was arrested and not the lady who actually got all the jewels.

Question. “The most successful people work smart, not hard” Justify the quote with reference to “A Question of Trust”.
Answer : The quote ‘the most successful people work smart not hard’ is apt for the woman who duped Horace Danby not even once could Horace make out that she was not the wife of the house owner. The woman threatened to hand him over to the police and made him break the safe. Meanwhile she kept standing away smoking a cigarette and watched him do all time. There was no trace or fingerprint of that lady in the house. She framed a story of forgetting the numbers and Horace fell into her trap. Horace opened the safe gave her the jewels and went away. Thus without working hard, she got all the jewels, with her smartness.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. As the woman who dupes Danby, pen a diary entry for the night before the robbery.
Pen down your thoughts, fears, and hopes from the robbery based on the events of the story "The Question of Trust".
Wednesday, 12 July '78 9 PM
Its D-day, finally! Today, I know how it feels to be nervous and excited at the same time……. (continue)……….
Answer : Wednesday 12 July 1978
9pm
Dear Diary
Its D-day finally! Today I don't know whether to feel nervous or excited or both at the same time. I am nervous as I am afraid whether my robbery plan is fool-proof or not. I am well aware that Horace Danby too is a meticulous planner. He also must have planned it so well that it comes out as a successful robbery. Duping Danby won’t be an easy job.
On the other hand, I am excited too because I might be the owner of jewels worth fifteen thousand pounds. Oh my God! This really would mean a dream come true god knows how fond am I of jewels and getting them all, without paying a single penny would be something that I can never imagine.
Hope the plan turns out to successful. I am keeping my fingers crossed till then.
XYZ

Question. Imagine that the young lady thief writes a letter to Horace Danby while he is in prison. Write the letter imagining youself to be that young lady with respect to the story.
Answer : XYZ city
14 July 19xx
Dear Horace
You must be surprised to receive my letter as you might have never thought to hear from me after the robbery. I deeply regret the consequences of the robbery. I had not expected that you would be arrested. I really feel bad for you. I am angry with myself also for having cheated you but I wanted the jewels so I had to trap you. I kept thinking about the incident for the near two days and at one stage, decided to share the jewels with you. But you may say it my self-centredness took the better of me and I didn’t gather myself to make you my partner. I really am sorry but feel helpless too. Hope we will meet some day.
Your sincerely
ABC