Past board exam questions
CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks
Read the given extract and answer the questions given below :
Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read. Following him down the musty corridor of the gloomy French hotel where Ausable had a room, Fowler felt let down. It was a small room, on the sixth and top floor and scarcely a setting for a romantic adventure. Ausable was, for one thing, fat, very fat. And then there was his accent. Though he spoke French and German passably, he had never altogether lost the American accent he had brought to Paris from Boston twenty years ago. “You are disappointed,” Ausable said wheezily over his shoulder.
(The Midnight Visitor)
(i) Which of the following describes how Fowler felt on seeing Ausable for the first time ? (1)
(A) excited and happy
(B) indifferent and disgusted
(C) surprised and disappointed
(D) envious and in awe
(ii) How did the hotel’s atmosphere influence Fowler’s mood ? (2)
(iii) Fill in the blank with the correct word from the bracket : (1)
Ausable’s reaction on seeing how Fowler felt shows that he was _______. (observant/ embarrassed)
(iv) In what way does Ausable defy the typical spy image ? (1)
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(i) (C) surprised and disappointed
(ii) The hotel was gloomy, with a musty corridor and a small room on the sixth and top floor – scarcely a setting for a romantic adventure. This dull atmosphere made Fowler feel let down / disappointed and disillusioned.
(iii) observant
(iv) (Any one) He was fat, very fat / unimpressive in appearance / he had never lost his American accent / he lived in a small room in a gloomy hotel – he did not look like a stereotypical, glamorous spy.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Describe the role of the ‘balcony’ in the story ‘The Midnight Visitor’.
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points with textual evidence; Expression 1)
The balcony is a fabricated escape route invented by Ausable to outwit Max. It shows Ausable’s presence of mind: he claims there is a balcony below his window through which intruders have got into his room before, and that the knock at the door is the police. It creates suspense and dramatic tension; Max, disoriented, jumps out of the window – the non-existent balcony becomes the instrument of his downfall.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 6 marks
How did Ausable outsmart and outwit the crafty Max and get rid of him ?
(The Midnight Visitor)
(Answer in about 100-120 words.)
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(Content 3 – at least three value points; Expression 2; Accuracy 1)
When Ausable and Fowler entered his room, they found Max waiting with a pistol, demanding the important paper about the new missiles. Ausable did not panic and used his presence of mind. He calmly made up a story that a balcony lay below his window and complained that the management had not blocked it, as someone had entered his room that way once before. When there was a knock at the door, he claimed that it was the police whom he had asked to check on him. The two stories together convinced Max. Frightened of being caught, Max jumped out of the window onto the non-existent balcony and fell. In fact, the knock was only …
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
How does the setting of the hotel room become a tool in Ausable’s plan to defeat Max ?
(The Midnight Visitor)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1)
Ausable used his ordinary sixth-floor room to invent a believable story: he claimed a balcony lay beneath the window, through which Max must have entered. When the waiter knocked, he pretended it was the police; frightened, Max hid on the imaginary balcony, jumped out of the window and fell. Ausable won by manipulating his surroundings with quick wit.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
“The Midnight Visitor” illustrates that “Stereotypes are often misleading”. Justify.
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points with textual evidence; Expression 1)
Spies are usually imagined as physically fit, attractive and charismatic. Ausable, in reality, is fat, unassuming and sloppy, and could easily pass for a common man – Fowler is disappointed on seeing him. Yet he turns out to be smart and witty: with a made-up story about a balcony and the police, he easily traps Max, showing that one’s intellect matters more than one’s looks.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
How did Ausable demonstrate presence of mind and outwit Max ?
(The Midnight Visitor)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1)
When Max held him at gunpoint for the missile report, Ausable calmly invented a story about a balcony below the window. When there was a knock at the door, he convinced Max that the police had come, though it was only the room service waiter. Afraid of being caught, Max jumped out of the window towards the non-existent balcony and fell, and Ausable saved the report.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Why was Fowler interested in meeting Ausable ?
(The Midnight Visitor)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1)
Fowler was a young writer of spy stories who was curious to meet a real secret agent. He expected Ausable to be a smart, slim, adventurous and mysterious spy, and he wanted to witness thrill and danger – sliding panels, whispered messages, beautiful dark-eyed spies – to find inspiration for his writing.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Mention how Ausable was always one step ahead of everyone. (The Midnight Visitor)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points with textual evidence; Expression 1)
Ausable was spontaneous and witty. When Max surprised him with a gun, he stayed calm and composed and, with great presence of mind, made up a convincing story about a balcony below the window and the police who would soon knock. When the waiter knocked, Max, believing the story, jumped out of the window – Ausable had outwitted him without any violence.
