The Midnight Visitor – important questions for Boards 2027

CBSE Class 10 English

1. SA · 2 marks

   How can thinking quickly and staying calm help a person deal with an unexpected danger?

   Answer

   Mental preparedness helps a person pause, assess danger, and act without panic. In a kitchen fire, for example, alerting others, avoiding water on burning oil, and leaving safely can prevent injuries.

2. MCQ · 4 marks

   Why does Max become nervous when there is a knock at the door? (4 marks) (A) Ausable has convinced him that the police are outside and will enter if the door is not opened. (B) Fowler has threatened to call the police from the hotel lobby. (C) Max knows that the report has already been taken away by the police. (D) Ausable tells him that the balcony door has been locked by the hotel staff.

   Answer

   (A) Ausable has convinced him that the police are outside and will enter if the door is not opened — Max becomes nervous when the knock is repeated and Ausable warns that the police will enter and may shoot.

3. MCQ · 5 marks

   Which description best explains why Ausable does not fit Fowler’s imagined picture of a secret agent? (5 marks) (A) He is very fat and retains an American accent. (B) He is tall and speaks with a German accent. (C) He is young, athletic and dressed in black. (D) He is silent and carries no identification.

   Answer

   (A) He is very fat and retains an American accent — Ausable is described as very fat and has not lost the American accent he brought to Paris from Boston.

4. VLA · 6 marks

   Explain how Fowler’s romantic expectations of espionage differ from his dull evening with Ausable. What gives him his first authentic thrill, and what does Max want from Ausable?

   Answer

   Fowler imagines espionage as a world of mystery and danger, but his evening with Ausable initially seems ordinary. 1. Fowler expects mysterious figures in the night, the crack of pistols and drugs in wine, as in the romantic spy stories he has read. 2. Instead, he follows Ausable through a gloomy hotel corridor to a small room on the sixth floor, which he considers an unsuitable setting for adventure. 3. Their evening has been dull, including time at a French music hall. Ausable receives only an ordinary telephone call arranging an appointment in his room. 4. Fowler’s first authentic thrill comes when the light reveals Max standing in the room with a small automatic pistol in his hand. 5. Max threatens Ausable with the pistol and demands the important report that Ausable is expecting. Max says he intends to get the report back that night. The sudden appearance of an armed spy brings Fowler the danger and excitement he had imagined.

5. SA · 2 marks

   Who wrote *After Twenty Years*, one of the suggested readings listed with *The Midnight Visitor*?

   Answer

   O. Henry wrote “After Twenty Years,” one of three works named under “Suggested reading” alongside “The Stolen Bacillus” by H.G. Wells and “The Face on the Wall” by E.V. Lucas.

6. MCQ · 5 marks

   Which statement correctly describes the balcony story Ausable tells Max? (5 marks) (A) He says a balcony belongs to the next apartment and was once connected to the room. (B) He says the balcony is locked from the outside and belongs to the hotel. (C) He says Max has entered through a balcony on the sixth floor. (D) He says the balcony is part of the room where the police are waiting.

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7. MCQ · 6 marks

   Which option best captures the contrast raised by the question about secret agents in books and films? (6 marks) (A) Their imagined appearance is often glamorous and dramatic, unlike the ordinary, very fat Ausable with his American accent. (B) They are usually writers who dislike adventure, unlike Fowler. (C) They are always careless about danger, unlike Max. (D) They are ordinary hotel waiters who carry drinks, unlike Henry.

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8. LA · 5 marks

   Identify *The Stolen Bacillus* and its author as given in the suggested reading list. Write a short note recording these details accurately.

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9. VLA · 6 marks

   Explain why Fowler is interested in meeting Ausable and how the events in the hotel room challenge Fowler’s expectations. Include the significance of Max’s arrival and Ausable’s invented balcony story.

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10. LA · 5 marks

    Write a short note identifying *The Face on the Wall* as a suggested reading and naming its author as stated in the textbook.

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