English — Language and Literature (184) — CBSE Class 10 board question

Ebright's curiosity drove him to become a scientist in several ways:

1. From childhood, he collected butterflies, rocks, fossils, and coins with great determination, and became an eager astronomer, often star-gazing all night.
2. A book as a turning point: The Travels of Monarch X opened the world of science to him and sparked a lifelong scientific curiosity.
3. Research driven by questions: He questioned the purpose of the twelve gold spots on a monarch pupa — a curiosity that led to the discovery of an insect hormone and eventually his theory on how cells read DNA.
4. Will to excel: He worked all night with his room-mate to develop his cell theory, and graduated from Harvard with highest honours.

As the text states, "All of this is possible because of Ebright's scientific curiosity."

Source: The Making of a Scientist, chapters on Early Life, Discovery of Insect Hormone, and Harvard Achievements

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The examiner expects you to pick 3–4 specific instances showing curiosity in action — not vague praise. Key points are: butterfly collecting from kindergarten, the book The Travels of Monarch X, questioning the gold spots on the monarch pupa, and the all-night session building molecular models. Always try to quote or paraphrase the text to show you have read closely. Avoid general statements like "he was very curious" without evidence.