"Paper has more patience than people. I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I was, brooding: Yes, paper does have more patience, and since I'm not planning to let anyone else read this stiff backed notebook grandly referred to as a 'diary', unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won't make a bit of difference."
Read the given extract and answer the questions.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:18 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
I. The speaker appears depressed, bored, and listless — she is brooding at home, feeling emotionally low and lonely, with no one to confide in.
II. D — Reflective
The narrator reflects on her inner feelings, broods over a saying ("paper has more patience than people"), and examines her own emotional state, making the narrative technique reflective.
III. The narrator doesn't plan to let anyone read her diary as she doesn't have any real friend.
IV. Anne says 'paper has more patience than people' because she feels she cannot truly confide in people around her. Paper (her diary) listens without judgment, without getting bored or impatient. Since she lacks a real friend to share her thoughts with, she finds it easier to pour her feelings into a diary, which accepts everything she writes without any reaction.
Source: From the Diary of Anne Frank, Chapter extract
---
Explanation
- Sub-question I: Look for emotional cues in the passage — "depressed," "bored and listless," "brooding" are the key words. One line is enough for 1 mark.
- Sub-question II: This is an MCQ. The passage has no humour, no allusions, and minimal description — but it is deeply introspective and self-examining, so Reflective (D) is correct. Always justify your MCQ choice briefly in board exams.
- Sub-question III: Fill-in-the-blank — the answer is directly stated in the passage: "unless I should ever find a real friend."
- Sub-question IV: 1-mark answers need only the core idea. The examiner wants: paper doesn't talk back / judge / get impatient, unlike people, so Anne trusts her diary more. Keep it to 2–3 sentences maximum.