PART –I
Line 1:
It is an Ancient Mariner
• The poem opens abruptly (suddenly) in the manner of a ballad (which can be sung) without any wasteful description.
• Our attention is immediately drawn to the central figure of the story i.e. the mariner.
Ancient Mariner :
• Ancient conveys the two fold sense of ‘old’ & of ‘old time’.
• An atmosphere of bygone days permeates throughout the whole poem.
Line 2:
Three
• This number has mystical & supernatural associations.
Line 3 :
Long grey beard & glittering eye.
• These are two of the most striking features of the mariner’s appearance.
• Time & again in the course of the poem we are reminded of one or the other of these features.
• They lend a sense of mystery to his personality, at the same time they bring a touch of vividness to the description.
Line-3 & 4 :
• The wedding guest is irritated at being interrupted.
• He is the next of kin & his impatience is quite understandable.
• There is going to be however a change in his attitude.
• He is going to listen to the mariner with a peculiar docility ( not very much opposing).
• This change of attitude suggests how powerful is the impact of the mariner’s story.
Line – 10:
The mariner, totally unheedful of the wedding guest’s impatience, again plunges into the story abruptly. This lends another touch of weirdness to his personality.
Line – 12: Eftsoons.
• This means soon after or immediately. The archaic phraseology is used to suggest the atmosphere of the bygone days. The mariner drops the hand off the wedding guest and holds him only with the glittering eye. The fascination is now complete. The guest is not going to show any further impatience.
Line-15 & 16:
• Mark the complete change in the attitude of the wedding guest. He is now as eager & docile as a 3 year’s child.
• These 2 lines were contributed by William Wordsworth.
Line – 21:
• The story once again begins with an abruptness peculiar to it. This abruptness suggests the rapid pace of the narrator. Notice how vivid is the description of the people gathered on the coast to bid the sailors’ farewell & the sailing away of the ship.
• A critic comments, “ it is indeed a voyage from the world of reality into the world of imagination. But Coleridge’s genius has helped us to believe that the wonders that are to follow are convincing as he has used simple device of giving us a setting of actual possibility.”
Line 23 & 24:
• The objects i.e. the kirk, the hill, the lighthouse top are mentioned in the order in which they disappear from the mariner’s sight.
Line -30:
• The sun is getting more & more overhead everyday. They are approaching the equator.
Line 31 & 31:
• So far no dramatic element has entered the story. So when the wedding guest hears the sound of merry making, he is not able to control or hide his impatience.
• The magic of the glittering eye is probably losing its hold. But once the narrative will begin again, and on a more dramatic note, the listener is all attention.
• He again interrupts the mariner in line 79 but out of fear rather than impatience.
Line 41 to 44:
• The storm is personified here. As the narrative gains intensity the words used become more meaningful.
Line-43:
• The storm is being described as a bird of prey chasing its victim.
Line 45 to 50:
• The ship is presented as a fear stricken person fleeing from his enemy who is closely chasing him.
Line -55: Dismal Sheen.
• Sheen means brightness. But ‘dismal sheen’ suggests cheerless brightness. The mariner could not have liked the brightness of ice in that region of cold and desolate atmosphere; hence to him the brightness of ice appears to be dull & cheerless.
Line -59:
• The ice made fearful noises like an angry monster.
• A critic comments on this & the next few scenes, just as the intense cold forms so marked a contrast with the fiery heat of the coming scene to which all this is but leading, so do these fearful noises, prepare by contrast for fearful silence to follow.
Line-62:
• This description shrouds the albatross with mystery. He suddenly appears on the scene as if from nowhere.
Line- 63:
• In that region of dreary desolation, the albatross is the only representative of life. The words “Christian soul” at once gave him human and divine associations. He is considered to be a bird of good omen and is hailed with great joy & hospitality.
Line 50 – 70:
• A critic comments on these lines in a very interesting manner. He says “The details of the voyage are all chronicled (recorded) with such order & regularity , that there is such a diary like air about the whole thing , that we accept it almost as if it were a series of extracts from a ship’s records.”
• In these lines Coleridge makes the ship enter the polar region, the land of mist & snow , the land where huge monster like icebergs drift about making fearful noises.
Line 74:
Shrouds
• It is a rope reaching from the masthead to the side of the ship to which it is secured. It helped to support the masts.
Line 75: Vespers nine.
• It means evenings.
• Usually vesper is used in the sense of ‘evening prayer’.
• Nine – another mystical number like 3 which has supernatural associations.
Line 78-79:
• This interruption by the wedding-guest is definitely not out of impatience.
• He has seen a look of horror gradually appearing & deepening on the mariner’s face and he is frightened. His exclamation wrings from the mariner an avowal of his crying i.e. he seemed to be rather reluctant in confessing it for fear of the agony it would bring with it.
Line 81
• The first part of the poem concludes with a direct reference to the wanton act of shooting the albatross.
Line 88-89
• The vacuum (emptiness because it was not there) created by the death of the albatross is felt by everyone.
Line 90-95
• The other mariners emphasized the fact that the Albatross was a bird of good omen and the ancient mariner had done something very sinful by shooting it .
Line 96-101
• The fog and the mist having cleared off quite unexpected, the sun rose in its entire glorious splendour. The sailors now changed their opinion about the Albatross.
• They declared him to be a bird of ill omen and applauded the ancient mariner for having shot him. According to the critics’ comments, they thus made themselves accomplices in the crime.
• According to a critic, “the changing, variable attitude of the shipmates is noteworthy. They judge the deed and consider it good or bad, not on its merit or by any standard of right or wrong but simply by the result it brings to them and as often as those omens change, so often do they change. They not only make themselves accomplices in the crime, but they are graceless accomplices without the redeeming feature of consistency.
Line 102-105
• A very fine stanza in which the swift movement of the verse reflects the swift movement of the ship.
Line 103
• As the ship was cutting through the waves, it made a track on the surface of water. The mariner felt that the track followed the ship like a swiftly moving stream.
Line 104-105
• The ship now entered the Pacific Ocean.
• A new phase of the journey has begun. But it has been introduced without any preliminaries. The ancient mariner refers to the silent sea as if it were as known to the wedding guest as to the mariner himself.
Line 106-109
• The poet now wants to convey a touch of stillness. So in this stanza, we have a very slow rhythmic movement of the verse. According to a critic, “each line halts” and the effect created by the whole stanza is a feeling of stagnation and helplessness.
Line 110-115
• The sky is hot like burning copper. The mariner’s guilt begins to be reflected in the external nature. There is always a very close correspondence between the fate of the ship and the moves of nature.
Line 116-117
• Two very famous lines giving a perfect picture of a becalmed ship on a completely still ocean.
Line 122
• The stillness of the sea was so complete that it began to rot. A poetic exaggeration is employed to intensify the horror of the sea.
• Christ – an appeal to Christ for help and mercy. A very ironic situation, for one who so mercilessly shot the Albatross is now begging for mercy.
Line 124-125
• These are two of the most gruesome lines ever written. The full effect can be seen best and appreciated when they are read slowly. It is the repetition of words ‘slimy’ and the addition ‘with legs’ that create the extreme sense of the hideousness of the spectacle.
Line 128
• Witch’s oil – the ingredients used by the witch to prepare her broth. There is a description of such a broth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Line 131
• The spirit – the avenging spirit of the South Pole, whose anger has been aroused by the shooting of Albatross.
Line 137
• Evil looks – the tongues of the sailors are dry, their throats are parched. So they cannot utter any words. They curse the mariner with their eyes.
Line 140
• Like part one, this part also concludes with a significant reference to the Albatross. The sailors, in order to fix the sole responsibilities of the sins on the mariner, hang the dead Albatross around his neck.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
MIRROR
• It is a short poem that moves around a common household article – a mirror.
• Almost each one of us looks into the mirror everyday. By using the first person narrative , the poetess makes the mirror narrate its own story.
• The mirror is a dispassionate and unbiased observer. It has no prejudices or false notions.
• It reflects persons and things faithfully and objectively. The woman who watches the mirror constantly feels sad to discover that she drowned the young girl that she was in the lake of the mirror and the face of an old woman is rising towards her day by day which looks ugly and hideous like a terrible fish.
Poetic Devices Used
Metaphor
• I am silver & exact.
• I am…the eye of a little god, four cornered.
• Now I am a lake.
Simile
• Like a terrible fish
Personification
The mirror has been personified and been given human characteristics.
• Judgement : I have no preconceptions.
• Sight : whatever I see I swallow immediately just as it is.
• Temperament : (unbiased) - unmisted by love or dislike.
-I am not cruel
-only truthful
A Synopsis of the Poem
The poem talks about truth related to our own selves.
It explores the relationship that we have with truth, and particularly the truth about our own selves.
In the first verse, Sylvia Plath imagines the thoughts of a mirror, chosen because it is an object we all turn to in search of a kind of truth.
It is presented as objective – ‘exact’ and without ‘preconceptions’, swallowing whatever it sees without a second thought, ’unmisted by love or dislike’.
The mirror is,‘ not cruel, only truthful’ – but truth itself is cruel for human beings, and we turn away from it. Presenting only our backs to those mirrors that offer to show us the unbiased truth.
In the second verse, the mirror is replaced by the lake, something else which humans have traditionally gazed into, in search of their own reflection.
Plath presents us with a woman ‘searching ( the mirror’s) reaches for what she really is, ‘ but the figure cannot bear the truth she finds, and turns her back on it in favour of ‘those liars’-‘ the candles or the moon,’ both images traditionally associated with romance.
Yet we cannot live without knowing the reality about ourselves, even if what we find upsets us- and so each morning the woman is back, even though it is only to cry and wring her hands at what she sees. To know the truth is torture, and yet we continue to torture ourselves.
What makes the poem particularly striking is the viewpoint Plath adopts – she writes as the mirror itself.
This brings an added poignancy to this poem about isolation: the only person more lonely than the receiver of bad news is its bearer, perhaps. The mirror’s life is an unfulfilled one – it can do no more than ‘meditate on the opposite wall’ , and even the dignity of the word ‘meditate’ is undermined by its object, a wall painted pink, with speckles’.
Throughout the poem, it is the mirror which meditates, which has hidden reaches, which has a heart and behaves ‘faithfully’. But the woman ‘comes and goes … day after day’. She merely ‘rewards (it) with tears and an agitation of hands’, turning her back on it and yet unable to stay away, returning every morning to replace the darkness. The relationship between the mirror and the woman is evidently a complex one – they need each other, and yet cause each other pain, too.
In this poem, Plath – who committed suicide less than 18 months later – adopts the mirror’s viewpoint in order to explore her ambivalent feelings about herself.
‘Mirror’ juxtaposes the images of love and cruelty, truth and dislike, flickering light and darkness.
One minute the mirror is ‘a little god’ , the next it is needy and alone. It longs to be loved and yet it is in the woman’s suffering. He receives her ‘tears’ and ‘agitation’ and calls it a ‘ reward’.
Ahead lies a terrible future for the woman. The description of herself as a ‘terrible fish’ --- a cold and emotionless woman --- rises to torture Sylvia Plath.
**********************************************
• Almost each one of us looks into the mirror everyday. By using the first person narrative , the poetess makes the mirror narrate its own story.
• The mirror is a dispassionate and unbiased observer. It has no prejudices or false notions.
• It reflects persons and things faithfully and objectively. The woman who watches the mirror constantly feels sad to discover that she drowned the young girl that she was in the lake of the mirror and the face of an old woman is rising towards her day by day which looks ugly and hideous like a terrible fish.
Poetic Devices Used
Metaphor
• I am silver & exact.
• I am…the eye of a little god, four cornered.
• Now I am a lake.
Simile
• Like a terrible fish
Personification
The mirror has been personified and been given human characteristics.
• Judgement : I have no preconceptions.
• Sight : whatever I see I swallow immediately just as it is.
• Temperament : (unbiased) - unmisted by love or dislike.
-I am not cruel
-only truthful
A Synopsis of the Poem
The poem talks about truth related to our own selves.
It explores the relationship that we have with truth, and particularly the truth about our own selves.
In the first verse, Sylvia Plath imagines the thoughts of a mirror, chosen because it is an object we all turn to in search of a kind of truth.
It is presented as objective – ‘exact’ and without ‘preconceptions’, swallowing whatever it sees without a second thought, ’unmisted by love or dislike’.
The mirror is,‘ not cruel, only truthful’ – but truth itself is cruel for human beings, and we turn away from it. Presenting only our backs to those mirrors that offer to show us the unbiased truth.
In the second verse, the mirror is replaced by the lake, something else which humans have traditionally gazed into, in search of their own reflection.
Plath presents us with a woman ‘searching ( the mirror’s) reaches for what she really is, ‘ but the figure cannot bear the truth she finds, and turns her back on it in favour of ‘those liars’-‘ the candles or the moon,’ both images traditionally associated with romance.
Yet we cannot live without knowing the reality about ourselves, even if what we find upsets us- and so each morning the woman is back, even though it is only to cry and wring her hands at what she sees. To know the truth is torture, and yet we continue to torture ourselves.
What makes the poem particularly striking is the viewpoint Plath adopts – she writes as the mirror itself.
This brings an added poignancy to this poem about isolation: the only person more lonely than the receiver of bad news is its bearer, perhaps. The mirror’s life is an unfulfilled one – it can do no more than ‘meditate on the opposite wall’ , and even the dignity of the word ‘meditate’ is undermined by its object, a wall painted pink, with speckles’.
Throughout the poem, it is the mirror which meditates, which has hidden reaches, which has a heart and behaves ‘faithfully’. But the woman ‘comes and goes … day after day’. She merely ‘rewards (it) with tears and an agitation of hands’, turning her back on it and yet unable to stay away, returning every morning to replace the darkness. The relationship between the mirror and the woman is evidently a complex one – they need each other, and yet cause each other pain, too.
In this poem, Plath – who committed suicide less than 18 months later – adopts the mirror’s viewpoint in order to explore her ambivalent feelings about herself.
‘Mirror’ juxtaposes the images of love and cruelty, truth and dislike, flickering light and darkness.
One minute the mirror is ‘a little god’ , the next it is needy and alone. It longs to be loved and yet it is in the woman’s suffering. He receives her ‘tears’ and ‘agitation’ and calls it a ‘ reward’.
Ahead lies a terrible future for the woman. The description of herself as a ‘terrible fish’ --- a cold and emotionless woman --- rises to torture Sylvia Plath.
**********************************************
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Inspiration Today
Relationship is not leaving behind old people when you find new ones.
It is all about preserving dried roses between pages inspite of bieng gifted a rose daily.
It is all about preserving dried roses between pages inspite of bieng gifted a rose daily.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Motivation For The Day
Life and time are the two great teachers,
Life teaches you the use of time and
Time teaches you the value of life…
Life teaches you the use of time and
Time teaches you the value of life…
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Mindbender for the Day
Coins always make a sound.
But the Currency notes are always silent.
So when your value increases,KEEP yourself Calm & Silent.
But the Currency notes are always silent.
So when your value increases,KEEP yourself Calm & Silent.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
CBSE Sample Paper Summative Assessment 1
CLASS IX
English Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3hours
The question paper is divided into four sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks
SECTION A
(READING -20 MARKS)
Q1 Read the following passage carefully. (5 Marks)
Sponsored Festivals
This is the high noon of the Age of Sponsorship. For several years now, we have become used to all kinds of events being sponsored. In many newspapers, every possible feature, barring the editorials, is sponsored. Even the daily weather report is.
Student organizations, which were once content to hold low-key festivals in their college, now find corporate sponsors and get massive media exposure for such events.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival was once an affair confined to individual homes. Today, in Mumbai it provides competition for rival sponsors as the size of the idols grows in height and girth every year and the festivities are held with greater gusto and noise
During Dushera, Mumbai reverberates to the beat of drums. Thousands of young people spend nights dancing to the various versions of the traditional Gujarati ‘garba’ dance- including the mutant-“disco garba”. It is one of those strange twists of irony that dance, which actually liberated women and gave them a legitimate reason to dance their hearts out, has now become a highly sponsored event in which there is no place for traditional ‘garba’ dancers. In the past, the dancing was free of both self consciousness, as it was a women’s dance, and commerce as it was held in the courtyard.
Thus each year something precious is being lost –and the worst part of it is that the majority of us are not even aware of it.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) It is called the age of sponsorship as
a) there’s too much money in the market
b) newspapers , festivals in colleges are all commercialized
c) common man loves the paraphernalia
d) money attracts the common man
2) The role Garba played in the lives of the women in the past was to
a) help them get rid of their inhibitions
b) provide a stage for their talent
c) root them in tradition
d) prove commercially viable for them
3) Today Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that
a) is confined to individual homes
b) provides an opportunity for sponsors to invest money
c) is held with great fanfare
d) has a few sponsors
4) ‘Mutant ’ in para 4 means
a) crazy
b) unimaginable
c) dangerous
d) adapted or changed
5) According to the author the greatest tragedy of sponsorship is
a) the loss of money
b) the focus on unnecessary expenditure
c) the common man is being duped
d) the loss of the essence of our culture without realizing it
Q2 Read the following poem carefully: (5 Marks)
WHAT I LEAVE TO MY SON
No point in leaving you a long list
Of those who have died
Even if I limit it to my friends and your uncles
It won’t do. Who could remember them all?
My son, isn’t it true?
The obituaries leave me indifferent
as the weather. Sometimes they seem to matter
Even less: How can that be, my son?
I’ll leave you , yes,
A treasure I’m always seeking, never finding
Can you guess? Something wondrous
Something my father wanted for me
Although (poor man!) it’s been nothing
But a mirage in the desert
Of my life.
My soul will join his now, praying
That your generation may find it-
Simply peace-
Simply a life better than ours
Where you and friends won’t be forced
To drag grief-laden feet down the road
To mutual murder.
Nguyen Ngoc Bich
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The obituaries and weather
a) have no significance for the poet
b) leave the poet depressed
c) matter a lot to the poet
d) are an integral part of the poet’s survival
2) The legacy the poet wishes to leave to his son is
a) To live a life devoid of hatred
b) To have a better life than his own generation
c) To be a happy and responsible citizens
d) All of the above
3) Mutual murder is an example of
a) Imagery
b) Alliteration
c) Metaphor
d) Simile
4) The poet‘s father’s wishes have been nothing but
a) A dream
b) Something wondrous
c) Treasure he always is seeking
d) A mirage in the desert of his life
5) The expression drag grief laden feet means
a) A life that has no aim
b) Being unhappy
c) Leading a slow life
d) Leading a life of monotony
Q3 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
The tree was young and strong and it took a long time to kill. It took two workmen with axes, two days, including tea breaks. Which without conscious irony, they took in the shade of the leafy branches of the tree they were chopping down. It was a Gulmohar I had planted 13 years ago, along with several other saplings, when Bunny and I moved into the National media centre. The NMC is built on a little over 22 acres and many hundreds of the local babul trees that used to cloak that part of the Haryana countryside like smoke from evening chullas must have been cut down to make way for the brick and cement of our colony. I’m not a tree hugger but still felt that some restitution was due. So Bunny and I planted several saplings.
The two gulmohars at the rear were foot high saplings when we put them in the soil. In a few years their branches aflame with scarlet flowers in summer, rose above the first floor window, flooding the room with afterglow and screening from view the ugly scars of new construction in what had once been open fields behind our house. I felt the smugness of satisfaction, of having done the right thing. I’d given back, in however small a way, a little bit of what we take away from the earth everyday, everywhere.
Righteousness invites its own revenge. The roots of one of the trees had spread, crushing the sewage system. The handyman gave us the choice of either cutting down the tree or its roots would endanger the foundations of the house.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The irony in the first para is that the
a) The tree was planted by the author but cut by the workmen
b) The workmen chopped the tree that gave them shade.
c) It took 13 years for the tree to grow
d) The author was not passionate about trees yet he planted them
2) When the colony was settled, the author decided to
a) make the outskirts greener
b) plant a few saplings around the house
c) sulk in depression
d) start a movement
3) The feeling the newly grown gulmohar trees evoked in the author was of
a) remorse
b) pride
c) self - satisfaction
d) regret
4) The writer had to get the free felled because
a) he was being righteous
b) the house was in danger of being destroyed
c) the tree had grown too tall
d) the sewage system was damaged
5) Being righteous means
a) Doing things the correct way
b) Being aware of your rights
c) Following your heart
d) Conscious of the ways of the world
Q4 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
Ask any parent anywhere on the planet and they will tell you that there is nothing sinister, nothing as singularly depressing as Arpita’s copy.
Now this is not just a copy where a tidy conscientious child writes in copious details about everything, taking care to label things in boxes and uses eighteen different coloured pencils while describing ‘My favourite holiday’. This is actually a sinister plot hatched to make your parenting skills look bad by rival parents with way too much time, patience and colouring ability on their side. The child is merely an instrument; it is the parents who are graded.
The whole school evaluation process grades parents with a bewilderingly complex classification that involves stars, smileys, goods, very goods, keep it up. Are two smileys better than a ‘good’ and a ‘keep it up’? And what about Arpita? What has she got?
Today the child is seen as an entity that is moldable and the role of the parent is to build a person out of a child. This puts tremendous responsibility on parents who believe that their actions determine their child’s future and hence every small step becomes a BIG PROJECT where a minor mistake would make your child a dribbling sociopath tomorrow.
Hence the persistent belief that enough is not being done for the child inspite of the unfortunate truth that more than enough is being done to him. Children need to perform in order to make parents feel good about themselves. In that sense, not much has changed; children still become instruments for the realisation of some parental goals. If earlier getting Into Science was enough to make parents proud, now almost nothing is good enough. Ninety per cent is too little and one extra-curricular activity too basic. And yes, there is always an Arpita lurking somewhere with her wretched copy.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The aspect of parenting that has not changed over the years is
a) Expectations from children by society
b) Belief that nothing has changed
c) Parents using children to realize their dreams.
d) Parents doing the school assignments for their children
2) The word ‘sinister’ in Para 1 means:
a) Sinful
b) Complex
c) Evil
d) Bad
3) The role Arpita plays in the writer’s life is that of
a) someone who provides inspiration
b) somebody who depresses her
c) someone who pressurises her to do well
d) someone who competes with the writer
4) The writer is critical of the parents because
a) they take their role very seriously
b) nothing satisfies them
c) at every step, they worry about their child’s future
d) all of the above
5) The tone of the passage is
a) encouraging
b) remorseful
c) mocking
d) sympathetic
SECTION B
(WRITING-20 MARKS)
Q5 Write a paragraph using the notes of a journalist on the issue of extinction of species. (4 Marks)
ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION
• Project- launched –Natural History Museum, London
• Protection of vast species
• Mass wipe out in Decades
• Consequence of human action--- wars, taking away too much from nature, hunting, loss of habitats
Q6. You have been reading incidents of foreign tourists being duped and cheated of their
money and valuables, incidents of inhospitable behavior and eve teasing. As a concerned
citizen, write an e-mail to the Editor of a National daily expressing your views on the issue
and also giving suggestions on how to make our city a safer tourist destination. The
format of e-mail is given. (8 Marks)
Date:
From:
Subject:
To:
Dear Sir
Regards
Name
Q7. Now a days the youth are taking upon themselves different roles and responsibilities.
They also have varied interests. Recently you came across the following pictures in a
magazine. Using the information you gather from the picture and ideas of your own,
write an article on, ‘The Changing Role of Youngsters’. (8 Marks)
SECTION C
(GRAMMAR – 20 MARKS)
Q8 Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones
given below. Write the answer in your answer sheet: (4 Marks)
Q7 Like many Indian children, I grew up (a)----------- the vast, varied and fascinating tales of the Mahabharata. Set (b)------- the end of what the Hindu scriptures term Dvapur Yuga or the third age of the man, a time (c)----------- the lives of the Gods and people still intersected, the epic weaves myth, history, religion, science and statecraft (d)------- stories.
a) (i) saying (ii) listening to (iii) questioning (iv) celebrating
b) (i)by (ii)at (iii)from (iv)into
c) (i)where (ii)from (iii)when (iv)before
d) (i)as (ii)in (iii)through (iv)into
Q9. Edit the following passage by choosing the correct option from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
Blood letting was a common practice in ancient times. The doctors used to treat patients (a) by the help of leeches. It was generally believed that certain diseases (b) caused by too much of blood or by impure blood getting blocked in some parts of the body. The doctors(c) were make a slit on the body or attach leeches there. They sucked the blood (d) not prevented it from clotting.
a) (i)from (ii)with (iii)in (iv)as
b) i)were caused (ii)cause (iii)will be caused (iv)are caused
C) (i)should (ii)will (iii)was (iv)would
d) (i)and (ii)but (iii)or (iv)while
Q10. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by
choosing the most appropriate option. (4 Marks)
Ranbir: Where is my car? I remember parking it here.
Policeman: The car has been towed away as you parked it in the ‘no parking area’
Ranbir: Sir, can I be excused this time?
Policeman: I hope you’ll remember the lesson you learnt today
Ranbir asked the policeman standing there (a)_________. The policeman replied (b)_________ Ranbir requested the policeman (c)___________________. The policeman then reminded him____ (d)____________.
1)
a) where was his car? He remembered parking it here.
b) that where his car was? He remembered parking it there.
c) where his car was. He remembered parking it there.
d) that where was my car? He remembered it was parked here.
2)
a) that the car had been towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
b) that the car was towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
c) the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.
d) that the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.
3)
a) to be excused that time.
b) whether he could be excused that time.
c) that he should be excused.
d) whether he could be excused this time.
4)
a) that he hoped he will have to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
b) That he hoped he should be able to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
c) that he has to remember the lesson he had learnt that day
d) that he hoped he would remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
Q11 Complete the Report by choosing the correct answer from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
1) Sangeeta Mane-30, delivers conjoined twins-Indapur
Conjoined twins-----------------------------------------by Sangeeta Mane,aged 30, in Indapur.
a) were delivered b) have been delivered c) will be delivered d) have to be delivered
2) The birth of healthy twins- Pune poses a challenge-the medical profession
A challenge----------------------------------------to the medical profession by the birth of healthy twins in Pune.
a) was posed b) is posed c) is being posed d) has been posed
3) The twins-2day old-share one liver
One liver-----------------------------------------------shared by the two - day old twins.
a) was being b)was c)is d)is being
4) the scientists bring –twins- Indapur to a pune hospital-under medical supervision
The twins________________under medical supervision from Indapur to a Pune hospital by the scientists.
a) are brought b)are being brought c)were brought d)were being brought
Q. 12. Below you can see a set of instructions for using a pipette to measure a required amount of
water. Imagine that you have completed this procedure. Complete the following paragraph
reporting what you did by choosing the correct options. (4 Marks)
Take a pipette and dip the nozzle into water in a vessel.
Suck out the air through the other end.
When the water rises to the mark on the pipette, cover its upper end and take the pipette out.
Then empty the water in the pipette into a beaker.
A pipette was taken and the nozzle was dipped into water in a vessel. a) ……………… through the other end. When b) ……………… ……. on the pipette, its upper end was covered and c) ………………. Then d) ……………… into a beaker.
(a) (i) the air is being sucked out (ii) the air has been sucked out
(iii) the air will be sucked out (iv) the air was sucked out
(b) (i) the water was raised to the mark (ii) the water rose to the mark
(iii) the water will rise to the mark (iv) the water is rising to the mark
(c) (i) the pipette was taken out (ii) the pipette is to be taken out
(iii) the pipette has been taken out (iv) the pipette will be taken out
(d) (i) the water of a pipette was emptied (ii) the water in the pipette was emptied
(iii) the water of the pipette is emptied (iv) the water in the pipette is to be emptied
SECTION D
(LITERATURE -20 MARKS)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options. Attempt any two: (2X 3=6 Marks)
a) And by my word! the bonny bride
In danger shall not tarry
So, though the waves are raging white
I’ll row you over the ferry
1) And by my word is indicative of the speaker being
a) a man who can ferry his boat confidently
b) a man who knew the bonny bride
c) a man who honoured his word
d) a man full of fake promises
2) The speaker promises to row accross
a) the chief of Ulva and Lord Ullin’s daughter
b) the chief of Ulva and his wife
c) Lord Ullin and his daughter
d) Lord Ullin and chief of Ulva
3) Waves are raging white –the imagery used here is
a) simile
b) personification
c) metaphor
d) alliteration
b) “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could nor travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth:
1) ‘A yellow wood’ denotes…………………
a) A wood painted yellow
b) Autumn season
c) Trees with yellow flowers
d) Dried leaves on the forest flower
2) The poet regrets………………………………
a) He could nor travel on both the roads simultaneously
b) He has become old
c) The roads were covered with thick undergrowth
d) The paths were not clearly visible
3) He chooses……………………………
a) The road which has been traveled by many
b) The road which looks more attractive
c) The road which very few have tread upon
d) The road which has less grass
c) Gaston: Certainly not…………just as a souvenir
1) The line is being addressed to _______________.
a) Gaston
b) Juliette
c) Maid
d) Jeanne
2) The souvenir is important because
a) Gaston wished to buy the villa
b) Julliette was emotionally attached to it
c) It was a witness to the deal Gaston struck with Mrs. AL Smith
d) Gaston’s wife had developed a fancy towards it
3) Jeanne was surprised as
a) Gaston was ready to buy the villa
b) Julliette decided to strike a deal with them
c) Julliette’s parents were allowed to stay in the villa
d) Mr. Al. Smith helped to strike a deal
Q14. Answer any four of the following questions. (30-40 words each)
(2x4= 8 Marks)
a) Why does Frost choose the road less travelled?
b) ‘Kashi Yatre’ was grandmother’s favorite novel. Why? Give two reasons.
c) What are the two ways in which the Brook is similar to life?
d) Briefly mention the two things that capture the poet’s attention in the poem ‘Solitary Reaper’.
e) Mention any two characteristics of Gaston’s personality that make him a better businessman than Juliette.
Q 15. As the author of ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read’ , write a letter to your grandmother appreciating her determination and strength of character. (6 Marks)
OR
As a reader, make a diary entry discussing your reaction to the relationship shared
between Charles and Duke. (6Marks)
English Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3hours
The question paper is divided into four sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks
SECTION A
(READING -20 MARKS)
Q1 Read the following passage carefully. (5 Marks)
Sponsored Festivals
This is the high noon of the Age of Sponsorship. For several years now, we have become used to all kinds of events being sponsored. In many newspapers, every possible feature, barring the editorials, is sponsored. Even the daily weather report is.
Student organizations, which were once content to hold low-key festivals in their college, now find corporate sponsors and get massive media exposure for such events.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival was once an affair confined to individual homes. Today, in Mumbai it provides competition for rival sponsors as the size of the idols grows in height and girth every year and the festivities are held with greater gusto and noise
During Dushera, Mumbai reverberates to the beat of drums. Thousands of young people spend nights dancing to the various versions of the traditional Gujarati ‘garba’ dance- including the mutant-“disco garba”. It is one of those strange twists of irony that dance, which actually liberated women and gave them a legitimate reason to dance their hearts out, has now become a highly sponsored event in which there is no place for traditional ‘garba’ dancers. In the past, the dancing was free of both self consciousness, as it was a women’s dance, and commerce as it was held in the courtyard.
Thus each year something precious is being lost –and the worst part of it is that the majority of us are not even aware of it.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) It is called the age of sponsorship as
a) there’s too much money in the market
b) newspapers , festivals in colleges are all commercialized
c) common man loves the paraphernalia
d) money attracts the common man
2) The role Garba played in the lives of the women in the past was to
a) help them get rid of their inhibitions
b) provide a stage for their talent
c) root them in tradition
d) prove commercially viable for them
3) Today Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that
a) is confined to individual homes
b) provides an opportunity for sponsors to invest money
c) is held with great fanfare
d) has a few sponsors
4) ‘Mutant ’ in para 4 means
a) crazy
b) unimaginable
c) dangerous
d) adapted or changed
5) According to the author the greatest tragedy of sponsorship is
a) the loss of money
b) the focus on unnecessary expenditure
c) the common man is being duped
d) the loss of the essence of our culture without realizing it
Q2 Read the following poem carefully: (5 Marks)
WHAT I LEAVE TO MY SON
No point in leaving you a long list
Of those who have died
Even if I limit it to my friends and your uncles
It won’t do. Who could remember them all?
My son, isn’t it true?
The obituaries leave me indifferent
as the weather. Sometimes they seem to matter
Even less: How can that be, my son?
I’ll leave you , yes,
A treasure I’m always seeking, never finding
Can you guess? Something wondrous
Something my father wanted for me
Although (poor man!) it’s been nothing
But a mirage in the desert
Of my life.
My soul will join his now, praying
That your generation may find it-
Simply peace-
Simply a life better than ours
Where you and friends won’t be forced
To drag grief-laden feet down the road
To mutual murder.
Nguyen Ngoc Bich
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The obituaries and weather
a) have no significance for the poet
b) leave the poet depressed
c) matter a lot to the poet
d) are an integral part of the poet’s survival
2) The legacy the poet wishes to leave to his son is
a) To live a life devoid of hatred
b) To have a better life than his own generation
c) To be a happy and responsible citizens
d) All of the above
3) Mutual murder is an example of
a) Imagery
b) Alliteration
c) Metaphor
d) Simile
4) The poet‘s father’s wishes have been nothing but
a) A dream
b) Something wondrous
c) Treasure he always is seeking
d) A mirage in the desert of his life
5) The expression drag grief laden feet means
a) A life that has no aim
b) Being unhappy
c) Leading a slow life
d) Leading a life of monotony
Q3 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
The tree was young and strong and it took a long time to kill. It took two workmen with axes, two days, including tea breaks. Which without conscious irony, they took in the shade of the leafy branches of the tree they were chopping down. It was a Gulmohar I had planted 13 years ago, along with several other saplings, when Bunny and I moved into the National media centre. The NMC is built on a little over 22 acres and many hundreds of the local babul trees that used to cloak that part of the Haryana countryside like smoke from evening chullas must have been cut down to make way for the brick and cement of our colony. I’m not a tree hugger but still felt that some restitution was due. So Bunny and I planted several saplings.
The two gulmohars at the rear were foot high saplings when we put them in the soil. In a few years their branches aflame with scarlet flowers in summer, rose above the first floor window, flooding the room with afterglow and screening from view the ugly scars of new construction in what had once been open fields behind our house. I felt the smugness of satisfaction, of having done the right thing. I’d given back, in however small a way, a little bit of what we take away from the earth everyday, everywhere.
Righteousness invites its own revenge. The roots of one of the trees had spread, crushing the sewage system. The handyman gave us the choice of either cutting down the tree or its roots would endanger the foundations of the house.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The irony in the first para is that the
a) The tree was planted by the author but cut by the workmen
b) The workmen chopped the tree that gave them shade.
c) It took 13 years for the tree to grow
d) The author was not passionate about trees yet he planted them
2) When the colony was settled, the author decided to
a) make the outskirts greener
b) plant a few saplings around the house
c) sulk in depression
d) start a movement
3) The feeling the newly grown gulmohar trees evoked in the author was of
a) remorse
b) pride
c) self - satisfaction
d) regret
4) The writer had to get the free felled because
a) he was being righteous
b) the house was in danger of being destroyed
c) the tree had grown too tall
d) the sewage system was damaged
5) Being righteous means
a) Doing things the correct way
b) Being aware of your rights
c) Following your heart
d) Conscious of the ways of the world
Q4 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
Ask any parent anywhere on the planet and they will tell you that there is nothing sinister, nothing as singularly depressing as Arpita’s copy.
Now this is not just a copy where a tidy conscientious child writes in copious details about everything, taking care to label things in boxes and uses eighteen different coloured pencils while describing ‘My favourite holiday’. This is actually a sinister plot hatched to make your parenting skills look bad by rival parents with way too much time, patience and colouring ability on their side. The child is merely an instrument; it is the parents who are graded.
The whole school evaluation process grades parents with a bewilderingly complex classification that involves stars, smileys, goods, very goods, keep it up. Are two smileys better than a ‘good’ and a ‘keep it up’? And what about Arpita? What has she got?
Today the child is seen as an entity that is moldable and the role of the parent is to build a person out of a child. This puts tremendous responsibility on parents who believe that their actions determine their child’s future and hence every small step becomes a BIG PROJECT where a minor mistake would make your child a dribbling sociopath tomorrow.
Hence the persistent belief that enough is not being done for the child inspite of the unfortunate truth that more than enough is being done to him. Children need to perform in order to make parents feel good about themselves. In that sense, not much has changed; children still become instruments for the realisation of some parental goals. If earlier getting Into Science was enough to make parents proud, now almost nothing is good enough. Ninety per cent is too little and one extra-curricular activity too basic. And yes, there is always an Arpita lurking somewhere with her wretched copy.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The aspect of parenting that has not changed over the years is
a) Expectations from children by society
b) Belief that nothing has changed
c) Parents using children to realize their dreams.
d) Parents doing the school assignments for their children
2) The word ‘sinister’ in Para 1 means:
a) Sinful
b) Complex
c) Evil
d) Bad
3) The role Arpita plays in the writer’s life is that of
a) someone who provides inspiration
b) somebody who depresses her
c) someone who pressurises her to do well
d) someone who competes with the writer
4) The writer is critical of the parents because
a) they take their role very seriously
b) nothing satisfies them
c) at every step, they worry about their child’s future
d) all of the above
5) The tone of the passage is
a) encouraging
b) remorseful
c) mocking
d) sympathetic
SECTION B
(WRITING-20 MARKS)
Q5 Write a paragraph using the notes of a journalist on the issue of extinction of species. (4 Marks)
ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION
• Project- launched –Natural History Museum, London
• Protection of vast species
• Mass wipe out in Decades
• Consequence of human action--- wars, taking away too much from nature, hunting, loss of habitats
Q6. You have been reading incidents of foreign tourists being duped and cheated of their
money and valuables, incidents of inhospitable behavior and eve teasing. As a concerned
citizen, write an e-mail to the Editor of a National daily expressing your views on the issue
and also giving suggestions on how to make our city a safer tourist destination. The
format of e-mail is given. (8 Marks)
Date:
From:
Subject:
To:
Dear Sir
Regards
Name
Q7. Now a days the youth are taking upon themselves different roles and responsibilities.
They also have varied interests. Recently you came across the following pictures in a
magazine. Using the information you gather from the picture and ideas of your own,
write an article on, ‘The Changing Role of Youngsters’. (8 Marks)
SECTION C
(GRAMMAR – 20 MARKS)
Q8 Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones
given below. Write the answer in your answer sheet: (4 Marks)
Q7 Like many Indian children, I grew up (a)----------- the vast, varied and fascinating tales of the Mahabharata. Set (b)------- the end of what the Hindu scriptures term Dvapur Yuga or the third age of the man, a time (c)----------- the lives of the Gods and people still intersected, the epic weaves myth, history, religion, science and statecraft (d)------- stories.
a) (i) saying (ii) listening to (iii) questioning (iv) celebrating
b) (i)by (ii)at (iii)from (iv)into
c) (i)where (ii)from (iii)when (iv)before
d) (i)as (ii)in (iii)through (iv)into
Q9. Edit the following passage by choosing the correct option from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
Blood letting was a common practice in ancient times. The doctors used to treat patients (a) by the help of leeches. It was generally believed that certain diseases (b) caused by too much of blood or by impure blood getting blocked in some parts of the body. The doctors(c) were make a slit on the body or attach leeches there. They sucked the blood (d) not prevented it from clotting.
a) (i)from (ii)with (iii)in (iv)as
b) i)were caused (ii)cause (iii)will be caused (iv)are caused
C) (i)should (ii)will (iii)was (iv)would
d) (i)and (ii)but (iii)or (iv)while
Q10. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by
choosing the most appropriate option. (4 Marks)
Ranbir: Where is my car? I remember parking it here.
Policeman: The car has been towed away as you parked it in the ‘no parking area’
Ranbir: Sir, can I be excused this time?
Policeman: I hope you’ll remember the lesson you learnt today
Ranbir asked the policeman standing there (a)_________. The policeman replied (b)_________ Ranbir requested the policeman (c)___________________. The policeman then reminded him____ (d)____________.
1)
a) where was his car? He remembered parking it here.
b) that where his car was? He remembered parking it there.
c) where his car was. He remembered parking it there.
d) that where was my car? He remembered it was parked here.
2)
a) that the car had been towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
b) that the car was towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
c) the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.
d) that the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.
3)
a) to be excused that time.
b) whether he could be excused that time.
c) that he should be excused.
d) whether he could be excused this time.
4)
a) that he hoped he will have to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
b) That he hoped he should be able to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
c) that he has to remember the lesson he had learnt that day
d) that he hoped he would remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
Q11 Complete the Report by choosing the correct answer from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
1) Sangeeta Mane-30, delivers conjoined twins-Indapur
Conjoined twins-----------------------------------------by Sangeeta Mane,aged 30, in Indapur.
a) were delivered b) have been delivered c) will be delivered d) have to be delivered
2) The birth of healthy twins- Pune poses a challenge-the medical profession
A challenge----------------------------------------to the medical profession by the birth of healthy twins in Pune.
a) was posed b) is posed c) is being posed d) has been posed
3) The twins-2day old-share one liver
One liver-----------------------------------------------shared by the two - day old twins.
a) was being b)was c)is d)is being
4) the scientists bring –twins- Indapur to a pune hospital-under medical supervision
The twins________________under medical supervision from Indapur to a Pune hospital by the scientists.
a) are brought b)are being brought c)were brought d)were being brought
Q. 12. Below you can see a set of instructions for using a pipette to measure a required amount of
water. Imagine that you have completed this procedure. Complete the following paragraph
reporting what you did by choosing the correct options. (4 Marks)
Take a pipette and dip the nozzle into water in a vessel.
Suck out the air through the other end.
When the water rises to the mark on the pipette, cover its upper end and take the pipette out.
Then empty the water in the pipette into a beaker.
A pipette was taken and the nozzle was dipped into water in a vessel. a) ……………… through the other end. When b) ……………… ……. on the pipette, its upper end was covered and c) ………………. Then d) ……………… into a beaker.
(a) (i) the air is being sucked out (ii) the air has been sucked out
(iii) the air will be sucked out (iv) the air was sucked out
(b) (i) the water was raised to the mark (ii) the water rose to the mark
(iii) the water will rise to the mark (iv) the water is rising to the mark
(c) (i) the pipette was taken out (ii) the pipette is to be taken out
(iii) the pipette has been taken out (iv) the pipette will be taken out
(d) (i) the water of a pipette was emptied (ii) the water in the pipette was emptied
(iii) the water of the pipette is emptied (iv) the water in the pipette is to be emptied
SECTION D
(LITERATURE -20 MARKS)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options. Attempt any two: (2X 3=6 Marks)
a) And by my word! the bonny bride
In danger shall not tarry
So, though the waves are raging white
I’ll row you over the ferry
1) And by my word is indicative of the speaker being
a) a man who can ferry his boat confidently
b) a man who knew the bonny bride
c) a man who honoured his word
d) a man full of fake promises
2) The speaker promises to row accross
a) the chief of Ulva and Lord Ullin’s daughter
b) the chief of Ulva and his wife
c) Lord Ullin and his daughter
d) Lord Ullin and chief of Ulva
3) Waves are raging white –the imagery used here is
a) simile
b) personification
c) metaphor
d) alliteration
b) “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could nor travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth:
1) ‘A yellow wood’ denotes…………………
a) A wood painted yellow
b) Autumn season
c) Trees with yellow flowers
d) Dried leaves on the forest flower
2) The poet regrets………………………………
a) He could nor travel on both the roads simultaneously
b) He has become old
c) The roads were covered with thick undergrowth
d) The paths were not clearly visible
3) He chooses……………………………
a) The road which has been traveled by many
b) The road which looks more attractive
c) The road which very few have tread upon
d) The road which has less grass
c) Gaston: Certainly not…………just as a souvenir
1) The line is being addressed to _______________.
a) Gaston
b) Juliette
c) Maid
d) Jeanne
2) The souvenir is important because
a) Gaston wished to buy the villa
b) Julliette was emotionally attached to it
c) It was a witness to the deal Gaston struck with Mrs. AL Smith
d) Gaston’s wife had developed a fancy towards it
3) Jeanne was surprised as
a) Gaston was ready to buy the villa
b) Julliette decided to strike a deal with them
c) Julliette’s parents were allowed to stay in the villa
d) Mr. Al. Smith helped to strike a deal
Q14. Answer any four of the following questions. (30-40 words each)
(2x4= 8 Marks)
a) Why does Frost choose the road less travelled?
b) ‘Kashi Yatre’ was grandmother’s favorite novel. Why? Give two reasons.
c) What are the two ways in which the Brook is similar to life?
d) Briefly mention the two things that capture the poet’s attention in the poem ‘Solitary Reaper’.
e) Mention any two characteristics of Gaston’s personality that make him a better businessman than Juliette.
Q 15. As the author of ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read’ , write a letter to your grandmother appreciating her determination and strength of character. (6 Marks)
OR
As a reader, make a diary entry discussing your reaction to the relationship shared
between Charles and Duke. (6Marks)
CBSE Sample Paper for Summative Assessment 1
CLASS X
English - Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3 hours
The question paper is divided into three sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks
SECTION- A
(Reading -20 Marks)
Q 1 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
We are in a rush. We are making haste. A compression of time characterises our lives. As time-use researchers look around, they see a rushing and scurrying everywhere.
Instant services rule, pollsters use electronic devices during political speeches to measure opinions before they have been fully formed; fast food restaurants add express lanes. Even reading to children is under pressure. The volume “One Minute Bedtime Stories” consists of traditional stories that can be read by a busy parent in only one minute.
Time is a gentle deity, said Sophocles. Perhaps it was, for him. These days it cracks the whip. We humans have chosen speed and we thrive on it – more than we generally admit. Our ability to work fast and play fast gives us power. It thrills us. And if haste is the accelerator, multitasking is the overdrive.
A sense of well being comes with this saturation of parallel pathways in the brain. We choose mania over boredom every time. “Humans have never opted for slower,” points out the historian Stephen Kern. We catch the fever –and cramming our life feels good.
There are definite ways to save time, but what does this concept really mean? Does time saving mean getting more done? If so, does talking on a cellular phone at the beach save time or waste it? Does it make sense to say that driving saves ten minutes from your travel budget while removing ten minutes from your reading budget?
These questions have no answer. They depend on a concept that is ill formed; the very idea of time saving. Some of us say we want to save time when we really want to do more and faster. It might be simpler to recognize that there is time and we make choices about how to spend it, how to spare it, how to use it and how to fill it.
Time is not a thing we have lost. It is not a thing we ever had. It is what we live in.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) What Sophocles said is outdated because
a) humans today believe in leading a fast paced life
b) life today must be lived
c) humans have no other choice but to chase time
d) humans have admitted that time today is precious
2) Electronic poll devices, instant services, fast food restaurants signify
a) acceleration in life
b) impatience of our times
c) our need to work fast as it gives us power
d) all of the above
3) According to the author we wish to save time because
a) we hope to be more efficient and capable
b) we wish to accomplish more in a short period of time
c) we wish to make appropriate choices
d) time saved is time earned
4) A word that means the same as ‘filled to capacity’ is
a) mania
b) saturation
c) cramming
d) bored
5) The passage
a) advocates the need to accelerate time so that we can meet our requirements
b) recognizes the need to rush and scurry all the time
c) advises us to recognize time and decide what to do with it
d) appreciates those who invest time wisely
Q 2 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
A recent trip to Lucknow was an instant eye-opener and a more instant stimulus to introspection.
The realization of self degradation started from the station itself. All set to fight the autowallah in Lucknow and accuse him of being a rude fleecer, I was stopped mid-sentence by his demeanour. He was mild, polished and totally agreeable to whatever I would pay him. He was sure I would not pay less than what the fare should be because he felt I had enough money to do so. Of course the respectful way he spoke to me took me completely off guard, and made me a wee bit ashamed. The aggression which one has to display all the time in Delhi, I realized was not needed here. In fact, it was shocking for the autowallah to encounter a presumptuous woman yearning for a fight.
That’s what Delhi does to you. It takes away your polish. Unlike Delhi, Lucknow prefers to stay away from hysterical momentum. It takes an easy pace of life, teaches residents to stay cool, enjoy food, take siestas and work without hitting the breakneck speed barrier. It has set its priorities right. It nurtures its young and it loves its old.
In Delhi, morning walkers go for expensive paraphernalia. You need to drive at least five kms to hunt for a park. Back in Lucknow simply walk out of your house and your walk begins. No traffic and no pollution.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The author was all set to fight with the autorickshaw driver in Lucknow as
a) he expected her to pay more than was due
b) she was sure he would be unjust
c) her experience in Delhi had taught her to mistrust autowallahs
d) he was unbelievably discourteous
2) Your personality in Delhi becomes
a) negative and aggressive
b) agreeable and submissive
c) polished and assertive
d) negative and submissive
3) Morning walkers in Lucknow require
a) a park outside their house
b) expensive paraphernalia
c) good sports gear
d) almost nothing
4) The word ‘presumptuous’ in the passage means
a) modest
b) rude
c) proud
d) imaginative
5) The trip to Lucknow was an eye opener for the author because
a) she realized that every city in India needs to love its old and calm down its young
b) she realized that she was full of negativity
c) she had begun to doubt everyone around her
d) all of the above
Q 3 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
Su means number and Duko means single. The game of Sudoku has many similarities to the game of life. The game consists of a 9x9 grid divided into 3x3 boxes in which a few numbers called “given”- the number of givens varies between 17 and 30 for a puzzle to be reasonably viable- are already in place.
In life, too, you start with a given set of notions and then work from thereon. In Sudoku, you need to follow a set of rules to build up the grid, filling each row, column and box with numbers ranging from one to nine, so much like in life where you have to go on your way without antagonizing anyone else. Respect every number (person) and things would be fine. While trial or error may or may not work, the correct technique is in eliminating numbers that don’t fit in a particular box.
In Sudoku, the arrangement of the given numbers is symmetrical. This is instructive in life, on how to maintain steadfast faith, poise and equanimity despite situations when everything turns topsy-turvy.
There is a subtle difference between the two as well. Make a mistake and you can erase it and begin all over again in Sudoku. Not so in life. You can learn a lesson though, and avoid making the same mistake in future.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The given numbers in Sudoku are comparable to the -------------------------------in life.
a) rules
b) notions
c) people
d) respect
2) In Sudoku, by eliminating numbers that do not fit we
a) keep reducing errors to succeed in life
b) keep adding the chances to solve the puzzle
c) restrict our choices
d) open new avenues
3) In life, symmetry is maintained through
a) patience and hard work
b) balance inspite of hardships
c) constant trust
d) friends and enemies
4) In life we can learn from our mistakes but we cannot
a) begin afresh
b) undo them
c) relive them
d) commit them again
5) To ‘antagonise’ in the passage means
a) to be determined
b) to be noticeable
c) to please
d) to make someone angry
Q 4 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
THESE DREAMS
These dreams
Obstinate offspring of my wayward mind
Keep running out of my home
All too often.
Somewhat humiliated
Somewhat hurt
Somewhat angry
At times they even rush out barefoot.
It is difficult to pacify these stubborn kids or humour them
For theirs is a search for eternal spring
They wish to seek out the stars and talk to them
I am a tired traveller
And have not the will
To chase them anymore.
I have come to terms
With my wilderness but I do fear for
Those naïve ones
Come evening and they may seek solace
If they come to you even as you sleep
Do not push them away, tenderly hold them
In your lap like their fond mother
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The poet feels that he cannot control his dreams by saying that they
a) are somewhat angry
b) are obstinate offspring
c) rush out barefoot
d) keep running out of his home
2) I do fear for these naïve ones means that his dreams
a) need to be protected
b) need love and care
c) have become rebellious
d) need a parent to look after them
3) The message of the poem is
a) one must never stop dreaming
b) dreams distract you
c) practicality is the way of life
d) dream but know your limits
4) The poetic device in the first stanza is
a) simile
b) alliteration
c) metaphor
d) personification
5) Like a fond mother we must
a) nurture our dreams
b) push our dreams to the limits
c) hold them in our laps
d) let them be free
SECTION B
(Writing- 20marks)
Q 5 Use the notes in the following box to write a paragraph of about 100 words. (4 Marks)
Trip to Goa
• Wonderful place-open houses-eco-friendly
• People- friendly, happy-go-lucky
• Landscape-picturesque, beaches, clear blue water
• Restaurants- delicious sea food
• Sightseeing- ferry.bus, motorcycles available on rent
• Carnival- colourful, music ,dance, fun and frolic
Q 6. Your batch was the first to appear for the revamped examination system for Classes IX and X. Taking help from the verbal stimulus given below, write an article expressing your opinion and experiences in about 150 words. (8 Marks)
STUDENTS’ REACTION: Grades eliminate competition
No board examinations! No stress Board Examinations are history. CCE has made learning very interesting.
Exams are essential to review learning and progress
Boards are essential to review learning and progress
Q.7 Taking help from the visual given below, write an article for a national daily, sharing your concerns and suggestions about the issues highlighted. (8 Marks)
SECTION C
(Grammar – 20 Marks)
Q 8. Edit the Notice given below by choosing the appropriate option from the list given.
(4 Marks)
(a) (i) is being organised (ii) has organised (iii) is organising (iv) have been organised
(b) (i) would be played (ii) are played (iii) will be played (iv) will play
(c) (i) are requested (ii) were requested (iii) are being requested (iv) have been requested
(d) (i) witnessing (ii) witness (iii) to witness (iv) are witnessed
Q 9. Complete the news stories accompanying the following headlines by filling in the blanks.
(4 Marks)
(a). Fire in Bangalore high rise, no casualties
……………………………………………………… on the terrace of a five-storey Gold Towers in Residence Road in the heart of Bangalore, a police official said. ……………………………. so far.
(i) A fire broke out; No casualties have been reported
(ii) A fire has broken out; No casualties have been reported
(iii) A fire is breaking out; No casualties are being reported
(iv) A fire broke out; No casualties are said to be reported
(b). Sania, Shoaib exchange wedding vows in Hyderabad
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza ………………………………………………. at a hotel here on Monday after getting a no-objection certificate from the city police.
(i) has been tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(ii) is tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iii) tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iv) will have tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(c). Obama asks Pakistan to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice
US President Barack Obama asked Pakistani Prime Minister Yusouf Raza Gilani……………………………………………………., saying that this action would be a positive thing in improving Indo-Pak ties.
(i) for bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(ii) to brought a perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iii) to bring perpetrators of Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iv) to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(d). Pakistan: 35 militants, 2 soldiers die in fighting
Militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons ……………………………….. in northwestern Pakistan………………………………………………….., officials said.
(i) attacked against two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(ii) have attacked two security checkpoints; left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iii) attacked two security checkpoints; that has left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iv) attacked two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
Q 10 Choose the most appropriate options to complete the dialogue given below.
(4 Marks)
Nandini: Hello Niharika!
Niharika: Hi, What a pleasant surprise!
Nandini: It’s been a long time since we met.Where (a) ---------------------------------all these years?
Niharika: In Delhi. How about you? What (b)------------------------------- nowadays?
Nandini: I’m a fashion designer looking for a job. Last time we met you were still studying.
(c)----------------------business management?
Niharika: In 2001. Actually I’m here for an interview with a multinational.
Nandini: That’s a wonderful piece of news! When (d)-----------------------------------------------?
Niharika: I have to report at 5pm today. The office is in Sardar Patel Marg. Can you drop me there?
Nandini: Of course! Look there is plenty of time before that. Let’s treat ourselves to coffee.
(a) (i) had you been (ii) were you (iii) are you (iv) have you been
(b) (i) are you doing (ii) will you be doing (iii) have you been doing (iv) had you been doing
(c) (i) Are you doing (ii) When did you finish (iii) How did you finish (iv) Have you finished
(d) (i) did you report? (ii) would you come? (iii) do you have to report? (iv) do you have to come?
Q 11. Look at the notes given below and complete the paragraph that follows by choosing the
correct option. (4 Marks)
Egyptians discovered paper - made of stalks of tall reed -from word 'papyrus' — supplies limited - export restricted
The (a) ……………………………… Egyptians. It (b) ……………………………. The English word 'paper' (c) …………………………….. When supplies were limited (d) ………………………………….. the export.
(a) (i) discovery of paper has been made by the (ii) discovery of the paper was made by
(iii) discovery of paper was made by the (iv) discovery of paper is made by
(b) (i) was made from stalks of reed (ii) had been made with stalks of reed
(iii) was being made of stalks with reed (iv) was made with stalks from reed
(c) (i) derived from the word papyrus (ii) is derived of the word papyrus
(iii) has been derived from the word papyrus (iv) was derived from the word papyrus
(d) (i) and a restriction was imposed on (ii) a restriction was imposed on
(iii) a restriction has been imposed on (iv) a restriction was imposed by
Q 12. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by choosing
the most appropriate options. (4 Marks)
Dilip: I’ve been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
Ralph: I told you yesterday too that we’ll be rescued, so have patience.
Dilip: Why do you ask me to keep quiet whenever I say something?
Ralph: Have you ever said anything sensible?
Dilip said (a) ______________________________________ Ralph replied (b) ______________________________________and so asked him to have patience. Dilip angrily asked Ralph (c) __________________to which Ralph wanted to know (d) ____________________.
a)
(i) that he had been watching the sea and there hadn’t been any trace of a ship.
(ii) he had been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
(iii) that he watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.
(iv) that he had watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.
b)
(i) that he had told him before too that they would be rescued.
(ii) that he told him the next day too that they would be rescued.
(iii) that he had told him the day before too that they would be rescued.
(iv) that he told him the day before too that they will be rescued.
c)
(i) Why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(ii) Why he should keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iii) that why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iv) Why was there a need for him to be quiet.
d)
(i) whether he had ever said anything sensible.
(ii) if he had never said anything sensible.
(iii) if he ever said anything sensible.
(iv) that If he ever said anything sensible.
SECTION D
(Literature -20 Marks)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most
appropriate options. Attempt any two. (3x2=6 Marks)
(a)
More insects, more lanterns, more neighbours
More insects and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through
Groaning on a mat.
1) The cause of the mother’s agony was
a) the scorpion’s bite
b) the missing scorpion
c) the villager’s attitude
d) the endless rain
2) The poet uses the word more
a) to highlight the number
b) to emphasise mother’s pain
c) for the superstitious villagers
d) for the poem to rhyme
3) The tone of the poet in the extract is that of
a) frustration
b) irony
c) satire
d) cynical
(b)
I’m not the man I was! I will not be the man I must have been but for this lesson. I will honour
Christmas in my heart
1) The change was brought about in the speaker
a) by the ghost of Jacob Marley
b) by the spirit of the future
c) by the pitiable condition of the Crachit family.
d) by his own conscience
2) The speaker honours Christmas by
a) sending turkey to Crachit’s house
b) giving money to the boy
c) adopting the spirit of Christmas
d) all of the above
3) The lesson that he learnt was
a) to be compassionate and giving
b) to outscore others
c) to live and let live
d) To help people lead a peaceful life
(c)
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud !
I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed !
A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee- tamlless and swift and proud.
1) The above lines reflect the poet’s
a) nostalgia
b) ecstasy
c) dejection
d) fear
2) The poet requests the West Wind
a) to help him create poetry
b) to accompany him on his wanderings
c) to take him away from his sorrows
d) to chain and bend him
3) The poet device used in the above lines is
a) simile
b) metaphor
c) apostrophe
d) repetition
Q 14. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each. (2x4=8 Marks)
a) How does the west wind act both as a destroyer and preserver?
b) Cutie Pie is an intense and emotional character. Give two references from the text to support your statement.
c) Cratchit proposes the first toast to Mr. Scrooge. What does it tell you about Cratchit’s character?
d) Give an example of ‘leaf imagery’ as used by Shelley to express the moods and influence of West Wind.
e) What are the cobwebs that Babuli refers to in the chapter ‘The Tribute’?
Q 15 Answer any one of the following: (6 Marks)
As Babuli’s wife, present your case challenging your husband’s decision in a letter you write to him.
OR
The newspaper yelled it. TV followed it up. It seemed a big story, bigger than……….
As a reader express your opinion about the role media played in Cutie Pie’s existence on Earth.
English - Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3 hours
The question paper is divided into three sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks
SECTION- A
(Reading -20 Marks)
Q 1 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
We are in a rush. We are making haste. A compression of time characterises our lives. As time-use researchers look around, they see a rushing and scurrying everywhere.
Instant services rule, pollsters use electronic devices during political speeches to measure opinions before they have been fully formed; fast food restaurants add express lanes. Even reading to children is under pressure. The volume “One Minute Bedtime Stories” consists of traditional stories that can be read by a busy parent in only one minute.
Time is a gentle deity, said Sophocles. Perhaps it was, for him. These days it cracks the whip. We humans have chosen speed and we thrive on it – more than we generally admit. Our ability to work fast and play fast gives us power. It thrills us. And if haste is the accelerator, multitasking is the overdrive.
A sense of well being comes with this saturation of parallel pathways in the brain. We choose mania over boredom every time. “Humans have never opted for slower,” points out the historian Stephen Kern. We catch the fever –and cramming our life feels good.
There are definite ways to save time, but what does this concept really mean? Does time saving mean getting more done? If so, does talking on a cellular phone at the beach save time or waste it? Does it make sense to say that driving saves ten minutes from your travel budget while removing ten minutes from your reading budget?
These questions have no answer. They depend on a concept that is ill formed; the very idea of time saving. Some of us say we want to save time when we really want to do more and faster. It might be simpler to recognize that there is time and we make choices about how to spend it, how to spare it, how to use it and how to fill it.
Time is not a thing we have lost. It is not a thing we ever had. It is what we live in.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) What Sophocles said is outdated because
a) humans today believe in leading a fast paced life
b) life today must be lived
c) humans have no other choice but to chase time
d) humans have admitted that time today is precious
2) Electronic poll devices, instant services, fast food restaurants signify
a) acceleration in life
b) impatience of our times
c) our need to work fast as it gives us power
d) all of the above
3) According to the author we wish to save time because
a) we hope to be more efficient and capable
b) we wish to accomplish more in a short period of time
c) we wish to make appropriate choices
d) time saved is time earned
4) A word that means the same as ‘filled to capacity’ is
a) mania
b) saturation
c) cramming
d) bored
5) The passage
a) advocates the need to accelerate time so that we can meet our requirements
b) recognizes the need to rush and scurry all the time
c) advises us to recognize time and decide what to do with it
d) appreciates those who invest time wisely
Q 2 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
A recent trip to Lucknow was an instant eye-opener and a more instant stimulus to introspection.
The realization of self degradation started from the station itself. All set to fight the autowallah in Lucknow and accuse him of being a rude fleecer, I was stopped mid-sentence by his demeanour. He was mild, polished and totally agreeable to whatever I would pay him. He was sure I would not pay less than what the fare should be because he felt I had enough money to do so. Of course the respectful way he spoke to me took me completely off guard, and made me a wee bit ashamed. The aggression which one has to display all the time in Delhi, I realized was not needed here. In fact, it was shocking for the autowallah to encounter a presumptuous woman yearning for a fight.
That’s what Delhi does to you. It takes away your polish. Unlike Delhi, Lucknow prefers to stay away from hysterical momentum. It takes an easy pace of life, teaches residents to stay cool, enjoy food, take siestas and work without hitting the breakneck speed barrier. It has set its priorities right. It nurtures its young and it loves its old.
In Delhi, morning walkers go for expensive paraphernalia. You need to drive at least five kms to hunt for a park. Back in Lucknow simply walk out of your house and your walk begins. No traffic and no pollution.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The author was all set to fight with the autorickshaw driver in Lucknow as
a) he expected her to pay more than was due
b) she was sure he would be unjust
c) her experience in Delhi had taught her to mistrust autowallahs
d) he was unbelievably discourteous
2) Your personality in Delhi becomes
a) negative and aggressive
b) agreeable and submissive
c) polished and assertive
d) negative and submissive
3) Morning walkers in Lucknow require
a) a park outside their house
b) expensive paraphernalia
c) good sports gear
d) almost nothing
4) The word ‘presumptuous’ in the passage means
a) modest
b) rude
c) proud
d) imaginative
5) The trip to Lucknow was an eye opener for the author because
a) she realized that every city in India needs to love its old and calm down its young
b) she realized that she was full of negativity
c) she had begun to doubt everyone around her
d) all of the above
Q 3 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
Su means number and Duko means single. The game of Sudoku has many similarities to the game of life. The game consists of a 9x9 grid divided into 3x3 boxes in which a few numbers called “given”- the number of givens varies between 17 and 30 for a puzzle to be reasonably viable- are already in place.
In life, too, you start with a given set of notions and then work from thereon. In Sudoku, you need to follow a set of rules to build up the grid, filling each row, column and box with numbers ranging from one to nine, so much like in life where you have to go on your way without antagonizing anyone else. Respect every number (person) and things would be fine. While trial or error may or may not work, the correct technique is in eliminating numbers that don’t fit in a particular box.
In Sudoku, the arrangement of the given numbers is symmetrical. This is instructive in life, on how to maintain steadfast faith, poise and equanimity despite situations when everything turns topsy-turvy.
There is a subtle difference between the two as well. Make a mistake and you can erase it and begin all over again in Sudoku. Not so in life. You can learn a lesson though, and avoid making the same mistake in future.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The given numbers in Sudoku are comparable to the -------------------------------in life.
a) rules
b) notions
c) people
d) respect
2) In Sudoku, by eliminating numbers that do not fit we
a) keep reducing errors to succeed in life
b) keep adding the chances to solve the puzzle
c) restrict our choices
d) open new avenues
3) In life, symmetry is maintained through
a) patience and hard work
b) balance inspite of hardships
c) constant trust
d) friends and enemies
4) In life we can learn from our mistakes but we cannot
a) begin afresh
b) undo them
c) relive them
d) commit them again
5) To ‘antagonise’ in the passage means
a) to be determined
b) to be noticeable
c) to please
d) to make someone angry
Q 4 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
THESE DREAMS
These dreams
Obstinate offspring of my wayward mind
Keep running out of my home
All too often.
Somewhat humiliated
Somewhat hurt
Somewhat angry
At times they even rush out barefoot.
It is difficult to pacify these stubborn kids or humour them
For theirs is a search for eternal spring
They wish to seek out the stars and talk to them
I am a tired traveller
And have not the will
To chase them anymore.
I have come to terms
With my wilderness but I do fear for
Those naïve ones
Come evening and they may seek solace
If they come to you even as you sleep
Do not push them away, tenderly hold them
In your lap like their fond mother
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The poet feels that he cannot control his dreams by saying that they
a) are somewhat angry
b) are obstinate offspring
c) rush out barefoot
d) keep running out of his home
2) I do fear for these naïve ones means that his dreams
a) need to be protected
b) need love and care
c) have become rebellious
d) need a parent to look after them
3) The message of the poem is
a) one must never stop dreaming
b) dreams distract you
c) practicality is the way of life
d) dream but know your limits
4) The poetic device in the first stanza is
a) simile
b) alliteration
c) metaphor
d) personification
5) Like a fond mother we must
a) nurture our dreams
b) push our dreams to the limits
c) hold them in our laps
d) let them be free
SECTION B
(Writing- 20marks)
Q 5 Use the notes in the following box to write a paragraph of about 100 words. (4 Marks)
Trip to Goa
• Wonderful place-open houses-eco-friendly
• People- friendly, happy-go-lucky
• Landscape-picturesque, beaches, clear blue water
• Restaurants- delicious sea food
• Sightseeing- ferry.bus, motorcycles available on rent
• Carnival- colourful, music ,dance, fun and frolic
Q 6. Your batch was the first to appear for the revamped examination system for Classes IX and X. Taking help from the verbal stimulus given below, write an article expressing your opinion and experiences in about 150 words. (8 Marks)
STUDENTS’ REACTION: Grades eliminate competition
No board examinations! No stress Board Examinations are history. CCE has made learning very interesting.
Exams are essential to review learning and progress
Boards are essential to review learning and progress
Q.7 Taking help from the visual given below, write an article for a national daily, sharing your concerns and suggestions about the issues highlighted. (8 Marks)
SECTION C
(Grammar – 20 Marks)
Q 8. Edit the Notice given below by choosing the appropriate option from the list given.
(4 Marks)
(a) (i) is being organised (ii) has organised (iii) is organising (iv) have been organised
(b) (i) would be played (ii) are played (iii) will be played (iv) will play
(c) (i) are requested (ii) were requested (iii) are being requested (iv) have been requested
(d) (i) witnessing (ii) witness (iii) to witness (iv) are witnessed
Q 9. Complete the news stories accompanying the following headlines by filling in the blanks.
(4 Marks)
(a). Fire in Bangalore high rise, no casualties
……………………………………………………… on the terrace of a five-storey Gold Towers in Residence Road in the heart of Bangalore, a police official said. ……………………………. so far.
(i) A fire broke out; No casualties have been reported
(ii) A fire has broken out; No casualties have been reported
(iii) A fire is breaking out; No casualties are being reported
(iv) A fire broke out; No casualties are said to be reported
(b). Sania, Shoaib exchange wedding vows in Hyderabad
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza ………………………………………………. at a hotel here on Monday after getting a no-objection certificate from the city police.
(i) has been tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(ii) is tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iii) tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iv) will have tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(c). Obama asks Pakistan to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice
US President Barack Obama asked Pakistani Prime Minister Yusouf Raza Gilani……………………………………………………., saying that this action would be a positive thing in improving Indo-Pak ties.
(i) for bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(ii) to brought a perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iii) to bring perpetrators of Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iv) to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(d). Pakistan: 35 militants, 2 soldiers die in fighting
Militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons ……………………………….. in northwestern Pakistan………………………………………………….., officials said.
(i) attacked against two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(ii) have attacked two security checkpoints; left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iii) attacked two security checkpoints; that has left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iv) attacked two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
Q 10 Choose the most appropriate options to complete the dialogue given below.
(4 Marks)
Nandini: Hello Niharika!
Niharika: Hi, What a pleasant surprise!
Nandini: It’s been a long time since we met.Where (a) ---------------------------------all these years?
Niharika: In Delhi. How about you? What (b)------------------------------- nowadays?
Nandini: I’m a fashion designer looking for a job. Last time we met you were still studying.
(c)----------------------business management?
Niharika: In 2001. Actually I’m here for an interview with a multinational.
Nandini: That’s a wonderful piece of news! When (d)-----------------------------------------------?
Niharika: I have to report at 5pm today. The office is in Sardar Patel Marg. Can you drop me there?
Nandini: Of course! Look there is plenty of time before that. Let’s treat ourselves to coffee.
(a) (i) had you been (ii) were you (iii) are you (iv) have you been
(b) (i) are you doing (ii) will you be doing (iii) have you been doing (iv) had you been doing
(c) (i) Are you doing (ii) When did you finish (iii) How did you finish (iv) Have you finished
(d) (i) did you report? (ii) would you come? (iii) do you have to report? (iv) do you have to come?
Q 11. Look at the notes given below and complete the paragraph that follows by choosing the
correct option. (4 Marks)
Egyptians discovered paper - made of stalks of tall reed -from word 'papyrus' — supplies limited - export restricted
The (a) ……………………………… Egyptians. It (b) ……………………………. The English word 'paper' (c) …………………………….. When supplies were limited (d) ………………………………….. the export.
(a) (i) discovery of paper has been made by the (ii) discovery of the paper was made by
(iii) discovery of paper was made by the (iv) discovery of paper is made by
(b) (i) was made from stalks of reed (ii) had been made with stalks of reed
(iii) was being made of stalks with reed (iv) was made with stalks from reed
(c) (i) derived from the word papyrus (ii) is derived of the word papyrus
(iii) has been derived from the word papyrus (iv) was derived from the word papyrus
(d) (i) and a restriction was imposed on (ii) a restriction was imposed on
(iii) a restriction has been imposed on (iv) a restriction was imposed by
Q 12. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by choosing
the most appropriate options. (4 Marks)
Dilip: I’ve been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
Ralph: I told you yesterday too that we’ll be rescued, so have patience.
Dilip: Why do you ask me to keep quiet whenever I say something?
Ralph: Have you ever said anything sensible?
Dilip said (a) ______________________________________ Ralph replied (b) ______________________________________and so asked him to have patience. Dilip angrily asked Ralph (c) __________________to which Ralph wanted to know (d) ____________________.
a)
(i) that he had been watching the sea and there hadn’t been any trace of a ship.
(ii) he had been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
(iii) that he watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.
(iv) that he had watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.
b)
(i) that he had told him before too that they would be rescued.
(ii) that he told him the next day too that they would be rescued.
(iii) that he had told him the day before too that they would be rescued.
(iv) that he told him the day before too that they will be rescued.
c)
(i) Why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(ii) Why he should keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iii) that why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iv) Why was there a need for him to be quiet.
d)
(i) whether he had ever said anything sensible.
(ii) if he had never said anything sensible.
(iii) if he ever said anything sensible.
(iv) that If he ever said anything sensible.
SECTION D
(Literature -20 Marks)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most
appropriate options. Attempt any two. (3x2=6 Marks)
(a)
More insects, more lanterns, more neighbours
More insects and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through
Groaning on a mat.
1) The cause of the mother’s agony was
a) the scorpion’s bite
b) the missing scorpion
c) the villager’s attitude
d) the endless rain
2) The poet uses the word more
a) to highlight the number
b) to emphasise mother’s pain
c) for the superstitious villagers
d) for the poem to rhyme
3) The tone of the poet in the extract is that of
a) frustration
b) irony
c) satire
d) cynical
(b)
I’m not the man I was! I will not be the man I must have been but for this lesson. I will honour
Christmas in my heart
1) The change was brought about in the speaker
a) by the ghost of Jacob Marley
b) by the spirit of the future
c) by the pitiable condition of the Crachit family.
d) by his own conscience
2) The speaker honours Christmas by
a) sending turkey to Crachit’s house
b) giving money to the boy
c) adopting the spirit of Christmas
d) all of the above
3) The lesson that he learnt was
a) to be compassionate and giving
b) to outscore others
c) to live and let live
d) To help people lead a peaceful life
(c)
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud !
I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed !
A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee- tamlless and swift and proud.
1) The above lines reflect the poet’s
a) nostalgia
b) ecstasy
c) dejection
d) fear
2) The poet requests the West Wind
a) to help him create poetry
b) to accompany him on his wanderings
c) to take him away from his sorrows
d) to chain and bend him
3) The poet device used in the above lines is
a) simile
b) metaphor
c) apostrophe
d) repetition
Q 14. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each. (2x4=8 Marks)
a) How does the west wind act both as a destroyer and preserver?
b) Cutie Pie is an intense and emotional character. Give two references from the text to support your statement.
c) Cratchit proposes the first toast to Mr. Scrooge. What does it tell you about Cratchit’s character?
d) Give an example of ‘leaf imagery’ as used by Shelley to express the moods and influence of West Wind.
e) What are the cobwebs that Babuli refers to in the chapter ‘The Tribute’?
Q 15 Answer any one of the following: (6 Marks)
As Babuli’s wife, present your case challenging your husband’s decision in a letter you write to him.
OR
The newspaper yelled it. TV followed it up. It seemed a big story, bigger than……….
As a reader express your opinion about the role media played in Cutie Pie’s existence on Earth.
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