ENGLISH
(FIRST LANGUAGE)
SECTION
‘A’
[READING
SKILLS, GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY (PROSE)
TIME
– 3 HRS.
Q1. A. Read the following extract
carefully and answer the questions given below.
One
summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened
it to see an awful looking man. I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. His
face, lopsided from swelling, was red and raw.
Yet
his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a
room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern
shore, and there’s no bus till morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a
room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face …… I know it looks
terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…” For a moment I
hesitated, but his next words convinced me. “I could sleep in this rocking
chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
When
I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few
minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized
heart crowded into the tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support
his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled
from a back injury.
He
wasn’t complaining; in fact, every other sentence was prefaced with thanks to
God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease which
was, apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving his the
strength to keep going.
1.
What
disease was the old man suffering from? (1)
2.
Why
was it difficult for the old man to find a room? (1)
3.
How
did the old man earn his livelihood? (1)
4.
a.
My bus leaves early in the morning. (Add a question tag) (1)
b.
His voice was pleasant. (Rewrite as an Exclamatory Sentence) (1)
5.
a.
This old man had an oversized heart. (Rewrite the sentence by explaining
the underlined phrase) (1)
b. Give the antonyms of: (i)
cursing (ii) weakness. (1)
6.
Why
do you think the old man was grateful to God? (2)
B. Read the following extract
carefully and answer the questions given below.
That Monday at school, Keryn sat
with her chip propped up on one hand. “You’re looking very thoughtful today,
Keryn,” said her teacher, Mrs. Ngeru.
As soon as she got home, Keryn
hurried to her bedroom mirror. The spot was bigger. She could see if even she
stood right back from her mirror, against her bedroom wall.
She look a book, curled up on the
corner of the living room sofa, and tried to forget about her chin. She was
still reading when her father came home from work half an hour later.
“That’s a nice little spot you’ve
found there, love,” he said. Keryn jumped up and slammed into her room.
“What’s the matter? What did I say?”
She heard her father asking behind her.
At dinner that night, Keryn said she
didn’t want any lemon meringue, thank you. She’d just have a raw carrot
instead.
“You want to be careful of those raw
carrots,” Jason told Keryn while he ate her share of the lemon meringue. “They
might be good for your skin, but they make your teeth grow, and your ears get
all long and floppy.”
1.
What
upset Keryn on a Monday morning? (1)
2.
Why
did her father’s comment bother her? (1)
3.
How
did Jason tease Keryn? (1)
4.
a.
She would just have a carrot. (Rewrite as a Negative sentence) (1)
b.
The
spot was bigger than the night before. (Change into Positive Degree) (1)
5.
a.
Keryn hurried to her bedroom mirror. (Rewrite the sentence using the
noun form of the underlined verb) (1)
b.
Supply homophones for the words given below. (1)
6.
In
what way do you consider Keryn and Jason as typical teenagers? (2)
Q2. A. Read the following extract
carefully and answer the questions given below.
He asked. Boy, did he ask! First he
asked me for a chance, then he asked nearly all the people he came across if
they wanted to but a telephone system from him. And his asking paid off. As he
likes to put it, “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while.” That
simply means that if you ask enough, eventually someone will say ‘yes’.
He
cared. He cared about me and his customers. He discovered that when he cared
more about taking care of his customers that he cared about taking care of
himself, it wasn’t long before he didn’t have to worry about taking care of
himself.
Most
of all, the Cowboy started every day as a winner! He hit the front door
expecting something good to happen. He believed that things were going to go
his way regardless of what happened. He had no expectation of failure, only an
expectation of success. And I’ve found that when you expect success and take
action on that expectation, you almost always get success.
The
Cow boy has made millions of dollars. He has also lost it all, only to get it
all back again. In his life, as in mine, it has been that once you know and
practice the principles of success, they will work for you again and again.
He
can also be an inspiration to you. He is proof that it’s not environment or
education or technical skills and ability that make you a success. He proved
that it takes more: It takes the principles we so often overlook or take for
granted. These are the principles of the Ya Gotta’s for Success.
1.
What
was the Cowboy’s motto? (1)
2.
What
did the Cowboy learn after he lost millions of dollars? (1)
3.
Why
did the Cowboy firmly believe that asking would pay off? (1)
4.
When
you expect success and take action on that expectation, you
almost always succeed. (Name the part of speech of the underlined words)
(2)
5.
a.
He cared about me and his customers. (Rewrite using ‘not only ……… but also”) (1)
b. The cowboy has made millions of
dollars. (Add a question tag). (1)
6.
In
what way is the cowboy a source of inspiration for you? (2)
B.
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions given
below.
Maggu’s achievements are
particularly noteworthy because – as is well – known academic institution in
India are less than sold on the idea of inclusive education. In fact, when
Maggu Lost her sight in class IV, her school (which she declines to name) expelled
her while suggesting she attend a “blind school”. Though shocked, Maggu
rejected the advice “Attending a special school would have tarred me the a
handicap forever, which was not how I saw my future. Therefore I did the rounds
of other public schools with my father, a small – time merchant, explaining
that my case was different since I had vision till the age of ten,” she
recalls.
Impressed by her persistence and
ambition, Delhi’s Bluebells School not only admitted her but pulled out all the
stops to support her in academics and in sports. Not surprisingly, she won
laurels in inter – school sporting events and also notched up a respectable 73
per cent average in the class XII exam with the help of Braille, interactive
textbooks and extra coaching.
This respectable average in her CBSE
exam paved the way for admission into LSR where again she proved her mettle by
winning medals in a slew of inter – college events (100, 200 and 400 metre
sprints) high jump, long jump, javelin and discus throw, resulting in her being
declared ‘Athlete of the year’ 2003 at a sports meet for 100 physically
challenged athletes. And the cherry on the cake was the selection to the IBSA
games last year. “It was a tough regimen”, recalls Maggu. “I had to attend
sports camps, manage my studies and officiate as sports president. But I
managed.”
1.
What
qualities of Maggu are highlighted in this passage? (1)
2.
Why
did Maggu refuse to attend a ‘blind school’? (1)
3.
Quote
the lines that show that Jyoti Maggu was good in academics as well as in
sports. (1)
4.
Use
any two phrases in sentences of your own: (1)
a.
To
win laurels b. To pave the way c. To prove one’s mettle d. A tough regimen
5.
a.
I did the rounds of other public schools with my father. (change the voice) (1)
b.
Though shocked, Maggu rejected the advice. (Rewrite as a simple sentence) (1)
6.
Should
the physically challenged be sent to special schools? Express your views. (2)
Q3. Grmmar
1.
Smith:
Good Morning, Mr. Jones. It is a long time since I saw you in town. (2)
Jones: Good Morning, Mr. Smith. I
only came up for business for few hours. (Rewrite in Indirect Speech)
2.
I
received his message ________ 8 o’ clock ________ the morning. (Insert suitable
prepositions) (1)
3.
You
_____________ (needn’t, mustn’t, won’t) light a match, the room is full of gas.
(choose the correct alternative and complete the sentence) (1)
POEM SECTIONS
1.
Read the following extract carefully
and answer the questions that follow:
The tender
snail that fears the sun
Weaves, where
the cold fresh night – dews lie,
His shining
tract that’s seen by none
But the
moon’s shining harmless eye.
Lean –
flanked and hungry – eyed, the cat
As stealthy
as a wind – blown leaf,
For careless
vole or scurrying rat
Lurks in the
shadows like a thief.
Beyond the
town, in moon – washed grass,
The rabbit
and the field – mouse creep,
While moon –
white owls like phantoms pass:
Then who says
night’s the time for sleep?
QUESTIONS
1.
Name the different creatures from the
extract. (1)
2. Who lurks in the shadows like a thief? (1)
3. Why does the snail fear the sun?
(1)
4. Fill in the blanks with the compound adjectives. (1)
5. Pick out an example of Personification from the extract. (1)
2. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow:
Defeat! He
lied there silently
A tear
dropped from his eye
“There’s no
sense running anymore:
Three
strikes’ I’m out! Why try?”
The will to
rise had disappeared;
All hope had
fled away;
So far
behind, so error – prone:
A loser all
the way.
“I’ve lost,
so what’s the use,” he thought
“I’ll live
with my disgrace.”
But then he
thought about his dad
Who soon he’d
have to face.
1.
What did the boy resolve when he fell
the third time? (1)
2.
Why did the boy feel a sense of
hopelessness? (1)
3.
‘A tear dropped from his eyes’ – What does
this line tell you about the boy? (1)
4.
List any two pairs of rhyming words. (1)
5.
Name and explain the figure of
speech: (1)
‘So far behind so error –
prone’
Q5. Read the extract and answer the questions given below.
We sang our school fight song dozens
of times – en route to Arlington National Cemetery, and even on an afternoon
cruise down the Potomac River.
We visited the Lincoln Memorial twice, once in
day – light, the second time at dusk. My classmates and I feel silent as we
walked in the shadows of those 36 marble columns, one for every state in the
Union that Lincoln labored to preserve. I stood next to Frank at the base of
the 19 – foot seated statue. Spotlights made the white Georgian marble seem to
glow. Together, we read those famous words from Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg
remembering the most bloody battle in the War among the States: “… we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom…”
As Frank motioned me into place to take my
picture, I took one last look at Lincoln’s face. He seemed alive and so
terribly sad.
The next morning I understood a little better
why he wasn’t smiling. “Clifton,” a chaperone said, “could I see you for a moment?”.
Questions
1.
When did the boys visit Lincoln
Memorial? (1)
2.
What made the Georgian marble glow?
(1)
3.
What did the words: “… we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom …” remind them? (1)
4. Do you believe in building memorials? What kind should they be, if your
answer is ‘yes’? If no, give reasons why you do not believe in memorials? (2)
Sections ‘D’
(Writing skills)
Q.
6.
A. Write a complaint letter regarding over flow of gutter in your locality /
village. [5]
Or
Letter to your friend explaining him about the
importance of Joint family system. (5)
B.
Imagine it is Doctor’s day. Frame 10 questions to
interview a doctor. (5)
or
Write a speech to be delivered among
your class mates, regarding EYE donation (5)
Q7. A. Write a fact file of a place of your interest
keeping in mind the following. (5)
a. Name of
Place
b. Conveyance
c. Distance
from Mumbai.
d. Climate
e. Things to do
Or
Prepare 10 questions to
interview a 14 year old boy, who won the Bravery Award. (5)
B. Observe the following pie chart
and prepare a write up of about 100 words describing the causes of ‘Increasing
Road Accidents’. (5)
Or
Write a dialogue between you and a
shop keeper. (5)
Q8. Expand any one in about 100 words. (5)
1.
Honesty is the best policy.
2.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
3.
Action speak louder than words.
