Paper : ICSE Class X Important Questions : English (2000)

General Instrutions

1. Attempt all four question.

2. The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets.

3. You are advised to spend not more than 35 minutes in answering Question 1 and 20 minutes in answering Question 2.

Question 1
(Do not spend more than 35 minutes on this question.)
Write a composition (350-400) words) on any one of the following: [25]

(a) You have been on a plane journey recently. While going through a cloud, the plane developed engine trouble. Describe what took place in the plane and how you were saved.

(b) One of your parents has influenced you considerably. Give details of the influence.

(c) Which, in your opinion, is more important - a healthy body or a healthy mind? Give relevant arguments to support your opinion.

(d) Look at the cartoon given below and write an account of what it suggests to you.

(e) Study the picture given below. Write a story or a description or an account of what the picture suggests to you. Your composition may be about the subject of the picture or may take suggestions from it; but there must be a clear connection between the picture and your composition.

Question 2
(Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)
Select One of the following: [10]

(a) You have received a birthday gift from your uncle from abroad. Write a letter thanking him for the gift and give reasons why you like his gift.

(b) Write a letter to the local police complaining of a theft that took place last night in your neighbour 's flat.

Question 3
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow. [5]

Cameron Mounger and I have been friends since we were teenagers. Both of us liked music, and several years after we left school, Cam, as we called him, became a disc jockey.

Recently he told me the story, about the day he was down to his last dollar. It was the day his luck and his life changed. 5

The story began in the early 1970's when Cam was announcer and disc jockey at a radio station in Texas and *attained celebrity status. He. met many

country-music stars, and he enjoyed flying to Nashville-the centre of country music-at the company plane with the station owner. One night Cam was in Nashville for a show. After it was over, an 10 acquaintance invited him back-stage with all the stars. "I didn’t have any paper for autographs, so I look out a dollar note,"Cam told me." Before the night was over, I had virtually every star's autographs. I guarded that dollar note and carried it with me always. I knew I would treasure it forever." Then the radio station where he was working was put up for sale and many employees found themselves without a job. Cam landed part-time work at another station, and planned to hang on to this job long enough for a full time position to open up.

That winter was extremely cold in Texas. The heater in Cam's old car emitted only a hint of warm air; windshield defroster didn't work at all. 20 Life was hard, and Cam was broke. With the help of a friend who worked at a local supermarket, he occasionally got food that had spoilt and was being thrown away. "This kept my wife and me eating, but we still had no cash."

One morning as Cam left the radio station he saw an old man sitting in an old yellow car in the car park. Cam waved to him and drove away. When he came back to work that night, he noticed the car again, parked in the same space. After a couple of days, it dawned on him that the car had not moved. The fellow in it always waved cordially to Cam as he came and went. What was the man doing sitting in his car for three days in the terrible cold and snow? 30

am discovered the answer the next morning. This time the man rolled down the window. He introduced himself and said he had been in his car for days with no money of food, Cam recalled. He had come from out of town to take a job. But he arrived three days early and couldn't go to work right away. 35

Very reluctantly, he asked if he might borrow a dollar for a snack to get him by until the next day, when he would start work and get a salary advance. I didn't have a dollar to lend him; I barely had petrol to get home. explained my situation and walked to my car, wishing I could have helped him. 40

Then Cam remembered the dollar which the country - music stars in Nashville had signed. He wrestled with his conscience a minute or two, pulled out his wallet and studied the note one last time. Then he walked back to the man and gave it to him. "Somebody has written all over this," the man said, but he didn't notice that the writing was dozens of autographs. 45 He took the note.

"That very morning when I was back home trying not to think about what I had done, things began to happen, "Cam told me. "The phone rang; a recording company wanted me to do an ad that paid $500. It sounded like a million; In the next few days more opportunities came to me out of nowhere. Good things kept coming steadily, and soon I was back on my feet." The rest, as they say, is history. Things improved dramatically for Cam. His wife had a baby. Cam opened a successful car repair shop and built a nice home. And it all started that morning in the car park, when he parted with his last dollar 55

Cam never saw the man in the old yellow car again. Sometimes he wonders if the man was a beggar or an angel.

It doesn't matter. What matters is that it was a test - and Cam passed.

Question 3
(a) Five words or phrases are given below. Give the meaning of each word as used in the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be accepted.

1. virtually (line 13)

2. emitted (line 20)

3. dawned (line 27)

4. cordially (line 28)

5. reluctantly (line 36)

(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:

1. What was Cam's first occupation in life? What did he do in the end for a living? [2]

2. How did he get signatures of singing stars? [2]

3. On what did Cam get the autographs? Why? [2]

4. How did he lose his full-time work? [1]

5. How did the man in the yellow car attract Cam's attention. [2]

6. Why did the man in the yellow car ask for a loan of one dollar? [2]

(c) In not more than 60 words, explain how Cam's life changed when he made his greatest sacrifice. [10]

Question 4
(a) Rewrite the following sentences correctly according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence: [5]

1. Waste not, want not. (Begin with : If....................)

2. I accept your offer.
   (Use : acceptable)

3. It is normal for a child to eat four times a day. (Use : normally)

4. I caught a train and went to Calcutta.
   (Use : having

5. One should keep one's promises.
   (Begin with : Promises ..................)

(b) Complete each of the following sentences using the appropriate form of the verb. given in brackets: [5]

1. I have just _______ my work. (do)

2. Yesterday Mr. Anthony _______ out of town. (go)

3. I told we _______ them of our intention a year ago. (inform)

4. He _______ in this office since October. (work)

5. I showed the teacher what I _______. (write

(c) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. (Do not write the sentences.): [5]

1. It has been a long time _______ I saw her.

2. Anita received an invitation _______ dinner.

3. Good food is necessary _______ good health.

4. Can you cure me _______ this ailment?

5. He is too miserly to part _______ money.

(d) Join each. of the following pairs of sentences without using 'and' or 'but': [5]

1. They were very old. They cannot run.

2. John was a philosopher. He was a poet.

3. Pollution levels are increasing. Many children are getting sick.

4. Hurry up. You will be late.

5. Social service is demanding. It has its own rewards.