Sample Paper Class X (ENGLISH) 2008

Sample Paper – 2008
Class - X
Subject - English

A1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that following:

1. When television became widespread after World War II, some people thought that television will replace reading. They believed that only a few people might still have any reason to reed and that television would become the number one educational tool.
   
   
   

2. We know now that this prediction was incorrect There has been no decline in most people's need to read. In fact surveys shows that more books than ever are being sold and the amount of time that the students spend reading is greater than in the days before television. Unfortunately, however, many students are doing little or no voluntary reading. Most of the reading that they do is assigned by their teachers.
   
   
   

3. Just think about how much you read every day in order to complete your school work. How often can you finish an assignment or your home-work without doing any reading? Is there any class in your school that does not require you to do some reading? You have to home-economies -directions and recipes, if nothing else- in shop and auto mechanic classes, in the Science lab and certainly in such courses as Social Studies and English. There is no denying the fact that most academic and vocational courses rely heavily on text books.
   
   
   

4. Not too long ago, a group of teachers made a study of the students and learning problems. A curious fact came out of this study. The teachers discovered that the students who did poorly in subjects such as Maths or Art could still do very well in other subjects. But the students who did poorly hi reading, almost always did poorly in all their others courses.
   
   
   

5. For a while the teachers who made the study were puzzled by this, but they soon had an answer to this puzzle. The teachers looked at the subjects that the students were failing in and discovered that even subjects like Maths and Science were based on reading.
   
   
   

6. Of course there were also other skills involved such as learning to add and subtract in Maths class most of the explanation of how to do things had to be read by the students. Much of the home-work assignments required students to read long sets of directions and tests and, problems in class often involved story problems, problems that were explained in words and had to be read and understood before they could be solved. Your success or failure in these classes will depend of your ability to read the required material. Finally, if you go to college, almost all your study time will be spent reading. You need more and more information and most of this information comes from the printed material you have to read. Even if you could get tapes or movies containing all the information, you need to know that they would not be of much help until and unless you know how to read.
   
   
   

7. Magazines and books may all be on microfilm in the next few years, but they will still have to be read. The same is true of most of what you have to learn in school. Your school is probably not going to throw all printed material out of the window very soon.
   
   
   

8. Success in school courses still depends on an ability to read and those students, who cannot read or at least read well enough to master material, are in trouble.
   
   

9. You are moving into a world where eve day more and more technical reading is required Instructions for using applications are becoming more complex. There are written instructions to follow,-for food preparations, traffic signs, travel directions and safety information, all requiring the ability to read. People in modern society read hundreds and even thousands of words every day.
   
   
   

10. Also your ability to get and keep a job is directly related to your ability to read. Even the simplest jobs require some reading ability, and many people advance to more important and better paying jobs by getting additional knowledge and skills through reading. The more spéciailsed the job, the need to read confidently, quickly and efficiently. Doctors read professional journals so that they can use the latest medical knowledge in treating patients while pharmacists have to read the prescriptions the doctors write. Lawyers spend their days rending briefs. The number of semi-skilled and professional occupations that require high reading ability is increasing rapidly. Today a person who cannot read is almost unemployable. (About 750 words)

(a) Based on your understanding of the above passage answer the following questions:
(i) What prediction concerning television is referred to by the author and why does he say that it is incorrect? 1+3
(ii) What were the findings of the teachers regarding the poor performance of the students? 2
(iii) What do you understand from the term 'technical reading'?2
(iv) Do you think audio-visuals and microfilms can replace reading in modern? Why? Why not? 4

 A2. Read the following poem carefully. (8 marks)

ODE ON SOLITUDE
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease;
Together mixt ; sweet recreation:
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,
Thus unlamented let me die,
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

A2.1 Below is the summary of the poem. Complete it by writing the missing word I phrase against the correct blank number in your answer sheet. (½ x 10 = 5 marks)

The poet's (a) ....is to live in his (b) ............... place cultivating his (c) .......and tending his (d) .... He hopes to spend his days (e) .....and quietly mixing (f) ......with relaxation. After death he doesn't want to be (g) ....He hopes to leave the (h) ...stealthily with not even a (i) ................. marking the place of his (j) ......

A2.2 The poet uses certain expressions in the poem to suggest something to the reader. There are some suggestions given below. Choose one suggestion that best fits each of the expressions in the table, and write the answer against the correct blank number in your answer sheet . (½ x 6= 3 marks)

WRITING SKILLS

3. You are working for an advertising agency. Draft A NOTICE for the  company, which is launching a new toothpaste to all its member giving their views how to launch this product in a sensational way (Word limit -50 words) 5 

4.You are Mohan/Molly. You have been invited by the Lions Club to act as one of the judges for a fancy dress competition for children. Write a post card to your friend sharing the pleasure of the (Word input -50 words)              5 Marks

5. Your school has celebrated the World Environment Day on 5th June Write a speech in 125 words to be delivered in the assembly. You are Laxmi / Laxman of X class. 10

  Or


Your school has arranged a programme on Life Skills for Classes X and XII. Experts invited on the occasion delivered speeches on motivation, stress management, goal-setting and Inter-personal relationships, which were of immense help to the students in acquiring leadership qualities. Write a report in 125 words. Sign as Kumar/Pallavi, National Public School, Hyderabad.

6. You are Rajan/Rani. Incidents of crime against women, especially in bit cities are increasing. Write an article on this to be published in a newspaper to sensitize the police and the public on this matter. (Word limit: 200 words) 10 Marks

SECTION C (GRAMMAR)                 20 Marks

C1. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the lines. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet as given below against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the word that you have supplied. (½ x 8=4 marks)

C2. Read the following passage and fill in the blanks with one word only. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. (½ x 8=4 marks)

If the modem man wants tips (a) ....good child care, he could (b) ....at a couple of frogs in Papua New Guinea . (c) ......remarkable behaviour of two species, (d) ....which males (e) ...only bear sole responsibility for looking (f) .......their offspring but (g) ....take the entire family for piggy-back rides (h) ......the forest, came to light recently.

C3. Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences. The first one has been done as an example.
Write the correct sentences in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. (½ x 4 = 8 marks)

depicted / architecture of / has been / the veena / about 500 A.D. / in temple The veena has been depicted in temple architecture of about 500 A.D.
(a) no takers / sadly / instruments / but / of all / this mother / has / Today
(b) to whom / there are / student / turn to / few / can / exponents / the rare
(c) subject in / it is / a subsidiary / not even / university curricula
(d) it is / so! the instrument / we have / even before / buried / born
(e) hill-station! / / with / to the beautiful / am going / my parents / of Manali.
(f) aren't you / you disheartened / going anywhere / are / why /
(g) Directoral Meetings / has / Som / at the office / important.
(h) autumn break / promised to / my father / out of station / during the / take us / has.

C4. Look at the newspaper items below. Then use the information in the headlines to complete the paragraphs. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentence. (½ x 6 = 3 marks)

C5. Read the following conversation and complete the paragraph by writing suitable words and phrases in each space. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers (5 marks)

The captain asked Nitesh (a) .....Nitesh replied (b) ....The captain then told Nitesh (c) ....................... Nitesh requested the captain (d) ......The captain said (e) .......

Section C  Literature     30 Marks

D 1. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in your answer sheet in one or two- lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly. (4 marks)

In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day like a terrible fish.
(a) Why has the young girl 'drowned'? (1)
(b) What does the phrase 'day after day' signify? (1)
(c) Why is the woman referred to as a 'terrible fish'? (2)

D2. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in your answer sheet in one or two lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly. (4 marks)

"Without proper training such as I
- And few others - can supply,
You'll remain a mere beginner
But with me you'll be a winner."

(a) Who is the speaker? What trait of the speaker is brought about in these lines? (2)
(b) What was the reaction of the listener? How did it affect her fate? (2)

D3. The poet reiterates the 'might' of the West Wind in the poem. Give two examples from the poem that show its 'power' and 'might'. Your answer should not exceed 100 words. (5 marks)

D4  How Julius Caesar was murdered? Explain with the reference to the incidents happens before and after the incident.    5 Marks

D5 Cutie—Pie was extremely attached to his mother. Give incidents from the lesson to prove this statement. Your answer should be in about 80-100-words. (4 marks)


D6. As he waits endlessly for news of his daughter and knows that he has committed a sin by abusing Ali, Postmaster reflects on his journey of life and his apprehensions. Describe his feelings in about 150 words . (8 marks)