Sample Paper : English Communicative Class-IX (READING COMPREHENSION)

Q1. Read the following poem carefully.
INDIAN WEAVERS
Weavers, weaving at break of day,
Why do you weave a garment so gay?
Blue as the wing of a bluebird wild,
We weave the robes of a new-born child.
Weavers, weaving at fall of night,
Why do you weave a garment so bright?
Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green,
We weave the marriage-veils of a queen.
Weavers, weaving solemn and still,
What do you weave in the moonlight chill?
White as a feather and white as a cloud,
We weave a dead man's funeral shroud.
--
Sarojini Naidu

Read the questions given below and write the option you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheet.
(a) What do the weavers weave in the early morning?
(i) a bright blue cloth (ii) a dull grey cloth
(iii) a soft white cloth (iv) a red coloured veil

(b) The __________ is purple and green coloured.
(i) dress of the weavers (ii) dress of a newborn child
(iii) the queen's marriage veil (iv) the robe of a king

(c) Whom does the poet address in the poem?
(i) weavers (ii) children
(iii) queens (iv) all the above

(d) What do the weavers weave in the chilly moonlight?
(i) a garment light as a feather (ii) a garment meant to cover a dead man
(iii) a garment to keep away the chill (iv) a garment to wrap a newborn child in

(e) The three stages of life mentioned in the poem are _____________________
(i) infancy, childhood and senility (ii) infancy, youth and death
(iii) infancy, adolescence, middle age (iv) childhood, adulthood and senility

Q2. Read the following passage carefully.
SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CARTOONIST?
What writers struggle to express through numerous newspaper columns, the cartoon manages in a pointed one-liner. Little wonder then, that the first thing most of us like to see when we pickup a newspaper is the cartoon. Simple though it may seem, making a cartoon is an art that requires a combination of hard work, training and a good sense of humour. Cartoonists say that the cartoons that make us laugh the most are in fact the cartoons that are hardest to make. Even celebrated cartoonists like R.K.Laxman admit that making a cartoon is not a piece of cake. Laxman says he has to wait for over six hours, which includes spending a lot of time scanning newspapers and television channels before any idea strikes him.

So how does one become a cartoonist? Which of us has the talent to make it? How can we master the rib-tickling strokes and the witty one-liners? How can we make people smile or laugh? There are few colleges or schools for cartoonists. Most cartoonists come from art colleges, while some learn the craft on their own. Most established cartoonists are of the view that no institute can teach you to make a cartoon. "You can pick up the craft, you may learn to sketch and draw in institutes, but no one can teach anyone how to make a good cartoon," says Uday Shanker, a cartoonist with Navbharat Times. While basics, like drawing and sketching can be learnt in an art college, and are important skills, these alone, do not make a good cartoonist. Because it's a question of one's creativity and sense of humour; two qualities one simply may not have. The advice established cartoonists give is that just because you can sketch, don't take it for granted that you will become a cartoonist. Read the questions given below and write the option you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheet.

(a) What, according to Laxman, is the challenge in creating a good cartoon?
(i) waiting for the right thought (ii) browsing newspapers to emerge. and television.
(iii) getting the right kind of (iv) good drawing and sketching training. skills.

(b) Which of these words BEST describes this passage?
(i) humorous (ii) technical
(iii) challenging (iv) informative

(c) Of the many qualities that cartoonists should have, which of the following is not referred to directly but can be inferred from the passage?
(i) knowledge of current (ii) knowledge of educational technologies. institutions.
(iii) knowledge of news and (iv) knowledge of different current affairs. languages.

(d) According to the passage, which group of people is of the opinion that one cannot learn to make a cartoon in institutions?
(i) many struggling writers. (ii) highly creative artists.
(iii) well-respected cartoonist. (iv) all newspaper editors.

(e) "Don't take it for granted that you will become a cartoonist." Choose the option that is closest in meaning to the sentence.
(i) Don't assume that you will (ii) Don't hope that you will become a cartoonist. become a cartoonist.
(iii) Don't believe that you will (iv) Don't imagine that you will become a cartoonist. become a cartoonist.

Q3. Read the following passage carefully.
WELL RESCUED
Ulhas Mandlik, 35, a power-loom owner from Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra, and his mother were homeward-bound one evening when heavy rain forced them to take shelter beneath a bridge. Not far away, a small group of labourers huddled together under a part of the cement housing above a 16 metre deep well used to pump water for irrigation.

Suddenly, Mandlik and his mother heard the labourers scream. When the two got to the well, they were told that a five year old boy named Hariya had fallen in through a side opening in the structure. Ignoring his mother's fears, Mandlik quickly knotted together lengths of flimsy rope belonging to the labourers and asked them to lower him into the dark well. "I hope the rope holds," he thought. As he descended, Mandlik noticed the metal rungs on the wall of the well. He grabbed hold of one and started climbing down, when he saw the boy clinging to a pipe running up the well's centre. Grabbing the child, Mandlik started to climb praying that the old rungs wouldn't give away and plunge them both into the churning water below. Their luck held and within a few minutes, Mandlik clambered to ground level and handed over Hariya to his sobbing father.

The man fell at Mandlik's feet and offered him some money as a reward. Refusing the cash, Mandlik took Hariya and his family to a nearby eatery and offered them steaming tea to warm them up. Several organisations have honoured Mandlik for his bravery and presence of mind on that wet day three years ago. "I am happy I was at the right place at the right time," he says," and was able to return a little boy to his family."

Read the questions given below and write the option you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheet.
(a) What first drew Ulhas and his mother to the well?
(i) shelter from the heavy rain. (ii) the return journey home.
(iii) news of a small boy's fall. (iv) the labourer's screams.

(b) What were Ulhas' mother's fears really associated with?
(i) the rusted rungs inside the wall. (ii) the risk to the life of the rescuer.
(iii) the churning water inside (iv) doubts about the safety the well. of the boy.

(c) Which of the following could be a learning from the report?
(i) it is best not to involve oneself (ii) one should not take shelter even in situations involving others. beneath a bridge in the rain.
(iii) one cannot predict when an (iv) metal rungs alongside the wall of accident may befall any person. a well may not always be useful.

(d) Which of these expressions best describes Ulhas in view of this incident?
(i) disregard for an elder's (ii) disbelief in one's own abilities. warnings.
(iii) faith only in prayers for (iv) concern for others with no success. expectations.

(e) Which of these did Hariya's father express on receiving his son?
(i) gratitude. (ii) relief.
(iii) anxiety. (iv) peace.

Q4. Read the following passage carefully.
ATITHI DEVO BHAVAH
New Delhi: Atithi Devo Bhavah. To make visitors to the city feel welcome during the Commonwealth Games, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is set to train taxi and auto drivers, CISF personnel posted at monuments, dhaba owners, hotel staff etc. Participants will be taught English as well as courtesy and ways to communicate with tourists. At present, there is a shortage of trained guides in the city and with Commonwealth Games drawing close, the issue has to be addressed promptly.

With hundreds of historical sites to visit and each monument boasting its own unique history, foreign nationals are often left to fend for themselves and depend on tourist books and brochures for information. Language is another problem. Quite a contrast to facilities offered in tourist sites in western countries, where trained guides-proficient in several languages-are easily available to aid visitors apart from group-guided trips at regular intervals. Although the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) plans to introduce audio guide services in five languages at some world heritage sites our experts point that not a single monument or tourist place in the city has an interpretation centre where tourists can come and get all information pertaining to a particular site. ASI is also in the process of bringing out more brochures and guides for foreign visitors in the city. Experts say such facilities are crucial if the government wants to promote Delhi as a 'heritage city'. Various agencies like INTACH are also involved in the plans.

Under ITDC's plans, etiquette training for the Games will also be provided to residents who offer rooms to foreigners under Delhi government's bed and breakfast scheme. "House-owners will be given hospitality related training and a brief of Indian tourism scenario. Most visitors generally question their hosts on information about the city so they will be provided information on the golden triangle- Delhi, Agra and Jaipur as well as where tourists should go visiting in Delhi," said an official.

Read the questions given below and write the option you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheet.
(a) What are the initiatives to be taken up by the India Tourism Development Corporation to make the visitors feel welcome during the Commonwealth Games?
(i) training of drivers, CISF personals, dhaba owners and hotel staff.
(ii) promoting the sale of tourist books and brochures.
(iii) arranging audio cassettes and tapes on tourism.
(iv) constructing more bed and breakfast homes.

(b) How have the western countries managed to offer aid and better facilities to their tourists?
(i) by providing good tourist books and brochures.
(ii) by providing well-behaved and courteous guides.
(iii) by training guides in several languages and group-guided trips at regular intervals.
(iv) by allowing foreign nationals to fend for themselves.

(c) Apart from the guides and the guided tours, Archeological Survey of India has expressed the need for establishing ______________ at historical sites to help tourists.
(i) interpretation centres. (ii) rehabilitation centres.
(iii) cessation centres. (iv) training centres.

(d) What steps have been taken by ASI to promote Delhi as a heritage site?
(i) making brochures very informative and training the residents.
(ii) bringing out more brochures and involving other agencies in planning and visitor management.
(iii) offering tourists all sources of comfort for their stay and visits to historical sites.
(iv) providing owners of bed and breakfast homes information about Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

(e) _________________ are to be provided to residents who offer rooms to foreigners under ITDC's plan.
(i) comfortable stay, friendly and hospitable treatment
(ii) etiquette training, hospitality treatment
(iii) better tourist guides and interpretation centres
(iv) visits to the golden triangle cities.

Q 5 Read the following poem carefully answer the questions that follow
The Lapwing
In the dark that falls before the dawn,
When the dew has settled on the thorn,
When the stars have been obscured by clouds,
A silence covers all things in shrouds.
No wind sighs in the mulberry tree,
No firefly glimmers wild and free,
A shadow has wrapped the night in gloom,
It's silent as a deserted tomb.
All of a sudden a lapwing's cry
Cuts the black silence as it flies by,
Again and again it slashes the dark
That haunts the empty, desolate park.
Anguish, sorrow pours from its throat,
It wings in the night, note after note;
I open my window so the light
Will flood the dark of this wretched night.
Why does it cry so miserably?
Why is it so solitary?
All I know is that loss and ache
Are left behind in the lapwing's wake.
--
Meera Uberoi

Write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheets:
(a) When darkness falls there is ___________________________.
(i) complete silence everywhere (ii) a shroud covering all things
(iii) the crying of the lapwing to be heard (iv) gloom and desolation

(b) When does the lapwing come out?
(i) at dawn (ii) at night
(iii) just before dawn (iv) in the morning

(c) Why does the poet open the window?
(i) he can get some light (ii) he can hear the lapwing
(iii) he can see the lapwing (iv) he can get some air.

(d) What are the causes of the Lapwing's misery?
(i) loneliness and gloom (ii) loss and pain
(iii) darkness and loss (iv) darkness and pain

(e) The lapwing's cry fills the poet with _____________________ .
(i) longing (ii) anger
(iii) unhappiness (iv) joy

Q 6 Read the passage given below :
Surgical Instruments Designed Due to Necessity
Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. And Indian doctors have been quite creative when hamstrung by few or no tools to perform specific surgeries. They simply design it themselves at one-fourth the price they are sold abroad. In fact, some of their innovations are priced at as much as hundreds of dollars abroad.

Take 47-year-old Dr Burjor P Banaji, pioneer of Lasik surgery in India. He's invented over a dozen surgical instruments. When this senior eye surgeon at  Max Eye Care started Lasik, there were few surgeons doing it worldwide and no specific instruments were available either. "As I want things super-perfect, I designed a whole slew of instruments that made my surgery more efficient," says Banaji. The most popular instruments are Banaji Lasik Shield and Banaji Lasik Spatula and Canulae. "It was simple. I had the designs in my head. Putting them down on paper was the simplest thing," he says. Instruments manufacturers and large multinationals in the US snapped them up. "They would send me computer generated drawings which I would correct and send back. Their level of execution was astounding. Within two weeks of the designs being finalised, the instruments were in the world market."

His instruments are priced at hundreds of dollars each in the US, and are also sold in Switzerland, South America, Korea, Eastern Europe, Africa and Japan. They're available in India at a fraction of the price.
--
Shobha John/TNN

Write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheets
(a) Why have some Indian doctors created their own surgical tools?
(i) they have no tools to perform specific surgeries
(ii) they have a hamstring problem
(iii) the tools they get from abroad cost four times as much
(iv) they can sell these tools at a very high price.

(b) What has Dr Burjor P Banaji created?
(i) Lasik surgery
(ii) Max Eye Care Centre
(iii) two surgical instruments called Banaji Lasik Shield and Banaji Lasik Spatula and Canulae
(iv) more than a dozen instruments for operating on the eye.

(c) Where does Dr Banaji get the instruments manufactured?
(i) India (ii) the United States of America
(iii) Switzerland (iv) Japan

(d) The term hamstrung refers to ……………………………
(i) restricted (ii) helped
(iii) harmed (iv) liberated

(e) What does the phrase slew of instruments refer to?
(i) a wide range of instruments (ii) instruments used for slaying
(iii ) tools of a similar nature (iv) surgical instruments

Q 7. Read the passage given below
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock was a man with vivid imagination, strong creative skills and a passion for life. With his unique style and God-gifted wit he produced and directed some of the most thrilling films that had the audience almost swooning with fright and falling off their seats with laughter. Alfred Hitchcock was greatly influenced by American films and magazines. At the age of 20, he took up a job at the office of Paramount Studio, London. Using imagination, talent and dedication, he made each of his endeavours a success. He took great pleasure in working in the studio and often worked all seven days a week. He moved to the USA in 1939 and got his American citizenship in 1955. Here, he produced many more films and hosted a weekly television show. No matter from where his ideas came, whether a magazine article, a mystery novel or incident, his films had the typical "Hitchcock touch"-where the agony of suspense was relieved by interludes of laughter! Hitchcock was knighted in 1980.

Write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheets.
(a) What qualities helped Hitchcock achieve success?
(i) his imagination, creativity and passion for life
(ii) his hard work, his imagination and his sense of humour
(iii) his creativity, his passion for life and his sense of humour
(iv) his imagination, his talent and his dedication

(b) What is Alfred Hitchcock famous as?
(i) writer (ii) film producer
(ii) Television actor (iv) film actor

(c) What did the typical Hitchcock-style of film-making include?
(i) fear and passion (ii) fear and humour
(iii) suspense and humour (iv) fear and suspense

(d) What did Alfred Hitchcock do in United States?
(i) He produced films and read magazines
(ii) He produced films and television serials
(iii) He read magazines and saw films
(iv) He produced films and hosted a television show

(e) What does the word swooning mean?
(i) fainting (ii) falling
(iii) hiding (iv) becoming conscious

Q 8. Read the following passage
Free Advice
I was overwhelmed with gratuitous advice. Well-meaning yet ignorant friends thrust their opinions into unwilling ears. The majority of them said I couldn't do without meat in the cold climate. I would catch consumption. Mr Z went to England and caught it on account of his foolhardiness. Others said I might do without flesh but without wine I could not move. I would be numbed with cold.

One went so far as to advise me to take eight bottles of whisky, for I should want them after leaving Aden. Another wanted me to smoke, for his friend was obliged to smoke in England. Even medical men, those who had been to England told the same tale. I replied that I would try my best to avoid all these things, but if they were found to be absolutely necessary I did not know what to do. I may here mention that my aversion to meat was not so strong then as it is now. I was even betrayed into taking meat about six or seven times at the period when I allowed my friends to think for me. But in the steamer, my ideas began to change. I thought I should not take meat on any account. My mother, before consenting to my departure, had exacted a promise from me not to take meat. So, I was bound not to take it, if only for the sake of the promise. The fellow passengers in the steamer began to advise us (the friend who was with me and myself) to try it. --
M K Gandhi

Write the correct option in your answer sheets
(a) The advice the narrator received from his friends was NOT.......................
(i) well-meaning (ii) uncalled for
(iii) sought after (iv) given by friends

(b) When was the narrator offered the advice?
(i) when he was leaving for England
(ii) when he was in Aden
(iii) when he had started eating meat
(iv) when he was on the steamer

(c) Why did the narrator's friends advise him to take meat?
(i) everyone in England ate meat
(ii) meat would cause consumption
(iii) meat-eating would keep him healthy
(iv) he would find it tasty

(d) The narrator was reluctant to eat flesh as ……………………….
(i) he had never eaten it before
(ii) he did not like the taste
(iii) it was not available on the steamer
(iv) he had promised his mother he would not do so

(e) What does the term consumption here refer to?
(i) eat (ii) give up
(iii) a disease (iv) cold

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