CBSE Class- X  Guess Paper : 2011

(English)

TIME – 2 HRS

MAXIMUM MARKS:- 40



This paper is divided into four sections.

A     Reading         5 marks

B     Writing         12 marks

C     Grammar     10 marks

D     Literature     13 marks

General Instructions:

1. All questions are compulsory.

2. You may attempt any section at a time.

3. All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct
order.

Section – A

(Reading)

Q.1. Read the following poem carefully: (1 x 5 =5 Marks)



Unwillingly Miranda wakes,

Feels the sun with terror,

One unwilling step she takes,

Shuddering to the mirror,

Miranda in Miranda’s sight

Is old and gray and dirty;

Twenty nine she was last night;

This morning she is thirty.

Shining like the morning star,

Like the twilight shining,

Haunted by a calendar,

Miranda is a pining.

Silly girl, silver girl,



Draw the mirror toward you;

Time who makes the years to whirl

Adorned as he adored you.

Time is timelessness for you;

Calendars for the human;

What’s a year, or thirty, to

Loveliness made woman?



Oh, Night will not see thirty again,

Yet soft her wing, Miranda;

Pick up your glass and tell me, then

How old is Spring, Miranda?



On the basis of your reading of the above poem, complete the following
statements by choosing the correct option from those given below :



(a) Miranda is unhappy on waking up as ……………….

(i) she fears the sun.

(ii) she is scared of the mirror.

(iii) she hates her birthday.

(iv) she is unable to face the reality of aging.

(b) The poetic device used in the poem is ……………..

(i) simile and metaphor

(ii) simile and personification

(iii) metaphor and alliteration

(iv)imagery and symbolism

(c) The word ‘silver’ in line 13 refers to her ……………………

(i) colour

(ii) age

(iii) hair

(iv)dress

(d) The poet consoles Miranda by saying that …………….

(i) she is ageless like spring

(ii)she is ageless like the night

(iii) she is like a calendar

(iv)she is lovely

(e) “Her wings” refer to the wings of ……………………….

(i) time

(ii) night

(iii) Miranda

(iv)spring

Section – B

(Writing)

Q.2. Read the given hints and give the biographical sketch of Prof.
Wangaari Mathaai. Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, Prof.
Wangaari Mathaai how her tree planting initiative has helped stop the
desertification of Africa and also empowered poor women across the continent. (4
Marks)



Wangaari Mathaai was …………….

• Born on April 1, 1940 in the village Nyeri District of Kenya

• First woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate. Studied in Mount
St. Scholastica College and the University of Pittsburgh, the United States as
well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya

• The first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution
to sustainable development, democracy and peace” in 2004

• An elected member of Parliament; served as Assistant Minister for Environment
and Natural Resources between January2003 and November 2005

Q.4. Given below is an extract from an article in ‘The Newsweek’:

‘For years , I ate fast food because it was efficient and cheap. I had no idea I
could be damaging my health’ says Ceasar Barbar, 56 a maintenance worker with
heart disease.



Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper on the health hazards caused by
junk food using your own ideas and ideas from the unit on ‘Health and Medicine’.
Your answer should be in about 150 words. (8 Marks)

Section – C

(Grammar)

Q.5. Complete the passage given below by choosing the appropriate options:
(2 Marks)



Most animals, including the great cats, do not (a) --------------- man and they
do their best to (b) --------------- him. My brain turns round and round like a
whirlwind at this odd behaviour. The explanation that the animals (c)
-------------- that man is a killer is (d) ----- Convincing. To me, men are
comparatively weak and defenceless. Animals are more agile and alert.



(a) (i) prefer

(ii) admire

(iii) hate

(iv) like

(b) (i) avoid

(ii) shirk

(iii) kill

(iv) overpower

(c) (i) know

(ii) believe

(iii) feel

(iv) see

(d) (i) unbelievingly

(ii) generally

(iii) hardly

(iv) particularly



Q.6. Complete the following conversation by choosing the best sentence from
the given options: (1 X 4=4 Marks)

Amrita : We are going on a trip to Shimla next week. (a)
--------------------------------

Raveena : It is possible for me to join you on this trip.

Amrita : (b) -----------------------------------------------------?

Raveena : My aunt is coming from U.S.A.

Amrita : (c) ----------------------------------------------------?

Raveena : She is coming this very week.

Amrita : (d) ----------------------------------------------------.

Raveena : I will miss you all a lot.



(a) (i) Why didn’t you join us on this trip?

(ii) Why you hadn’t join us on this trip?

(iii) Why don’t you join us on this trip?

(b) (i) Why do you have any other engagement?

(ii) Why you had any other engagement?

(iii) Why did you have any other engagement?

(c) (i) When does she arrive?

(ii) When is she arriving?

(iii) When did she arrive?

(d)(i) Oh! then we have to go alone on this trip. Though we will miss
you.

(ii) Oh! then we had to go alone on this trip. Though we would miss you.

(iv) Oh! then they have to go alone on this trip. Though we will miss you.

Q.7. Look at the newspaper items given below. Use the information in the
Headlines to complete the paragraph. Choose the most appropriate options: (1 X
4=4 Marks)



(a) PASSENGER TRAIN DERAILED : FOUR DIE



A passenger train ------------------------------------ about 10 metres from
Mathura station causing death of four persons.

(i)had been derailed

(ii)derailed           

(iii)was derailed

(iv)had derailed



(b) DELHI BOY HONOURED FOR BRAVERY



A 14 year old boy Mahesh Kumar ----------------------------------- by the CM for
bravery and saving two lives.

(i) is honoured

(ii) was honoured

(iii) has been honoured

(iv) had been honoured



(c) EIGHT YEAR OLD KIDNAPPED

Siddhartha, aged eight years, of Kailash Colony ------------------------------
while he was returning from coaching classes.

(i) had been kidnapped

(ii) has been kidnapped

(iii) was kidnapped

(iv) is being kidnapped



(d) RARE ANIMAL SEEN



Residents of Kamalpur Village in east Orissa claim
--------------------------------- in the neighbouring forest.



(i) that a rare animal was seen

(ii) a rare animal has been seen

(iii) about a rare animal seen

(iv) that a rare animal had been seen

Section – D

(Literature)

Q.8. Read the given extract and answer the following questions by choosing
the most appropriate alternative from those given below. (1 X 3=3 Marks)



I remember the night my mother

was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours

of steady rain had driven him

to crawl beneath a sack of rice.

Parting with his poison – flash

of diabolic tail in the dark room-

he risked the rain again.



(a) Why did the scorpion crawl under a sack of rice?

(i) To save itself from the villagers

(ii) To hide

(iii) To save itself from the poet

(iv) To save itself from rain



(b)Which word in the verse means ‘regular’?

(i) risked

(ii) stung

(iii) steady

(iv) parting



(c) The word ‘diabolic’ means:

(i) any two things

(ii) poisonous

(iii) erratic

(iv) devilish



Q.9. Answer any two of the following questions in 30 to 40 words each. (2 X
2=4 Marks)

(a) It was like the butcher’s knife going to the stone to sharpen itself. ‘The
Tribute’ contains a number of references to the work of a butcher. Why did
Babuli so often have these thoughts?

(b) The drama ‘A Christmas Carol’ depicts the transformation of a selfish miser
into a kind and benevolent man. Comment.

(c) The poem ‘The Night of the Scorpion’ poignantly describes a mother’s
selfless love. Explain.



Q.10. Answer any one of the following questions in about 120 to 150 words. (6
Marks)



‘The Tribute’ ends with Babuli’s handwritten note to his elder brother who has
always been keeping Babuli’s interest in mind. One week later, Babuli received a
letter from his elder brother expressing his feelings on receiving the note.
Write the letter from the elder brother.



Or



In spite of difficulties, Bob Cratchit’s family is a closely knit family with
good moral values. Justify.