Paper : ICSE Class X Important Questions : English (2007)

General Instructions:

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 Marks)

1. Recall a remarkable event of social importance in your city or locality. Give a little of its background, the event as it occurred, and its impact on the lives of people.

2. Cinema, both entertains and educates the masses. Express your views either for or against this statement.

3. Siblings often grow up side by side in families; yet have very different life experiences. If you have one or more siblings and feel that your lives have differed significantly, write an essay explaining the reasons and the effects of such differences.

4. Relate an incident or write a short story which has as its central idea 'advice not taken'.

Question 2
(Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)
Select one of the following:- (10 Marks)

1. One of your grandparents has completed one hundred years of age. Write a letter congratulating him/her, expressing gratitude, praise and admiration for the way he/she has lived his/her life.

2. A company has been marketing spurious medicines behind claims that its product could be effective in preventing the avian flu or other forms of influenza. Write a letter to the Drug Controller General of the Directorate of Health Services, examining the claim of the company and explaining the harm these kind of claims could cause.

Question 3
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:-

The boy was idling in the market-place on the look out for mischief. All at once he saw it beckoning him. Workmen had been slating the church spire, and their ladders stretched invitingly from earth to steeple.

All children like scrambling up to high places to see if the world looks any different from an apple tree or a stable loft. Over and above his love for climbing, (5 Marks)

Michael had a longing to do things that had never been done before. As he gazed at the spire, crowned by a golden ball and weather-vane, an idea crept into his A mind − he would be the first person in Flushing to stand on the golden ball beneath the weather-vane!

He glanced around. No one was looking; Michael began to swarm up the ladder. At the top of the tower there rose a slated spire crowned by a golden ball and weather-vane. At last Michael found himself squatting on top of the ball, holding on by the vane.(10)

Presently he heard workmen moving below. He did not peer over or speak. He was not going to be hauled down before Flushing had seen him. The voices died away and Michael sat resting. (15)

At last he felt ready to startle the town. He pulled himself to his feet, and, keeping tight hold of the weather-vane, managed to stand on top of the ball. It was well that he had a cool head and iron nerves.

Someone must have cast a casual glance up at the vane and seeing his little figure,  cried out. In a minute or two Michael was delighted to see the market-place full of people who had rushed out of their shops and houses to gaze at the dizzy sight. It was splendid to have all those eyes and hearts glued upon you! (20)

But Michael did not intend to stay there until he was fetched down, to be handed over to his father and cuffed before the crowd. After a while he prepared to descend of his own free will. (25)

He leaned over the ball. The ladder had gone. The workmen had taken it away! A sudden feeling of sickness and giddiness came over Michael. He mastered it. To wait for rescue was a humiliating end to his escapade. He would come down alone, even if it cost him his life. (30)

The spire at the base of the ball was only half slated, and Michael saw some hope of gaining a foothold on the old part. He clasped his arms round the top of the ball and let his body swing down; he was just able to feel the first slate with his toes. Those toes were shod with iron toe-caps, for Michael was hard on his shoes. Michael kicked with his armoured toes till the slate crashed and fell in; then he got a foothold on the wooden laths beneath.(35)

He rested for a minute, with aching arms and a stiff body. He must change his grip on the ball, which was too big to slide his arms down; he must get clear of it, and somehow grasp the spire beneath. One false move and he would be hurled to death on the cobbles below.  (40)

Slowly he began to slide his hands together at the top of the ball, and then downward over its bulging face. Every inch was packed with peril; every inch pushed him backward towards death. It seemed to him that he would be too weak to hold on when the time came for him to grasp the spire.

But at last the steady, deadly creeping of his fingers brought him to a point where  he could bend forward. With a sudden snatch he caught the base of the ball. The next moment he was kicking out a stairway in the old tiles and swarming swiftly down. He reached the foot of the spire, lifted the trapdoor of the tower, ran down the steps, and was caught by his father in the organ loft. (45)

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

1. startle (line 17)

2. casual (line 20)

3. grasp (line 39)

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

1. What was Michael doing in the market-place? What attracted his attention?

2. What did Michael long to do? What did he plan to do to accomplish this?

3. How did Michael display 'a cool head and iron nerves'?

4. Which sight filled Michael's heart with delight and why?

5. Why did Michael not wait for rescue?

6. Use the word 'face'(line 42) in a sentence of your own such that it has a different meaning from that it carries in the passage.

(c) With close reference to the last five paragraphs of  the extract and in not more than 60 words, trace Michael's descent from the top of the ball to the foot of the spire.

(d) Give a titsle to your summary in 3(c). State a reason to justify your choice.

Question 4

(a) In the following passage, fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space. (4 Marks)

Example:
(0) am convinced.
I (0) _______ (convince) that my father (1) _______ (remember) by all those who value integrity. He (2) _______ (be) a man  of learning and also saw to it that he (3) _______ (teach) his pupils  with passion and patience. He, at times (4) _______ (use) to lose his  temper, but that was because he always (5) _______ (want) his pupils to learn and learn well. As a person, he was honest and simple. His greatness (6) _______ (lie) in the fact that he (7) _______ (have) a pure heart, devoid of malice. Such a man is always valued and (8)_______ (be) very rare to find.

(b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:- (4 Marks)

1. Truth always prevails _______ the long run.

2. Sujata stood _______ the river and saw the ship pass by.

3. She took some money _______ her father to buy a video game.

4. Shilpa gave me a rare gift _______ my birthday.

5. Deepak was very upset _______ me.

6. Michelle is longing _______ meet me.

7. It has been a long time _______ I met my sister.

8. The worker asked _______ his wages.

(c) Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so: (4 Marks)

1. John gave me the novel. John wanted me to review it.

2. Debjani received my note. She sent her reply within a week.

3. Raja is a great footballer. He is also popular.

4. Jennifer saw that I was confused. She came to my rescue.

(d) Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence: (8 Marks)

1. Anne paid a heavy price for her recklessness.
   (Begin: It................................ )

2. No sooner had Ram narrated the story than he was praised.
   (Begin: Hardly...................................)

3. Tanuja is a very friendly girl and is always cheerful.
   (Begin: Besides............................)

4. They had to put off the garden partly because of the heavy rain.
   (Begin: The heavy......................................)

5. Margaret said to me, "Please do not forget to meet me tomorrow".
   (Begin: I was..................................)

6. Inspite of my warning Dev, he ignored me.
   (Begin: Though...........................)

7. The business talks failed because neither side was willing to compromise.
   (Begin: Since........................................)

8. They were very afraid and so they could not speak.
   (Begin: Being................................)