Paper : ICSE Class X Important Questions : English (1999)

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]

(a) Rivers and lakes are always interesting and commercially important to people who live near them. Describe some of the ways in which people living close to a lake or a river use it to their advantage commercially and also for their relaxation and amusement all through the year.

(b) "Cigarette smoking in public places should not be allowed." Argue either for or against this statement.

(c) Of all the subject that you are studying at present, which one, do you think would be most useful to you in future and why?

(d) Write a story beginning "I do not believe in ghosts..."

(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 are in charge of a group which is to go on camping next month. Your friend who is unwell at present, will also join in later. Write a letter to the same friend informing him/her when and where all the members have to meet, how you will travel to your destination, what things you should carry with you and how you will return home.

(b) Write a letter to the Principal of your school expressing your wish to continue studying in the same school after Class X. Your letter should make clear what course or stream (Commerce, Science of Humanities) you wish to follow and why you have decided to choose that course.

Question 3
Read the passage given below and then answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow: [2]

The beaver had made a dam about two hundred yards long, and it had formed out of the quickly flowing stream, a wide stretch of water about twelve feet deep. The dam was so firm and broad that it was easy for me to walk along it. After a hundred and fifty yards I carried to a 'beaver's castle', a great heap of logs, skillfully fitted together, the lower part is covered with earth and plants. The upper logs were put loosely together, so that the air could pass through to the interior.

In the late autumn, before land and water are covered with snow and ice, the beaver has to make its dwelling frost-proof. It collects young trees and gnaws the stems in a double cone until the tree falls. Then the long stems are gnawed into small sections, the thin twigs bitten off, and the logs are dragged to the dwelling.

There the timber is piled on the 'castle', sometimes to a height of ten or a dozen feet. Mud is brought up from the bottom of the lake and placed between the logs with the animal's clever forepaws. The interior is lined with the finest wood shavings. In this tall shelter the beaver remains high and dry, and protected from frost throughout the winter.

The only access to the dwelling is under the water, and even the forest wolves are unable to pull the firm building apart. The water is the beaver's element. On land it moves slowly and awkwardly. Thus it is vital for the beaver to have water in which it can swim, and where nature has not provided this condition for it, it creates it with its dam.

The beaver's activities change whole landscapes. With this dam for instance, on which I was standing, beavers had turned a whole wooded valley into a lake; trees that had stood there had been killed by the water and had disappeared. Aquatic game had settled there. Ducks swam past us, and great must have been the number of fish, as swarms of trout had swum past me in the clear stream. Wide stretches of meadow had come into existence on the banks, with flat landing places to which well-beaten beaver tracks led. Many years of building, gnawing, and dragging must have gone to the completion of this immense work, creating a new region for the beavers to live in.

Question 3
(a) Four words are given below. Give the meaning of each as used in the passage. A one word answer or a short phrase will be accepted.

1. Gnaws
2. Access
3. Vita
4. Aquatic.

(b) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible and in your own words

1. What evidence in the passage suggests that beavers build fairly strong dams? [3]
2. How does a beaver ensure that its 'castle' is well ventilated? [2]
3. How does a beaver fell a tree? [1]
4. Why do beavers build dams? [3]
5. Quote a sentence from the passage that tells us that beavers just love being in or near water. [1]
6. Mention two changes that may be brought about in the landscape by the activity of beavers. [3]

(c) In not more than 60 words describe a beaver's 'castle' and write how the animal makes it frost-proof. [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. [10]

1. He is fortunate to have won the prize.
   (Begin : Fortunately ......... )
2. It was quite dark. They came back home.
   (Rewrite as one sentence without using 'and)
3. As soon as the newspaper reaches the stands it is sold out.
   (Begin : No sooner ...............)
4. Mohan was too slow to catch the thief.
   (Rewrite using "so ...... ... that")
5. The assignment will be completed by me within a month.
   (Begin. : I will .............)
6. Cleopatra is the most famous Egyptian queen.
   (Begin : No other ................)
7. It is sad that you are leaving the town .
   (Begin : How ................!)
8. ) The son arrived after his mother had died.
   (Begin : It was after ...............)
9. My father always goes for a walk every morning.
   (Rewrite using 'fail')
10. The judge punished the guilty.
    (Begin : The guilty ............ )

(b) In each of the following sentences there is a blank space which can be filled in by a single word. Fill in each blank with the word which is appropriate. (Do not write the sentences): [5]

1. The teacher was pleased _______ the performance of the student.
2. He slept _______ eight o' clock.
3. The cat sprang _______ the table.
4. I shall return _______ an hour.
5. He will be dropped _______ the team if he does not make a big score.

(c) Fill in the following blanks spaces with a suitable form of the word given in brackets: [5]

When we _______ (i) (visit) the volcano, it was in a state eruption. We _______ (ii) (stand) near the summit on an irregular plane. It was _______ (iii) (heap) up with stones and cinders and enormous rocks which _______ (iv) (hurl) from the volcano in terrible confusion. We _______ (v) (rushed) to a specially built shelter nearby.