CBSE ENGLISH Sample Question Papers 2009-2010
Class IX Class X Class XI Class XII
Sample Paper – 2009
Class – XSubject –English
F.M –100 MARKS TIME -3 HRS
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:This paper consists of four SectionsSection A-Reading — 20 marksSection B-Writing — 30 marksSection C-Grammar — 20 marksSection D-Literature — 30 marks
INSTRUCTIONS:Attempt all questions.
Do not write anything in the question paper.
All the answers must be correctly numbered as in the question paper and written in the answer sheet provided to you.
Attempt all questions in each Section before going on to the next Section.
Read each question carefully and follow the instructions.
Strictly adhere to the word limit given with each question Mai ks will be deducted for exceeding the word limit.
READING SECTION A
1. Read the following passage carefully. (8 marks)
1. The communities of ants are sometimes very large, numbering even up to 500 individuals: and it is a lesson to us that no one has ever yet seen a quarrel between any two ants belonging to the same community. On the other hand it must be admitted that they are in hostility not only with most other insects including ants of different species, but even with those of the same species if belonging to different communities. I have over and over again introduced ants from one nest to another of the same species; and they were invariably attacked, seized by a leg or an antenna, and dragged out.
2. It is evident therefore; that the ants of each community all recognized one another and were perfectly friendly, while they at once attacked ants from a different nest, although of the same species.
3. It has been suggested that the ants of each nest have some sign or password by which they recognize one another. To test this, I made some of them insensible, first, I tried chloroform; but this was fatal to them, and I did not consider the test satisfactory. I decided therefore to intoxicate them. This was less easy than I had expected. None of my ants would voluntarily degrade themselves by getting drunk. However, I got over the difficulty by putting them into whisky for a few moments. I took fifty specimens-twenty five from one nest and twenty five from another, made them dead drunk, marked each with a spot of paint, and put them on a table close to where other ants from one of the nests were feeding. The table was surrounded as usual with a moat of water to prevent them from straying. The ants, which were feeding, soon noticed those, which I had made drunk. They seemed quite astonished to find their comrades in such a disgraceful condition and were as much at a loss to know what to do with them as we were. After a while, however, they carried them all away; they took the strangers to the edge of the moat and dropped them into the water, while they bore their friends home into the nest, where by degrees they slept off the effects of the spirits. Thus, it is evident that they know their friend even when it is incapable of giving any sign or password. [395 words]
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, complete the following statements as briefly as possible. Write your answers in the answer sheets against the correct blank number: (7 marks)
a) The lesson the writer wants us to learn from the ants is…………………………... (1)
b) The writer discovered that ants of one community do not welcome ants of another community
when………………………………………………………...........................................(1)
c) The writer decided to intoxicate the ants because ………………………………..... (1)
d) The writer makes a humorous comment when he says that……………………….. (1)
e) The writer conducted the experiment with drunk ants because………………….... (1)
f) Write down the ways in which the ants dealt with the following: (2)
i) drunk ants from their nest……………………………………………………
ii) drunk ants from other nests………………………………………………….
1.2. Choose the most appropriate title for the passage from the ones given below. Write your
answer in the answer sheets against the correct blank number: (1 mark)
Title : ……………………………………………………………………..
SECTION B WRITING 20 MARKS
3. You are Sumit/Sunita. You attended a science exhibition, ‘Self-sufficient India’. Write a postcard to your friend, Amit, 21, D.H. Eoad, Chennai in not more than 50 words about the exhibits and how you were benefited by them. Copy the format given below and write the postcard in your answer sheet.( 5 Marks)
4. The following is a telephonic conversation between Arun and Rakesh’s mother. As she was leaving home she leaves a message for her son. Write the message in not more than 50 words. (5 Marks)
Arun : Can I speak to Rakesh ?
Rakesh’s mother : Rakesh is not at home. He has gone for tuition and will be back only at 6 p.m.
Arun : Can I leave a message ?
Mother : Oh, sure.
Arun : Please inform him that he has to stay back after class tomorrow for his science project. Ram,
Raghav and I are staying back. My father will pick us up at 6 p.m.
Mother : I’ll inform him. Thank you
. 5.. The youth of India is fast catching up with the way of western-life thus leaving behind the values that we once took great pride in. Write a short speech to be delivered in the school assembly
6.You are Rohit/Rhea, 15, Dilshad Garden, Delhi. You happened to overhear the following conversation between two elderly people.( 10 Marks)
Taking ideas from the unit on ‘Health and Medicine’ along with your own ideas, write a letter to the editor of a newspaper in about 150 words on the need to be mentally and physically fit to lead a happy life.
6. Anil/ Anjali Diwan of Model Town, Delhi reads ‘,the following advertisement in the newspaper about Help The Old, an organization for helping the aged of India. He/ she writes a letter saying he/she along with a group of NSS students would like to help the aged in some way. As Anil/ Anjali write the letter in not more than 150 words. Ask for the programmes you can .join, the kind of service you and your schoolmates can provide. Also ask for information about the ways you cancollect or donate money to them
SECTION C Grammar 20 marks
7. Complete the following dialogue between two friends. Write only the correct answer against the correct blank number in your answer sheet. (3x1=3 Marks)
Sheela: Hello! Could I speak to Rani?
Reghu: Rani has gone out. This is her brother Reghu speaking. (a) _________________?
Sheela: I am her friend, Sheela. (b) __________________________________?
Reghu: She’s gone for her tuition and will be back in an hour.
Sheela: (c) _________________________________________________________?
Reghu: I’ll definitely give her your message. Does she have your telephone number?
Sheela: Yes she does.
8. In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet. Ensure
that the word that forms your answer is underlined as shown. (½x6=3 marks)
Egyptian pyramids served tombs for kings served as tombs
and queens, but they also places of ongoing a)
religious activity. After a ruler died, his her b)
body carefully treated and wrapped to c)
preserve it a mummy. According to ancient d)
Egyptian belief, the pyramid, the mummy e)
was placed, provided a place the monarch f)
to pass into the afterlife.
9. Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. The first one has been done for you as an example. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers in your answer sheet. 1×4=4 Marks
in the / is swimming / with tremendous / one sport / potential / country /
One sport in the country with tremendous potential is swimming.
(a) our / is / full of/ talented swimmers / country /
(b) not / utilized / potential / fully /their / is /
(c) academic subjects / other activities / take precedence / over / in school /
(d) has done / the sport / the government / very little / to boost /
10. Look at the newspaper items below. Then use the information in the headlines to complete the
paragraphs. Write the answers in your answer sheets against the correct blank number. Do not copy the whole sentence (4 marks)
(a) BLASTS OUTSIDE ATHENS POLICE STATION
Three bombs___________________________________________________ on Wednesday in a
series of timed blasts, causing serious damage and rattling security forces just 100 days before the
Olympic Games. :
(b) SECURITY SYSTEM AT SHANTINIKETAN TO BE ‘REDESIGNED’
The Vishwa-Bharti University authorities ______________________________________
__________________________ at Shantiniketan in the wake of last week’s theft at Tagore’s
Memorial Museum.
(c) FAKE DOCUMENTS RACKET BUSTED
A racket in printing and selling of ___________________________________________
Police. One person has been arrested in this connection.
(d) “5 LAKH JOBS TO BE CREATED BY 2010” -----PLANNING COMMISSION
Mr. Naresh Mathur, member of the planning Commission said yeasterday that------------------------------------by the year 2010
11. Complete the following passage with one word in each blank. Write the correct answers against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentences. (6 Marks)
One of the most significant pilgrim centres (a) __________________ the country, Varanasi,
(b) _______________________ famous for its temples and ghats. It is located (c)
_____________________ the river Ganges. The waterfront is decorated (d) ________________
hundreds of lovely ghats, (e) ___________________ city houses the famous Kasi Viswanath
Temple. Pilgrims flock the ghats (f) _________________the ritual bath. A popular belief is
that (g)____________________ who die in Varanasi are liberated (h) ___________________
the cycle of birth and death.
SECTION D literature 30 marks
12. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in
your answer sheets in one or two lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly.
(5 marks)
Antony: O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
a) Where is Antony at this time? (1)
b) Why does Antony call Caesar’s body ‘thou bleeding piece of earth’? (2)
c) How and when had Antony been ‘meek and gentle with these butchers’? (2)
OR
Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in your answer sheets in one or two lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly.
(5 marks)
CASSIUS :
Aside to BRUTUS
You know not what you do: do not consent
That Antony speak in his funeral:
Know you how much the people may be moved
By that which he will utter?
a) Why does Cassius object when Brutus allows Antony to speak in Caesar's funeral? (1)
b) How does Brutus counter his argument? (2)
c) How are Cassius's fears proved right (2)
13. In the poem Ode to The West Wind the poet establishes a link between his own personality and the personality of the West Wind. What is the link? What appeal does he make to the West Wind? Your answer should not exceed 100 words. (5 MARKS)
14. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in your answer sheets in one or two lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly. (4 marks)
The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
a) Who speaks the above lines? (1)
b) What does the word ‘deep’ refer to ? How did it rot? (2)
c) What do the last twolines suggest about the speaker’s attitude towards nature? (1)
OR
Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. Write the answers in your answer sheets in one for two lines only. Remember to number the answers correctly. (4 marks)
“Yes,” the frog replied. “You see
I’m the frog that owns this tree.
In this bog I’ve long been known
For my splendid baritone
a) What had the listener asked the frog? (1)
b) What tree is “this tree”? (1)
c) What are the two things that the frog claims he is known for in the bog? (2)
15.Esplain the significance of feathers on Chtsal,s planet in not more than 75 words(4 marks)
16. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow
…I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
a) Who are I and it? (1)
b) Exlain : but it flickers’ (2)
c) What does I do most of the time? (1)
17. Christopher grows up into a teenager and recollects his experiences with Cutie-Pie. Describe these experiences in the form of a diary entry in about 150-175 words. (8 marks)
OR
Imagine you are the postmaster and have just gone and laid Miriam’s letter on Ali's grave. You come back home and reflect on whatever’s happened. The newly awakened father’s heart in you is reproaching you having to fail to realise Ali’s anxiety. As the post master write a diary entry in about 150 words expressing your anxiety. (8 marks)
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 1
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 2
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 3
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 4
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 5
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 6
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 7
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 8
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 9
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 10
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 11
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 12
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 13
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 14
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 15
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 16
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 17
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 18
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 19
CBSE ENGLISH (Communicative) Sample Question Paper 20
Comments