Class X - English Practice Paper - 3

Subject: English

Class X

Time Allowed: 3 hours

Max. Marks: 80

General Instructions:

1. 15-minute prior reading time allotted for Q-paper reading.

2. The Question Paper contains THREE sections READING, GRAMMAR & WRITING and LITERATURE.

3. Attempt question based on specific instructions for each part.

SECTION A- READING SKILLS

I. Read the passage given below.

1. Hobbies help us grow as a person. The best way to have a new hobby is to try something new. All of us are unique, and this is the reason why our hobbies and interests are different. Once we find an activity we are passionate about, we can explore that activity more. When you get hooked, you will realize that your hobby has become an integral part of your life. Having a hobby that we enjoy brings us joy and refreshes us. Hobbies help us to manage our leisure and unplanned time more productively. It also affords you the opportunity to learn new skills in your work. But these are not the only benefits of having a hobby.

2. It feels great to be skilled and good at something, doesn’t it? And this is what that makes you confident. It can take some time to develop your hobby so that you may be able to tell that you are skilled. But, the journey of experiencing your hobby is very rewarding in itself. With the exposure to different types of activities these days, it doesn’t matter which activity you choose. Whether you are pursuing a craft, sports, puzzles, or skill development, your hobby should be a diversion and a passion. Simultaneously, if your hobby gives you a sense of purpose, then you will be more confident about challenging yourself in your hobby and help you prepare for learning new things at work.

3. Hobbies give you an opportunity to enhance your life Hobbies allow you to de-stress yourself while remaining mentally productive. Having hobbies promotes better health and may lower the risk of having high blood pressure. Enjoying a few hours of your hobby a week can also reduce the risk of depression and dementia. Hobbies refocus your mind on to something that you enjoy doing. Hobbies that include physical activities create chemical changes in your body that help to reduce stress.

4. Even if it doesn’t involve physical activities, you can still reap the benefits of having a hobby. Getting a short break from work and doing something you are passionate about can rejuvenate your mind and help prepare you to handle challenges in the future in a better way.

5. Hobbies may provide an opportunity for you to socialize with people and that can be an additional benefit for your overall well-being. You can connect with people who enjoy doing the same things that you do. You can meet new people, discuss your hobby and get connected to a bigger circle that may even help you turn your hobby into your profession. The internet provides numerous groups and forums to connect with people that enjoy doing the same things that you want to do.

6. Some hobbies require creativity and if you develop creativity through your hobby, it can be beneficial. Creativity can help you experience new things at school and work. The skill of being creative is essential in today’s world.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

i. When a person gets hooked on a hobby, he realises that:

(a) it has become an integral part of our life.

(b) it has much more benefits than we realised.

(d) it is quite essential for us to learn some skills through our hobbies.

ii. No matter which sort of hobby you are pursuing, be it a craft, sports, puzzles, or skill development, your hobby should be:

(a) useful for you in the long run.

(b) a skill that improves your present circumstances.

(d) followed through till the end.

iii. The journey of experiencing a hobby is quite :

(a) challenging for a person.

(b) rewarding in itself.

(d) inspirational for a person.

iv. State any one way through which hobbies enhance your life?

v. Getting a hobby means having a short break from work and doing something you are passionate about which can

(a) give you a peace of mind from all the other problems of daily hectic life and make you feel refreshed.

(b) help you enhance and improve your skills and push you forward on your path to success.

(d) rejuvenate your mind and help prepare you to handle challenges in the future in a better way

vi. List any two benefits of having a hobby.

1. __________

2. __________

vii. What is essential in today’s world?

viii. Give an appropriate title for the passage.

ix. Supply 1 point to justify the following:

Hobby provides you with an opportunity to socialise with people.

x. Choose an option that is clearly a synonym of the word ‘hooked’.

(a) opposed

(b) indifferent

(d) captivated

II. Read the passage given below.

1. Conference series LLC Ltd organises a conference series of 1000+ global events inclusive of 300+ conferences, 900+ upcoming and previous symposiums and workshops in USA, Europe and Asia with support from 1000 more Scientific societies and publishes 700+ open access journals which contain over 30000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as Editorial board members.

2. Recycling and Waste Management Convention 2018 proudly invites contributors across the globe to 9th World Convention on Recycling and Waste Management during October 22-23,2018 in Osaka, Japan, which includes prompt keynote presentations, oral talks, poster presentations and exhibitions. We are delighted to say that it is the 9th World Convention on Recycling and Waste Management which will be held in a beautiful city of Osaka, Japan and hence we invite you all to attend and register.

3. 9th World Convention on Recycling and Waste Management is mainly based on the theme “Advocating Waste Disposal and Recycling Practices for Clean and Green Environment.” We warmly welcome all the participants – leading scientists, researchers and scholars of the world to attend the convention. We provide a platform for young researchers and students to present their research through oral presentations through which they can develop a foundation for collaboration among young researchers.

4. The organising committee aims at setting a platform for all the budding scientists and researchers to present their real-time work and share their views and aspects related to the theme of the conference. The organising committee is gearing up for an exciting and informative conference programme including plenary lecture, symposia, workshops on a variety of topics, poster presentations and various programmes for participants from all over the world.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

i. Infer one reason for the following, based on information in the passage. Waste management and recycling it.

ii. Select the appropriate option to fill in the blanks. _____ has been considered as the second nature to us

(a) Sorting of waste

(b) Recycling of waste

(d) Implementing steps framed and deployed in convention

iii. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 2:

Delhi : India :: Tokyo : _____

(Clue : Delhi is capital of India, similarly Tokyo is capital of…)

iv. What theme is being highlighted in the given passage?

(a) Efficient means of reducing garbage

(b) Various techniques to be employed to recycle the goods

(d) Both (b) and (c)

v. Which of the following notion in the conference has been emphasised to be deployed?

(a) Waste disposal management

(b) Waste management

(d) Reshaping Earth’s future

vi. Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option. According to the pie-chart, Branches & wood has been recycled at the rate of _____.

(a) 1%

(b) 24%

(d) 3%

vii. Substitute the word ‘present’ with ONE WORD similar in meaning, in the following sentence from paragraph

3: We provide a platform for young researchers and students to present their research…

viii. List any two points that the given data represents.

ix. Which activity contributes collectively towards paper waste recycled percentage? x. What has been considered as an efficient means to reduce landfill area?

(a) Sorting of waste

(b) Recycling or composting waste

(d) None of these

SECTION B- GRAMMAR

Attempt ANY TEN of the following questions.

i. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option to complete the sentence. The boys _____ to my lecture since 8 O’clock this morning.

(a) were listening

(b) have been listening

(d) None of these

ii. Read the conversation between a mother and her daughter. Complete the sentence by reporting daughter’s reply correctly.

Mother: Why are you looking so worried?

Daughter: My exams are approaching.

Mother asked her daughter why she was looking very worried. The daughter replied that _____.

iii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank for the given line. I _____ rather die than join the gang of terrorists.

(a) could

(b) should

(d) can

iv. Select the option that identifies the error and supplies the correction for the following line:

A little political thinkers think that liberty and equality can’t go together.

v. Complete the given sentence, by filling in the blank with the correct option:

They met you at night after you _____ your work.

(a) had finished

(b) have finished

(d) will finish

vi. Fill in the blank by using the correct form of the word in the bracket.

Chris, in addition to his brother Zack, _____ (play) hockey on Saturday.

vii. Report the dialogue between a doctor and a patient, by completing the sentence:

Doctor: You should take this medicine every day.

Patient: Should I take it before dinner or after dinner?

Doctor: No, you should take it after breakfast. The Doctor advised the patient that he should take that medicine every day. The patient further asked if he should take it before dinner or after dinner. The doctor replied negatively and then said that _____.

viii. Identify the error in the given sentence and supply the correction.

Some guys like to fights on even playing grounds, and some guys like to cheat

Use the given format for your response.

ix. Transform the following direct speech into reported speech:

He asked, “Will you be coming?”

x. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option, to complete the sentence.

My class teacher told me that I _____ work hard.

(a) shall

(b) could

(d) should

xi. Select the correct option to complete the narration of the dialogue between Radha and Shikha.

Radha : Do you know how to swim?

Shikha : Yes I know. I have learnt it during this summer vacation.

Radha asked Shikha if/whether she knew how to swim. Then Shikha replied in affirmative and also added that _____.

(a) she had learnt it during the summer vacation

(b) she has learnt it during the summer vacation

(d) she had learn it during the summer vacation

xii. Identify the error and supply the correction, for the following sentence:

Every people went to welcome the Indian Cricket team.

SECTION B- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS

All the names and addresses used in the questions are fictitious. Resemblance, if any, is purely coincidental.

1. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below.

A. Write a letter to the Editor of “The Times of India”, Delhi expressing your concern over the increase in the rate of road accident, rash driving and overcrowded road transport. You are Priya/Priyanshu living at B-47 Avas Vikas, Mayur Vihar, New Delhi.

B. Write an application to your principal asking permission to remain absent from school for 5 days on account of your brother’s marriage.

2. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below.

A. The charts below show agricultural production in two different regions of the country. Write an analytical paragraph in 100-120 words by selecting and reporting the main features, and making comparisons where relevant.

B. Given below is a newspaper report on the state of cancer prevailing in India. You have been asked to write an analytical paragraph on ‘Cancer – a silent killer’ Taking information from the clipping given below together with your own ideas, write this paragraph in 100-120 words. “In India, cities are more cancer-prone than rural areas. In the early 1990’s, we expected one out of 10-15 urban Indians to get cancer in their life -time, that is every second or third family would have to face this disease. This is partly due to high levels of benzene in the air and also that the metros are exposed to high levels of pesticides in their foods. In order to check the steady growth of cancer in the country, the Government shall have to give priority to preventive action. At the same time measures to undertake improvement in facilities for the treatment of cancer shall have to be adopted.”

SECTION C- LITERATURE

V. Reference to the Context

1. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given.

1.A “It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first as a student I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a young man in Johannesburg, I yearned for the basic and honourable freedoms…”

(Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom)

i. The title that best suits this extract is

(a) Freedom for everything

(b) Knowledge about Freedom

(d) Realisation of Freedom

ii. Why do you think the speaker mentions some freedoms as ‘transitory’?

iii. Choose the option that best fits the usage of the word ‘illusion’ as used in the extract.

(a) He was never able to get past the illusion.

(b) The illusion I experienced was quite intriguing.

(d) I was living under the illusion that this is possible.

iv. The speaker says, ‘at first as a student I wanted freedom only for myself.’ Why do you think he only thought about himself?

(a) He didn’t want to think about the freedom denied to others.

(b) He was being selfish and was only bothered about himself.

(d) He was too young to realise that freedom was denied to others as well.

v. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD only.

The speaker’s belief about freedom, since _____ proved false. It was not until the speaker grew up to be a young man when it dawned on him that he was deprived of freedom.

1.B THINK-TANK: Mirror, mirror, in my hand. Who is the most fantastically intellectually gifted being in the land?

OFFSTAGE VOICE: (after a pause) You, sir.

THINK -TANK: (smacking mirror) Quicker. Answer quicker next time. I hate a slow mirror. (He admires himself in the mirror.) Ah, there I am. Are we Martians not a handsome race? So much more attractive than those ugly Earthlings with their tiny heads. Noodle, you keep on exercising your mind, and someday you’ll have a balloon brain just like mine.

NOODLE: Oh, I hope so, Mighty Think-Tank. I hope so.

THINK -TANK: Now, contact the space probe. I want to invade that primitive ball of mud called Earth before lunch.

NOODLE: It shall be done, sir. (He adjusts levers on switchboard. Electronic buzzes and beeps are heard as the curtains open.)

(The Book that Saved the Earth)

i. Choose the option that lists the most appropriate meaning of think-tank from those given below.

(a) A tank that helps you think deeper than an average person, if you use its contents regularly.

(b) Non-stop flow of ideas from a fixed source about one particular issue.

(d) A method by way of which people think collectively to identify stray thoughts among them.

ii. The playwright places certain words and sentences in brackets in the given extract. List any two ways these benefit both the director and actors.

1. __________

2. __________

iii. Choose the option that correctly categorizes the phrase “(after a pause)” based on the dialogue given above.

(a) aside

(b) stage direction

(d) setting

iv. Choose the option that gives you fits the example of an irony from the ones given below.

(a) “Who is the most fantastically intellectually gifted being in the land?”

(b) “I hate a slow mirror.”

(d) “I want to invade that primitive ball of mud called Earth before lunch.”

v. Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text.

spinning: top:: rotation: _____

(Clue: Spinning is the movement of a top, similarly rotation is the movement of the…)

2. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given.

2.A If strolling forth, a beast you view,

Whose hide with spots is peppered,

As soon as he has lept on you,

You’ll know it is the Leopard.

Twi’ll do no good to roar with pain,

He’ll only lep and lep again.

(How to Tell Wild Animals)

i. Choose the option listing the stanza that would follow the given extract.

1. The leopard stalks on silent paws.

With deadly armor of fangs and claws.

He lies in his tree perch through out the day.

Sleeping and resting the hours away.

2. A spotted leopard in a banyan tree,

kept his yellow carnivore-ic eyes on me.

I knew better than to move fast or try to flee.

His eyes narrowed, but I refused to see.

How fast that cat was chasing after me.

If I can just get to that tall tall……

3. His claws and paws will make you forget,

If you’re in a dream or reality,

And you’ll feel clawed and pawed. I bet,

The peppered pounce a certainty.

This a beast that runs and strikes fast,

If you’re caught you sure won’t last.

4. The leopard and the lion chose to become friends,

For they were all proud of claws on their paws,

They each glorified one another for their mighty,

Ability to live on meat of other fauna throughout a year,

They each admired one another for running speed,

They each remained firm and loyal to one rule;

Lions don’t eat leopards neither leopards eat lions.

(a) Option 1

(b) Option 2

(d) Option 4

ii. Given below are four examples of activities that Jasmeet does. Choose the option that correctly demonstrates ‘strolling’.

(a) Jasmeet runs with a great speed after being chased by a dog.

(b) Jasmeet walks in the garden, relaxing while listening to his favourite song.

(d) Jasmeet rushes to switch off the water pump in the backyard.

iii. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE:

The poet asks the reader to hide on seeing the leopard.

iv. The repetition used in “he’ll only lep and lep again” is an example of _____.

v. Choose the option that matches with the rhyme scheme of the extract.

1. Pround loud child wild jungle mingle

2. Wild jungle child mingle loud proud

3. Wild proud child loud jungle mingle

4. Loud jungle wild child mingle proud

(a) option 1

(b) option 2

(d) option 4

2.B The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbour and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

(Fog)

i. List any two qualities of the cat that Carl Sandburg applies to the fog?

1. __________

2. __________

ii. Which one/s of the following applies to the given lines?

1. Personification is a literary device where you give an animal, object or natural phenomenon, qualities or abilities that only a human can have.

2. Transferred epithet is a literary device when an adjective usually used to describe one thing is transferred to another.

3. Imagery is the language used by poets and writers to create visual representation of ideas in the minds of the readers.

4. Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear side by side.

(a) 1 and 4

(b) 2 and 3

(d) Only 3

iii. Pick the option that includes an image of the cat on its haunches.

(a) Option 1

(b) Option 2

(d) Option 4

iv. Choose the option that does not list movement of the fog.

1. It stole in on us like a foot-pad somewhere out of the sea and air… E.J.Pratt

2. A fog drifts in, the haevy-laden Cold white ghost of the sea- Sara Teasdale

3. The fog it tricks the eye The wonder of the vell of shite under the clear blue sky. K.C.Cox

4. …comes gliding, rolling in at ground level, pressing its white featureless face against… -R.H.Grenville

(a) Option 1

(b) Option 2

(d) Option 4

v. Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text.

manacle : hands :: fetter : _____

(Clue : A manacle is a shackle for the hands, and a fetter is a shackle for the…)

VI Answer ANY FOUR of the following in about 40-50 words each.

i. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

(A Letter to God)

ii. What special characteristic of Mijbil did Maxwell learn after he took him to the bathroom?

(Mijbil the Otter)

iii. Why did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring a handful of mustard seeds?

(The Sermon at Benares)

iv. Describe the method Anne Gregory suggested in order to prove that she is loved for who she is.

(For Anne Gregory)

v. “Fire and Ice” project a pessimistic outlook. Comment.

VII Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 40-50 words each.

i. Why was Tricki an uninteresting object for other dogs at the surgery?

(A Triumph of Surgery)

ii. Henry unintentionally saved Ausable’s life. Briefly comment.

(The Midnight Visitor)

iii. How did the Loisels react when they realized that the necklace had been lost?

VIII Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 words.

i. Valli was sensitive, but at the same time, she was fearless and quite determined. Think of another character from your textbook, First Flight, who displayed similar character traits. Compare and contrast the lives of Valli and the other character.

ii. Explain the phrase “the forest that was empty all these days”. After reading the poem “The Trees”, for whom do you think are the forests needed? Imagine you are a tree in a forest, what values would you like the humans to learn from the tree?

IX Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 words.

i. “And in her smiling eyes was the right of deep satisfaction that an artist feels when he is contemplating the completion of his masterpiece.” Imagine you are Bholi’s teacher. You are overwhelmed with a sense of satisfaction to see the conversion of ‘Bholi’ to ‘Sulekha’. Express your feelings in the form of a diary entry.

ii. Give a character-sketch of Hari Singh.

(The Thief’s Story)

Class X – English Practice Paper – 3