Use our thorough notes, solved papers, and key questions to improve your studies for the CBSE 10th Class English (Language & Literature) exam. Use this useful resource to improve your academic performance.
Time allowed: 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 80
SECTION – A
Reading Skills [20]
1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : [8]
(1) Keep your watch accurate. For some people, moving up the time on their watch will help them get up earlier. For others, they will remember that the time on the watch is wrong and will disregard it altogether. It may be helpful to set your watch just two minutes ahead instead of five or ten.
(2) Keepa clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time in each room of your house. One of the easiest ways to run late is simply by not realising that the time is passing as quickly as it is.
(3) Set all your clocks and watches to the same time. Don’t be an optimist. Things usually take longer than what you’d expect, even without major delays. If you have a dinner appointment at 7:30 P.M., don’t think you can work till 7 P.M., then take a bath, dress and reach on time. Realistically, calculate the time you will take at each step and then add 10 minutes more to allow for unexpected delays, or you cannot get to your job in time.
(4) Wake up when you are supposed to wake up. Don’t hit the snooze button, keep on lying in bed, and watch TV at the very start of your day. Maybe try even setting your clock 10 minutes earlier than you need. If you have difficulty with this, move your alarm clock to somewhere away from your bed; that way, you have to get up to turn it off. Commit yourself to being 15 minutes early for everything. If you have to reach your place of work at 8:00, don’t even tell yourself this. Just tell yourself (and everyone else who listens-but don’t annoy them or make them think that they are late or early!) “I have to be at work at 7.45”. If you do this, you will be on time even with little unforeseen delays. You will be on time even with a traffic jam.
1.1 Complete the following statements using words/phrases from the passage. Attempt any eight. [1 x 8 = 8]
(a) Some people believe that if …………… it will help them be earlier.
Ans. they move up the time on their watch,
(b) Many others know ……………. they disregard it altogether.
Ans. that the time on the watch is wrong so
(c) Keep ……………. in each room.
Ans. a clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time
(d) One of the things that can be done is …………….. of five or ten minutes.
Ans. to set watch just two minutes ahead instead
(e) Many a time we do not realise that …………….. .
Ans. the time is passing as quickly as it is
(f) Instead of pressing the snooze button ……………… .
Ans. wake up when you are supposed to wake up
(g) If you have difficulty in getting up ………………. .
Ans. early then try to set your clock ten minutes earlier.
(h) It is a good habit to …………….. somewhere away from your bed.
Ans. move your alarm clock to
(i) It is good to commit yourself …………….. for every thing.
Ans. to being 15 minutes earlier
2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: [12]
(1) Music is perhaps the most popular and widely practised form of Fine Arts, transcending all kinds of cultural and linguistic barriers. Any form of fine art is difficult to master and almost impossible to perfect and music is no exception.
(2) Nature, it is learnt, has blessed almost two-thirds of the human race with musical ability of some sort. Music has the power to bring out the deepest emotions. It can make one cry or bring a smile on one’s face. n fact it is a magic medicine and many seek refuge in it when they are depressed or stressed. It is this intimacy that makes us listen to music or even hum or sing sometimes. This singing, or realistically speaking, expressing one’s emotion musically sometimes takes a serious turn. This desire to show musical expression in public then becomes a serious business profession. And from here the musical journey begins.
(3) This desire to sing before an audience is innocent and beautiful and indeed it is perfectly alright to have such a genuine desire. But it is also important to understand that, singing is an intricate art – a highly refined one at that, which requires systematic, prolonged and strict training, to be acceptable. This is an aspect we forget in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform. It is almost like preparing a formal meal for some specially invited guests, without even having learnt and trained in the basics of cooking. This is why we have more noise and less music nowadays.
(4) These days almost everyone sings and it does not stop here. Most of us want to become professional singers, Result : a complete disregard for and ignorance of the training part, as the need is never felt to go through one and the urge to get to the stage and perform overcomes even a little desire to learn, if any. If at all, somewhere along the way one feels the need to gain some knowledge and training, it leads to hurried shortcuts and half-hearted attempts, best described as ‘Crash Courses’.
(5) It is observed that those who have attained the so called partial success, suddenly feel that they lack the required knowledge and are not learned enough. But it is too late by then. It should be understood here that the stage or a performance brings in a different mindset within the artist. It is always recommended and rightly said, that while on stage, cover the mistakes and weaknesses if any, and get along. But the contrary is true when it comes to acquiring knowledge and during the learning process. While under training, the student is expected to make mistakes but then rectify those mistakes under the supervision and guidance of the teacher. Therefore, it is good to make mistakes and then be corrected during the process of learning as this subsequently makes one flawless and educated. This is a different mindset. And these two mindsets discussed above, (those of a performer and that of a student) cannot co-exist.
2.1. On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each: [2 x 4 = 8]
(a) The desire to sing in public overcomes the need to train. Elaborate.
Ans. The desire to sing in public is innocent and beautiful and indeed it is perfectly alright to have such a genuine desire. Most of us want to become professional singers with complete disregard for and ignorance of the training part. This is an aspect that we forget in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform which in turn, overcomes the desire to learn.
(b) How can we say that music is a magic medicine?
Ans. Music has the power to bring out the deepest emotions. It is a magic medicine as it can make one cry or bring smile on one’s face and many seek refuge in it when they are depressed or stressed.
(c) What is best described as ‘Crash Courses’?
Ans. If one feels the need to gain some knowledge and training to become a professional singer, it leads to hurried shortcuts and half-hearted attempts, best described as ‘Crash Courses’.
(d) What should be the mindset of a student of music?
Ans. While under training, the student is expected to make mistakes but then rectify those mistakes under the supervision and guidance of the teacher. Therefore, it is good to make mistakes and then correct them during the process of learning as this subsequently makes one flawless and educated. This should be the mindset of the student of music.
(e) Why is singing a refined and intricate art?
Ans. Singing is a refined and intricate art because it requires systematic, prolonged and strict training to be acceptable. We forget this aspect in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform. It is like preparing a formal meal for some specially invited guests without even having learnt and trained in the basics of cooking. That is why we have more noise and less music nowadays.
2.2 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any four of the following: [1 x 5 = 5]
(a) Almost …………… of human population is blessed with musical ability of some sort.
(i) two-thirds – Ans.
(ii) one-third
(iii) half
(iv) one-fifth
(b) Any form of ……………… is difficult to master.
(i) visual art
(ii) audio-visual art
(iii) fine arts – Ans.
(iv) design art
(c) Transcending’ in para 1 means.
(i) drown under
(ii) rise above – Ans.
(iii) surrender
(iv) fail
(d) ‘Refuge’ in para 2 means.
(i) shelter from rain
(ii) shelter from storm
(iii) shelter from unhappiness – Ans.
(iv) shelter from sun
(e) ‘Partial’ in para 5 means.
(i) unfair
(ii) incomplete – Ans.
(iii) whole
(iv) total
SECTION – B
(WRITING AND GRAMMAR) 30
3. You are Hema/Hemant, 14/9 Hill Apartment, Jaipur. You are not satisfied with the facilities for tourists in Jaipur. Write a letter in 100 – 120 words to the editor of a local daily giving suggestions on ways to improve the facilities for tourists. [8]
OR
You came across an advertisement advising motorists not to play loud music while driving as it may distract them. Write an article in 100 – 120 words for a local newspaper advising people to refrain from playing loud music while driving near hospitals, schools, etc. You are Tarun/ Tanvi.
Ans.
14/9, Hill Apartments,
Jaipur
15th May, 20XX
The Editor
Patrika Times,
Jaipur
Sub: Suggestions on ways to improve the facilities for tourists
Sir,
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to highlight the issues of dissatisfactory tourists’ facilities in Jaipur and wish to give my suggestions in this regard.
It is a world known fact that Rajasthan is one of the best tourists’ destinations in India and its capital Jaipur fascinates all foreigners immensely. But there are certain areas which need a lot of improvement. First and the foremost suggestion is related to the signboards places. As we know that foreigners don’t understand the local dialect the signboards and the direction boards should be both in Hindi and English. Another suggestion is regarding the cleanliness near the temples. Jaipur is popularly known as ‘Choti Kashi’ and the famous Govind DevJi temple is visited by almost each and every tourist here. But there is a lot of chaos around the temple area. The hawkers, peddlars and fruit sellers have made the area congested and filthy. The queue system is also out of place and it portrays a negative picture of the city. Thus, management should take certain steps in this regard. Then comes the question of forts. The magnificently built forts should be senior citizen friendly and there should be provision of lifts and wheelchairs for handicaps. My last suggestion is about the conditions of buses which is pathetic. Improved bus services would attract more tourists.
Thanking You
Yours Faithfully
Hemant/Hema
OR
AVOID PLAYING LOUD MUSIC WHILE DRIVING
By Tarun/Tanvi
While reading the newspaper, I came across an advertisement advising the motorists not to play loud music while driving. This advertisement caught my attention and I felt that the need of the hour is to spread awareness amongst the people against it. Nowadays, listening to loud music while driving has become fashionable among people, especially youngsters, but they don’t know the harmful consequences of it. For their own entertainment, these people turn deaf ear to others’ problems. It not only affects the public and residents of the colony but the patients and children too. Loud music has become a constant source of nuisance. When loud music is being played near hospitals, patients lose their peaceful sleep and they become restless. The high volume of the music has disrupted everyone’s tranquility. Students fail to concentrate upon their studies and during examinations, they face great difficulty due to it. Moreover, there are cases of deafness, insomnia, palpitation of heart, mental fatigue, etc. and among the sufferers are majorly small babies and old people. The problem further adds to the fact that noise control laws are neither followed properly nor implemented completely.
So I think that law alone is not sufficient until and unless we all take oath to make the city noise-free by educating the people about its ill effects. Everyone who plays loud music while driving, should refrain from doing so.
4. Complete the story in 200-250 words, which begins as the following, providing an appropriate title also. [10]
A woodcutter earned his living by cutting wood from the jungle and selling it in the market. One day when he was cutting down a tree on the bank of a river, his axe fell into the river. He was ………………
OR
The next day was the annual day of my school. I was very excited as I had participated in many activities. Moreover, I was going to receive the ‘Best Student Trophy’ for 2017 – 18. Late at night I heard a strange sound. My mother woke me up and told me that ………………
Ans. THE WOODCUTTER AND THE AXE
A woodcutter earned his living by cutting wood from the jungle and selling it in the market. One day when he was cutting down a tree on the bank of a river, his axe fell into the river. He was shocked to see that because the axe was his only source of earning. The river was deep enough and the poor woodcutter didn’t know how to swim. He sat there weeping. For hours he kept waiting for someone to help him but no one turned up. Then an unusual thing happened. A beautiful elf from the river appeared before the woodcutter. She asked him “Why are you not chopping the wood?” The woodcutter sadly replied, “My axe has fallen into the river and I don’t know how to swim. Now I can’t cut wood”. The elf then showed him a golden axe and asked him “Is this your axe which had fallen into the river?” The woodcutter saw the axe carefully and replied, “No, it’s not my axe”. The elf disappeared and after some time reappeared witha silver axe. She again asked the woodcutter, “Is this the axe you are looking for?” The woodcutter checked the axe again and said,” No, it’s not my axe. My axe is made up of iron and has a wooden handle”. This time the elf showed him his original axe and seeing that the woodcutter exclaimed with joy,” Yes, that’s my axe!” The honesty of the woodcutter made the elf very happy and she gave him both the gold and silver axes as his reward. The woodcutter accepted the gifts and returned home thrilled and overjoyed. He told the whole incident to wife who also appreciated his honesty and thereafter they both lived happily.
Moral – Honesty is always rewarded.
OR
THE BEST TROPHY OF MY LIFE
The next day was the annual day of my school. I was very excited as I had participated in many activities. Moreover, I was going to receive the ‘Best Student Trophy’ for 2017-18. Late at night, I heard a strange sound. My mother woke me up and told me that my grandmother had been seriously ill. She was gasping and sweating profusely. My mother was horrified and perplexed to see this. She couldn’t understand what had happened to the grandmother. She didn’t know what to do so she cried for help. My father was not at home that time. He had gone out of the town for a week for some official work. I was all alone with my mother, younger sister and grandmother. Nobody had ever imagined that anything like that would happen. Fortunately, our next door neighbour had returned home early as he had to attend some party that day. When he heard my mother shouting for help, he came running to our house. He saw my grandmother and immediately understood her condition. Without a moment’s delay, he took out his car, put my grandmother in it and rushed to the nearby hospital. Meanwhile his wife took me and my sister to her house, calmed us down and fed us properly. Doctors examined her and told that she had a mild heart attack and the slightest delay would have turned out to be dangerous for her. Next morning my grandmother was discharged after getting medical prescriptions and we took her back home. It was the happiest moment for all of us and we were grateful to our neighbours for because of whom we could see our grandmother alive. Then, I was all ready to receive the trophy but more than that, I was happy to have my grandmother back. It was the best trophy that I ever received in my life.
Moral – The gift of life is the biggest of all.
5. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph given below by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones that follow. Attempt any four. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. [1 x 4 = 4]
Television ….(a)…. become very popular in our country. People spend a lot ….(b)…. time watching a variety of programmes. Some of the programmes ….(c)…. are telecast these days are of a very poor quality. We should remember that television is ….(d)…. effective in educating ….(e)…. nation.
(a) (i) is
(ii) was
(iii) has – Ans.
(iv) had
(b) (i) of – Ans.
(ii) for
(iii) at
(iv) by
(c) (i) those
(ii) when
(iii) here
(iv) that – Ans.
(d) (i) so
(ii) many
(iii) very – Ans.
(iv) some
(e) (i) a – Ans.
(ii) an
(iii) the
(iv) some
6. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Identify the error and write down its correction against the correct blank number. The first one has been done for you. Attempt any four. [1 x 4 = 4]
Error Correction
Some days is good and some days e.g. is are
are bad. Today, I got on very late. I (a) ………… ……….
ran to bathe. Then I had to got ready (b) ………… ………
for my school. I ran by the bus stop
to catch my school bus. It had (c) ………… ………..
already left but I came back home. (d) ………… ………..
My mother scolding me. (e) ………… ………..
Ans. Error Correction
(a) on up
(b) got get
(c) by to
(d) but so
(e) scolding scolded
7. Rearrange any four or the following groups of word/phrases to make meaningful sentences. [1 x 4 = 4]
(a) have become/part of/developing city/airports/an essential/a
Ans. Airports have become an essential part of a developing city.
(b) services/tourism in/air taxi/will/boost/the state
Ans. Air taxi services will boost the tourism in the state.
(c) more runways/ for/we/landing/need/facilities
Ans. We need more runways for landing facilities.
(d) promote/will surely/our tourism/this/sector
Ans. This will surely promote our tourism sector.
(e) this/increasing/will help/between cities/connectivity/in
Ans. This will help in increasing connectivity between cities.
SECTION – C
(LITERATURE) 30
8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : [1 x 4 = 4]
The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days. The baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servant always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even today any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker.
(a) Where did the baker record his accounts?
Ans. The baker recorded his accounts on some wall in pencil.
(b) Why did the baker and his family never starve?
Ans. The baker and his family never starved because baking was a profitable profession in the old days.
(c) Which word in the extract is a synonym of ‘rich’?
Ans. The synonym of the word ‘rich is prosperous.
(d) How can a baker be identified in Goa?
Ans. A baker can be identified in Goa if he has a jackfruit-like physical appearance.
OR
Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink.
And the little gray mouse, she called him Blink.
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.
(a) Name the poem and its poet.
Ans. The name of the poem is”The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ and the poet is Ogden Nash.
(b) What is the colour of Belinda’s dog?
Ans. The colour of the Belinda’s dog is yellow.
(c) What were the kitten and the mouse called?
Ans. The kitten was called ‘Ink’ and the mouse was called ‘Blink’.
(d) Which word in the stanza is the antonym of ‘dull’?
Ans. Antonym of the word ‘dull’ is sharp.
9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each. [2 x 4 = 8]
(a) Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
Ans. Lencho’s crops were destroyed by a hailstorm. He had put all his money in farming and therefore, he was left with no money then. But he had strong faith in God that God would definitely solve his problem. So, he wrote a letter to God asking for 100 pesos so that he and his family wouldn’t starve.
(b) How did Chubukov react when Lomov asked for the hand of his daughter in marriage?
Ans. Chubukov was extremely cheerful and excited when Lomov asked for the hand of his daughter in marriage. He embraced and kissed Lomov on his forehead and shed tears of joy. He exclaimed with happiness that it was his heartfelt desire. He was of the opinion that Lomnov would turn out to be the perfect match for his daughter, so he showered his blessings upon Lomov after hearing this.
(c) How did Ebright’s mother help him to becoming a scientist?
Ans. Ebright’s mother motivated him to learn. She was his only childhood friend and a companion. She used to take him on trips, buy scientific equipment like microscopes, telescopes, cameras, etc., and help him in many ways. She introduced him to Dr. Fredrick A. Urquhart of the University of Toronto, Canada. She found many interesting things for him to learn.
(d) Why does Anil not hand Hari Singh over to the police?
Ans. Anil does not hand Hari Singh over to the police because he realizes that beyond his identity as a thief, Hari Singh is a good person and has learnt a lesson. Anil understands that Hari Singh has changed now otherwise he wouldn’t have put the stolen money back in its place. Anil has a humble nature so he wants to give Hari Singh a chance and forgives him for stealing money.
10. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words: [8]
Mme Forestier proved to be a true friend of the Loisels. Elaborate.
OR
Why did Gotami go to the Buddha? What lesson did he teach her?
Ans. Mme Forestier proved to be a true friend of Loisels. Mme Forestier played a crucial role in the story. She helped Matilda when Matilda needed her genuinely. Matilda was blessed with a beautiful physique but she lacked the lavish lifestyle she yearned for. Therefore, she was discontented with her life. Although Mme Forestier treated her kindly, Matilda was jealous of Mme Forestier because of her wealth. Once, Matilda had to attend a fancy party so she borrowed a diamond necklace from Mme Forestier. Forestier was immediately ready to lend Matilda the necklace. In fact, she displayed the entire array of her jewels in front of her and asked her to choose from them. She didn’t show any urgency to get back the necklace and when Matilda returned the necklace, Mme Forestier didn’t even inspect it and instead, honestly revealed that the necklace that she gave to Matilda was fake. It shows her honest nature. She also felt bad when Matilda suffered unnecessarily to pay for a replacement necklace. Thus, she proved to be her genuine friend.
OR
Kisa Gotami was a young woman who belonged to a wealthy family. She was married to a merchant. When her one-year old child fell ill and died, she was grief stricken and couldn’t bear his death. She took her dead child in her arms and went door to door begging everyone to tell the way to get her child back to life. Nobody helped her and instead thought her to be crazy but she didn’t give up. Then she came across a Buddhist who suggested her to meet Buddha as only he could help him. That’s why Gotami want to Buddha.
Buddha taught her the lesson of life and truth. When she told Buddha the whole story, he listened to it with patience and asked her to collect mustard seeds from a house where no one had ever died. She went from house to house but she couldn’t find a single house where no one had ever died. Ultimately, she understood what Buddha had been trying to explain her that suffering is inevitable and in this way, she realized that death is the ultimate truth and one has to meet his destined end one day, no one can avoid it. So, she took her child away and became Buddha’s follower.
11. Answer the following question in 200 – 250 words : [10]
Justify the title, ‘The Diary of A Young Girl’.
Ans. We get an interesting idea of Anne from the extract entitled “From the Diary of Anne Frank”. First, she revealed what led her to choose writing in her diary; she said she had no friends. But she corrected herself and said, though she was surrounded by many close people, good friends, and loving parents, she could not express her thoughts, or innermost feelings with them and they seemed distant. This is because Anne was an introverted girl who was not very vocal about her feelings to everyone. She preferred writing those down rather than telling them to someone because she believed paper is more patient than people. Anne was an emotional individual as she named her diary and treated it as a living friend of flesh and bones, with affection. But the most striking part of her character was that, according to one of her entries in the diary, she was punished in class for being a “chatterbox”. Though it seems unlikely of an introvert, it might be that she just talked of ordinary random affairs around her with her friends. But no one had access to know about her true feelings, emotions, and observations. That was revealed in her diary, Kitty. Anne was a selective, sensitive, and humorous person who was quite mature than her age.