Model Paper

ENGLISH Paper I
Class X
[ Maximum Marks: 40

(Third language)

Time: 2 hrs 45 min.]

Instructions:
1. This paper contains THREE Sections.
2. 15 minutes are allotted exclusively for reading the question paper and 2 hours for
writing the answers.
3. Answer all the questions on a separate answer booklet.
4. Make use of the last pages of the answer booklet for rough work, if necessary,
while answering the questions under Section - C.
Section - A: Reading Comprehension (15 Marks)
(1-7)
Read
ENVIRONMENT

the

following

excerpt

from

NHK Radio : How is peace connected to a good

environment?
Wangari Maathai : Many wars that are fought in the world are fought over natural resources.
Some wars are fought because the environment is so degraded that it is not able to
support communities and so they fight over the little that is left. Others are fought because
some people want to take a lot of the resources, to control them, and to keep many other people
out.
Now whether this happens at the national level or at the regional level, or even at
the
global level, sooner or later there is discontent; and when that discontent is strong enough,
there
is conflict. So, good management of the natural resources, equitable distribution of these
resources, is important for peace. At the same time, good management of the natural resources
is not possible if you do not have democratic space, respect for human beings, respect for
human rights, giving other people dignity.
We have not shared our resources equitably. We have allowed some people, especially
those in power, to acquire a lot at the expense of the majority. And we have also engaged in
conflict.
NHK Radio : What was the environment like when you were young, and how did you go
about
saving it?
Wangari Maathai: When I was a child, which is almost more than fifty years ago,
the
environment was very pristine, very beautiful, and very green. We were a British colony, and
the British government at that time started to clear cut the indigenous forests in our forested
mountains because they wanted to establish commercial plantations of exotic species of
trees such as the pines from the northern hemisphere and the eucalyptus from Australia.
These trees are very nice, they grow tall, and they grow very fast, but as they grow they
destroy all the local biological diversity. All the flora and fauna disappeared. So, although
we were getting commercial timber for the growing timber industry, we also destroyed our
local flora and fauna.
As a result, these forests, which were the water towers, were no longer able to contain the
water, so when the rains fell the water ran downstream and ended up in the lakes and ocean
instead of going down into the underground reservoir so that it could come back to us in the
form of rivers. One thing we noted is that not only did the rain patterns change and became
less, but also the rivers started drying up. We lost our local biological diversity. So that's a lot
of damage to our environment.
NHK Radio : What happened when you started working with the
women?
Wangari Maathai: Well, the first time when I told them, "Let us plant trees", the women said
they did not know how to plant trees. So I asked the foresters to come and teach them, but
they were very complicated-they are professionals. It became very complicated for ordinary

illiterate women.
Now, answer the following questions. Each question has four choices. Choose the correct
answer and write (A), (B), (C) or (D) in your answer booklet.
(4x1=4 Marks)

1. The treatment of the British Government with the local forests was

(A) Helpful for the development of the Africans

(B) Helpful for economic growth but damaged the environment
(C) Helpful for economic growth and to protect the
environment (D) Not at all helpful

2. What according to Maathai comes back in the form of a

river? (A) The water in the ocean

(B) The water in the
lakes
(C) The water inside the
trees
(D) The water in the underground
reservoir
3.

but they were very complicated Who / What is referred to as complicated in this
phrase? (A) The methods of planting trees
(B) The illiterate women
(C) The foresters
(D) The climatic conditions of that area

4.

What type of text is this

passage? (A) Essay
(B) Conversation
(C) Biographical sketch
(D) Interview

Answer the following questions in one or two sentences in your own words.
Marks)

(3x2=6

What according to Wangari Maathai are required for development of

people?
6.
What was the major mistake of the British
Government?
5.

Do you support awarding Wangari Maathai with Nobel Peace Prize?

Why?
7.

(8-12) Read the following passage.

The West has to learn a lot from India, and it has now been realised when people in the
United States and Europe are turning to the Indian way of life. Indian yogis and
maharishis, musicians and spiritual leaders, have all attracted them in a big way. A
significant move to project India's cultural unity has been the holding of Festivals of
India in various parts of the world. The West is fast inclining towards our spiritual values
which include meditation and contemplation, charity and love, universal brotherhood and
fear of God, piety and unselfishness, control of passions and peace of mind.
Our cultural unity is further exemplified by the temples of the South and of
Khajuraho, the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, which are shining examples of India's
proficiency in sculpture and architecture. Our music has come to enjoy worldwide
popularity.
Indian classical music, like the Indian dances, is built on the concept of ragas and
talas. Each raga is regarded appropriate to a certain time of the day or the night. There are
believed to be about 250 ragas in common use in the North as well as in the South.
Now, answer the following questions. Each question has four choices. Choose the correct
answer and write (A), (B), (C) or (D) in your answer booklet.
(3x1=3 Marks)
8.

The West referred to in the passage means

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

a direction
the western part of India
the countries on the West
the western culture of India

9. The temples of the South and of Khajuraho are the examples of

(A) Indias music

(B) Indians fear of God and piety
(C) Indias cultural unity
(D) All the above
10. The central idea of the passage is

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

India has a variety of cultures

India has a rich culture
India is a projected country
India has cultural unity

Answer the following questions in one or two sentences in your own words. (2x1=2 Marks)
11. Why are the people of the West attracted towards Indian culture?
12. What is the similarity between Indian music and dances?

Section - B: Vocabulary & Grammar (10 Marks)

(13 17) FIVE sentences in the following passage are given numbers at their beginning.
They have one error in each of them. Correct those errors and write only the
corrected sentences in your answer booklet.
(5x1=5
Marks)
(13) I was born into a middle - class Tamil family on the island town of Rameswaram in
the erstwhile Madras State. My father, Jainulabdeen , had neither much formal education nor
much wealth. (14) Despite of these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true
generosity of spirit. He had an ideal helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma. I do not recall the
exact number of people she fed every day, but I am quite certain that far more outsiders ate
with us than all the members of our own family put together.
I was one of the children - a short boy with rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and
handsome parents. (15) We lived in our ancestral house, who was built in the middle of the
nineteenth century. It was a fairly large pucca house , made of limestone and brick. (16) It
was on a Mosque Street in Rameswaram. My austere father used to avoid all inessential
comforts and luxuries. However, all necessities were provided for, in terms of food, medicine
or clothes. (17) In fact, I would say mine was a very security childhood, both materially and
emotionally.
(18-22) Complete the passage choosing right words from those given below it. Each blank
is numbered, and for each blank four choices (A), (B), (C) and (D) are given. Choose the
correct answer from these choices and write (A), (B), (C) or (D) in your answer booklet.
(5x1=5 Marks)

'I know what you're thinking,' I said. 'You're thinking that may be the black race is
superior
(18) the white, because you just
(19) the little dark youngster
on the lawn ordering the little white boy around. Don't think that; it's a game
_(20) play. Alternate days one is the boss, the other the servant. It's a grand game. I
used to
play it and may be so did you. Yesterday I saw the little white boy bossing
_(21)
dark one and I worried all day over the dark boy's realisation of his inferiority so young
in life! We are silly, we grown-ups,
(22) we?'
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

(A) of
(A) see
(A) he
(A) the
(A) shouldnt

(B) to
(B) saw
(B) she
(B) a
(B) wont we

(C) at
(C) seen
(C) they
(C) an
(C) arent

(D) than
(D) seeing
(D) them
(D) one
(D) isnt

Section - C: Creative Writing (15 Marks)

23. Look at the following picture and answer any ONE question given below it. (10 marks)

Imagine that you are one of the eye witnesses of the above accident. Write a
description of the accident in your own words.

OR
Write an imaginary interview between you and a news reporter who has come
to cover the news of the accident.
24. Imagine that your school is going to conduct a science - fare for the classes 8, 9 and 10.
Prepare a notice to be circulated among the teachers and students to participate in the
programme.
(5 Marks)