English Past Year Paper with Solutions - Delhi Set 1 (2017) | Past Year Papers for Class 10 PDF Download

Read the passage given below.

Ques 1: Then all the windows of the grey wooden house (Miss Hilton used to live here. She expired last week.), were thrown open, a thing I had never seen before.
At the end of the day a sign was nailed on the mango tree: FOR SALE.
Nobody in the street knew Miss Hilton. While she lived, her front gate was always locked and no one ever saw her leave or saw anybody go in. So even if you wanted to, you couldn't feel sorry and say that you missed Miss Hilton.
When I think of her house I see just two colours. Grey and green. The green of the mango tree, the grey of the house and the grey of the high iron fence that prevented you from getting at the mangoes.
If your cricket ball fell in Miss Hilton's courtyard you never got it back. It wasn't the mango season when Miss Hilton died. But we got back about ten or twelve of our cricket balls.
The house was sold and we were prepared to dislike the new owners ever before they came. I think we were a little worried. Already we had one resident of the street who kept on complaining about us to our parents. He complained that we played cricket on the pavment; and if we were not playing cricket he complained that we were making too much noise anyway.
One afternoon when I came back from school Pal said, "Is a man and a woman. She pretty pretty, but he ugly like hell". I didn't see much. The front gate was open, but the windows were shut again. I heard a dog barking in an angry way.
One thing was settled pretty quickly. Whoever these people were they would never be the sort of people to complain that we were making noise and disturbing their sleep.
A lot of noise came from the house that night. The radio was going at full volume until midnight when the radio station closed down. The dog was barking and the man was shouting. I didn't hear the woman.
On the basis of your understanding the above passage complete the following statements :
(a) Nobody went into Miss Hilton's house because her front __________.
(b) Her house had only two colours, (i) __________ and (ii) __________.
(c) High iron fence did not let the boys get __________.
(d) They never got it back if their __________ fell into her courtyard.
(e) The boys were ready to dislike the __________.
(f) One resident of the street always __________.
(g) New owners of Miss Hilton's house were (i) __________ and (ii) __________.
(h) A man was shouting, a dog was barking, only __________.  

Ans: 
(a) gate was always locked

(b) grey and green

(c) get the mangoes

(d) cricket ball
(e) the new owners before they came
(f) kept complaining about us to our parents

(g) a man and a woman
(h) the woman wasn't heard

Ques 2:

During our growing up years we as children were taught-both at home and school-to worship the photos and idols of the gods of our respective religions. When we grow a little older, we were to read holy books like The Bhagwad Gita, Bible and Quran; we were told that there are a lot of life lessons to be learnt from these holy books. We were then introduced to stories from our mythologies which taught us about ethics and morality-what is good and what is bad I also learnt to be respectful towards my parents who made my life comfortable with their hard work and love and care, and my teachers who guided me to become a good student and a responsible citizen.

Much later in life, I realised that though we learn much from our respective holy books, there is a lot to learn from our surroundings. This realisation dawned upon me when I learnt to enquire and explore. Everything around us- the sun, the moon, the stars, rain, rivers, stones, rocks, birds, plants and animals-teach us many valuable life lessons.

No wonder that besides the scriptures in many cultures nature is also worshipped. The message that we get is to save our environment and maintain ecological balance. People are taught to live in harmony with nature and recognise that there is God in all aspects of nature.

Nature is a great teacher. A river never stops flowing. If it finds an obstacle in its way in the form of a heavy rock, the river water fights to remove it from its path or finds an alternative path to move ahead. This teaches us to be progressive in life, and keep the fighting spirit alive.

Snakes are worshipped as they eat insects in the field that can hurt our crops, thus protecting the grains for us. In fact, whatever we worship is our helper and makes our lives easy for us. There are many such examples in nature, but we are not ready to learn a lesson, Overcome with greed, we are destroying nature. As a result we face natural disasters like drought, flood and landslides. We don't know that nature is angry with us.

However, it is never too late to learn. If we learn to respect nature the quality of our life will improve.

2.1 Answer briefly the following questions:

(a) What are we taught in our childhood and growing up years?

(b) Why should we respect our parents and teachers?

(c) What message do we get when we worship nature?

(d) How does a river face an obstacle that comes in its  way?

2.2 Choose meanings of the words given below with the help of options that follow:

(e) guide

(i) answered

(ii) advised

(iii) fought

(iv) polished

(f) explore

(i) search      

(ii) frequent    

(iii) describe    

(iv) request

(g) valuable

(i) proper      

(ii) desirable    

(iii) available    

(iv) useful

(h) harmony

(i) beauty    

(ii) friendship    

(iii) discomfort    

(iv) honesty

Ans:

2.1
(a) In our childhood and growing up years, we are taught to worship the photos and idols of the gods of our respective religions and also read the holy books like The Bhagwad Gita, Bible and Quran.

(b) We should respect our parents as they make our lives comfortable with their hard work and love and care; and teachers guide us to become a good student and a responsible citizen.

(c) By worshipping nature, we get the message to save our environment and maintain ecological balance. People are taught to live in harmony with nature and recognise that there is God in all aspects of nature.

(d) A river finds an obstacle in its way in the form of a heavy rock, the river water fights to remove it from its path or finds an alternative path to move ahead.

2.2

(e) advised
(f) search
(g) useful
(h) friendship

Ques 3: 

There is a busy road in front of your school. A large number of students have to cross the road while going back home. They run a great risk. Write a letter in 100-120 words to the Editor, Navjiwan Times, Agra drawing attention of the concerned authorities to the problem. Make a request to mark a zebra crossing and to put traffic lights in front of your school. Your are Amit/Anita, Class X, New Age Public School, Ram Nagar, Agra.
OR
Write an article in 100-150 words on 'Importance of Morning Walk.' You are Amit/Anita. Use the following clues:

• makes you rise early
•  fresh air
•  blood rushes through your body
•  energy for the day
•  hungry for breakfast
•  good for studies
•  all day active

Ans:

Anita/Amit

New Agra Public School

Ram Nagar Agra

Date: March 30, 2017

Editor Navjiwan Times

Agra

Subject: Request to make zebra crossing

Sir,

Immediate attention is drawn to the traffic menace on the road in front of New Agra Public School, Ram Nagar. The road always remain congested and traffic jams are common. The major concern arises due to the heavy moving of vehicles on the road. There are no speed breakers or zebra crossings on the road, which makes it tough for the people, especially school students to cross the road. The road is accident prone

I, a student of class X, New Agra Public School, on behalf of the students and school authorities, request you to please make provision of creating zebra crossing on the road so that crossing the road would not be a life threatening task for the children and other people.

I thank you in anticipation,

Yours sincerely,

Anita/Amit

Or

Importance of Morning Walk

By Anita/Amit

A good physical workout is the key to a healthy life. Contrary to the beliefs of the young generation, one does not need to spend hefty amounts on fashionable gyms to stay fit and healthy. One of the most effective and yet cheap way to stay healthy is walking and specifically walking in the morning.

A morning walk can do wonders for one’s body.

A rigorous walk in the fresh air leads to proper blood flow circulation in the body. It creates heat, which leads to the burning of excessive fat and helps you get back into shape. Also, it makes you rise early, and creates good space for breakfast in your stomach. Just 20-30 minutes of brisk walk can control the cholesterol levels, cardiovascular diseases and keep the body weight under control.

However, morning walk cannot work independently. It has to be accompanied with a balanced diet. It is important that people understand the importance of morning walk following a diet plan to attain a healthy lifestyle.

Ques 4:

Write a story in 150-200 words based on the following outline:

two cats — hungry — a loaf of bread — cant't divide — each greedy — wants more — a clever monkey — offered to help — bit by bit — ate the bread — his fee — bread finished — cats foolish — still hungry.

Or

Complete the story in 150-200 words which begins as the following:

It was a family picnic. The picnic spot was the bank of a river

Ans: 

Two cats were prowling together in search of food. One of the cats saw a big loaf of bread. The problem occurred when the loaf of bread could not be divided equally among the two.

The first cat said, “Give me the bread. It is I who saw it first.”

The other cat said “Keep away from it. It is I who picked it up.”

They were fighting and fighting. But there was no solution. Just then, a monkey passed by. He thought of taking an advantage of the situation.

He came to the cats and said in a loud voice. “Don’t fight. Let me divide the loaf equally among you both”. The bread was handed over to the monkey.

The monkey split the loaf into tow parts. He shook his head and said, “Oho! One is bigger. One is smaller”. He had a bit of the bigger and now said “Oho! This has become smaller now”. He ate from the other. In this way, he ate the whole loaf bit by bit. The poor cats remained hungry and disappointed.

or

 It was a family picnic. The picnic spot was on the bank of the river. We all went for the picnic after a long time. The most surprising part about this picnic was that it was organised by my father as he recently got a promotion in his office. My mother created lip smacking delicacies for all of us. We all got up early in the morning. The weather was absolutely perfect to be on the river side. As we reached the spot, we saw many people enjoying. Many vendors were walking around providing things for refreshment. My brother took with him a badminton set and football. We both enjoyed playing badminton. When we got tired, mother offered us the food she brought with her. We had our lunch. When we were having our lunch, a poor girl selling balloons came to me and requested me to buy a balloon so that she could arrange food for herself. Hearing this, my father gave money to me and asked to buy all the balloons. The girl got very happy. My brother went with her to the shop to help her buy food. She took the food to her little brother who was waiting for her. After lunch, we went for a small walk around river bank and reached home tired after having a wonderful time.

Ques 5: 

Complete the paragraph given below by filling in the blanks with the help of options that follow:

I met a smart young person (a) __________ wanted a 'selfie' (b) __________ me. So we (c) __________ on top of a boundary wall.

(a)
(i) which
(ii) who
(iii) whose

(iv) whom

(b) 

(i) with

(ii) on      

(iii) for      

(iv) to

(c) 

(i) sit

(ii) sits    

(iii) sat    

(iv) sitting

Ans: 

(a) who
(b) with
(c) sat 

Ques 6:The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the error and its correction as shown in the example. 

Ans:

Ques 7:Rearrange the words/phrases given below to form meaningful sentences.
(a) beautiful / Masha / dog / is a / young.

(b) praised / she / be / to / likes.
(c) policemen / group / works / of / with a / she 

Ans:(a) Masha is a young beautiful dog.
(b) She likes to be praised.
(c) She works with a group of policemen. 

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Ques 8:

"But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,

Brown, or black, or carrot,

That young men in despair

May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair."
(a) Who is speaking these line?

(b) Why are young men in despair?

(c) What is the antonym of the word, 'despair'?

"Please don't shout! You can shout yourself hoarse in your own house but here I must ask you to restrain yourself!"
(a) Who is speaking and to whom?
(b) What is the dispute over?

(c) What does the word, 'restrain' mean?

Ans:

Ans: Yes, it is true that whenever we want something, difficulties do come come on our way. Achieving goals require perseverance. Valli wanted to ride the bus, however, she did not have the money to do. The challenge in front of her was to arrange for the required amount of money. Valli had carefully saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermint s, toys, balloons, and the like. Finally, she had saved sixty paise. At the village too she made the best efforts to save as much money as possible. She was tempted to ride the merry-go-round as she had the money. However, she suppressed her strong desire and saved the money for the bus ride.  

or

Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women. Offering girls basic education is one sure way of giving them much greater power of enabling them to make genuine choices over the kinds of lives they wish to lead. This is exactly what happened with Bholi. At first, Bholi had agreed to marry an old man because of her father's honour, thereby placing her family's interest over her own. However, later she refused to marry him because she saw how mean, greedy and contemptible he was. By demanding a hefty dowry, Bshamber took advantage of her bad looks and the desperateness of her father to get her married. This is why she rejected the marriage and silenced everybody who called her shmaeless. 

Ques 11: Answer the following question in 150-200 words:     (10) 

How did Miss Sullivan help Helen Keller when she was studying at Cambridge School?

Ans:

Miss Sullivan had taken Helen by the hand across the fields where men were preparing the earth for the seed, to the banks of the Tennessee River. Sitting on the warm grass, she began the first lessons for Helen in the beneficence of nature. Helen learned how the sun and rain make the ground give life to trees that are not only pleasant to the sight but also good for food, how birds build their nest and thrive from land to land. Also, how every creature finds food and shelter. As Helen's knowledge of these things grew, she felt more and more the delight of the world she lived in. Long before she learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught her to find the beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass and in the curves and dimples of her baby sister's hand. She linked her earliest thoughts with nature and made her attuned to the beauty that abounds in the world. Her teaching methods were not par for the course but they believed in the natural capabilities of nature to educate the sportive Helen as the girl herself was so eager to learn from anything around her. Miss Sullivan understood the true capabilities of her student and designed her teaching methods accordingly.

OR

Mr. Arthur Gilman was the principal of Cambridge school of young Ladies. He was a kind and able teacher. Helen entered Cambridge School, to be prepared for Radcliffe.Out of generosity he let Mildred, Helen's sister, study at Cambridge. He was present for Helen as teacher, Interpreter and mentor. He took time out to read Shakespeare's "As you like it" with her. He was a teacher who made study interesting for Helen. However, due to different opinion on Helen's preparing period for college, and misunderstanding with Miss Sullivan, their friendship came to an end.

OR

Anne valued his friendship with Peter because he had reached a part of her that no one had ever reached before except in her dreams. He had taken hold of her and turned her inside out. The flippancy and petulance which was characteristic of Anne had been quieted by Peter's solid and calming influence. As she says that everyone needs a little quiet time to put themselves right again, changing her irrevocably. There relationship was not of a romantic nature but one of solidarity and comfort in such trying times as the one they were currently living in. Anne's loneliness was so overpowering that it did not matter to her that their intimacy could be looked upon as inappropriate,all that mattered to her was the comfort she found in Peter. They provided solace,comfort and companionship to each other, hence Peter was indispensable to Anne at that point.

Margot seemed unperturbed by Anne and Peter's developing friendship, she did not want Anne to feel sorry for her because she was used to being the odd one out. In her letter to Anne, Margot wrote that their friendship had made her a little jealous but this jealousy was neither directed towards Anne nor Peter. She was sorry that she had not found anyone with whom she could share her thoughts and feelings. She also felt that this situation would remain unchanged even in the future. Margot could not have gotten as far with Petter as Anne had because she needed to feel very close to the person before she could unburden her heart. She'd want to have the feeling that the other person understood her thoroughly even if she didn't say much. For this reason it would have to be someone intellectually superior to her and in this case Peter did not fit the description. So she reassured Anne that there was no need for reproach herself thinking that she was taking away something Margot was entitled to because that was farthest from the truth.

OR

Anne adored her father, she refers to him as the most adorable father she had ever seen. Her father loved Anne for being the person she was, defending his daughter but also reprimanding her when it was necessary. He was also quite protective towards her and interested in the little things that she was interested in. Her father had brought Anne's entire postcard and movie-star collection to the Anne without waiting for his daughter to ask him to do. He was very concerned about their lives in the annex, especially in their personality development and education.
They work0ed on projects together like making the family tree and also took a keen interest in supplying her with all the paraphernalia required to continue her studies. She called him Pim which was the pet name for Father. Anne admired her father for handling situations and people with a saintly patience, whether in the family or outside of it and also for being so supportive of her.
Her father believed in her and had it not been for him then she would have given up on herself a long time ago. He would intervene and uphold her right to refuse a dish if she did not wish to eat it, he would defend his daughter's upbringing when it was brought to question saying that she had learned not to respond to other people's interminable taunts and sermons. Anne engaged in a lot of activities with her father but she was not quite comfortable when it came to unburdening her heart to her father.
The level of intimacy was as father and daughter and not that of friendship which could enable her to say anything to him. There was a sense of alienation she felt because of the gap in understanding between them. Her father was an honest and simple man who could not understand the intricate nuances that defined the personality of a growing young woman, especially one so astute, perceptive and mature as Anne.