Ques 1: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage answer the questions that follow:
(i) Choose the correct alternative and complete the sentence.
This piece of writing is................. (a) An autobiography (b) Science fiction (c) Biography.
Ans: (i) An autobiography
Ques 2: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(ii) How did the author's father feel that he had spent his time in England?
Ans: (ii) The author's father felt that he had wasted his time there.
Ques 3: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(iii) What is the author's conclusion about the road to success?
Ans: (iii) The author is trying to say that there are no short cuts to success. One needs to work hard to succeed in life.
Ques 4: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(iv) When I returned home, my father belittled my performance.
(Rewrite the sentence using 'ing' participle)
Ans: (iv) On / after returning home my father belittled my performance.
Ques 5: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(v) Expand the abbreviations given below: (a) I. A. S. (b) L. L. B.
Ans: (v) (a) Indian Administrative Service. (b) Bachelor in Legislative Law.
Ques 6: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(vi) Complete the following with a collocation from the extract:
(a).............. record
(b) ............. studies.
Ans: (vi) (a) Unbroken record
(b) Higher studies
Ques 7: Read the following passage carefully:
I should be the last person to be telling school and college students to take their studies seriously. I never did so myself and scraped through my exams with an unbroken record of third divisions. In successive years at school, I distinguished myself by getting zeroes in arithmetic and just managed to get by with algebra and geometry. It was almost the same in college and for higher studies in law in England.
Most students did their L. L. B. and Bar-at-Law in three years. I took five years to pass the same exams.
When I returned home, my father quite rightly belittled my performances. When any of his friends asked him "What did your son pass in England?" he would reply, "I am not sure what he passed except that he passed a lot of time. Students who take their studies seriously do well in their exams and get a head start in life. You will notice that most of those who get into the best services like administrative, foreign, revenue education, engineering, police and other posts of the bureaucracy were among the toppers in their classes.
Other who do equally well or better in professions like law or medicine, have to make up by studying and working harder in later life. There are no shortcuts to success.
(vii) State the advantages of hard work.
Ans: (vii) Hard work is the only way to success. One cannot achieve success by getting afraid of working. Dr. Kalam says, only lesser work gives trouble.
Ques 8: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Six years ago, Kaikondrahalli Lake in Bangalore was a marshy/ polluted cesspool. When Priya Ramasubban, a filmmaker, saw its condition, she immediately wanted to intervene and revive it.
"One day I was taking a walk near that lake and I saw the most amazing thing ever - hundreds of beautiful dragonflies so close to my face. I just knew I wanted to do something for the lake," she exclaims. "But/' she adds, "I needed a team to support me in this." Priya then contacted her friend Ramesh Sivaram who helped her in drawing the people's attention to the condition of the lake.
Armed with the official copy of the report on the lake/ Priya collected a team of people and started visiting officials in government departments. Gradually, many environmentalists joined hands and the work of lake revival began.
The team went from one government department to another to garner support. By then the government had already made a plan to rejuvenate the lake but Priya had different plans.
"They had a pure engineering approach while we wanted more space for the water body and bio diverse, rejuvenating project," she says.
The team went back to BBMP's office and presented the new plan. The municipal authorities responded positively.
The rejuvenation project started by first fixing the boundaries, then diverting the sewage line that contaminated the lake. By this time an architect, Vasu, was also brought into the team before actual on-ground work could start.
The team members worked in shifts to supervise the progress of the work to ensure that everything went as per plan. They spent two years in dewatering, desilting and constructing the area around the lake.
After the rejuvenation process was over, the team waited for the monsoon. The first two months of the season passed with hardly any rain and so no water in the lake. Just when disappointment was beginning to set in, the heavens, opened up in the third month and water came gushing in from an upstream lake.
Gradually more and more people, including birds started visiting this revived water body. Motivated by Priya's efforts, many people volunteered to take care of the lake. Today the lake hosts fish, frogs, over 40 species of birds, and even snakes.
An amphitheater has also been built near the lake for cultural events.
The once dead lake is now a living body. Thanks to the dedicated work and persistence of many Bangaloreans a perfect example of community engagement.
(i) Answer the following questions:
(a) How did the writer get an idea to revive the lake?
(b) How was Priya's approach drastically different from that prepared by the Government?
(c) Why was it necessary to create awareness amongst local people?
(d) What evidence is there to prove that the lake is now a living and bustling body?
Ans: (i) (a) One day the writer was walking near that lake she saw hundreds of dragonflies close to her foot. That vary moment she decided to something for the lake, by reviving it
(b) The government had a pure engineering approach to rejuvenate the lake but Priya wanted more space for the water body and his diverse, rejuvenating Project.
(c) It was very necessary to create awareness amongst local people by drawing their attention to the condition of the lake in this way they would understand the need and help them in voluntary work.
(d) The lake now hosts fish, frogs, over 40 species of birds and snakes. An amphitheatre has also been built near the lake for cultural events, it is now living lovely.
Ques 9: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Six years ago, Kaikondrahalli Lake in Bangalore was a marshy/ polluted cesspool. When Priya Ramasubban, a filmmaker, saw its condition, she immediately wanted to intervene and revive it.
"One day I was taking a walk near that lake and I saw the most amazing thing ever - hundreds of beautiful dragonflies so close to my face. I just knew I wanted to do something for the lake," she exclaims. "But/' she adds, "I needed a team to support me in this." Priya then contacted her friend Ramesh Sivaram who helped her in drawing the people's attention to the condition of the lake. Armed with the official copy of the report on the lake/ Priya collected a team of people and started visiting officials in government departments. Gradually, many environmentalists joined hands and the work of lake revival began.
The team went from one government department to another to garner support. By then the government had already made a plan to rejuvenate the lake but Priya had different plans.
"They had a pure engineering approach while we wanted more space for the water body and bio diverse, rejuvenating project," she says.
The team went back to BBMP's office and presented the new plan. The municipal authorities responded positively.
The rejuvenation project started by first fixing the boundaries, then diverting the sewage line that contaminated the lake. By this time an architect, Vasu, was also brought into the team before actual on-ground work could start.
The team members worked in shifts to supervise the progress of the work to ensure that everything went as per plan. They spent two years in dewatering, desilting and constructing the area around the lake.
After the rejuvenation process was over, the team waited for the monsoon. The first two months of the season passed with hardly any rain and so no water in the lake. Just when disappointment was beginning to set in, the heavens, opened up in the third month and water came gushing in from an upstream lake.
Gradually more and more people, including birds started visiting this revived water body. Motivated by Priya's efforts, many people volunteered to take care of the lake. Today the lake hosts fish, frogs, over 40 species of birds, and even snakes. An amphitheater has also been built near the lake for cultural events.
The once dead lake is now a living body. Thanks to the dedicated work and persistence of many Bengaloreans a perfect example of community engagement.
(ii) Complete the statements below in one word or phrase.
(a) It took ___ for the project to get completed.
(b) Heaven's rewarded Priya's hard work by sending down ____.
(c) To ___ is to bring back something to life.
(d) To ___ something is to make it impure and dirty.
Ans: (ii) (a) 2 years
(b) water from an upstream lake
(c) Revive
(d) Contaminate
Ques 10: Write a paragraph in about 100-120 words on the given topic: An Hour before the Examination
Ans: An Hour before the Examination
Examinations are the dumb terrors that torture the students throughout the year. Students, in fact, fear the examinations. Some of them fall sick and suffer from examination fever. On the day of the examination, especially an hour before the examination, psychological fear is maximum. Students are in a confused state of mind and they are not sure about themselves. In fact they lose confidence and some of them even forget what they had crammed.
The rumour mongers, who claim to know the question paper, worsen the confusion and some students undertake a hurried revision. Their faces look pale, their cheeks are sunken and their eyes lose glitter. Some students, however, can be seen doing last-minute studies. This all is due to the faulty system of examinations. A remedy should be found out as early as possible to relieve the student community of the fear of examinations.
Ques 11: You are Lalit of St. Martin's School, Bengaluru. Write a speech in about 150 words on the topic
'Growing violence among children'.
OR
You have seen many children working in glass and other hazardous factories. You are sad to see this.
As Jai, write an article for you school magazine.
Ans:
What is the cause of all this? What I believe is that TV is playing a very important role in this. Children watch serials, they play video games which are based on violence. They develop the same attitude. The parents should see that their wards get proper love and care and they should be sure that their wards get time to play outdoor games, so that they develop the habit of love and sharing.
Violence does not only harm the person who is violent but the entire society. So let us all take an oath that well behave with love and affection in society.
Thank You.
OR
Child Labour
By, Jai
(Class VIII)
Child labour is very common in India, specially in hazardous industries like glass factories, carpet factories, etc. In glass factories, one can see children sitting in small cells in front of furnaces and working there. They are not paid well and due to darkness and heat they lose their eyesight at a very young age. They are so much involved into this work that they forget about anything else.
These hazardous conditions make them prone to diseases. They fall ill frequently and many a times they even become prey to fatal diseases like asthma, tuberculosis, etc. and because of the shortage of money, these children do not get proper treatment. At the age of playing and studying these children become the earning members of their families. Child labour should be banned and strict actions should be taken against the people who promote child labour.
Ques 12: Read the outlines of a story given below. Write it in full using these outlines and your own ideas.
Assign a suitable title to it:
Outlines:-A man'pet dog'man meets with an accident'becomes crippled'dog helps to recover' proves faithfulness.
OR
Develop a story in about 150-200 words with the help of the following hints:
A foolish crow-found a piece of bread-a clever fox-felt greedy-praise the crow-beautiful body-sweet voice-opened mouth-piece of bread fell down.
Ans:
Dog, the Most Faithful Friend
There was man named Raman. He worked as a Manager in one of the Insurance Company. He had a wife named Sapna and one daughter and one son. They all lived a happy life in Lucknow. They also had a pet dog, whom they called Boozo. The dog was very faithful. He loved them all.
One day Mr. Raman while returning from office met with an accident. He was so injured that his left limbs became paralysed. He was unable to walk and move his left arm. He was confined to bed.
At first the dog felt bad, thinking that he was being ignored but finally he understood the problem. He used to come and force Mr. Raman to raise his hand and pat him. One day Mr. Raman took hold of the string round his neck, he pulled it taut which forced him to get on to his feet although he couldn't stand for more than a minute but this gave him courage. Gradually the same exercise helped him to move a few steps and a day came when Mr. Raman could walk, although not very straight. But yes, the medicines and the efforts of Boozo helped Mr. Raman to stand on his feet and gain confidence. Mr. Raman resumed his duties after four months and the family felt obliged to their pet. They were thankful to the devotion of their pet.
OR
One day, a foolish crow who was very hungry was flying in search of food. While flying over a house he saw a piece of bread on the verandah of the house. He immediately flew down to pick it up. He quickly grabbed it and flew away to a tree in the nearby village. A clever fox, who was also hungry saw the piece of bread in the beak of the crow. He felt greedy. He also wanted that bread and started planning as to how he could get it from the crow. He quickly devised a plan to take the bread from him. He started praising the crow?s beautiful body and voice.
He said no other bird had such a beautiful body as yours and no one could sing as sweetly as you. The clever fox said that since the crow could sing so melodiously, why not start singing so that the fox could hear it. The crow who was unaware of fox's clever plans, was so overjoyed by listening to its praise that it started singing without thinking he opened his mouth to sing and the piece of bread fell down straight into the mouth of the fox who ran away with it.
Ques 13: Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
The larvae of a species of fly (i) ___ the Waitomo caves of New Zealand famous. The larvae cling to the roof and let down sticky strands (ii) ___ glow in the dark. Tiny insects attracted by the light, come (c) ___ the threads. The larvae haul up the strands and eat the insects. Each larva may let (d) ___ as many as seventy strands. This makes the caves glow with an eerie light.
(i).
(a) has made
(b) made
(c) have made
(d) has been made
Ans: (b)
Ques 14: Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
The larvae of a species of fly (i) ___ the Waitomo caves of New Zealand famous. The larvae cling to the roof and let down sticky strands (ii) ___ glow in the dark. Tiny insects attracted by the light, come (c) ___ the threads. The larvae haul up the strands and eat the insects. Each larva may let (d) ___ as many as seventy strands. This makes the caves glow with an eerie light.
(ii).
(a) who
(b) they
(c) which
(d) what
Ans: (b)
Ques 15: Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
The larvae of a species of fly (i) ___ the Waitomo caves of New Zealand famous. The larvae cling to the roof and let down sticky strands (ii) ___ glow in the dark. Tiny insects attracted by the light, come (c) ___ the threads. The larvae haul up the strands and eat the insects. Each larva may let (d) ___ as many as seventy strands. This makes the caves glow with an eerie light.
(iii).
(a) investigate
(b) to investigate
(c) investigates
(d) investigating
Ans: (a)
Ques 16: Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
The larvae of a species of fly (i) ___ the Waitomo caves of New Zealand famous. The larvae cling to the roof and let down sticky strands (ii) ___ glow in the dark. Tiny insects attracted by the light, come (c) ___ the threads. The larvae haul up the strands and eat the insects. Each larva may let (d) ___ as many as seventy strands. This makes the caves glow with an eerie light.
(iii).
(a) up
(b) check
(c) down
(d) away
Ans: B
Ques 17: Re-arrange the following words and phrases to make meaningful sentences:
(i) the/body/sleep is/essential/a good nights/for
(ii) to/catch/people/get/sleep/cold/7 hours/who/less than/of/are/likely
(iii) loss of/may also/appetite/they/experience
(iv) Sleep deeply/comfortable/hence to/clothes/relax/and/wear/one must
Ans: (i) A good night's sleep is essential for the body.
(ii) People who get less than 7 hours of sleep are likely to catch cold.
(iii) They may also experience loss of appetite.
(iv) Hence to relax one must wear comfortable clothes and sleep deeply.
before word after
(i) regularly can help
(ii) of the cardiovascular
(iii) are the rich
(iv) source of mono-saturated
(v) magnesium and copper
(vi) of them have
(vii) rich in the
(viii) fats that actually
Ques 18: Read the following stanza carefully and answer the questions that follows:
Said the Kangaroo, I'm ready!
All in the moonlight pale,
But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
And quiet at the end of my tail!'
So away they went with a hop and a bound
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy 0 who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?
(i) What was the Kangaroo ready for?
(ii) How did the kangaroo ask the Duck to sit and where?
(iii) How many times did they hop round the world?
(iv) What character trait about the kangaroo is revealed in the above lines?
Ans: (i) The Kangaroo was ready to take the Duck on his tail to see the world.
(ii) The Kangaroo asked the Duck to sit steady on his tail and balance her well.
(iii) They hopped round the world three times.
(iv) The kangaroo was concerned, friendly and caring.
Ques 19: Read the following extract and answer the questions that follows:
He dipped his fingers in the milk and thrust them into the fawn's soft wet mouth. It sucked greedily.
When he withdrew them, it bleated frantically and butted him. He dipped his fingers again and as the fawn sucked, he lowered them slowly into the milk. The fawn blew and sucked and snorted.
(i) Who is 'He' in the above lines?
(ii) Why did the fawn suck milk greedily?
(iii) How did (he) feed the fawn?
(iv) Name the author of the above chapter?
Ans: (i) He refers to Jody in the above lines.
(ii) The fawn was hungry so he sucked milk greedily.
(iii) He fed the fawn by dipping his fingers in milk and thrusting them into the fawn?s soft wet mouth.
(iv) Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Ques 20: Why did Bepin Babu hesitate to visit Mr. Mukherji? Why did he finally decide to phone him?
Ans: Bepin Babu hesitated to visit Mr. Mukherji because if he enquired him about his trip to Ranchi then he would think him mad. Later on he decided to phone him to settle the question over the phone and just to avoid being humiliated by the man. Also because the question was troubling him a lot.
Ques 21: How was Ernest different from others in the valley?
Ans: Ernest became known among the people, as a good and simple hearted man. Noble and powerful thoughts came out of his mouth. He became famous beyond the valley.
Ques 22: Describe the Great Stone Face.
Ans: The Great Stone Face was a work of nature, formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by some immense rocks, which had been thrown together so that when viewed at a proper distance, they resembled the features of a human face.
Ques 23: Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good way of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?
Ans: Jim and Hans thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because no one dies in a game or sport and no children will be orphaned and no wives become widows. I agree with what they think.
Ques 24: What is your opinion about the ant's principle?
Ans: In my opinion, ant's principles are a good key to a good life. We should not develop the habit to borrow money or to lend money because it turns a friend into an enemy.
Ques 25: Which sentence spoken by the Principal changed Hafeez's life?
Ans: One sentence spoken by the Principal that changed Hafeez's life was Look here, son, I have been seeing you from day one. You are a good student, but you never studied. I have taken care of you till today. Now, I can no longer take care of you so do it yourself.
Ques 26: How was Velu's journey in the train?
Ans: Velu entered an unreserved compartment and tried to sleep on the floor near the door. A group of men next to him had played cards and shouted all night, so, it was spent miserably.
Ques 27: The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Ans: The eight sisters paid a heavy price for keeping their windows shut. There was lack of fresh air and sunshine, so they grew ugly and despised by everyone. They were finally given in marriage to the King's councillors.
Ques 28: The horror on the girls' face made Framton leaning around his seat what did he see?
Ans: Framton swing around his seat and saw in the deepening twilight three figures walking across the lawn towards the window. They all Carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Quietly they came near the house and then a hoarse voice called out of the dusk to Mrs. Sappleton. I say, Bertie, why do you bound?
Ques 29: What made Velu feel miserable?
Ans: Velu felt miserable and exhausted as he had run away from his village two days ago. For two days he had eaten nothing but some peanuts and a piece of jaggery; even the noise at the platform seemed terrible and made him feel miserable.
Ques 30: Answer any one of the following:
Narrate the story that Ernest's mother told him.
Begin like this: My mother and I were sitting at the door of our cottage. We were looking at the Great Stone Face. I asked her if she had ever seen anyone who looked like the Stone Face. Then she told me this story.
OR
Why do some of us find it necessary to prove that we are better than others?
Will you be amused or annoyed to read the following sign at the back of the car in front of you?
'I may be going slow but I am ahead of you'.
Ans: My mother and I were setting at the door of our cottage. We were looking at the Great Stone Face. I asked her if she had even seen any one who looked the Stone Face. Then she told me that a prophecy 4 was made that some time in future, a child would be born near their village who would bear an exact resemblance to the Great Stone Face. He would be destined to become the noblest and greatest of his time.
OR
Some of us find it necessary to prove that we are better than others because we are egoistic and at times, we may behave in an irrational manner. Our good deeds and disposition are the best judges of our personality. We are not bound to prove it; it is obvious by the way we work and behave.
We will be amused to read the above mentioned sign because it is well written and it is true that we are behind or at the back of that particular car.
