Ques 1: Read the following passage carefully: One day, a guru foresaw in a flash of vision what he would be in his next life. So he called his favourite disciple and asked him what he would do for his guru in return for all he had received.
The disciple said he would do whatever his guru asked him to do. Having received this promise, the guru said, "Then this is what I'd like you to do for me. I've learned that when I die, which will be very soon, I'm going to be reborn as a cat. Do you see that cat eating garbage there in the yard I'm going to be reborn as the fourth kitten of its next litter. You'll recognise me by a mark on my brow.
When that cat has littered, find the fourth kitten with a mark on its brow and, with one stroke of your knife, slaughter it. Ill then be released from a cat's life. Will you do this for me?" The disciple was sad to hear all this, but he agreed to do as he had promised. Soon after this conversation, the guru did die.
And the cat did have a litter of four little kittens. One day, the disciple sharpened his knife and picked out the fourth little kitten, which did indeed have a mark on its brow. Just as he was about to bring down his knife to slit its throat, the little kitten suddenly spoke. "Stop! Don't kill me!" it screamed.
Before the disciple could recover from the shock of hearing the little kitten speak in a human voice, it said, "Don't kill me. I want to live on as a cat. When I asked you to kill me, I didn't know what a cat's life would be like. It's great! Just let me go."
On the basis of your reading of the above passage answer the following questions:
(i) What did the guru foresee for himself in his next life?
(ii) How would the disciple be able to recognise the right kitten?
(iii) What preparations did the disciple make to fulfill the promise he made to his guru?
(iv) Do as directed:
(a) The disciple was sad to hear this.
(Rewrite the sentence using the '-ing' form of the infinitive)
(b) Just as he was about to bring down his knife to slit its throat, the little kitten suddenly spoke.
(Rewrite using 'No sooner than' and rewrite the sentence)
(v) Why, do you think did the guru change his mind?
(vi) Pick the antonyms of the following from the passage:
(a) save
(b) held.
Ans: (i) The guru saw himself as a cat in his next life.
(ii) The disciple would be able to recognise the right kitten as it would have a mark on its brow.
(iii) The disciple sharpened his knife and picked out the fourth little kitten as per his guru's instructions.
(iv) (a) The disciple was sad on hearing this.
(b) No sooner was he about to bring down his knife to slit its throat than the kitten suddenly spoke.
(v) When born as a human being, the Guru must have felt that life as a human would be far superior than a creature. But once he took the birth of a cat he realised that life as an animal is far better. So he must have changed his mind.
(vi) (a) kill
(b) released.
Ques 2: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: Vegetables are important part of human diet. The green vegetables consist of leaves, buds, young shoots and often the entire plant. We should eat a lot of vegetables. They contain plenty of vitamins, certain proteins, cellulose and water. Vegetables are some of the easiest food to digest when properly prepared.
Researchers have found that regular and more use of vegetables can help in preventing serious health hazards like cancer, heart disease and obesity. Vegetables are not only a rich source of essential nutrients but also act as a good source of anti-oxidant agent. Cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, pumpkin, capsicum, broccoli, green beans/ spinach, mustard leaves, peas and tomatoes are some of the vegetables which have very good nutritional value.
Apart from their consumption as a dish, some other of these like onion, garlic, coriander, mint, radish and cucumber are also used as household health remedies. Due to increased use of pesticides, all the Vegetables should be sufficiently washed before cooking or eating raw.
Answer the following questions:
(a) Why should we eat vegetables?
(b) According to some researches vegetables can help in_______
(c) Name some of the vegetables which are also used as health remedies.
(d) Why vegetables should be washed before eating?
(ii) Find the antonym of;
(a) irregular
(b) decrease.
(iii) Find the synonym of:
(a) important
(b) good.
Ans: (i) (a) We should eat vegetables as they contain plenty of vitamins, certain proteins, cellulose and water.
(b) Preventing serious health hazards like cancer, heart disease and obesity.
(c) Onion, garlic, coriander, mint, radish and cucumber.
(d) Due to increased use of pesticides, vegetables should be washed before eating.
(ii) (a) regular
(b) increase
(iii) (a) essential
(b) rich
Ques 3: Your school is organizing an Inter School Cricket Match series. As Sports Captain of your school, draft a notice for your school notice board asking the members of school cricket team to prepare themselves for the same. Invent necessary details and sign yourself as Rahul Kumar, Sports Captain of Raj Public School, Jhansi.
Ans: RAJ PUBLIC SCHOOL, JHANSI
April 6th, 20XX NOTICE
Inter School Cricket Series
This is to inform the members of school cricket team that our school is organising an Inter School
Cricket Series from 15 to 20th April. The team members should start practising regularly and with discipline. For details, contact the undersigned.
Rahul Kumar
(Sports Captain)
Ques 4: You are Rajan, a reporter of The Hindu'. You saw the Taj Mahotsav?, a fait, held in Agra. Write a report in about 150 words on the same.
OR
The poster given shows man's cruelty towards animals. Give an expansion of your views after seeing the above poster.
Ans: Taj Mahotsav at Agra
Rajan (Reporter), The Hindu
20th February, 20XX
Like every year the Taj Mahotsav has been held in Agra. It is a trade fair where people from all over the country come to sell their goods. This is the best time for the artisans to show their craftsmanship.
The fair was inaugurated by Mr. Ajay Chauhan, D.M., Agra on 18th of February and will end on 27th of February. There are more than 500 stalls in all, dealing in clothes, wood work, homemade spices and pickles etc. Other than this there are counters for edibles.
There are many attractions for children. There are different rides, car striking and other games. There is a full provision of safety with enough police deployed everywhere in fair. There are many cultural events that take place in the fair. Artists of National and International fame are expected to come and perform on the stage, every day.
Overall the fair is expected to attract a large number of people and do even a better business than the previous years.
OR
Man's Cruelty Towards Animals
All things living things have a right to live on this Earth. When God created this planet he had a specific purpose for all living things and He did do to strike a balance in his creation and to maintain an ecological balance for this created men also.
But this man is so selfish that for his personal greed, he misbehaves with nature. Man always becomes cruel and insensitive towards animals just because they can?t speak and they don't have their voice, they are dumb.
In this poster the driver of the bullock-cart is seen carrying fuel people and tones of commodity on single bullock's lock. He is the living example of in human cruelty to bullock. He is seen lashing his bullock on such a hot summer day. The bullock is ill-fed and not allowed to take rest.
According to PETA no bullock cart should be overloaded. Bullocks should not be used to pull a cart in the hot weather, especially between 12 pm and 3 pm when the maximum day temperature is at its peak. Animals must be disengaged from the cart or carriage when it is parked or standing stationary. A strict action should be taken on such cruel people, who ill-treat with their animals.
Ques 5: 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 merchant has an ass does not treat him well overloads him carries salt ass falls into a stream the salt melts burden becomes lighter makes it a habit master sees through the trick- loads cotton ass falls load becomes heavier.
OR
In a village a clever elephant there a river nearby used to go for bath daily it was passing by a tailor shop. The tailor bananas daily. One day not given bananas pricked needle. Elephant angry came with muddy water in its trunk sprayed muddy water tailor's shop dirty. The tailor repented.
Ans: The Ass and his Load of Salt
Once there was a shopkeeper in a village. He had an ass. He took much work from it but did not feed it well. He always tried to overload the ass. One day the ass was carrying salt. As usual, it was overloaded. The ass could hardly carry it. When the ass was crossing the stream, it stumbled and fell down. It got up with difficulty. When the ass came out of water, it found that the load had become quite light. A good quantity of salt had dissolved in water.
Next day the shopkeeper again brought salt. This time the ass fell down knowingly, and much of the salt was dissolved in water. The shopkeeper got angry at this. He saw that was the trick of the ass. He decided to teach the ass a lesson.
Next day, the shopkeeper loaded the ass with cotton. While crossing the stream, the ass fell down as usual. The cotton became wet and too heavy. The ass got up and came out with great difficulty. He could not walk. The master beat it with his stick to make it run faster. The ass learnt a lesson and never repeated the mischief.
OR
In a village, there lived a clever elephant. The elephant used to go for bath to the nearby river. He passed through a tailor's shop daily. The tailor gave the elephant a banana daily. Days passed by. One day the tailer had a hot argument with one of his customers. So he was in a bad mood. At the same time the elephant came to his shop. The tailor did not give him any banana today, instead pricked a needle to his trunk. The poor elephant felt disappointed. He was angry as well. He went away quietly to the river. After sometime, the elephant came with the muddy water in his trunk and sprayed the muddy water over the tailor. His whole shop was dirty. The tailor felt sorry and understood that it is what we giving that we receive.
Ques 6: Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct preposition given in the bracket:
(i) There is a long queue______ (at/on/above) the bus stop.
(ii) There is many a slip_____ (in/between/among) the cup and the lip.
(iii) Shyam goes to school_______ (by/through/On) bus.
(iv) It snows (in/out/after) winter.
Ans: (i) at
(ii) between
(iii) by
(iv) after.
Ques 7: Rearrange the following words/phrases to form meaningful sentences.
(i) largest bird/is the/Ostrich/in the world.
(ii) can run/race horses/Ostriches/as fast as.
(iii) very exciting/can be/new country/traveling to/a.
(iv) option/is/light/travelling/best/the
Ans: (i) Ostrich is the largest bird in the world.
(ii) Ostriches can run as fast as race horses.
(iii) Travelling to a new country can be very exiting.
(iv) Light travelling is the best option.
Ques 8: Change the following sentences into indirect speech
(i) I said, "Kamini is not well."
(ii) The teacher said/ "Honesty is the best policy."
(iii) Sona said, "Wow! What an amazing painting."
(iv) My mother said to me, "Write in neat handwriting."
Ans: (i) I said that Kamini was not well.
(ii) The teacher said that Honesty is the best policy.
(iii) Sona exclaimed the painting was amazing.
(iv) My mother encouraged me to write in neat handwriting.
Ques 9: Read the following stanza and answer the questions given below:
"Come and hire me", I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the king came in his chariot
He held my hand and said, " will hire you with my power"
But his power counted for naught and he went away in his chariot.
(i) Who is the speaker of the above lines?
(ii) What does is 'Sword in hand' suggest?
(iii) Why could the king not conquer the narrator?
(iv) Name the poem and poet of the above lines.
Ans: (i) An unemployed but freedom loving person is the speaker of these lines.
(ii) Sword in hand suggests the power of the king.
(iii) The king could not conquer the narrator because the narrator did not give any importance to his power.
(iv) Poem: The Last Bargain.
Poet: Rabindranath Tagore.
Ques 10: Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
"Who are you, my gifted guest 7" he asked
The poet laid his finger on the book that Ernest had been reading.
"You have read these poems" said he. "You know me, then, for I wrote them" Again and again, Ernest examined the poet's features, he turned towards the Great Stone Face then back. He shook his head and sighed.
(i) Who is the speaker of the first line?
(ii) What book was the speaker reading?
(iii) Why did Ernest examine the poet's features again and again?
(iv) What did Ernest feel after reading the poems?
Ans: (i) Ernest is the speaker of the first line
(ii) The speaker was reading the book of poems.
(iii) Ernest examined the poet?s features to compare them with those of Great Stone Face.
(iv) After reading the poems, Ernest felt the fulfilment of prophecy in the poet.
Ques 11: Answer any four of the following questions:
Mention the two examples of evil social practices-prevailing during British rule.
Ans: Two examples of evil social practices prevailing in India were the belief that who-so-ever crosses the seas loses his religion and all the misery in the world is due to women.
Ques 12: Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reason for you answer?
Ans: It is not right to kill an animal to save a human life because to save a life we can't kill another. Animals are also living beings and they too have the right to live.
Ques 13: Bepin Babu lost consciousness at Hudroo falls? What do you think was the reason for this?
Ans: Bepin Babu had lost his consciousness at Hudroo falls due to overstress by his lapse of memory regarding trip to Ranchi.
Ques 14: What is the scene around when one stands on the summit?
Ans: The scene around when standing on the summit is beautiful. There are other silvery peaks around which appear through the cloud specially when the sun is on them. The surrounding peaks look like jewelled necklace around the neck of a summit and below are the vast valleys sloping into a distance.
Ques 15: Why does the writer refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it support?
Ans: The writer supports Hawking's idea that the disabled people must not try to over reach themselves. The writer once tried to play a big guitar. He felt defeated. So he destroyed one night.
Ques 16: Answer any four of the following questions:
(i) Did the boy get four rupees by playing the game? What did he get to see under the rock?
Ans: No, he did not get the desired four rupees by playing the game. When he went to the rock, there was a big hairy worm that curled, twisted and wriggled towards him. The second time also, when he saw under the rock, he saw the worm coiled on it comfortably.
Ques 17: How did the Maids-of-Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Ans: The Maids-of-Honour brought in September's breakfast the following day. They noticed that the little bird ate out of her hand and bathed in her saucer. Then he revived her with his song. The Maids were quite surprised. They now knew how close friends the two had become.
Ques 18: Is Velu happy or unhappy to find work? Give a reason for your answer.
Ans: Velu was not happy initially but he had no other option. This seemed to him all right until he was able to find a better job, he tried to be happy.
Ques 19: Ranji is not at all eager for a second fight. Why does he go back to the pool, then?
Ans: Ranji was not at all eager for a second fight because he felt weak and lazy, moreover his body was sore and stiff after the previous days encounter. But he went back to the pool because he could not refuse the challenge or else it would appear an acknowledgement of defeat.
Ques 20: How did the Djinn know the horse was complaining against the camel?
Ans: The Djinn knew that the horse was complaining about the camel through the horse's description of the camel. Also, being the in-charge of the deserts, the Djinn knew about the animals.
Ques 21: Answer any one of the following:
Give two or three examples to show how Science has been useful to us and how science has been misused, and has thus been harmful to us.
OR
Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here are some words and phrases that you could use.
frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic, companion, sharing friend, rolls in mud, dirties the bed, naughty, lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead.
Ans: Advantages of Science:
(a) Advent of computers.
(b) Science has improved technology.
(c) Different merits in the field of forecast weather, internet, e-mail, fax through satellite system.
(d) Better transport system.
(e) Development of nuclear power.
Disadvantages of Science:
(a) Misuse of nuclear power and the devastation produced havoc in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Japan when atom bomb was thrown during the Second World War by America.
(b) Cyber crime through widespread use of computers in the younger generation is quite prevalent. It is menace to the society.
OR
My father had promised to give me a pet on my birthday. I was a little doubtful about it but was extremely happy when I received a Pomeranian dog on my birthday. Instantly it became my greatest companion. It is great to have an enthusiastic pet around. It does not let me have a single dull moment.
It is so naughty and playful that would roll in the mud and then would jump on my bed to make it dirty. On the other hand it is so smart and loyal that it could guess my mood whenever I am sad and would make me happy with its playful antics. It is really fantastic to have a pet.
