Class 9 English: Sample Question Paper- 13 (With Solutions) PDF Download

(Section - A)

Q.1. Read the following passage carefully :
1. Today’s woman is a highly self-directed person, alive to the sense of her dignity and the importance of her functions in the private domestic domain and the public domain of the world of work. Women are rational in approach, careful in handling situations and want to do things as best as possible. The Fourth World Conference of Women held in Beijing in September 1995 had emphasised that no enduring solution to society’s most threatening social, economic and political problems could be found without the participation and empowerment of women. The 1995 World Summit for Social Development had also emphasised the pivotal role of women in eradicating poverty and mending the social fabric.
2. The Constitution of India had conferred on women equal rights and opportunities — political, social, educational and of employment — with men. Because of oppressive traditions, superstitions, exploitation and corruption, a majority of women are not allowed to enjoy the rights and opportunities, bestowed on them. One of the major reasons for this state of affairs is the lack of literacy and awareness among women. Education is the main instrument through which we can narrow down the prevailing inequality and accelerate the process of economic and political change in the status of women.
3. The role of women in a society is very important. Women’s education is the key to a better life in the future. A recent World Bank study says that educating girls is not a charity, it is good economics and if developing nations are to eradicate poverty, they must educate the girls. The report says that the economic and social returns on investment in the education of girls considerably affect the human development index of the nation. Society would progress only if the status of women is respected and the presence of an educated woman in the family would ensure education of the family itself. Education and empowerment of women are closely related.
4. The prevailing cultural norms of gender behaviour and the perceived domestic and reproductive roles of women tend to affect the education of the girls. Negative attitude towards sending girls to schools, restrictions on their mobility, early marriage, poverty and illiteracy of parents affect the girl’s participation in education.
On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any eight of the following questions briefly:
(a) What is generally women’s approach in handling situations ?
Ans. A woman’s approach in handling situations is generally rational. They are careful in handling situations as they want to do things as best as possible.
(b) No lasting solution of society’s problems could be found without----------------------
Ans. the participation and empowerment of women.
(c) Why are many women not allowed to enjoy basic rights and opportunities ?
Ans. Many women are not allowed to enjoy basic rights and opportunities because of oppressive traditions, superstitions, exploitation and corruption.
(d) Prevailing inequality between men and women can be narrowed down through ______.
Ans. education
(e) What is today’s woman like ?
Ans. Today’s woman is a highly self-directed person, alive to the sense of her dignity and the importance of her functions in the private domestic domain and the public domain of the world.
(f) In what ways has the Constitution of India been favourable to women ?
Ans. The Constitution of India had conferred on women equal rights and opportunities political, social, educational and employment with men.
(g) Why is women’s empowerment considered necessary ?
Ans. Women’s empowerment is considered necessary because no enduring solutions of the social, economic and political problems can be found out without women’s empowerment.
(h) Which factors adversely affect the education of girls ?
Ans. Negative attitude like hesitation in sending girls to school, restrictions on their mobility, early marriage, poverty and illiteracy of parents affect a girl’s education.
(i) Choose the correct option :
The word which means the same as ‘crushing’ in para 2 is _______________.
(1) exploitation
(2) oppressive
(3) lack of awareness
(4) prevailing inequality
Ans. oppressive

Q.2. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow.
1. The world we inhabit is abundant beyond our wildest imagination. There are trees, dreams, sunrises; there are thunderstorms, shadows, rivers; there are wars, flea bites, love affairs; there are the lives of people, Gods, entire galaxies. The social fabric of the world we inhabit has been divided and categorised under many different headings but the division on the basis of material wealth is the most glaring and common across all the nations. 
2. It is a stark reality that the world can be divided into two slots — the haves and the have-nots, and also that all affluent cities are surrounded by slums. Just as a coin has two sides, every city has two faces — the bright, the well-lit and the illuminated world of the rich and the dark, dingy, depressing world of the poor. The poor people exist on the periphery, constantly yearning for the bright world, and the rich are dependent on them to keep their world well-scrubbed and spruced up. 
3. It is not surprising that Delhi is poised on the brink of disaster. With five lakh people migrating to this metropolis every year, it is not difficult to see why the quality of life has deteriorated at such an alarming rate. The newspapers are full of crimes committed because of the breakdown of basic facilities and the corrosion of human values. 
4. This brings us to slums — the alleged breeding grounds of most of Delhi's problems. Over the years, the number of slums and unauthorised settlements has leapfrogged. There is hardly any residential colony in this city that is not hemmed in by them. Yet they too serve a purpose — they provide cheap labour and captive vote banks. The very people who turn up their noses at the dirt, disease and filth that festers in these areas, use these ‘breeding grounds' as a pool for domestic servants that can be hired and fired at will and daily wage labourers who are grateful for any kind of employment. Even the children born in slums do not have a bright future. Their future becomes bleak and they are forced to work in order to help their families meet their daily needs. They live in acute poverty. Isn't it about time that we examine our own role and acknowledge our responsibility for the proliferation of these slums? 
A. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.
(i) On what basis can the world be categorised?
Ans. The world can be categorised and divided according to many different headings with the most common one being material wealth. On this basis the world can be divided into two slots—haves and have nots. The haves constitute the rich and affluent while the poor and slums come under have nots.
(ii) How do the rich and the poor depend on each other?
Ans. The poor people constantly yearn for a bright world. They depend on the rich for their survival and for a means of earning. While the rich are dependent on the poor for the later keeps their world well-scrubbed and tide up by working as domestic servants for them.
(iii) What has migration done to Delhi?
Ans. The migration of a large number of people to Delhi has led Delhi to the brink of disaster. This ever increasing migration has deteriorated the quality of city life at an alarming rate by giving rise to a lot of criminal activities.
(iv) What purpose is served by the slums?
Ans. Slums provide cheap labour and captive vote banks. The people living in slums are hired as domestic servants and daily wage labourers by the city people.
B. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer of the following.
(i) The word ......... in 'para 1' means the same as plentiful'.
Ans. 'abundant'
(ii) The word ......... in 'para 2' means the same as 'wealthy'.
Ans. affluent’
(iii) What does the word 'alleged' as used in 'para 4' mean?
(a) Unreported
(b) Declared
(c) Unproven
(d) Abandoned
Ans. ‘Declared’
(iv) Which word in 'para 4' will be opposite in meaning of the word 'mild'?
(a) Stark
(b) Glaring
(c) Acute
(d) Festers
Ans. Acute’

(Section - B)

Q.3. You took the photo of these plastic bottles lying on your school compound. You were worried that in spite of so much awareness programmes today’s generation is still not taking the harmful effects of plastics seriously. After reaching home you decide to write a page in your diary, highlighting the harmful effects of plastic. Write your diary in about 100-120 words. 

Ans. 

12 September, 20....    

Thursday, 9:30 p.m. 

10 p.m. 

Dear Diary
Only today, I saw on the TV, the stomach of a dead cow, and a whale full of polythene bags. It reflects how stray animals,, freely feed on garbage thrown in polythene bags, swallowing polythene with it. The whale is an example of water animals, who are being slowly poisoned, by consuming plastic waste. I am perturbed that in spite of a lot of campaigning on the harmful effects of plastic; nothing seems to work at the ground level. We indiscriminately dispose off plastic bottles, polythene bags etc., in public places, garbage bins and also in water bodies. Due to this throwaway culture of ours, plastic finds its way into the drainage system, clogs drains, resulting in overflowing sewage and flooding. Needless to say, that plastic is non-biodegradable, and so it impacts the fertility of the soil, too. We are least concerned about the inheritance we shall leave for our future generations. Before it is too late I wish we could realise that our tomorrow depends on our present!!!
Or
Write an article in about 100-120 words on the importance of mental strength and determination besides physical abilities for a sportsperson. You may take ideas from the MCB unit ‘Sports and Games’

Ans. 

Mental ability and sportspersons

— by Neel, Class IX

“I always felt my greatest asset was not my physical ability. It was my mental ability.” Said Bruce Jenner, and rightly so. For achieving excellence in sports, mental toughness is as important as physical fitness. Proper conditioning, adequate coaching, physical skills or technical ability can take athletes to a particular level however at the competition level, it is mental ability and determination which pushes them to challenge themselves. Mental toughness helps athletes recognise that their physical, emotional and mental sides affect each other. Mental abilities equip them to tap into their emotional and mental resources. Research has proved that high levels of mental toughness are associated with athletic prowess and strength. ‘‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going” is another way to explain mental toughness and describe sportspersons who have carved a niche for themselves.

Q.4. Write the story in 150-200 words based on the visual given below and using your own creativity. Give an appropriate title to the story.

Ans. A woman had a pet mongoose. It was very faithful and never harmed anyone in the family. One day when the woman had to go to the market, she left her baby in the care of the mongoose. The mongoose kept an eye on the baby and did not leave it alone. At that time a huge cobra entered the house, it was going towards the baby. The mongoose was alert and fought a long and fierce battle with the cobra. Though it was tired, it fought relentlessly so that no harm came to the child. In the end, the mongoose was able to kill the cobra. When the woman came back, she saw the mongoose lying at the entrance. She noticed its blood covered mouth. She could not see the baby as it was sleeping peacefully in the next room.
The woman, in her haste, presumed that the mongoose had killed her baby. She did not bother to go inside and look for her child. In a sudden fit of anger, she hit the mongoose with a flower pot and it died. Suddenly, the baby started crying. When she went inside, she saw a dead cobra lying on the floor. She realised her mistake but it was too late. She had killed the saviour of her child in a hurry. The proverb ‘haste makes waste’ is applicable here.

Q.5. Complete the passage given below by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones that follow. Write your answer in the answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the entire passage.
A few days later, Munshi Prem Chand resigned from (a) .......... job of inspector of schools (b) ................... having worked in (c) ....................... department for 10 years. He was one of the (d) ................... important story writers.
(a) (i) its
(ii) the
(iii) a
(iv) his
Ans. his
(b) (i) before
(ii) without
(iii) after
(iv) for
Ans. after
(c) (i) his
(ii) is
(iii) their
(iv) the
Ans. the
(d) (i) much
(ii) more
(iii) most
(iv) more over
Ans. most

Q.6. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction against the correct blank number.


Ans.


Q.7. Read the following conversation and complete the passage given below. 
Sahir Can I go and play, father?
Father Have you finished your homework?
Sahir No father, but I can finish it afterwards.
Father No, my boy, you must do your work first.
Sahir asked his father (a)____His father asked him (b) _____Sahir replied that (c)____At this, his father (d) ____ not to go to play and advised him that he must do his work first.

Ans. (a) if he could go and play
(b) if he had finished his homework
(c) he had not, but he could finish that afterwards
(d) affectionately told him

(Section - C)

Q.8. Read the following extract and answer army one of the following questions given below :
They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to - on a screen, you know. And then when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
(а) ‘They’ refers to ________ and _________. 
Ans. Tommy and Margie.
(b) Why did she find the book funny ? 
Ans. She found the book ‘funny’ as the words in it remained at the same place and she was used to the words moving on the computer screen.
(c) The word from the passage which means the same as ‘folded’ is _______ 
Ans. The word ‘crinkly means ‘folded’.
(d) Choose the correct option :
Screens or mechanical teacher had replaced real books in her______. 
(i) father's time 
(ii) grandfather's time 
(iii) great grandfather 
(iv) much before great grandfather's time
Ans. much before great grandfather’s time
Or
"Slowly consuming the earth, Rising out of it, feeding Upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, And out of its leprous hide Sprouting leaves."
(a) It 'refers to _______. 
Ans. the tree
(b) How does it consume the earth ? 
Ans. It consumes the earth by letting its root enter deep into it and drawing strength and nourishment from it.
(c) What does the poet mean by ‘leprous hide' ? 
Ans. Leprous hide refers to the bark of the tree, which is scaly.
(d) Choose the correct option : 
The sprouting of leaves signifies ____________ . 
(i) the lifecycle of a tree 
(ii) new leaves sprouting in the spring season 
(iii) the tree which has been recently felled 
(iv) it is not easy to kill a tree
Ans. it is not easy to kill a tree

Q.9. Answer any five of the following questions in 30-40 words each.
(i) Describe the scene at the Bagmati river bank as mentioned in 'Kathmandu’. 
(ii) How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music? When was her deafness first noticed?
(iii) What was Kezia's father’s routine after coming back from office?
(iv) Is the snake harmless?
(v) Did the boy in 'The Lost Child’ wait for the answer after pleading for sweets? Why? 
(vi) Describe the lady's reaction on whom the author ‘Bill Bryson' dropped the soft drink in 'Accidental Tourist'?
Ans. (i) Many activities were going on at the Bagmati river banks. A corpse was being cremated. The washerwomen were washing clothes and children were bathing in the river. The narrator could also see that some old, wilted offerings of the temple was dropped into the river.
(ii) Evelyn was seventeen years of age when she went to the Royal Academy of Music. Her mother noticed her deafness for the first time when she was eight years old and waiting to play the piano Evelyn did not move at all when her name was called out, making her mother realise that she had a hearing problem.
(iii) After coming back from his office, Kezia’s father ordered for tea to be brought into the drawing room. He also asked Kezia’s mother to bring the newspaper and his slippers, and asked Kezia to remove his boots.
(iv) Yes, the snake is harmless. We know this because of the line given in the poem ‘Small and green he is harmless even to the children’.
(v) No, the boy in The Lost Child’ didn’t wait for an answer after pleading for sweets because he knew that his parents would say that he was greedy and would refuse to buy the sweets for him.
(vi) In the story ‘Accidental Tourist’, the author ‘Bill Bryson’ dropped the soft drink twice on the lady and that made her shocked and angry. She uttered swear words which he had never heard in public before.

Q.10. Answer any one of the following questions in about 100-120 words.
How was the Science teacher Siva Subramaniam Iyer, though an orthodox Brahmin with a very conservative wife, a friend of Abdul Kalam. Give incidents to support your answer.
OR
What is your opinion about killing a tree ? Is it justified to cut trees ? What are the feelings of the poet?
Ans. Value points : 
• had freedom from bias / stereotype
• love and natural respect
• appreciation and intercultural harmony
OR
The post has expressed his ideas about killing a tree. He has described so many ways to cut trees but it can never be-proved as a justified way cutting them as it shows our selfish motives. But the theme of the poem is killing trees as the poet wants to convey the idea behind cutting the trees. He gives the message that we have clinical method through which we can cut trees but even then, there remains contemptible act underlying there. The poet is not in favour of cutting trees but it is his contrasting way to give expression to his thought. He is familiar with this fact that people know the utility of the trees and harms of cutting them, even then they cut trees. That is why he has employed this contrasting method of cutting trees so that people may understand his taunts and may reduce cutting or killing trees.

Q.11. Answer any one of the following in 100-150 words :
Sergei told Lushkoff that he had given him a push in the right path but what Lushkoff told him came as a surprise to him. What did Lushkoff tell Sergei about his change of heart ?
OR
‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Discuss with reference to Sue.
Ans. When Sergei met Lushkoff' at the theatre he was delighted that his gesture of providing employment to him had reformed Lushkoff from a beggar into an honest man. But, though Lushkoff expressed his gratitude to him for giving him an opportunity, he told him that it was Olga who had actually brought about a change of heart in him. He told Sergei that Olga used to scold him but would also weep for him. She noticed that he was too weak to chop wood so she herself used to chop wood for him. He did not chop a single log of wood by himself because Olga did it for him. Her empathy, compassion, kindness, her encouraging words and noble deeds brought about a transformation in him. Sergei did not know about it and so was surprised.
OR
Sue and Johnsy were two young artists who shared a room. Sue was loyal and loved her friend Johnsy. When Johnsy fell ill Sue sent for the doctor who visited her everyday. But Johnsy stopped responding the treatment as she had fallen into depression. Sue tried her best to make her comfortable. She tried to make her take an interest in things around her. She talked about clothes and fashions just to distract her attention. Sue also brought her drawing board into Johns/s room and started painting to take her mind off her illness. But nothing helped as Johnsy had lost her will to live. In desperation, Sue went to Behrman and poured out her worries to him. This shows her concern for her friend. It was her efforts and care which saved Johnsy from the clutches of death. She proved to be a true friend indeed.