Class 9 English: Sample Question Paper- 10 (With Solutions) PDF Download

Section - A

Q.1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow.
1. Organic farming was being practised in India years ago till the British ruled it. In traditional India, agriculture was practised using organic techniques, where the fertilisers, pesticides etc., were obtained from plant and animal products. Organic farming was the backbone of the Indian economy. Ploughing was done by bullocks and cow dung was being used as manure.
2. During the 1950s and 1960s, the ever increasing population of India and several natural calamities led to a severe food crisis. As a result, the government was forced to import foodgrains from foreign countries. To increase food security, the government had to increase food production. Several hectares of land were brought under cultivation. Hybrid seeds were introduced. Natural and organic fertilisers were replaced by chemical fertilisers and locally made pesticides were replaced by chemical pesticides. As time went by, extensive dependence on chemical farming has led to loss of land fertility. Pests are becoming immune, requiring the farmers to use stronger and costlier pesticides. Due to increased cost of farming, farmers are falling into the trap of moneylenders, who are exploiting them to no end and forcing many to commit suicide. Both consumers and farmers are now gradually shifting back to organic farming in India. It is believed by many that organic farming is healthier. Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for the same. Many farmers in India are shifting to organic farming due to the domestic and international demand for organic food.
3. Further, stringent standards for non-organic food in European and US markets have led to rejection of many Indian food consignments in the past. Organic farming, therefore, provides a better alternative to chemical farming. Today more than 2.5 million hectares of land is under organic farming in India. Further, there are over 15000 certified organic farms in India. India, therefore, is one of the most important suppliers of organic food to the developed nations. The organic movement has again started in India.
Answer the following questions on the basis of the passage you have read.
(i) What is the correct order of the information given below?
I. Natural fertilisers replaced chemical pesticides.
II. There are 15000 certified organic farms in India.
III. Government imported foodgrains from foreign countries.
IV. Organic farming was practised in India till British ruled it.
(a) IV, I, III, II
(b) IV, II, III , I
(c) IV, III, I, II
(d) IV, I, II, III
(ii) What impact has extensive dependence on chemical farming created?
(a) Reduction of land fertility
(b) Immunity of pests has increased
(c) Cost of farming has escalated
(d) All of these
(iii) Why are consumers willing to pay higher prices for organic produce?
(a) Because they believe that such produce is healthier.
(b) The organic movement has again started in India.
(c) There is a rise in international demand for organic food.
(d) There will be less exploitation of farmers by moneylenders.
(iv) Many farmers today are shifting to organic farming as
I. demand of organic food.
II. many non-organic food consignments were cancelled.
III. the cost of inorganic farming is decreasing.
IV. chemical farming leads to loss of land fertility.
(a) I and IV
(b) II and III
(c) II and IV
(d) I, II and IV
(v) Find the word in 'para 3' of the passage which means the same as 'strict, with firm restrictions'.
(a) Alternative
(b) Consignments
(c) Stringent
(d) Certified
(vi) How can we say that Indian farmers practiced organic farming before independence?
(a) The farmers used natural fertilisers such as cowdung.
(b) Used pesticides made from animal products or natural.
(c) Hybrid seeds were used
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(vii) Many farmers in India are shifting to ......... due to domestic and international demands.
(viii) In India many farmers are committing suicides due to increased cost of farming and exploitation by moneylenders.
Ans. (i) (c) IV, III, I, II
(ii) (d) Ail of these
(iii) (a) Because they believe that such produce is healthier.
(iv) (d) I, II and IV
(v) (c) Stringent
(vi) (d) Both (a) and (b)
(vii) organic farming
(viii) The statement is true. As stated in the passage many farmers are committing suicide as they are not able to cope up with increasing cost of farming and debt trap by moneylenders.

Q.2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The Indian education system in the ancient times was truly world class, which attracted scholars from all over the world to come in search of knowledge. A guru was the most respected intellectual resource who truly earned that respect due to her/his calibre and value system. However, the current scenario of education, at least in terms of quality, value system and employability has been a cause of concern. Technology, particularly information technology, has been a game changer in the process, which calls for a complete re-engineering of educational process and system both in content and style of delivery. This has made access to knowledge, very easy—Google and YouTube for example, can answer any query on any topic; anytime, anywhere; but it has also led to a side-effect due to which a student does not exercise her/ his mind to logically analyse, remember and resolve questions and quickly resort to these gadgets to look for a ready made answer.
There are no alternatives to transforming education system. Some strategical interventions are required like, expenditure on education must be seen as an investment in future of the nation rather than pursuing cost-centric approach. Nation's future is created in classrooms. Hence, if we nurture education in all its segments, we are investing in the nation-building process. We should create conditions both economic and social; when the best of the society choose to join teaching and research as their preferred career options. An ideal teacher has to be academically brilliant; have inspiring communication skills and perceived as a person having a 'role model' value system, character, values and integrity. A teacher must co-create values in a learner in a collaborative manner. Such teachers will transform students to have not only great minds, but also equally matching mindsets.
Technology, with poor ethics and negative attitude can spell disaster. It is in the content that we should look at old Indian values, ethics and bring these contents at an early stage as possible. Finally, we need to search productively visionary, passionate and committed academic leaders to lead by setting examples.
A. Answer the following questions :
(a) How was the Indian education system in ancient times ?
(b) Why is information technology termed as game changer ?
(c) What are the side-effects of using gadgets ?
(d) Why is the author looking out for old Indian values and ethics ?
B. Choose the correct alternative :
(a) What is the importance of investing in education ?
(i) transforming education system
(ii) nurture education
(iii) nation building process
(iv) best of the society
(b) How should an ideal teacher be ?
(i) academically brilliant
(ii) inspiring communication skills
(iii) perceived as a person having a 'role-model'
(iv) All of the above
(c) What transformation will the teachers bring about ?
(i) equally matching mindsets
(ii) investing in education
(iii) answer any query on any topic
(iv) values and integrity
(d) Choose a word from the passage which means to reach a decision
(i) concern
(ii) delivery
(iii) resolve
(iv) committed
Ans. (a) The Indian education system in the ancient times was truly world-class as it attracted scholars from all over the world to come in search of knowledge.
(b) Information technology has made access to knowledge very easy as any one can answer any query on any topic, anytime, anywhere with the help of latest gadgets.
(c) A student does not exercise her/his mind to logically analyse,, remember and resolve questions and quickly resorts to these gadgets to look for a ready made answer.
(d) Technology with poor ethics and negative attitude can spell disaster. It is in this context that the author recalls old Indian values and ethics and bring these contents at an early stage.
B. (a) (iii) nation building process
(b) (iv) All of the above
(c) (i) equally matching mindsets
(d) (iii) resolve

Section - B

Q.3. You are Mohit/Mansi of Class IX-B. You paid a visit to an 'Old Home' with other NSS Volunteers. Using the hints given below together with your own ideas, make a diary entry of what you saw and experienced there.

Ans.
Monday, 10th March, 20xx
04:00 pm
Dear Diary
With the disintegration of the joint family system, the old people find themselves deserted and alone, it is unfortunate that in the evening of their lives, they are not looked after by their children. The concept of ‘Old Home’ is for mostly senior citizens above 60. I made it a point to visit the ‘Old Home at Bhiwadi. The home is situated at a peaceful place. The building is simple but spacious and clean, it seems to be an ideal place for the seniorcitizens.
A doctor visits the home daily to check-up the senior citizens. There is a permanent nurse employed to look after and give them medicine on time. The home has a good library and several means of recreation. All the inmates showered their parental love by insisting on having lunch with us. What a satisfying and rewarding visit it was to meet our grandpaas and grannies, who now have a home away from home.
Mansi
or
Summer season is approaching and with it, power cuts are increasing. These are making life difficult, especially at night, when the heat becomes unbearable. Write an article in 100 - 150 words on how privatisation of electricity distribution can help, based on the hints given below and your own ideas. 

• Only solution to electricity woes is privatisation of distribution 
• Improved electricity distribution 
• Less power cuts 
• Electricity theft and waste reduced 
• prevented 
• Efficient billing and better system of working

Ans.

Privatisation of Electricity Distribution is Necessary

by Amita

Frequent power cuts are due to faulty planning, faulty distribution systems and massive power theft due to incompetence, and corruption in the government agencies distributing electric power. The only solution to electricity woes is privatisation of distribution. Privatisation will ensure proper distribution of electricity due to the private players ensuring that there are no power thefts because of unauthorised connections. Private players work with a motive of profit and thus will not allow power thieves to go scot-free. This will ensure adequate power being available to authorised consumers, reducing power cuts drastically.
Power companies will ensure that less power is wasted, as power wasted will be a total loss for them. They will also ensure efficient billing and better overall working of the electricity distribution system. They have money and power in their hand to impose a heavy fine on someone who will have been caught in electricity theft. Even people understand it very well that government will not interfere in their matter after the privatisation of electricity distribution because they, will also get a huge amount of tender in respect of privatisation.

Q.4. Write a story in 150-200 words from the outline given below. Give a suitable title to the story. 6 years old Amit - back from school - saw a baby bird under a tree - unable to fly - worried - nest seen on the tree - 2 little birds — picked the baby bird - placed carefully in the nest - mother bird return just then - song of thanks for Amit
OR
Neeta wanted to write a story fox her school magazine but she could not complete the story. Try to complete the story on the basis of the beginning given below :
Away from the crowds of cities, in a far flung village, lived a boy named Ravi, Ravi became an orphan when he was still a baby. One day, an old woman came to his hut and said............
Ans. 

A Helping Hand 

One day, when six years old Amit was returning from school, he saw a baby bird under a tree which probably must have fell from the nest. As the baby bird was unable to fly, it couldn't reach the nest. Amit was worried and was wondering how it could reach the nest. Amit felt that he was so small that it was impossible for him to reach the nest as well. He looked here and there for help, but he could find none. Then, he saw two little birds come near the baby bird. They slowly picked up the baby bird and lifted it up and carefully placed it in the nest. Just then, the mother bird returned. On seeing the baby bird nestled carefully in the nest, the bird started chirping. It was like as if it were singing a song of thanks. Amit was very happy and felt relieved. On returning home he narrated the whole incident to his mother.
OR

A Kind Deed 

Away from the crowds of cities, in a far flung village, lived a boy named Ravi. Ravi became an orphan when he was still a baby. One day, an old woman came to his hut and said that he should come along with her and she would change his life. As Ravi was living all alone and there was no one to take care of him, he agreed to go along with the old woman. She took him to her house. She asked him to take his bath and then gave him something to eat. Since her husband was the Principal of a school, she spoke to him about Ravi. She got the boy admitted in the school. And after school Ravi would come over to the old woman's house and help her in the household chores. Ravi was good at studies and also was very good in athletics. The school encouraged his desire and he became a national level athletics champion. The old woman had seen his potential in running and this was the reason she had got him to her house. It was because of the old lady that Ravi's talent was encouraged and that it did not go for a waste.

Q.5. Choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below to complete the following passage :
Smile is a precious gift given by God to (a) ________ We learn to (b) ____________ even before we learn to speak. Smile is a/an (c) ____________language not bound (d) grammar or vocabulary.
Ans.
(a) (i) animals    
(ii) birds
(iii) human beings    
(iv) all creatures
(b) (i) laugh    
(ii) cry
(iii) worry    
(iv) weep
(c) (i) Indian    
(ii) universal
(iii) general    
(iv) foreign
(d) (i) with 
(ii) in
(iii) at   
(iv) by
Ans. (a) (iii) human beings
(b) (i) laugh
(c) (ii) a universal
(d) (iv) by

Q.6. The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the error as well as the correction as shown in the example.
In whole Universe, planet Earth have life.
There is more than 7000 million
people live on our planet Earth. The
Earth provide us with the air to
breath, food to eat and water to drink.

Ans.


Q.7. Rearrange the following words or phrases into meaningful sentences :
(a) sounds/dream/like/it/true/a/come
(b) cars/have/will/these/system/voice/command/a
(c) become/on/have/popular/reality/T. V,/shows
(d) telecast/show/every/T.V./to/channel/reality/wants/a
Ans. (a) It sounds like a dream come true.
(d) These cars will have a voice command system.
(c) Reality shows have become popular on TV.
(d) Every T.V. channel wants to telecast a reality show.

Section - C

Q.8. Read, the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Where they harness the swift reindeer.
To the sledges, when it snows;
And the children look like bear's cubs
In their funny, furry clothes:
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) Where do the people harness the swift reindeer?
(iii) How do the children look like and why?
(iv) Which word in the extract means the same as 'quick and rapid'?
Ans. (i) The above lines are taken from a poem named 'A Legend of Northland’ written by ‘Phoebe Cary’.
(ii) People harness the swift reindeer in the Northland, a place where it snows.
(iii) The children of the Northland look like bear’s cubs because they wear funny and furry dresses.
(iv) ‘Swift’ is the word in the extract means the same as ‘quick and rapid’.
or
"My lord, this wall was built in my father's time. I know the man. He's an old man now. He lives nearby." The king sent out messengers to bring in the bricklayer who had built the wall. They bought him, tied hand and foot.”
(i) Who is the speaker of the lines "My lord, this wall was built in my father's time." and in what context?
(ii) Why did the king send the messengers to get the bricklayer's?
(iii) Give reason for the condition of the bricklayer when he was brought before the king.
(iv) On what occasion does the speaker of the lines in the above extract appear in the kings court?
Ans. (i) A rich merchant is speaking these lines in the court of the king to defend himself in the case of the death of a thief.
(ii) The king sent out messengers to get the bricklayer’s because the wall that had killed the thief was made by the bricklayer during the time of the father of the rich merchant.
(iii) The bricklayer was brought before the king, with his hand and legs tied. The reason for this condition of the old man was the fact that after merchants claim, he was held responsible for the death of the thief.
(iv) The speaker, that is, a rich business man was called to the court of the king because a poor man/thief had died as the wall fell over him while he was carrying his loot from the former’s house.

Q.9. Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words each:
(a) Why did Einstein write a letter to the American President Roosevelt ?
(b) How was the problem of what to do with Bruno finally solved ?
(c) Is wind regarded as a symbol of destruction in the poem ? Explain.
(d) How did Prashant, a leenager, help the people of his village ?
(e) What measures did the writer adopt when he travelled alone ?
Ans. (a) Einstein wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt about the dangers of atomic bombs when the Nazis were in Germany and he had to migrate from there. The discovery of Nuclear Fission in Germany made the American physicists upset that the Nazis could use an atom bomb.
(b) Value points: Writer's wife loved Bruno deeply. After he returned, a special home was made. Straw was placed inside the box with some playthings.
(c) In the poem, the first stanza depicts the destruction caused by wind. The wind tears the pages of the books, brings rain again, and destroys the daily life of the weaker section of the world. The strong or gusty winds represent turmoil and trouble in our life. These troubles are to be ignored.
(d) Value points:

• organises small work groups 
• assigns tasks to people 
• provided them with help

(e) Whenever Bill travelled alone he never ate, drank or lean over to tie shoe laces and never put a pen anywhere near his mouth. He just sat quietly and kept his hands steady so that unexpectedly he doesn't cause the liquid mischief.

Q.10. Answer any one of the following questions in 100-150 words :
How does William Wordsworth reconcile himself with the death of his loved one ?
Ans. Initially, at the beginning of the poem, William Wordsworth, indicates that he was in a dream like state A slumber Did my Spirit Seal’. It protected him from feeling sad and depressed on her death. The thought that death had bestowed eternal beauty on her by freeing her from the effect of time, and that she would now never be affected by growing age which would have made her lose her youth and beauty, comforts him. He feels his beloved, is now above all human suffering as she can no longer feel any pain or sorrow. Death has freed her from all humanly powers of senses, she can neither see or hear. Her soul rests in peace. She has become a part of Mother Nature, moving with the diurnal course of the earth. These thoughts enable him to accept the death of his beloved. He does not feel sad but a feeling of peace and calm prevails over him.
Or
The doctor smiled twice ? What were the two occasions and what thoughts come to his mind ? What light do they throw on him as a person ?
Ans. The first time the doctor smiled when he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a bachelor and so he thought it was necessary for him to look handsome. Moreover, he was just setting up his practice and thought looking handsome would not only help him impress a rich young woman but help him in establishing his practice, too. It shows he was quite conscious of his looks. The second time he smiled at his foolishness because a snake had landed on his shoulder and he dare not move lest it should strike. He had forgotten to keep any medicines for a snake bite in spite of being a doctor. The first occasion depicts his ambitions and the second throws light on his ability to remain calm in the face of imminent danger. The thoughts which come to his mind are a way to keep himself distracted from feeling afraid and to remain calm.

Q.11. Answer any one of the following questions in 100-150 words.
“Building up of a story is a skillful art”. Elaborate the statement with reference to the chapter 'Iswaran the Storyteller’.
Ans. Story building is a skillful art and a storyteller should have good oratorical skills. He should know how to build up suspense in his stories so that the listeners keep their interest in it. The storyteller should vary the tone of his voice according to the situations, he creates in his story. A good sense of humour is also an asset which he can use to make his stories enjoyable and interesting. He can use dramatic gestures to make his stories sound realistic.
Iswaran as an efficient always prepared the ground by looking something special for the spirits besides giving background information like the site being a graveyard earlier etc. To build suspense, he and Mahendra would also stop abruptly to complete his daily chores. On resuming, he would describe the incidents in such away as if it was being telecast live. In between, he would also enact certain episodes to make his story look absolutely true. He was an excellent storyteller which supports the view that story building is a skillful art.
or
What can the author Bill Bryson be assumed to be suffering from? Bring out your suggestions to make him act normally.
Ans. It can be interred after reading the incidents in the story that Bill Bryson was suffering from forgetfulness and'social anxiety. At a social gathering or event, he found himself victimised and alone. He was low in confidence and due to his inferiority complex, he got frustrated by the end. He often became a centre of joke.
This can be proved as the incidents, where he committed blunders, happened when either he was travelling or he was in other’s company e.g. he ended up being at the wrong place while searching for the washroom at a cinema hall or forgot his room number while staying at different hotels. Once he dropped soft drink on a fellow passenger when he was travelling in an aeroplane.
He also got his teeth, lips and chin coloured blue for he was sucking the other end of the pen. He can act normally provided he learns to stay calm and for that he must try yoga, deep breathing and meditation. He should consider others as normal human beings and should not be afraid of them. He also needs to be careful while eating and drinking in public. Last but not the least, he must have firm faith in himself to overcome his inferiority complex and social anxiety.