English Question Paper of Madhyamik 2018
Section – A
Reading Comprehension (Seen)
1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that
follow:
It is the last time we shall be walking with Bapu. It was
an agonizing walk. Thousands silently watched the procession. Bapu lay on an
open truck covered with flowers. Thousands of people wept, trying to touch Bapu’s
feet. It was impossible to move in the thick crowd.
As I moved forward slowly I understood I was not merely in
the midst of grieving people. This was even more than the funeral procession of
India’s beloved leader. I was among people for whom walking with Bapu had a
special meaning. We had walked with Bapu over the rough and smooth of India’s
recent history. We could not now accept the fact that the man who had led us
over many difficult paths, was never going to walk with us again. Bapu’s slight
figure had walked, staff in hand, over a large part of India. To walk is to
make slow progress. It is to think with clarity and closely look at all that is
around you, from small insects to the horizon in the distance. Moreover, to
walk was often the only way open to the average Indian. It required no vehicle
except his own body and cost him nothing but his energy.
A. Write the correct alternative to complete the following
sentences: 1×5=5
(a) The last walk with Bapu was –
(i) pleasant
(ii) painful
(iii) strange
(iv) delightful
(b) According to the narrator, walking with Bapu was –
(i) quite boring
(ii) a usual affair
(iii) not a commonplace affair
(iv) meaningless
(c) While walking, Bapu used to carry a -
(i) staff
(ii) flag
(iii) book
(iv) bag
(d) The narrator comments that to walk is to make –
(i) a tiresome journey
(ii) no progress
(iii) rapid progress
(iv) slow progress
(e) According to the narrator, walk required –
(i) a lot of money
(ii) vehicle
(iii) one’s own body and energy
(iv) a walking stick
B. Complete the following sentences with information from
the text: 1×3=3
(a) Bapu was being carried….……………………………………….
(b) Thousands of people were eager to…..…………………………..
(c) Indian’s recent history was both………………………………….
C. Fill in the chart with information from the text: 2×2=4
|
Statement |
Reason |
|
(a)……………… |
(a) The crowd was
thick. |
|
(b) Walking is
making slow progress |
(b)……………… |
2. Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the
running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls
crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy
life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like
a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s
over.
A. Write the correct alternative to complete the following
sentences: 1×4=4
(a) The call of the running tide –
(i) can be easily denied
(ii) cannot be denied
(iii) is not at all attractive
(iv) is most discouraging
(b) The poet would like to hear the cry of the –
(i) nightingale
(ii) skylark
(iii) cuckoo
(iv) seagull
(c) The poet likes to lead a gypsy life because it is –
(i) a carefree life full of adventures
(ii) full of responsibilities
(iii) full of luxury
(iv) dull and uninteresting
(d) The wind on the sea is like a whetted –
(i) sword
(ii) arrow
(iii) spear
(iv) knife
B. State whether the following statements are ‘True- or
‘False’. Write ‘T’ for True and ‘F’ for False in the boxes on the right-hand
side. Provide sentences/ phrases/words in support of your answer:
2×2=4
(a) The poet is not going out to the sea for the first
time.
Supporting statement:_______________________________________________________________
(b) The poet does not want to sleep when the journey is
over.
Supporting statement::_______________________________________________________________
Reading Comprehension
(Unseen)
3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that
follow:
For the second year in a row, tiger population in the
Indian Sundarbans has shown an increase. This year, a camera-trap exercise has
captured at least six more tigers in the mangroves.
According to a forester associated with the exercise, 87
unique frames were captured by the camera-traps in the mangroves, including the
tiger reserve area and the South 24 Parganas forest division. The count was 81
last year. The latest exercise was conducted between December 2016 and June
2017.
The mangroves is home to at least 87 tigers, with the
possibility of more big cats being present said the forester. He further added,
“It’s not possible to photograph all the tigers in a forest.”
While the average figure is yet to be analysed, officials
expect the number to be around 90 this time, compared to last year’s 81. “The
trend is positive, but we are still in the process of analysing the final
figure that will also be checked by the Wildlife Institute of India,” said the
Chief Wildlife Warden Ravikant Sinha.
He, however, added that the cubs which were camera-trapped
last year have grown up and have probably been photographed again this year.
This, he observes, can be a reason behind the positive trend.
Sources revealed that, while 62 tigers were photographed in
the tiger reserve area— seven more than last year— 25 were clicked in the South
24 Parganas division, the forests outside the core area. Pictures of three cubs
were also captured, though they were not included in the final figure.
All eyes are now on the 1500 sq . km South 24 Parganas
forest division that has added, at least, eight tigers in the last five years.
It recorded seventeen tigers when the camera-trap exercise was first conducted
in 2012.
[ Adapted from a report published in The Times of India
dated June 30, 2017]
A. Choose the correct answers from the alternatives given: 1×6=6
(i) For two successive years the number of tigers in the
Indian Sunderbans has –
(a) been captured
(b) decreased
(c) increased
(d) remained the same
(ii) 87 unique photographs of tigers were captured by –
(a) a forester
(b) the camera traps
(c) officials
(d) hunters
(iii) The mangroves shelter –
(a) 87 tigers
(b) 81 tigers
(c) 25 tigers
(d) more than 87 tigers
(iv) Ravikant Sinha is -
(a) the Chief Wildlife Warden
(b) a photographer
(c) a journalist
(d) a minor forest official
(v) The number of tigers photographed last year was –
(a) 81
(b) 90
(c) 55
(d) 62
(vi) The camera-trap exercise was conducted for the first
time in –
(a) 2016
(b) 2012
(c) 2017
(d) 1986
B. Each of the following statements is either True’ or
‘False’. Write ‘T’ for ‘True’ and ‘F’ for ‘False’ in the boxes on the
right-hand side. Also pick out suitable line(s) or phrase(s) from the passage
in support of your answers: (1+1)×3=6
(i) The camera traps were laid only in the forest division
of the South 24 Parganas.
Supporting Statement:_______________________________________________________________
(ii) According to a forester, it is impossible to
photograph all the tigers in a forest.
Supporting Statement:_______________________________________________________________
(iii) The average number of tigers has not yet been
calculated.
Supporting Statement:_______________________________________________________________
C. Answer the following questions: 2×4=8
(i) Which trend, according to the reporter is positive?
(ii) What is the observation of the Chief Wildlife Warden
regarding the increase in tiger population?
(iii) How many tigers were clicked in the tiger reserve
area and how many in the forests outside the core area?
(iv) State the number of tigers added to the tiger
population in the last five years in the South 24 Parganas forest division.
Section-B
Grammar and Vocabulary
4. Write the correct alternative to fill in the blanks: 1×3=3
Although children…….. (love/has loved/are loving) outdoor
games, their parents…………. (is considering/ consider/ has considered) their
interest as harmful and meaningless. A child who spends time and energy in
outdoor activities……… (grows/had grown/ is growing) up to be healthy and
strong.
5. Do as directed:
A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and
prepositions. 1×3=3
In………..evenings they would sit together…………..the dining
table and rearrange the stamps. He had ………………..album for each country.
B. Rewrite the following sentences according to the
instructions given in brackets: 1×3=3
(i) Garbage causes pollution. It may be used as a source of
energy. (Join into a single sentence using a relative clause)
(ii) The teacher delivered a lecture to a group of
students. (Change the voice)
(iii) The trainer said, “Why is everybody late today?”
(Change into Indirect Speech)
C. Choose the phrasal verbs from the list given below to
replace the words underlined/Write the correct phrasal verbs in the boxes on
the right-hand side changing the form, where necessary. There is one extra
phrasal verb in the list. 1×3=3
(i) They started their journey early in the morning.
(ii) I cannot understand what you are saying.
(iii) The man abandoned evil company.
[ List: make out, give
up, give off, set out ]
6. Given below are the meanings of four words which you
will find in Question No. 3. Find out the words and write them in the appropriate
boxes on the right-hand side. 2×4=8
(i) recorded in camera: ____________________
(ii) studied and explained: __________________
(iii) definite and sure: ______________________
(iv) a person in charge of a particular place: ____________________
Section - C
Writing
7. Write a letter to the Inspector-in-Charge of your local
police station complaining about the loss of your mobile phone in your area.
Give details of the phone and the way in which it was lost. 10
8. Write a biography of Virat Kohli (within 100 words)
using the following points. 10
[Points: Date of Birth : 5 November, 1988, Delhi — Father:
Prem Kohli, criminal lawyer — Mother: Saroj Kohli, homemaker — Showed interest
in cricket at the age pf three — Enrolled at West Delhi Cricket Academy, when
nine — Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium pacer, outstanding fielder — Test
debut 2011 — captain of the Indian team 2014 — More than 5000 runs in test
matches — more than 8000 runs in One Day International Matches — Received
Arjuna Award — 2013.]
9. Write a newspaper report (within 100 words) on the
outbreak of fire in your local market. Your may use the following points: 10
[Points: Date and time — place — cause of fire — damages —
actions taken]