CBSE Question Paper 2011 class 10 English Communicative

(ii) All questions are compulsory.

(iii) You may attempt any section at a time.

(iv) All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct order.

SECTION A (Reading) 20 Marks

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct options. 1×5 = 5 marks

School used to be all about writing, whether it was the exercise books we wrote in, the notes we passed round, or the lines we stayed in to do. But not anymore. Now it’s all about typing. My six-year-old daughter is part of the first generation that is truly computer literate and I really didn’t want her learning copperplate writing. I could see that spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation were important, but handwriting? By the time she’s at university, handwriting may not be as relevant as needlepoint. So when my daughter came home last year with cursive handwriting homework,

I was nonplussed. Cursive was originally developed to make it easier for children to write with a quill. By joining up the letters, it kept the quill on the parchment and minimized ink blots. But my daughter writes with a laptop. I explained as much to her teacher at the next parents’ day. But her teacher explained something to me. Research suggests that the process of writing information down on paper, by hand, has a more direct effect on the formation of memories in the learning process than typing. Taking notes in class is still the most effective way to learn. It’s better way to store the skills for written language in a child’s brain than pressing keys.

There’s nothing old-fashioned about handwriting. Handwriting is where it’s at.

(a) According to the narrator his daughter is…………….

(i) computer literate

(ii) illiterate

(iii) copperplate writer

(iv) handwriting expert

(b) …………….. was developed to make writing with a quill easier.

(i) Typing

(ii) Grammar

(iii) Cursive writing

(iv) Note making

(c) The word ‘nonplussed’ means…………….

(i) sad

(ii) puzzled

(iii) crying

(iv) see

(d) Writing information down on paper is ……………………….. typing in the learning process.

(i) inferior to

(ii) same as

(iii) superior to

(iv) not as effective as

(e) Writing by hand is………………..

(i) old- fashioned

(ii) not old-fashioned

(iii) of the future

(iv) not used today

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct options. 1×5=5 marks

Before chocolate became an elixir fit only for the kings, Mayans drank a cold, frothy mix made from kakawa beans harvested from the Mexican rainforests. Found in rows inside football-size fruit filled with white pulp, the beans need two weeks for fermenting, drying and roasting. Then Mayans began bartering beans with the Aztecs. The Spanish court kept the source of the beans secret for nearly 100 years. Inevitably, word spread and chocolate travelled swiftly throughout Europe.

The first chocolate shop in London opened in 1657, serving the drink in gold and silver cups. Still, the brew tasted rather fatty due to the cocoa butter and gritty from imperfect crushing of the seeds. A Dutch inventor separated the cocoa butter in the early 1800s, and before the century was out, a conching machine smoothed the chocolate. A Swiss chocolatier added evaporated milk to create the first chocolate bar. Soldiers who ate the bars for energy during World War I brought their taste home, creating a huge market for chocolate bars and snacks invented in the early 1900s.

(a) The word, ‘bartering’ means ……………..

(i) selling

(ii) buying

(iii) exchanging

(iv) changing

(b) …………………kept the source of the chocolate beans a secret for nearly 100 years.

(i) Mayans

(ii) The Spanish

(iii) The soldiers

(iv) Mexico

(c) The first ……………………………. was made by a Swiss chocolatier.

(i) cocoa seed

(ii) cocoa butter

(iii) evaporated milk

(iv) chocolate bar

(d) Mayans got kakawa seeds from…………………….

(i) the kings

(ii) the Aztecs

(iii) Mexican rain forests

(iv) London

(e) Cocoa brew tasted fatty because of…………………….

(i) bad crushing of the seeds

(ii) cocoa butter

(iii) imperfect crushing of the seeds

(iv) vanilla flavor

3. Read the poem given below: ½x10 = 5

To a Fish

You strange, astonished-looking, angle- faced,

Dreary-mouthed, gaping wretches of the sea,

Gulping salt-water everlastingly.

Cold blooded, though with red your blood be graced,

And mute, though dwellers in the roaring waste;

And you, all shapes beside, that fishy be ……………

Some round, some flat, some long, all devilry,

Legless, unloving, infamously chaste …………….

O scaly, slippery wet, swift, staring wights,

What is’t ye do? What life lead? Eh, dull goggles?

How do ye vary your vile days and nights?

How pass your Sundays? Are yet still but joggles

In ceaseless wash? Still nought but gapes and bites,

And drinks, and stares, diversified with boggles?

Given below is the summary of the poem. Fill in the blanks with suitable words to complete the summary. Use only one word for each blank.

To a man a fish is a strange creature. It’s (a) ……………………. face has always a look of (b) ………………………..…. on it. Its mouth is mostly open and keeps on (c) …………………………. salt-water. It is called cold blooded even if red blood runs (d) ………………..…… its body. It lives among (e) ……………….. waters but is mute itself. The fish may have many (f) ……………… but it has no shapely legs. It is loveless and chaste.

The fish are swift and slippery and all the time (g) ……………….……. at others. Man wonders at the (h) ……………………………….….. they lead. Are their days (i) ……………………….… from their nights? And what do they do on Sundays? Do they ever stop or keep on gaping, biting, drinking and (j) ………………………, punctuated by sudden movements?

4. Read the passage given below and complete the sentences that follow: 1×5=5 marks

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated around India but most grandly in Maharashtra. But the ten day extravaganza the festival has become is a relatively recent creation. In Pen, in Maharashtra, there are nearly 250 families which work on Ganapathi statues for a living. Both clay and plaster of Paris are used for the making of the murtis. Clay is more difficult than POP to work with and there are few expert clay sculptors left.

Many devout customers insist on clay murtis, for after they are immersed in water, clay dissolves readily while POP can take months with fragments floating to shore days after the immersion, upsetting both devotees and environmentalists. Once a murti is made, it is ready for decoration. It is first buffed with a soft cloth. Then a small red tilak is placed reverently on its forehead. Next it is sprayed with clay resin primer.

After it dries, it is again buffed with ‘jheel’, a subtle sheen that highlights skin tones. Finally, the most important finishing touch, ‘aakhni’ the painting of the eyes, is done. It is when the eyes are painted on that an idol comes alive.

(a) Ganesh Chaturthi has recently become …………………………………….

(b) The material used for the making of murtis is ……………………..…….

 (c) Fewer clay murtis are made these days because …………………………………..

 (d) The devout customers, however, demand clay murtis because ………………..

 (e) The word in the passage which means the same as ‘respectfully’ is ……………

SECTION B

Writing (20 Marks)

5. Make use of the information given below and write a short biographical sketch of Akanksha Sen in about 80 words. 4 marks

• Educational consultant – New Delhi
• Investing in shares – rejoice – value grew
• Recession – stock market weakens – panic driven
• Not disheartened – bought new shares – beaten down prices
• After recession – profited
• Determination – not accepting defeat – helped

6. You were a member of a group of students which visited Jaipur for a week last month. Several promises given regarding food and accommodation were not fulfilled by the organisers though a large sum of money was charged. Your father was not happy about it. He wrote a letter to the Principal of your school asking him to find facts and deduct the money from the final bill of the tour operators to pay back to the students. You are Ravi/Rani, studying in Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Saket, Delhi.

Write the letter in about 120 words. 8 marks

7. Education has become a business now. Institutions offering several sought-after courses are mushrooming in every nook and comer of the country. Most of them provide low quality education and those graduating from them are unable to get good jobs. Write an article in about 150 words for a national daily on the plight of the students who get trapped to join these institutions for study. You may take help from the notes given below:

• private institutions appearing everywhere
• no proper infrastructure, library, teaching aids, qualified faculty etc.
• charging exorbitantly
• check needed by the government 8 marks

SECTION C

Grammar (20 Marks)

8. Complete the passage given below choosing the correct options. ½x8=4 marks

Last year I employed Sam as my Secretary and we went (a) …………………. a tour around the United States. He kept on working even (b) …………………….. the snowy weather when he (c) ………………………………. to leave his bike at home and walk (d) ……………………… with the papers. He even (e) ………………… his own bank account (f) ………………………. he deposited the special bonuses I (g) …………… to him. When the tour was over he could buy and take (h) …………………….. with him a new car.

(a) (i) for (ii) to (iii) on (iv) in

(b) (i) when (ii) during (iii) at (iv) that

(c) (i) has (ii) will have (iii) had (iv) have

(d) (i) somewhere (ii) everyplace (iii) every time (iv) everywhere

(e) (i) is opening (ii) opened (iii) have opened (iv) for opening

(f) (i) when (ii) which (iii) where (iv) whose

(g) (i) gave (ii) given (iii) will give (iv) will have given

(h) (i) alone (ii) away (iii) along (iv) with

9. Complete the following news reports by choosing the correct options. 1×4=4 marks

(a) New kit for Indian football team

Indian footballers …………………………… brand new jerseys for their next match as revealed by the team sponsors.

(i) will be sporting (ii) have been sporting (iii) sporting (iv) for sporting

(b) Two arrested with fake currency notes

Two people ………………….. and counterfeit notes seized from them last Sunday.

(i) had arrested (ii) has been arrested (iii) were arrested (iv) were arresting

(c) Bihar assembly election from October 21

Bihar …………………………… polls in six phases spread over a month from October 21, the Election Commission announced on Monday.

(i) election (ii) will have to (iii) will go to (iv) has election

(d) 9 die in plane crash in New Zealand

Nine people including the pilot …………………… when a light aircraft burst into flames in New Zealand on Saturday.

(i) has been killed (ii) were killing (iii) killed (iv) were killed

10. Rearrange the following to form meaningful sentences. The first one has been done for you. 4 marks

Great experience / young / gardening / and old / is a /for the /

Gardening is a great experience for the young and old.

(a) touching, / it’s / smelling and / all / caressing / about /

(b) with nature / a chance / it offers / to work /

(c) the power / gardening / has / the mind / also / to heal /

(d) produces / of / benefits / it also / exercise / an /

11. Read the conversation given below and complete the passage that follows. 1×4=4 marks

Swaroop: I am planning to visit my aunt in Delhi next week.

Varun: Is she working there?

Swaroop: Yes, she is a lawyer in the Supreme Court.

Varun: How long will you be there?

Swaroop: For about a week.

Swaroop told Varun that (a) ………………………. in Delhi next week. Varun wanted to know (b)……………………………………. Swaroop agreed and said (c) ……………. Supreme Court. Varun asked how long he would be there. Swaroop replied (d) …………………….. a week.

12. You can see below a set of instructions for making a sandwich. Complete the following paragraph. 1×4=4 marks

Take two slices of bread.

Cut away the crusts evenly.

Place a pan on low fire and warm them.

Spread butter or jam on the bread slices.

Put one slice over the other and the sandwich is ready.

Two slices of bread are taken. The crusts (a)……………………………….. A pan (b) ………………………… and the slices warmed. Butter or jam (c) ……………….. on them. The slices (d) …………………………… one over the other and the sandwich is ready.

SECTION D

Literature (20 Marks)

13. (A) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct options. 1 x3=3 marks

The bridegroom’s doors are

opened wide And I am next of kin;

The guests are met, the feast is set:

May’st hear the merry din.

(a) Who is ‘I’ ?

(i) the bridegroom

(ii) the ancient mariner

(iii) the wedding guest

(iv) the poet

(b) He is going

(i) to attend a wedding

(ii) to hear the merry din

(iii) on a voyage to the south pole

(iv) to get married

(c) What is he forced to do against his will ?

(i) to kill the Albatross

(ii) to go with the bridegroom

(iii) to listen to the mariner’s story

(iv) to attend the wedding

OR

“Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him I

have offended. Who is here who is so vile that will not love his country? If

any, speak; for him I have offended.”

(a) The speaker of the above lines is……………………..

(i) Mark Antony

(ii) Marcus Brutus

(iii) Decius Brutus

(iv) Julius Caesar

(b) Which incident is referred to in these lines?

(i) Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral.

(ii) Brutus speaking to the senators after Caesar’s assassination.

(iii) The senators conspiring after Caesar’s death.

(iv) Brutus addressing the Romans after Caesar’s assassination.

(c) What is the reaction of the listeners?

(i) The listeners turn against the speaker.

(ii) The listeners approve of the speaker’s action..

(iii) The listeners applaud Mark Antony.

(iv) The listeners turn against the conspirators.

(B) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 1×3=3 marks

‘So they decided – our grandmother did; our grandfather made little noises

and rocked from side to side, but she took no notice-we would go away.

(a) Why did they decide to go away?

(b) What do you understand about the grandparents?

(c) Where were they going?

14. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each. 2×4=8 marks

(a) Ali was a clever shikari. When and why did he give up hunting?

(b) What was the reaction of the other animals when the frog croaked away in Bingle Bog?

(c) Why did Calpurnia beg Caesar not to go to the senate house?

(d) How did the Albatross save the mariners from the land of ice and snow?

(e) Why is the mirror important to the woman?

15. Answer the following question in about 120 words: 6 marks

The nightingale’s death was caused by her own foolishness. Comment.

OR

How did Antony prove himself to be a clever orator?

CBSE Question Paper 2011 class 10 English Communicative

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