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• Class X
• 2007
• English
• English - 2007 (Set I - Outside Delhi )

English - 2007 (Set I - Outside Delhi )

SECTION - A

Reading (20 marks)

Q. 1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : (12 marks)

1. Our house is filled with photos. They cover the walls of my kitchen, dining room and den. I see our family’s entire history, starting with my wedding, continuing through the births of both sons, buying a home, family gatherings and vacations. When my sons were little, they loved to pose. They waved, danced, climbed trees, batted balls, hung upside down from the jungle gym and did anything for a picture. But when they reached adolescence, picture-taking changed into something they barely tolerated. Their bodies were growing at haphazard speeds. Reluctantly they stood with us or with their grandparents at birthday celebrations and smiled weakly at the camera for as short a time as possible.
2. I am the chronicler of our photographs. I select those to be framed and arrange the others in albums. The process is addictive, and as the shelves that hold our albums become fuller and fuller, I wonder what will become of them. Will anyone look at these photographs in future years ? If my sons look at them, what will they think of us and of themselves ? One bright afternoon, I took some photographs of my father with my husband as they fished on a lake near our vacation house. As my sons and I sat on the shore and watched them row away, I picked the camera up and photographed the beautiful lake surrounded by green trees. The two men I loved gradually grew smaller until all I could see were my father’s red shirt, and the tan and blue caps on their heads.
3. My father died a week later, and suddenly those photos became priceless to me. I wept when I pasted them in our album. I wept again afterwards when I saw my younger son looking at them. It was a few days before he went away to college. He had taken all our albums down from the bookshelves in the den and spread them out on the carpet. It had been a very long time since I had seen him doing this. Once he stopped posing for pictures, he seemed to lose interest in looking at them. But now he was on the verge of leaving home. This was his special time to look ahead and look back. I stood for a moment in the hall by the den, and then tiptoed away. I didn’t take a photo of my son that afternoon, but I will remember how he looked for as long as I live. Some pictures, I learned, don’t have to be taken with a camera.

1.1 Fill in the summary using a word only. (1×4=4 marks)

The author was (a) __________ about taking photographs and framing them. But she always (b)__________ whether her sons would ever look at them. She was full of (c) _________ when she pasted the pictures of her father’s last days in the album. She learnt that some pictures always (d)____________ . in one’s mind without a camera.

Complete the sentences given below.

1.2 The author’s sons enjoyed taking photographs while they (½×4=2 marks)

1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________

1.3 Two instances to show that the author’s son was averse to taking photographs are (1×2=2 marks)

(e) ____________________________________________________________
(f) ____________________________________________________________

1.4 Give words that mean the same as (1×4=4 marks)

1. not organized or planned para 1
2. one who records events in order para 2
3. very valuable para 3
4. devoted to something para 2

Q. 2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : (8 marks)

1. Set in the declining but still green Western Ghats in the South-West of Karnataka, Coorg is the heart of India’s coffee country. Coffee is the world’s most heavily traded commodity after crude oil. Coorg boasts a land area four times larger than Hong Kong and seven times the area of Singapore. Most of it is under tree cover because unlike tea plants, the coffee bush requires shade.
2. India is acknowledged as the producer of the finest mild coffees. With their tropical climate, high altitude, abundant rainfall and fertile soil, Coorg and the neighbouring Chickmangalur districts in Karnataka have consistently produced and exported high quality coffee for over 150 years. The coffee output of these two districts accounts for 70 percent of the total coffee produced in the country. Coorg coffee is valued for its blue colour, clean beans and fine liquoring qualities and hence is in demand in the international markets.
3. In March and April, the coffee blossom time in Coorg, when blossoms transform into berries, the bushes are cropped. The cherry-red fruit is then pulped; the seeds separated, dried and sent for curing. Coorg or Kodagu is the district which is one of the largest producers of pepper, cardamom and honey in the world.
4. Not much is known about the early history of Coorg. Recorded history is available only from 1600 A.D. onwards when Kodava Rajas ruled over the region and established their capital at Mercara by constructing a mud-walled fort. The martial Kodavas troubled Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, who ruled the Mysore region in the 18th century, by way of sporadic rebellions. But in 1785, Tipu’s large army marched into Kodagu and devastated the kingdom. Fourteen years later, with the help of the British, who defeated Tipu Sultan following the historic siege of Srirangapatana in 1799, Coorg regained independence and under the leadership of Raja Veerarajendra rebuilt the capital. Later in 1834, the British exiled its ruler Chikkaveera Rajendra and assumed administrative charge of the district. The British left India in 1947, leaving behind a legacy of coffee plantations, colonial buildings and well-planned road networks.

2.1 Complete the following : (1×4=4 marks)

1. The tea plants are unlike coffee plants as the latter _______________ .
2. Coorg coffee is internationally acclaimed for its _______________________ .
3. Coorg is famous not only for coffee but also for _____________________ .
4. After crude oil, coffee is the ___________________ .

2.2 Complete the table given below. (1×4=4 marks)

SECTION - B

Writing ( 30 marks)

Q. 3. You are Sumit/Sunita. You attended a science exhibition, ‘Self-sufficient India’. Write a postcard to your friend, Amit, 21, D.H. Eoad, Chennai in not more than 50 words about the exhibits and how you were benefited by them. Copy the format given below and write the postcard in your answer sheet. (5 marks)

Q. 4. The following is a telephonic conversation between Arun and Rakesh’s mother. As she was leaving home she leaves a message for her son. Write the message in not more than 50 words. (5 marks)

Arun : Can I speak to Rakesh ?

Rakesh’s mother : Rakesh is not at home. He has gone for tuition and will be back only at 6 p.m.

Arun : Can I leave a message ?

Mother : Oh, sure.

Arun : Please inform him that he has to stay back after class tomorrow for his

science project. Ram, Raghav and I are staying back. My father will

pick us up at 6 p.m.

Mother : I’ll inform him. Thank you.

Q. 5. You are Sharat/Sharon living at 22, Dalton Ganj, Kanpur. The following excerpt from an article made you aware of some of the problems faced by a modern city. (10 marks)

There are areas that need immediate attention if the city has to move forward. The blueprint of a modern city should have transportation facilities, mass housing projects, a scientific sewage system ... Taking ideas from the unit ‘Environment’ along with your own ideas, write a letter to the Editor, ‘The Herald’ in about 150 words on the problems faced by metropolitan cities and how the situation can be improved.

Q. 6. You are a member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in your locality. The following Pie-chart reflects the attitude of the people towards animals. In response to this, write an article to be published in the forthcoming issue of ‘The Week’ on how animals are ill-treated and what can be done to prevent it. As Ramesh/Ranjini, write the article in 150 - 200 words. (10 marks)

(For Blind Candidates Only)

You are a member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in your locality. Write an article to be published in the forthcoming issue of ‘The Week’ on how animals are ill-treated and what can be done to prevent it. As Ramesh/Ranjini, write the article in 150-200 words.

Hints :

* 50% people believe animals are exploited for selfish ends
* 35% people have indifferent attitude towards animals
* 15% people believe, that animals are man’s slaves

SECTION - C

Grammar (20 marks)

Q. 7. Look at the notes given below and complete the following paragraph suitably. Do not add any new information. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers in your answer sheet. (1×4=4 marks)

Cyclones appear (a)_______________but this time the Bay of Bengal seems to be their favourite hunting ground. Nature turned her anger on Orissa on 29th October, 1999 (b) ______________ coastline belt with a super cyclone. It reached the shore at a wind speed of 220 km/hr and a huge tidal wave of salt water. It is estimated that over 25,000 people died and about 16,000 (c) _____________ . But for the 15 million people who (d) ____________________ , hell on earth had just begun.

Q. 8. Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. The first one has been done for you as an example. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers in your answer sheet. (1×4=4 marks)

in the / is swimming / with tremendous / one sport / potential / country /
One sport in the country with tremendous potential is swimming.

1. our / is / full of/ talented swimmers / country /
2. not / utilized / potential / fully / their / is /
3. academic subjects / other activities / take precedence / over / in school /
4. has done / the sport / the government / very little / to boost /

Q. 9. In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined. The first one has been done for you as an example. (½×8=4 marks)

Q. 10. Given below are instructions to draw a circle. Use these to complete the paragraph that follows. Write correct answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentences. (1×4=4 marks)

Take a compass and insert a pencil into the provided hole and tighten it.
Keep the pointed end of the compass on one end of a scale.
Extend the arm, having the pencil, to the required length to obtain the radius.
Then keep the pointed end of the compass at the required point.
Rotate the arm having the pencil about the pointed arm to obtain a circle.
A compass is taken and a pencil is inserted into the provided hole and
tightened. The pointed end of the compass (a) _____________ . The arm having
(b) _______________ to obtain the radius. The pointed end of the compass
(c) _______________ . The arm having the pencil (d) _______________ about
the pointed arm to obtain a circle.

Q. 11. Read the conversation given below and complete the passage that follows. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentences. (1×4=4 marks)

Customer : Can I have a small bottle of tomato sauce ?

Shopkeeper : Sorry, I have only big bottles.

Customer : When will it be available ?

Shopkeeper : I can give it to you tomorrow.

Customer : Thank you, then I will get it tomorrow.

The customer asked the shopkeeper (a) ____________________ of tomato sauce. The shopkeeper said that he only had big bottles of tomato sauce. The customer wanted to know (b) ______________________ . The shopkeeper said that (c) ___________________________ . The customer thanked him and said that (d) ___________________________ .

SECTION - D

Literature - (30 marks)

Q. 12. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. Write the answers in your answer sheet in one or two lines only. Number the answers correctly.

It ate the food it ne’er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through !

1. What is ‘it’ referred to here ? 1
2. What difficulty did the mariners face before ‘it’ arrived ? 1
3. How did the mariners’ fate change after ‘its’ appearance ? 2

Q. 13. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. Write the answers in your answer sheet in one or two lines only. Number the answers correctly.

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful -
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.

1. What does the expression ‘I swallow immediately’ mean ? 1
2. Why is the mirror compared to a four-cornered god ? 2
3. What other qualities does the mirror boast of ? 1

Q. 14. How do the superstitious villagers react when the narrator’s mother is stung by a scorpion ? Write your answer in 75 -100 words. (5 marks)

Q. 15. Scrooge had everything he wanted but was always gloomy and bitter. Bob Crachit, his underpaid clerk, was cheerful and happy. Compare and contrast the characters of Scrooge and Crachit as they appear in the play, “A Christmas Carol”. Answer in about 75 words. (5 marks)

Q. 16. “When we arrived we were like him — my first-born brother and I.” Describe the condition of the refugees in ‘The Ultimate Safari’ when they first arrived at the refugee camp. Write your answer in 50 - 75 words. (4 marks)

Q. 17. Reaching home in Bhubaneshwar after the partition of the property, Babuli feels calm and relieved. That night he makes a diary entry on his experiences in his village and what prompted him to pay the tribute to his brother. As Babuli, write the diary entry in 150 - 175 words. (8 marks)