184

Roll No. ____________ Please check that this question paper

contains 11 questions and-12 printed
pages.
D.A.V. INSTITUTIONS, CHHATTISGARH
Sample Set-2 CLASS –X
SUBJECT- ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (184)
Time: 3Hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:
1. 15-minute prior reading time allotted for question paper reading.
2. The question paper contains THREE sections- Reading, Grammar& Writing and Literature.
3. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part.

Section A: READING SKILLS-(20 Marks)

Reading Comprehension Through Unseen Passages

1 Read the passage given below. (10 Marks)

1. The modern classroom has taken several steps forward in its evolution of the learning environment
in the past 25 years. Many of the benefits that we have seen in this setting are due to the
introduction of new technology options for students. Instead of having a single computer for a
class to use or a laboratory environment for the entire school placed in one room, we can now
help students learn at their table or desk with items issued to them directly. Thus, there are quite a
lot of advantages of having technology in classrooms.

2. Technology helps children to stay motivated during the learning process. Most students don’t like
to go to school if they feel like they are wasting their time. When there is technology allowed in the
classroom, then teachers have an opportunity to let children work at a pace which suits them the
best without disturbing others. They can look up additional information about a subject they are
learning about that day, play educational games that reinforce the lesson, or work on advanced
material using a program.

3. Because many of today’s technology options allow students to see how well they are doing
compared to the average of all users, it gives them a chance to push harder for themselves and
their education. Many of the programs that encourage learning also issue rewards or award
certificates, which helps to make the lessons fun as well.
4. Technology encourages more communication between teachers and parents. When there is
technology in the classroom, then there are more opportunities for parents and teachers to connect
with each other. Using a blog for the classroom can help parents get to see what their children are
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 learning each day. Apps and software options allow teachers to instantly report on a child’s
behaviour to let parents know in real-time what is happening throughout the day. There are
options for chat boxes, instant messaging, and other forms of communication as well.

5. Let’s not forget about email here either. Since the 1990s when this technology option came into
the classroom, it created more reliability in messaging between teachers and parents should there
be a need to talk.

6. Technology also creates new ways to learn for today’s student. There are three critical forms of
intelligence that we see in children today: emotional, creative, and instructional. The traditional
classroom environment, which typically encourages lecture-based lessons, focuses more on the
latter option. Standardized tests and similar ranking tools do the same. When children have access to
technology today, then those who excel outside of the standard learning setup can still achieve
their full potential.

7. Technology allows children to embrace their curiosity in multiple ways. They can try new things
without embarrassment because their tech access gives them a level of anonymity. This process
allows children to work, through trial-and error if they wish, to see if a different strategy helps
them to learn more effectively.

8. It even encourages students to stay engaged with their learning environment. Children get bored
very easily when they feel like they already know what is being taught in their classroom. Some
children will transform into mentors or leaders in this situation to help their fellow students, but
there are many more who disengage because they lack stimulation. By introducing technology to
the classroom, there are fewer places where repetitive learning must take place. Teachers can
introduce new subjects, try new techniques, or use different projects to encourage ongoing
learning, which creates more overall engagement.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. Most children don’t like to go to school if: 1

(a) they don’t understand what is being taught in class.

(b) they feel like they are wasting their time.

(c) they find class too boring.

(d) they can get away with it.

ii. Supply one advantage of having a technology that allows students to see how well they are doing
compared to the average of other students. 2

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iii. Select the appropriate option to fill in the blanks: 1
Technology allows children to embrace their in multiple ways.
(a) Intelligence

(b) hard work

(c) curiosity

(d) passion

iv. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE. 1

Technology creates new ways to learn for today’s student.
v. Who is a mentor? 1

(a) someone who gives someone help and advice related to something

(b) someone who leads someone to become a better person

(c) someone who helps someone in their time of need

(d) someone who provides a better learning standard

vi. Infer one reason for the following, based on information in paragraph 7. 1
Children can try new things with the help of technology without embarrassment.
vii. State 1 method through which technology encourages more communication between teachers and
parents. 2
viii. Technology helps children to see if a different strategy helps them to learn more effectively
through : 1

(a) hard work and diligence.

(b) trial and error method.

(c) advanced software programs.

(d) strategies and lessons.

2. Read the passage given below 10

1. In addition to using libraries and visiting art museums, historic site visitation is another common
form of public engagement with the humanities. According to the National Endowment for the Arts’
Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). the percentage of people making at least one such

visit fell steadily from 1982 to 2012, before rising somewhat in 2017. Visits to historic sites managed

by the National Park Service (NPS) were substantially higher in 2018 than 1980, despite a decline in
recent years.
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In 2017, 28% of American adults reported visiting a historic site in the previous year. This represented
an increase of 4.4 percentage points from 2012 but a decrease of 8.9 percentage points from 1982. The
bulk of the decline in visitation occurred from 2002 to 2008.

The recent increases in visitation rates were statistically significant for the 35-44 and 45-54-year-old age
groups 1. The larger change was found among 35-to-44-year-olds, whose visitation rate increased 8.7
percentage points. Despite the increase from 2012 to 2017 for these groups, there was a net decline in
historic site visitation since 1982 for Americans of virtually all ages. Only among the oldest Americans
(age 75 or older) was the rate of visitation higher in 2017 than 35 years earlier.

From 1982 to 2017, the differences among age groups with respect to rates of historic site visitation
decreased. For example, in 1982, the rate of visitation among 25-to-34-year-olds (the group most likely
to visit a historic site in that survey) was approximately 11 percentage points higher than that of the
youngest age group (18-to-24-year-olds). and more than 17 points higher than that of people ages 65-74.
By 2017, however, the visitation rate of 25-to-34-year-olds had dropped to within five percentage points
of the younger cohort and was virtually identical of that for the older group.

2.While visitation rates are converging among the age cohorts, the differences by level of educational
attainment are still pronounced. In 2017, as in earlier years, the visitation rate among college graduates
was more than twice as high as the rate among those who finished their studies with a high school
diploma (43% as compared to 17%). Among those who did not finish high school, visitation rates were
below 10% throughout the 2008-2017 time period. Conversely, among Americans with a graduate or
professional degree, visitation rates were in the vicinity of 50% during these years. Data from the National
Park Service (NPS) indicate the types of historical sites visited most and also the demands made of these
sites’ physical infrastructure and staff. Visits to NPS historic sites rose from approximately 59.5 million
in 1980 to almost 112 million in 2018. Throughout this time period, visits to historic sites constituted
approximately a third of total NPS recreational visitation.

3. Since hitting a recent low in visits in 1995, total visits to historic sites of all types increased
58% to a high of 120.3 million in 2016, before falling 7%, to 111.9 million visits in 2018.

4. Much of the recent growth in visits to historic sites occurred among parks classified as national
memorials and was driven by a particularly high level of visitation at sites that did not exist in
1995, such as the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (3.3 million visitors in 2018), the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Memorial (3.6 million visitors), and the World War II Memorial (4.7 million
visitors). As a result, visits to national memorials increased more than 300% from 1995 to 2016,
even as the number of sites increased just 26% (from 23 to 29). In comparison, visits to national
monuments increased only 3%, even as the number of sites in the category increased by 9% (from
64 to 70). From 2016 to 2018, the number of visits fell in every category, with the largest decline

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 occurring at the memorial sites (down 10%), and the smallest drop at national monuments (3%).
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above

i. Which of the following is not a common form of public engagement with the humanities. 1
(a) visiting public memorials
(b) visiting art museums
(c) using libraries
(d) historic site visitation
ii. Based on your reading of the text, list 2 historical memorial in America? 2
1. __________
2. __________
iii. Supply a suitable word to fill in the blanks. 1
Though the visitation rates are converging among the age groups, the differences by the level of
_____are still pronounced.
iv. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 1
general: ______ :: mythical : _____
(Clue: Just like general is an antonym for particular, similarly mythical is an antonym for...)
v. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE. 1
Data from the National Park Service (NPS) only indicate the types of historic sites visited most.
vi. Among whose in earlier years the visitation rate among college graduates was more than twice as
high as the rate? 2
vii. Substitute the word ‘classified’ with ONE WORD similar in meaning, in the following sentence
from paragraph 4: 1
Much of the recent growth in visits to historic sites occurred among parks classified as national
memorials and...
viii. The number of historical sites visits fell in every category from the year 2016 to the year 2018,
with the largest decline occurring at : 1
(a) the national monuments. (b) the archaeological sites.
(c) the art museums. (d) the memorial sites.

SECTION B: WRITING SKILLS & GRAMMAR (20 marks)

GRAMMAR- 10 Marks

3. Complete ANY TEN of twelve of the following tasks, as directed. 10

i. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option to complete the sentence.

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The higher you go, the more difficult it to breathe.
(a) had become (b) becomes (c) is becoming (d) became
ii. Read the conversation between Abhishek and Inspector. Complete the sentence by reporting
Abhishek’s reply correctly.
Abhishek: I have lost my wallet.
Inspector: How did you lose it?
Abhishek: My pocket was picked.

Abhishek reported to the inspector that he had lost his wallet. The inspector asked him how he had lost
it. Abhishek replied that

iii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank for the given line.
I go on with the work, cause what may.
(a) May (b) will (c) shall (d) can
iv. Select the option that identifies the error and supplies the correction for the following line:
I don’t think there will be a severe shortage of usable water because there was some rain fall yesterday.

Option No. Error Correction

(a) some a lot of
(b) will should
(c) think thinks
(d) was were

v. Complete the given sentence, by filling in the blank with the correct option:
Had the police not reached there in time, the bandits him.
(a) did have killed

(b) will have killed

(c) would kill

(d) would have killed

vi. Fill in the blank by using the correct form of the word in the bracket. The level of intoxication
(vary) from subject to subject.
vii. Report the dialogue between Buddha and his disciple, by completing the sentence :

Buddha : Honesty is the best policy.

Disciple : Does honesty always pay?
Buddha : It may or may not, but at least you will never feel guilty.

Buddha in his preaching said that honesty is the best policy. A disciple asked him if honesty always pays.
Buddha replied that
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viii. Identify the error in the given sentence and supply the correction.
Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer, and the first person to
walking on the Moon.

Use the given format for your response.

Error Correction

ix. Transform the following direct speech into reported speech:

I said to my friend, “Can I borrow your dictionary for one day?”
x. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option, to complete the sentence.
We ___________eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day.
(a) ought to
(b) may

(c) can
(d) could

xi. Select the correct option to complete the narration of the dialogue between Garima and Karan.
Garima: So, after a decade in the industry, are you truly ‘satisfied’?
Karan: I love the film industry. It has its flaws though.
Garima asked Karan if after a decade in the industry he was truly ‘satisfied’. Karan told her that
although it had its flaws.

(a) he loved the film industry

(b) I loved the film industry
(c) I love the film industry
(d) he loves the film industry

xii. Identify the error in the given sentence and supply the correction.
Our defense academies are better than that of Afghanistan.
Use the given format for your response.
Error Correction

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 WRITING SKILLS-10 Marks
Note: All details presented in the questions are imaginary and created for assessment purpose.
4A. You are Tripti, Head Girl of Guru Nanak Girls Sr. Sec. School, Kanpur. Write a letter to Dimple
Caterers, Motijheel, Kanpur to find out the rate for conducting the XII standard farewell party,
enquiring about catering charges per head, service charges and advance to be paid. 5
OR

4B. You are Anita/Amit, the student prefect and incharge of the school library. You have been asked
to place an order for textbooks on Mathematics. Write a letter to M/s Good Marks (P) Ltd.,
8A/1, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi placing an order for the books. Invent the necessary
details. 5

5A The graph below shows the number of visitors to two different tourist attractions in the city of
Grenby during one particular week. Write an analytical paragraph in 100-120 words by selecting
and reporting the main features, and making comparisons where relevant. 5

OR

5B “The ban on single-use plastic is impractical. The purpose of articles like bags and packaging is
ultimately to make human life easier. Plastic articles do this well, so they shouldn’t be banned.”

Write an analytical paragraph in 100-120 words to analyse the given argument. You could think
about what alternative explanations might weaken the given conclusion and include
rationale/evidence that would strengthen/counter the given argument. 5

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 SECTION D: LITERATURE TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLEMENTARY READING TEXT
(40 marks)
6. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given. 5

A. That evening, after I’d finished the rest of my homework, the note about the essay caught my
eye. I began thinking about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble
on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to
prove the necessity of talking. I thought and thought and suddenly I had an idea. I wrote the three pages
Mr. Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a student’s trait and that I would
do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to cure myself of the habit since my
mother talked as much as I did if not more, and that there’s not much you can do about inherited traits.
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
i. What is the main feature of an essay according to Anne? 2
ii. Anne’s argument about talking was that: 1
(a) talking is a fundamental right
(b) talking is a student’s trait
(c) talking is a birth-right
(d) talking is a duty
iii. The word ‘trait’ means____________ 1
iv. Complete the following with a phrase from extract: 1

Opinion Reason
to attract attention

B. The sun was now ascending the sky, blazing on his ledge that faced the south. He felt the heat
because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge,
and standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing, he closed one eye, then the other, and
pretended to be falling asleep. Still, they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister
lying on the plateau dozing with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers
on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the
plateau, her white breast thrust forward. Now and again, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet
and then scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food maddened him. How he loved
to tear food that way, scrapping his beak now and again to whet it. (His First Flight)

i. “The sun was now ascending the sky”- What does the expression reflect upon? 2

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ii. What did the seagull see his brother and sister doing? 1
I. Playing with his parents,
II. Lying on the plateau dozing,
III. Having breakfast happily,
IV. Flying high in the sky

iii. Fill in the blank: 1

The sight of________________ maddened the young seagull.

iv. Select the option that displays the reason why the other family members of the young seagull
were ignoring him: 1
I. To leave him in the forest.
II. To avoid storms in the sea.
III. To let him have a sound sleep.
IV. To let him fly on his own.

7 Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given. 5

A. He hears the last voice at night,

The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars. ( A Tiger in the Zoo)

i. Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option. 1

The animal referred to in the extract is in _____.
(a) the forest (b) a zoo (c) a circus (d) a wildlife sanctuary
ii. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from extract: 1
battles: history:: _____ : astronomy
(Clue: Just like battles make up history, similarly... are a component of astronomy)
iii. Where does the tiger look at in the night? 2
iv. The word in the extract opposite in meaning to the word, ‘dull’ is 1
(a) brilliant (b) stare (c) patrolling (d) stars

B. Belinda lived in a little white house,

With a little black kitten and a little grey
mouse, And a little yellow dog and a little red

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 wagon, And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
Now the name of the little black kitten was
Ink, And the little grey mouse, she called him
Blink, And the little yellow dog was sharp as
Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard. (The Tale of Custard the Dragon)

i. Why did Belinda call the dragon ‘Custard’? 2

ii. How many total animals lived with Belinda? 1
iii. Which of the following animals nourished by Belinda was/were ‘little’? 1
I. Kitten, II. Mouse, III. Dog, IV. All of the above
iv. Belinda lived in a house which was- 1
I. Little black II. Large white, III. Little white, IV. Large black.

8. Answer ANY FOUR of the following five questions, in about 40-50 words. 4x3=12

i. State the findings of Valli when she entered her house after the ride from the bus?

(Madam Rides the Bus)

ii. The principle ‘forgive and forget’ helps a lot in maintaining cordial relations with our
neighbours. Do you think Chubukov conveys this message in the play “The Proposal’.

iii. “Simple moment proves to be very significant and saves the rest of the poet's day from being
wasted.” – Explain the statement on the basis of the poem ‘Dust of Snow”. (Dust of Snow)

iv. Give one reason why ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is more a fable than a ballad.

v. “Freedom is a birth right. It is the most beautiful gift of God. It is valuable for all human beings
as well as for creatures,” –
Discuss with reference to the poem “A Tiger in the Zoo.”.

9. Answer ANY TWO of the following three questions, in about 40-50 words. 2X3=6

i. Mention any two Ebright’s contributions to the world of science. (The Making of a Scientist)

ii. Note down the intention of Mrs. Pumphrey to bring Tricki back to normal health? Was she
successful? (The Triumph of Surgery)

iii. How can it be evident that Ausable showed great presence of mind in situations of danger and
surprise? (The Midnight Visitor)

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10. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 100-120 words. 1x6=6

i. Being impressed by Custard’s feat, the young seagull’s sister wrote a letter to Custard seeking
advice on addressing the situation with her young brother. Write Custard’s response to this letter.
Base the advice from his experiences.
You may begin like this:
Dear Ms Seagull,
Thank you for seeking me out. I am humbled. Based on my limited experiences I feel...
(The Tale of Custard the Dragon)
ii. “If you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.” Lencho had faith in God but he
didn’t manage to solve the problem by himself. Did he lack the courage to resolve his matter
himself? What values did he lack? Explain. (A Letter to God)

11 Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 100-120 words. 1x6=6

i. ‘Money cannot make a man as much as education can’. – Elucidate this statement following the
story “The Thief’s Story”? (The Thief’s Story)
ii. Our sins never go unpunished. Horace Danby ultimately had to go to prison. This shows that in
spite of planning a crime intelligently and carefully a criminal can’t escape the law.
Explain. (A Question of Trust)

XXXXXXX

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