English Kumarbharati

Time: 3 hours

SPECIMEN PAPER - II

Max. Marks: 80

SECTION A: READING, GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY Q.1. (A) Read the following passage and answer the questions set below it: Robinson looked a trifle disconcerted but asked me how long I would be in London. I told him that I was visiting friends in the country and Scotland and would be back after four weeks or so, for a few days before taking a flight home. He pursed his lips and said. Im terribly sorry but much as I would like to help, I cant do it I said. Is the time too short? To which he answered, No its not that. Then whats the problem? was my next query. Well you see . At which point, I turned on all my persuasive skills and invoked the name of my father. Mr. Robinson looked at me with half a smile on his face and said, Thats it precisely. Because you are the son of an old and valued customer of ours, I will not accept your order. He must have seen the look of bewilderment on my face and quickly went on to explain. Nowadays we do not do the tailoring ourselves. We send the order to Hong Kong but the finished product goes under our label. Now you know why I have decided not to sell you the suit. As I prepared to leave, Mr. Robinson shook me warmly by the hand and escorted me to the door. I stepped out on the street with mixed feelings. Disappointment at not getting my suit, but gratitude for the mans candour. Questions: (1) Where did the writer go to get his suit tailored? [1] (2) Why did Mr. Robinson refuse to tailor the suit for the writer? [1] (3) State two qualities that Mr. Robinson possessed as a businessman. [1] (4) Do as directed: (i) I stepped out on the street with mixed feelings. (State giving a reason, the kind of sentence) [1] (ii) We send the order to Hongkong. (Change the voice) [1] (5) (i) He must have seen the look of bewilderment on my face. (Rewrite using the adjectival form of the underlined word). [1] (ii) Give the antonyms of: (a) quickly (b) accept [1] (6) What message do you find in this passage? [2] (B) Read the following passage and answer the questions set below it: Tucked away on the backwaters of Kerala, a vibrant and living network of canals, estuaries and lakes, is a quaint little village called Kumarakom. Here,

where the land celebrates the bounty of nature with a riot of vegetation, we left the world of strife and deadlines behind, went fishing with a simple rod and line and admired the grace of local fishermen who cast their nets with the elegance of dancers. Out on the waters of Lake Vembanad, country crafts, some sporting patch work sails that ballooned in the wind, cruised by. The never ending song of birds reminded us that we were on the edge of the famous Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, where a number of species from distant Siberia come to roost. We dropped by to admire the graceful feathered flying birds. After returning to our resort, we checked into its ayurvedic centre where the magic touch of masseurs coaxed the tension out of knotted muscles. Our next half was straight into a houseboat that had been ingeniously grafted onto traditional rice boats known as kettuvalloms. The weather beaten captain welcomed us aboard his ship, which had all modern hotel amenities including bathtubs and onboard kitchen. Sailing with him was like drifting into a mysterious world that seemed untouched by time. Questions: (1) Which two geographical sites have been mentioned in this extract? [1] (2) What did the writers visit at Kumarakom and why? [1] (3) What do you understand by weather beaten captain? [1] (4) Do as directed: (a) Sailing with him was like drifting into a mysterious world that seemed untouched by time. (State whether the underlined words are participles or gerunds) [1] (b) Our next half was straight into a houseboat that had been ingeniously grafted onto traditional rice boats known as kettuvalloms. (Identify any two prepositions). [1] (5) (a) Write the noun forms of: (any two) [1] Simple, admire, celebrate (c) backwaters, network, bathtubs, houseboats, graceful. (Pick out the odd word) [1] (6) Describe your experience of a joyful trip to any place (in not more than 4 to 5 sentences). [2] Q.II. (A) Read the following passage and answer the questions set below it: Helen packed a small suitcase, said goodbye to her mother and hurried out of the house to catch the bus to the station. There was no one else waiting at the bus stop, so it looked as if a bus had just left. Helen looked at her watch anxiously: it was already two oclock. Her train left at two -thirty, and since it would take at least twenty minutes to reach the station, she did not have much time to spare, even if a bus came along at once. Just then a taxi came slowly down the road. Helen

knew that the fare to the station was at least two pounds, which was more than she could afford, but she quickly made up her mind that it would be well worth the extra expense in order to be sure of catching her train. So she stopped the taxi and got in. She told the driver that she had to catch a train which left at half past two. The man nodded and said that he would take a short cut to get her to the station in good time. All went well until, just as they were coming out of a side-street into the main road that led to the station, the taxi ran into a car. There was a loud crash and Helen was thrown forward so violently that she hit her head on the front seat. Both the drivers got out and began shouting at each other. Helen got out as well, to ask them to stop quarrelling, but neither of them took any notice of her at all. Helen was now quite sure that she was going to miss her train, although she was not very far from the station. She was wondering what to do when a bus came into sight, going in the direction of the station. The bus stop was not far off, so Helen got her suitcase out of the taxi and ran towards the bus, which had stopped to let some passengers get off. The bus conductor saw her running and did not ring the bell for the bus to start until she had got on. Helen reached the station just in time and managed to catch her train after all. But if she had waited for the taxi driver to stop arguing, she would probably have missed it. Questions: (1) Why did Helen look at her watch in anxiety? [1] (2) How did her journey in the taxi come to an end? [1] (3) Was the conductor helpful to Helen? Justify your answer [1] (4) Do as directed: (a) Helen was now quite sure that she was going to miss her train. (Rewrite as a negative sentence). [1] (b) So she stopped the taxi and got in. (Transform into a complex sentence) [1] (5) (a) Pick out two adverbs from this passage. [1] (b) Write the adjectival forms of; (any two) [1] Expense, argue, afford (6) If we can handle adversity, it only strengthens us. How far do you agree with this statement? [2] (B) Read the following passage and answer the questions set below it: Monday morning found Tom Sawyer miserable because it began another week of slow suffering in school. Presently, it occurred to him that he wished he was sick; then he could stay home from school. He canvassed his system. No ailment was found and he investigated again. Suddenly he discovered something. One of his upper front teeth was loose. How lucky he was! He was about to begin to groan as a starter when it occurred to him that if he came into court with that

argument, his aunt would pull it out and that would hurt. Then he remembered hearing the doctor tell about a certain thing that laid up a patient for two or three weeks and threatened to make him lose a finger. So the boy eagerly drew his sore toe from under the sheet and held it up for inspection. But now he did not know the necessary symptoms. However, it seemed well worthwhile to chance it so he fell to groaning with considerable spirit. But Sid, his brother slept on unconscious. Tom groaned louder and fancied that he began to feel pain in the toe. No result from Sid. Questions: (1) Why was Tom miserable on Monday morning? [1] (2) Why did Tom not groan about his upper teeth being loose? [1] (3) Did Toms groaning have any effect on Sid? Support your answer with a reason. [1] (4) Do as directed: (a) How lucky was he! (Make it assertive) [1] (b) But now he did not know the necessary symptoms. (Rewrite as an affirmative sentence). [1] (5) (a) Write words similar in sound to; (a) grown (b) pain. [1] (b) The Principal was requested to investigate the matter about some students who were _________by their seniors. (Fill in the blank with an appropriate word from the passage) [1] (6) Have you made any attempt(s) to stay away from school and why? [2] Q.III. Do as directed: (1) Rohit said, I swam in this river twice. (Rewrite in the indirect speech). [1] (2) It was dark. We could not see anything. (Combine into a single sentence using a suitable coordinator). [1] (3) Mom and I broke down. (Add a suitable question tag). [1] (4) The Swiss train carried me to a meeting I had dreamed of for two decades. (State the tense of the underlined words). [1]

SECTION B: POETRY Q.IV. Read the following poem and answer the questions given below it: Life is a gift to be used every day. Not to be smothered and hidden away. It isnt a thing to be stored in the chest Where you gather your keepsakes and treasure your best. It isnt joy to be sipped now and then

And promptly put back in a dark place again. Life is a gift that the humblest may boast of And one that the humblest may well make the most of, Get out and live it each hour of the day, Wear it and use it as much as you may Dont keep it in niches and corners and grooves, Youll find that in service its beauty improves Questions: (1) What, according to the poet, must we not do with the gift of life? (2) What does the poet compare life to? (3) Explain the line: It isnt a joy to be sipped now and then. (4) How does the poet want us to use the gift of life? (5) Write the rhyme scheme of the first dour lines. (B) Read the following poem and answer the questions given below it: They cheered the winning runner As he crossed the line first place Head high, and proud, and happy; No falling, no disgrace But when the fallen youngster Crossed the line last place, The crowd gave him the greater cheer; For finishing the race. And even though he came in last With head bowed low, unproud, You would have thought hed won the race To listen to the crowd And to his dad he sadly said, I didnt do too well. To me, you won, his father said You rose each time you fell. Questions: (1) How did the crowd react to the youngster crossing the line? (2) What was the fathers opinion about his sons performance? (3) Why would one think that the youngster had won the race? (4) When can one hold ones head high? (5) Which two words in this extract does the word place rhyme with? SECTION C: RAPID READING Q.V. Read the following passage and answer the questions set below it: [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]

[1] [1] [1] [1] [1]

The day of the trip, trembling with excitement, I climbed onto the train. I was the only non-white in our section. Our hotel was not far from the White House. My room-mate was Frank Miller, the son of a businessman. Leaning together out of our window and dropping water balloons on tourists quickly cemented our new friendship. Every morning, almost a hundred of us loaded noisily onto our bus for another adventure, we sang our school fight song dozens of times on route to Arlington National Cemetery and even on an afternoon cruise down the Potomac River. We visited the Lincoln Memorial twice, once in daylight, the second time at dusk. My classmates and I fell silent as we walked in the shadows of those 36 marble columns, one for every state in the Union that Lincoln laboured to preserve. I stood next to Frank at the base of the 19-foot seated statue. Spotlights made the while Georgian marble seem to glow. Together we read those famous words from Lincolns speech at Gettysburg remembering the most bloody battle in the War between the States: .. we resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God shall have a new birth in freedom. Questions: (1) What mischief did the boys indulge in? [1] (2) Which places did the students visit? [1] (3) Describe the Lincoln Memorial [1] (4) Why, do you think, did the writer and his classmates become silent at the Lincoln Memorial? [2] SECTION D: WRITING SKILLS Q.VI. (A) Write any one of the following letters: [5] (1) To your friend advising him/her about the role of sports in developing his/her personality. (2) To the Manager of a mobile cell phone company applying for the post of a Customer Care Executive clearly highlighting your skills and abilities. (B) Attempt any one of the following: [5] (1) Prepare a fact file on any tourist spot in India taking into account at least five points. (2) Read the following passage and recast the data into the table given below: The Waltz is a dance born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the Alpine region of Austria. As early as the seventh century, waltzes were played in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court. These dances were performed by peasants in Austria and Bavaria. In the Waltz, there is a strong accent on the first heat and a basic pattern of step-step-close.

Originally known as the Cha-Cha-Cha, it became popular around 1954. Cha Cha is an offshoot of the Mambo. In the slow Mambo tempo, there was a distinct sound in the music that people began dancing to, calling he step the Triple Mambo. Eventually it evolved into a separate dance, known today as the Cha Cha. The dance consist of three quick steps (or cha cha cha) and two slower steps on the one-beat and two-beat. The Foxtrot was originated in the summer of 1914 by Vaudeville actor Harry Fox, Born Arthur Carringford in Pomona, California, in 1882, he Adopted the stage name of Fox after his grandfather. The Foxtrot is the combination of quick and slow steps and permits more flexibility and gives much greater dancing pleasure than the one-step and two-step. The word Rumba is a type of West Indian music or dancing. There are two sources of the dances; one Spanish and the other African. Although the main growth was in Cuba, there were similar dance developments which took place in other Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally. The rumba influence came in the 16th century with the black slaves imported from Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a pantomime dance extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements and with an aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dances. Name of dance Period of origin Place of origin Special feature Waltz Foxtrot Cha Cha Cha Rumba Q.VII. (A) Write any one of the following: [5] (1) Draft a speech to be delivered by you on the last day of your school. (2) A dialogue between a tourist from abroad and yourself on the progress made by India. (B) Write any-one of the following: [5] (1) A report on a seminar organized by your school on How to manage time effectively and prepare for the SSC examination. (2) You are likely to interview a sports celebrity. Frame ten questions that would form part of the interview with him/her. Q.VIII. Expand any one of the ideas given below in about 80 to 100 words: [5] (1) Eat healthy, think healthy and be healthy.

(2) An idle mind is a devils workshop. (3) People are really good at heart Anne Frank.

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