Sample Question Paper for class 10th English (Annual Examination)

Sample Question Paper for class 10th 

English (Annual Examination) 

BOARD EXAMINATION 2020-2021

SUBJECT - ENGLISH

CLASS - X 

TIME: 3 HRS. M.M: 80 

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 

1. The question paper is divided into three sections : 

SECTION A : Reading 20 MARKS 

SECTION B : Writing and Grammar 30 MARKS 

SECTION C : Literature 30 MARKS 

2. All questions are compulsory.  

3. You may attempt any section at a time. 

4. All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct order. 

SECTION –A: READING (20 Marks) 

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 

1. Cricket is a global passion, played everywhere from Test match arenas  to village greens, tropical beaches and dusty back lots. Cricket is the  world’s second most popular spectator sport after football. 

2. The origin of cricket is somewhere in the Dark Ages. All research  concedes that the game derived from a very old, widespread and  uncomplicated pastime by which one player served up an object, be it a  small piece of wood or a ball, and another hit it with a suitably fashioned  club. Cricket was first recorded in 16th-century England, and it was  played in grammar schools, farm communities and everywhere in  between. But things really took off when 18th-century nobles realised it  was a great sport. 

3. The oldest surviving set of cricket laws date from 1744 – printed on a  handkerchief, naturally. It’s now in the MCC Museum at Lord’s in  London. The oldest permanent fixture is the annual Eton v Harrow  match, played since 1805. A young Lord Byron turned out for Harrow in  the first match, though history doesn’t record how poetic – or “mad, bad  and dangerous” – his bowling was.  

4. The first international match was in 1877 when Australia beat England  in Melbourne. The match was dubbed a “Test”, since the gruelling nature  of playing over five days was deemed the ultimate “test” for any side.  But it was Australia’s first win on English soil – in 1882 at The Oval in  London – that led to matches between the two nations being christened  the Ashes. Following the defeat, newspapers published an obituary 

mourning “the death of English cricket”, adding that “the body will be  cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”. 

5. A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket,  played between two teams with international status, in which each  team faces a fixed number of overs, usually 50. The Cricket World Cup  is played in this format. The international one-day game is a late  twentieth-century development. The first ODI was played on 5 January  1971 between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

Q1. Attempt any eight of the following questions on the basis of the passage  you have read. (1X8=8) 

i. According to the passage, how did the game of Cricket originate? ii. Where 

can we find the oldest sets of Cricket laws? 

iii. Which match did Lord Byron play?  

iv. When was the first international match played?  

v. Which countries played that match? 

vi. Why were the matches between Australia and England titled “The Ashes”? vii. In which format is the Cricket world cup played ? 

viii. When did the ODIs begin?  

ix. Which word in paragraph no.4 means the same as ‘exhausting’? 

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 

1.Politeness has been well defined as benevolence in trifles. It is the desire  to put those whom we meet perfectly at their ease, and save them from  every kind of petty discomfort and annoyance. The limited part of  benevolence called politeness requires only an inclination to make them  happy temporarily, while they are in our presence, and when this can be  done without any sacrifice on our part or only with a slight sacrifice of  personal comfort. 

2.Politeness is said to be one of the important characteristics of civilised  person. Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts. It must be  implemented in every walk of life. When we deal with people elder to us we  are polite. But, an honest polite person is polite with everyone, people of  lower status, workers and even children. Not only with humans but also with  animals we must be polite as they are our helpers. 

3.Politeness is a skill. Like any other skill, you can master it with practice.  The greatest enemy of politeness is ego. To be a polite person, you have to  sacrifice your ego. It is difficult for an egoist to be polite. You have to imply  politeness in your thinking, speech and actions. Actions work more than  words. 

Polite actions will give fine results. Politeness will reduce your stress and  boost you to be productive. Apart from your present benefits, you protect 

your future. Being polite makes you mentally healthy. In our daily life we  come across many incidents with people nearby and ourselves. 4.Different rules of behavior have to be observed, accordingly as we are in  the street or in the drawing-room, at home or at school, in the company of  friends or of strangers. There is also to be considered the great diversity of  social etiquette which distinguishes one country from another. 5.Politeness, besides being a duty that we owe to others, is a valuable  possession for ourselves. It costs nothing, and yet may in many cases bring  much profit. The great advantage of this excellence of conduct was very  clearly expressed by Dr. Johnson, when he said that the difference between  a well-bred and an ill- bred man is that one immediately attracts your liking,  the other your dislike.  

Q2. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any two of the  following questions in about 30-40 Words each : (1X2=2) 

i. What are the benefits of being polite? 

ii. List some of the persons we should be polite to? 

iii. Which rules of behavior are to be observed?  

Q3. On the basis of your reading of the passage, fill in of the following  blanks with appropriate words/phrases. (1X3=3) 

i. Politeness is an art of choosing_________. 

ii. An honest polite person is polite with ___________. iii. To others, we _____________________. 

Q4. Find out the words that mean the same as under: (1x3 =3) 

i. ‘insignificant’ (Paragraph 1) 

ii. ‘manners’ (Paragraph 4) 

iii. ‘civil’(Paragraph 5) 

SECTION B: WRITING AND GRAMMAR (30 Marks) 

Q3. Attempt any one letter from the following.(100-120 words , 8 Marks) 

(a) You are Sonal/ Samkit of Vidyanjali Public School , Lucknow . You have  seen an advertisement in ‘The Times of India ’ related to new batches of  ‘Astronomy Club’ initiated by National Science Centre , Lucknow starting  from the coming fortnight .You wish to join the club. Write a letter to the  Director, enquiring about the venue , duration ,fee- structure , activities, transportation etc. Invent other necessary details. 

Or

(b) You are the In-charge of the Medical Section of Gyanodaya Public  School , Nehru Vihar , Alwar . Your stock of medicines is about to finish  .Write a letter to the Director of Jambo Medicare ,Delhi,ordering medical  items like glucose , crocin , bandages, tincture , pain-healers, ointments etc.  Ask for discount on bulk order .Invent other necessary details.  

Q4. Write a short story, in about 200-250 words, with any one set of the  cues given in the boxes below. Give a suitable title to the story . (10)  

Jasmine , Ali and two other friends decided to go on a picnic to a beach .  They packed their bags and were quite excited . They reached the picnic  spot and came across a small child who was crying …………… 

Or 

On October 4 ,we all were decorating our house to celebrate the most long  awaited festival , Diwali . My heart was filled with excitement to meet my  father after a long gap of six years . But a call from the army headquarter  left us stunned………. 

Q5. Fill in the following blanks choosing the most appropriate option from  the ones given below. Write the answers in your answer –sheet against the  correct blank numbers. ( 4 marks ) 

(a)Sanitation and hygiene are also important ___________the well – being  of society and biodiversity conservation .  

(b)The government has____________ a programme . 

(c)It aims to develop____________riverfronts . 

(d)It will solve the problem of pollution____________ the rivers .  

Options:- 

(a ) ( i) by (ii ) from (iii) for (iv) into 

(b) (i) initiates (ii) initiated (iii) initiate (iv)initiating 

(c ) (i) an (ii) a (iii) in (iv ) the 

(d ) (i) in (ii ) on (iii) onto (iv )by 

Q6. In the following passage 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 the space provided . ( 4 marks )  

 Before Missing Word After 

Himachal Pradesh a good place for Eco  

Camp Eg. Pradesh is a 

Pine Hill Eco Camp one of the ecotourism (a)_____ _____ _____ resorts 

near Barog Himachal Pradesh . Ecotourism is (b ) _____ _____ _____ gaining popularity each passing day as more ( c ) _____ _____ _____ 

and more people want get away from the ( d ) _____ _____  _____ 

hectic schedules . This become a favourite (e)_____ _____ _____ tourist spot.  

Q7. Rearrange any four of the following word clusters to make meaningful  sentences .(1x 4=4 marks ) 

( a ) rain water / flooding / helps/ harvesting / in / chances of / reducing  ( b ) storm / helps/ also/better/ water/ it / water management / in ( c ) plant growth / in/storing /rainwater / can/ help / improving  ( d ) is/ from / stored/ natural and/ pollutants /rain water /free/ man- made (e) out/ the/street/ earthquake/another/on/people/ came/ fearing/ 

Section C: Literature (30marks) 

Q8. Multiple Choice Questions. (1x10=10) 

i)Lencho's house was situated 

 a)in the valley b)near the river 

 c)on the crest of a low hill d)in the valley on the crest of a low  hill 

ii) Hemlock is a 

 a)A poisonous plant (herb) b)A poisonous tree with small white  flowers 

 c)A poisonous tree with yellow d)A rare kind of poisonous plant  flowers 

iii)The word emancipation is closest in meaning to the word or clause  a) liberation b) restriction 

 c) freedom from restriction d)gain something 

iv)What is illusion? 

 a) imagination b)not permanent  c)reduced d) something that appears to be  real but is not 

v)In the poem 'A Tiger in the zoo' the tiger is locked in a 

 a) prison b) deserted room  c)cage d) concrete cell

vi) What is ‘herring’ 

 a)a soft finned sea fish b)a small flying blue bird  c)a typical frog d)sea horse 

vii)In the lesson 'The Black Aeroplane' the author was flying his personal  aeroplane. The name of the aeroplane is 

 a) Eastern Pacific b) Pan-120 

 c)Dokata d)none of these viii)'How to tell Wild Animals is a 

 a) humorous poem b) Tragic poem 

 c) Romantic poem d)none of the above ix) The Ball Poem is written by 

 a)John Dyke b) Ruskin Bond 

 c)John Berryman d)none of the above x)Anne Frank was a 

 a) Russian girl b) German girl 

 b) German born Jewish girl d)none of the above 

Q9. Answer the following questions within 30-40 words. (2x5=10) 

a) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:- All nights the roots work to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. 

The leaves strain toward the glass small twigs stiff with exertion long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof like newly discharged patients half-dazed, moving to the clinic doors. 

i. Where are the above lines taken from? 

ii. Who is the author of the poem? 

iii. Explain-‘All night the roots work to disengage themselves from the crack'. 

iv. What is the message conveyed? 

b)What ‘twin obligations' does Mandela mention? 

c)Are zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some species of  animals? Are they useful for educating the public?  

d)Why is writing in a diary a really strange experience? 

e) Describe ‘Coorg’ or ‘Kodagu’ in your own words.

Q10. Long answer questions. Do any two questions out of three given in  your own words. (10) 

i. Why does not Anil hand the thief over to the police? 

ii. What are the qualities that go into the making of a scientist? iii. Why does the 

marriage of Bholi with Bishamber Nath turn out to be a  failure?