English Language and Literature Sample Question Paper : SSLC Tenth 10th Std www.cbse.nic.in

[mariammal]

SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT II
ENGLISH
CLASS X (Code No. 184)
(Language and Literature)
M.M. 80 Time 3 :00 hrs

The Question paper is divided into four sections :
Section A : Reading 15 Marks
Section B : Writing 15 Marks
Section C : Grammar 15 Marks
Section D : Literature/Text Books 35 Marks
All questions are compulsory.
Marks are indicated against each question.

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http://www.cbse.nic.in/curric~1/SQP%20SA-%20II%20Class%20X%20English%20L%20&%20L.pdf

SECTION - A :
READING - 15 MARKS
1. Read the passage given below : (5 Marks)
A park created by a Maharaja, the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, 176 km. from Delhi and 55 km. west of Agra and the Taj Mahal, is perhaps the only habitat created by a Maharaja. Two kilometres away from Bharatpur town, the royal family of Bharatpur developed the area in the late
19th Century.
The Maharaja constructed small dams for water conservation, diverted water from a nearby irrigation canal and soon thousands of water birds descended. The Maharaja, wanting to celebrate his success, invited dignitaries of British and Princely India to shoot waterfowl.
The sandstone in the park records the exploitation of those days. The first recorded shoot was by Lord Curzon in 1902. In 1956, the habitat shooting reserve became a sanctuary but the shooting continued until 1964. The sanctuary was upgraded to a National Park in 1981 and renamed
Keoladeo Ghana.
This 29 sq. km. fresh water shallow swamp of Keoladeo Ghana with kadam, babul (Acacia nilotica) - ber and ficus trees has a rich aquatic vegetation, 50 species of fish, five species of amphibians, 28 species of reptiles and more than 366 species of birds (which include 32 species of birds of prey) and 27 species of animals like blackbuck, sambar, spotted
deer, bluebull and 379 floral species.
The painted storks, like many other birds in Bharatpur during the monsoon, are local migrants. The highlight of the park is that it is the only known wintering area of the highly endangered central population of the Siberian cranes.
Migratory birds at the park start arriving in October for wintering. That wetlands help in maintaining the freshwater flow within river systems is a known fact. In Bharatpur, the shallow aquifiers of the Gangetic plain are recharged during the monsoon and from streams and wetlands in all
seasons. According to a report by Wetlands International, one-third of the world's wetlands are located in Asia.

Complete the following sentences based on your reading of the passage in your own
words:
a. The dams for water conservation served a dual purpose for the Maharaja because…………….
b. The purpose of the sandstone in the park is to ……….
c. The National Park is full of ………………..
d. In winter the Keoladeo Ghana is visited by the famous….……………..
e. The word in the fourth paragraph that means 'growing or living in or near water' is……. ………..
2. Read the passage given below and write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheets. (5 Marks)
THE DISGUISE ARTISTS
Aesop prawns start life as colourless, almost transparent infants who drift with the tide. On reaching maturity, they drift inshore, reach out to grasp the first passing seaweed and, once established upon it, they proceed to colour themselves to blend with it. After a week, their colouring is
complete and they are safe from the closest scrutiny.
Should disaster strike and their chosen home be destroyed, they first try to find a new home with the same colour scheme as the first. If this proves impossible, they philosophically settle for a different coloured home and restart their own colouring process. A week zips past --- and they
change colour to merge beautifully with their new homes once again. Aesop prawns also take on the colours of the day. Regularly at nightfall, they change to a deep transparent blue, reverting to their chosen house-colour as the sea lightens at dawn.
Interestingly, the "decision" to adopt a particular colour is in no way an act of will on the part of the prawn. Scattered over its body surface are small pigment cells, each containing a central bag of colours (a reservoir of primary pigments : red, yellow and blue) with five branches extending from it. These pigment cells are influenced by the light that falls directly on them or enters through the prawn's eyes. Different coloured lights activate the hormones that control the flow of pigments. And after dark, red and yellow are withdrawn to make way for the nocturnal blue 'night suit' of the
Aesop prawn. A system that provides the animal, at all times, with an enviable cloak of invisibility.
1. The unique feature of Aesop prawns is that………………..
a. they blend with their surroundings
b. they drift with the tide
c. they grasp seaweeds
d. they are transparent
2. When Aesop prawns are rendered homeless,………………………
a. they change their colour
b. they first look for a home of the same colour
c. they cannot survive
d. they become transparent
3. During the night Aesop prawns
a. change to a deep blue colour
b. take on their chosen house-colour
c. become red, yellow and blue
d. revert to light colours.
4. Colour change of Aesop prawns is influenced by
a. the will of the prawns
b. the light that falls on their body and eyes
c. the harmones that control the pigments
d. the five branches of its colour bag
5. A word from the passage that means the same as 'night like' is…………………..
a. reverting
b. pigment
c. nocturnal
d. cloak
3. Read the poem given below and write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheets: (5 Marks)
Be the Best of Whatever You Are
Douglas Malloch
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley - but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-
Be the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!
1. Being the best little scrub tree is as good as being a……………
a. bush
b. pine
c. valley
d. grass
2. 'Be the liveliest bass in the lake!' Here bass means………..
a. water plant
b. edible fish
c. ship
d. sailor
3. ‘We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew’ means………..
a. we can be the best wherever we are
b. we should be a part of the crowd
c. we should not be ambitious
d. we should also be willing to serve
4. The message of the poem is…………….
a. only the best is appreciated in life
b. if we fail the world will laugh at us
c. if we want to succeed in life, we must be strong
d. we must always be our best in anything we do
5. The tone of the poem is…………………
a. happy
b. sad
c. inspirational
d. educational