THE DOON VALLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL DEOBAND

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE

CLASS X 2019-2020
SA 1 SET A
SECTION ‘A’ : READING
M M : 80
General Instructions :
(i) 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
(ii) All questions are compulsory.
(iii) You may attempt any section at a time.
(iv) All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct order.
Section – A(Reading) 20
1. Read the passage given below :
8
For millions of people in India, river Ganga is the most sacred river. It is considered as mother and
goddess. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily
needs. River Ganga is the third largest river in the world by the amount of water that flows through it. It is
the longest river in India. The river water of Ganga is used for irrigation, transportation and fishing. The
Gangetic plain formed by river Ganga is one of the most fertile lands on earth. This is why almost 10%of
the world population lives here and earns its livelihood. The Ganga, in India is the most worshipped body
of water. The irony here is that inspite of being the most worshipped river, it is also the dirtiest one. It
carries some metals thrown out by tanneries, waste produced by industries and urban waste from
different cities. All this has made river Ganga the fifth most polluted river in the world. Another major
reason that adds to the Ganga river pollution is the coal based power plants on its banks which burn tons
of coal every year and produce tons of fly ash. This ash mixed with domestic wastewater is released in the
river. This bad situation calls for an urgent need to make efforts to reduce pollution and revive river
Ganga. To achieve these objectives, Government of India has started a programme named “Namami
Gange Programme”. The main pillars of this programme are sewage treatment, river surface cleaning,
afforestation, river front development and public awareness. The importance of the success of ‘Namami
Gange Programme’ can be seen through the following lines :“If Ganga dies, India dies. If Ganga thrives,
India thrives. No Ganga, No India.”
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions that follow
: 1 8=8
(a) For whom is river Ganga a lifeline ?
(b) For what purposes is the Ganga river water used ?
(c) Why does almost ten percent of the world population live in the Gangetic Plain ?
(d) What are the pollutants that make river Ganga very dirty ?
(e) How do the coal based power plants pollute river Ganga ?
(f) Which two purposes will be served by the programme named “Namami Gange” ?
(g) Write any two main pillars of the “Namami Gange Programme”.
(h) Most people in India consider the Ganga as _________.
2. Read the passage given below : 12
Great people are born to produce an influence on society. One such personality, who was so humble and
lived his complete life with determination and purpose to achieve certain aims was Ishwar Chandra
Vidyasagar. He was a great social reformer, writer, educator and worked endlessly to transform the
society. He strongly protested against polygamy and child marriage. He favoured widow remarriage and
women’s education in India. TheWidow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856 making the marriage of
widows legal because of his efforts to solve these problems.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar refined the way Bengali language was written and taught. His book ‘Borno
Porichoy’ (Introduction to the Alphabet) is still used as the introductory text to teach Bengali alphabet.
Thus, he brought about a revolution in the Bengali Education System. Vidyasagar is credited with the role
of completely changing the old method of teaching which prevailed in Sanskrit College. As a professor in
Sanskrit College, he brought modern outlook into the method of teaching. He included Englishand Bengali
as mediums of learning, besides Sanskrit. He, also, introduced courses in European History, Philosophy
and Science alongside Vedic scriptures. He encouraged students to study these subjects and make the
best of both the worlds. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a strong advocate of women education. He
rightly viewed education as the primary way for women to achieve emancipation from the society’s
oppression they had to face at that time. He exercised his power to open schools for girls and even
outlined suitable curriculum to educate them. He went from door to door, requesting heads of families to
allow their daughters to be enrolled in schools.
Ishwar Chandra was a man who defined his own path of action. He never listened to what others said
about his work and made decisions based on his own judgement. He was famous for all these qualities.
He was also known for his great courage. Vidyasagar had avery soft heart that smpathised with those in
trouble. He was easily moved to tears whenhe saw someone in pain and was always the first one to offer
his help to colleagues andfriends in distress. After his death, Rabindranath Tagore said, “One wonders
how God, inthe process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man !”
(2.1) Answer briefly the following questions : (any four)
2 4=8
(a) What kind of life did Ishwar Chandra lead ?
(b) What changes did Vidyasagar bring about in the method of teaching at
Sanskrit college ?
(c) What was Vidyasagar’s contribution as a professor in the Sanskrit college ?
(d) How did Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar promote women education ?
(e) How can we say that Vidyasagar was a softhearted man ?

(2.2) Choose meanings of the words given below with the help of options that follow : (any four)
1 4=4
(f) Influence (i) income (ii) inside (iii) impression (iv) attraction
(g) Transform (i) improve (ii) encourage (iii) change (iv) insist
(h) Advocate (i) caretaker (ii) promoter (iii) neighbor (iv) aggressor
(i) Emancipation (i) oppression (ii) control (iii) freedom (iv) contribution
(j) Distress (i) unhappiness or pain (ii) safety (iii) calmness (iv) joy

Section – B
 (Writing Skills with Grammar) 30
3. You are Shubham/Surabhi, a resident of ‘R’ Block, Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai. For the past
few days you have been noticing that garbage is not being removed from your area.
People cannot bear the stinking smell and unhygienic condition caused by this garbage.
Write a letter in 100-120 words to the editor of a newspaper to draw the attention of the
concerned authorities to take necessary action. 8
OR
Write a short story in about (150-200 words) on the basis of the hints provided: 12

4. Write a story in 200-250 words beginning with the following lines : 10

‘Yesterday morning, I was getting ready for my school. As soon as I picked up my
school bag, someone knocked on the door. I opened the door and saw _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
OR
Write a story in 200-250 words based on the following outline :
A jackal falls into a dyer’s tub _________ gets coloured yellow _________ an idea
_________ announces himself king of forest _________ animals respect _________
jackal insults them _________ worried animals _________ hold a meeting _________
starts howling _________ identified _________ cannot resist _________ truth comes out
_________ animals kill him.
5. Complete the paragraph given below by filling in the blanks with the help of options that
follow : (any four) 1 4=4
Yesterday, a rich woman from West Bengal (a) _________ to Delhi to buy jewellery.
She was sitting outside (b) _________ jewellery shop. Suddenly two young boys came
there (c) _________ snatched the chain that she was (d) _________. She called the police
(e) _________ the snatchers had run away.
(a) (i) come (ii) comes (iii) came (iv) coming
(b) (i) a (ii) an (iii) the (iv) some
(c) (i) and (ii) or (iii) but (iv) how
(d) (i) wear (ii) wears (iii) wore (iv) wearing
(e) (i) so (ii) because (iii) but (iv) only

6. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the
error and its correction. . 1 3=3
Error Correction
People of diverse cultures lives (a) _______ _______
together in India. There is many (b) _______ _______
people who exhibit unity on diversity. (c) _______ _______
They celebrated different festivals together (d)______ _______

7. Rearrange the words/phrases given below to form meaningful sentences : (any four)
1 3=3
(a) standing / at the / one day / I / beach / was
(b) number / come / of people / a large / had / there
(c) hawkers / there / eatables / so many / were / selling
(d) wave / suddenly / came / huge / a
Section - C
 (Literature) 30
8. Read the paragraph given below and answer the questions that follow : 1 4=4
He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then,
maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream he fell outwards and
downwards into space.
(a) Who is ‘He’ ?
(b) Whom was he waiting for ?
(c) Why did he dive at the fish ?
(d) What happened afterwards ?
OR
Q8 Read the extracts given below and answer the following 1*4
Money is external.
He is learning,well behind his desperate eyes,
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowingwhat every man must one dayknow
And most know how many days, how to stand up.

whom is he here ?

a) the poet b) father c )boy d) uncle

what is epistemology of loss mean?
a )cause of loss b )nature of loss c )none d )sadness
what makes the boys eyes so desperate ?
a )ball got lost b)lost his pen c )lost money d )nothing
what is the boy learning ?
a )to cope with loss b )nothing c ) not cry for the lost ball d) to accept the loss.
OR
9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each : 2 4=8
Q1what do you feel about the instructions that are given to Amanda ?
Q2 D o you think Horace danby was unfairly punished? ( a question of trust)
Q3 How did Mrs. Pumphrey and her servants behave when Tricki was being sent to the surgery (a
triumph of surgery)
Q4 In the poem (‘Dust of Snow’), how does the poet’s mood get changed ?
Q5 Why does the poet want to ‘turn and live’ with animals ? ( poem animals)
Q6 How did the children respond to Wanda’s drawings ? ( a hundred dresses)

10. Answer the following question in 100-120 word :

In the lesson (‘A Letter to God’), what moral values does the postmaster display in his
behaviour ? 8
OR
Q1 How can you describe the robbery scene and what all misadventures did Griffin do after he became
invisible? How is Griffin an anti social element who has no moral values. How is he a real threat to
society? ( footprints without feet)

11. Answer the following question in 200-250 words : first flight/ footprints 8
A calm mind can help youn tackle direct stress . explain with reference to the lesson ( midnight visitor
how max was fooled to his death? How did ausable trick max (the mid night visitor)