SAMPLE PAPER - 2 (2024-25)

Grade: 10 Subject: ENGLISH Marks: 80 Duration: 3 HRS

Test ID Date:
General Instructions:
All the questions are compulsory.
Read the instruction given for each question carefully before answering.
Write the answers on a separate sheet, and mention the question numbers correctly.
Write your name, ERP number, grade and section before you start the test.

SECTION A (READING COMPREHENSION – 20 MARKS)

Q1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (1x10=10)
1. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. When areas in and around Leh began to experience water
shortages, life didn’t grind to a halt. Why? Because Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer in the Jammu
and Kashmir government came up with the idea of artificial glaciers.
2. Ladakh, a cold desert at an altitude of 3,000-3,500 metres above sea level, has a low average annual
rainfall rate of 50mm. Glaciers have always been the only source of water. Agriculture is completely dependent
on glacier melt unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India. But over the years with increasing effects of climate
change, rainfall and snowfall patterns have been changing, resulting in severe shortage and drought situations.
Given the severe winter conditions, the window for farming is usually limited to one harvest season.
3. It is located between the natural glacier above and the village below. The one closer to the village and
lowest in altitude melts first, providing water during April/May, the crucial sowing season. Further layers of ice
above melt with increasing temperature thus ensuring continuous supply to the fields. Thus, farmers have been
able to manage two crops instead of one. It costs about Rs.1,50,000 and above to create one.
4. Fondly called the “glacier man”, Mr. Norphel has designed over 15 artificial glaciers in and around Leh since
1987. In recognition of his pioneering effort, he was conferred the Padma Shri by President Pranab Mukherjee,
in 2015.
5. There are few basic steps followed in creating the artificial glacier. 2 6. River or stream water at higher
altitude is diverted to a shaded area of the hill, facing north, where the winter sun is blocked by a ridge or a
mountain range. At the start of winter/November, the diverted water is made to flow onto sloping hill face
through distribution channels. Stone embankments are built at regular intervals which impede the flow of water,
making shallow pools and freeze, forming a cascade of ice along the slope. Ice formation continues for 3-4
months resulting in a large accumulation of ice which is referred to as an “artificial glacier”.
i. Who was Chewang Norphel?
ii. What kind of land form is Ladakh?
iii. Why have Glaciers been the only source of water for Ladakh?
iv. Why has the pattern of snowfall and rainfall changed?
v. How are Glaciers significant for irrigation?
vi. How do farmers manage to grow two crops instead of one?
vii. In which year did President Pranab Mukherjee confer Padma Shri to Mr. Norphel?
viii. How many months does the ice formation continue for?
ix. Find the word in the paragraph 6 which means the same as ‘gathering’?
x. Explain the line, ‘Necessity is indeed the mother of invention’.
Q2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (1x10=10)
1. Have you ever failed at something so miserably that the thought of attempting to do it again was the last
thing you wanted to do?
2. If your answer is yes, then you are “not a robot.” Unlike robots, we human beings have feelings, emotions,
and dreams. We are all meant to grow and stretch despite our circumstances and our limitations. Flourishing
and trying to make our dreams come true is great when life is going our way. But what happens when it’s not?
What happens when you fail despite all of your hard work? Do you stay down and accept the defeat or do you
get up again and again until you are satisfied? If you have a tendency to persevere and keep going then you
have what experts call, grit.
3. Falling down or failing is one of the most agonizing, embarrassing, and scariest human experiences. But it is
also one of the most educational, empowering, and essential parts of living a successful and fulfilling life. Did
you know that perseverance (grit) is one of the seven qualities that have been described as the keys to
personal success and betterment in society? The other six are: curiosity, gratitude, optimism, self-control,
social intelligence, and zest. Thomas Edison is a model for grit for trying 1,000 plus times to invent the light
bulb. If you are reading this with the lights on in your room, you know well he succeeded. When asked why he
3 kept going despite his hundreds of failures, he merely stated that what he had been not failures. They were
hundreds of ways not to create a light bulb. This statement not only revealed his grit but also his optimism for
looking at the bright side
4. Grit can be learned to help you become more successful. One of the techniques that helps is mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a practice that helps the individual stay in the moment by bringing awareness of his or her
experience without judgement. This practice has been used to quiet the noise of their fears and doubts.
Through this simple practice of mindfulness, individuals have the ability to stop the self-sabotaging downward
spiral of hopelessness, despair, and frustration.
5. What did you do to overcome the negative and self-sabotaging feelings of failure? Reflect on what you did,
and try to use those same powerful resources to help you today.
[Adapted from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-lyn-toomey/grit_b_12768724.html(396 words)]
i. According to the passage, what are the attributes of a human?
ii. What is perceived as grit?
iii. How is ‘failing’ an educational and empowering part of human life?
iv. In what ways can grit be developed?
v. How does mindfulness help? 2.2
vi. While inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison had failed____________
a. 1000 times b. 10000 plus times c. 1000 plus times d. 10000 times
vii. Failure is a part of _______ life.
a. normal b. common c. human d. ordinary
viii. In paragraph 2, ____________ means continue.
a. robots b. satisfied c. persevere d. flourishing
ix. In paragraph 3, the synonym of distressing is __________.
a. embarrassing b. scariest c. agonizing d. failing
x. _________ helps in preventing individuals from going down the lines of despair.
a. success b. fear c. doubt d. mindfulness
 SECTION B (CREATIVE WRITING AND GRAMMAR – 20 MARKS)
Q3. Attempt ANY ONE of the following letters. (5 marks)
A. India is a highly populated country. People lack in maintaining proper sanitation and hygiene as a result
they suffer from various diseases. India has a serious sanitation challenge; around 60 per cent of the
world’s open defecation takes place in India. Poor sanitation causes health hazards including
diarrheoa, particularly in children under 5 years of age, malnutrition and deficiencies in physical
development and cognitive ability. You are Nitish /Nikita, head boy/ girl of Anand Public School, Jaipur.
Write a letter to the editor of a national daily, highlighting the problem and suggesting practical ways to
ensure public sanitation and the right to dignity and privacy. (100-120 words)
OR
B. You are Neetu / Neelansh of Angel Public school, Delhi. You are concerned about the cleanliness in
your school, as the students waste a lot of paper and do not use dust-bins properly. Write a letter to the
Principal of your school, highlighting the possibility of diseases and the dire need for creating
awareness about the prevention of such diseases through informative posters in the morning assembly
and giving suggestions to maintain cleanliness in the school in about 120 words.
Q4. Attempt ANY ONE of the following Analytical Paragraphs. (5 marks)
A. Below given are three pie charts showing consumption habits of India, China and World overall in 2020.
Write an analytical paragraph describing the pie charts (100-120 words).

OR
B. A research was conducted in order to see the maturity gap between young people of 15-35 years old and
older people of 36-60 years old. The respondents were asked which of the following was the most important
in order to be successful in life. Conceptualize the given result in an analytical paragraph having 100-120
words.
Q5. Do as Directed. (10 marks)
A. Fill in the blanks choosing the most appropriate option from the ones given in the box. (5marks)
1. Butterflies are abundant (a) ___________the Central African Republic.
2. It (b)____________ home to nearly 600 identified species.
3. Many butterflies are brilliantly coloured and small __________ (c) some are as big as saucers.
4. Farmer Philippe (d) _____solace in collecting butterfly wings from his fields and turning them into works of
art.
5. My favourite hobby, since my childhood, is __________(e) butterflies.
1.(a) (i) in (ii) from (iii) for (iv) into
2.(b) (i) has (ii) is (iii) was (iv) are
3.(c) (i) if (ii) therefore (iii) so (iv) while
4.(d) (i) find (ii) to find (iii) finding (iv) finds
5.(e) (i) catch (ii) caught (iii) catching (iv) has been catching

B. In the following passage one word has not been edited in each line. Write the incorrect word along with the
correct word in the space provided. (5marks)
1. Climate change in a Indian region of a) ________
2. Ladakh has shrunk glaciers or has made rainfall b) ______ __
3. and temperature unpredictable. Water has c) ____ ____
4. needed to irrigating the fields. d) ___ _____
5. Farmers may requiring aid from the government. e) _________
SECTION C (LITERATURE – 40 MARKS)
Q6. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. (1X5= 5marks)
A. The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping countryside.

i. Who narrates the above lines?

ii. Which type of weather conditions are being discussed in the above lines?
iii. Explain the term ‘the sleeping countryside’?
iv. What is making the narrator happy?
v. What imagery does the, ‘sleeping countryside,’ bring about?
OR
B. At about the age of twenty five, the Prince, thereof shielded from the sufferings of the world, while
hunting out glanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk
begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once became a beggar and went out into the
world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.

i. Whose age has been referred here?

ii. What was the effect of sights on the prince?
iii. How did witnessing sorrow change him?
iv. What does ‘ glance’ imply in the given lines?
v. From the extract what do we understand about, ‘the sufferings of the world?’
Q7. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. (1X5= 5marks)
A. “He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.”

a. The poem, “A Tiger in the Zoo” is written by

(i) Leslie Norris (ii) William Blake (iii) Peter Niblett (iv) Robert Frost

b. The tiger should be lurking in the shadow

(i) for his prey (ii) for taking rest (iii) for leisure (iv) for scaring others

c. The deer frequents the water hole to ________________________

d. The phrase ‘lurking in the shadow’ means ________________
e. How do we come to know about the Tiger’s Predatory instincts from the above extract?

OR
B. Belinda paled ,and she cried Help! Help!
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the house hold,
And little mouse Blink strategically mouse-holed.
a. Why did Belinda cry for help?
b. Who was Mustard?
c. How did Blink react ?
d. Identify the figure of speech in the first line?
e. How do we know that everyone around is terrified?

Q8. Answer ANY TWO of the following questions in 60 - 80 words each. (2X3=6)
a. Why did Hari Singh think that Anil’s job was queer?
b. Bholi was a neglected child. Explain.
c. Why did Mr.Keesing call Anne ‘an incorrigible chatterbox’?

Q9. Answer ANY FOUR of the following questions in 60 - 80 words each. (4X3=12)
a) Nelson Mandela speaks of ‘Twin Obligations’. Elucidate.
b) How is bread an important part of life in Goa?
c) How was the confusion over “Oxen” meadows settled?
d) Ostentation and vanity often land people in trouble. Matilda is an apt example of this. Justify.
e) What is a famous Indian legend regarding tea?

Q10. Answer ANY ONE of the following questions in 100 - 120 words each. (1x6=6)
A. Life is full of trials and tribulations which can be overcome by a human being through his own efforts.
Explain with reference to Kisa Gotami’s life. (100-150 words)
OR
B. Why does Maxwell observe that the airhostess “was the very queen of her kind”? Why does the she
say – ‘it would be better if you resumed your seat, and I will find the animal and bring it to you’?
Q 11. Answer ANY ONE of the following questions in 100 - 120 words each. (1x6=6)
Imagine the tiger writes a diary entry conveying how he feels helpless, angry and frustrated in the concrete
cell. He writes about his desire to be free. Write that diary entry.
You may begin like this:
15 October 2020, Thursday 9:00 pm
I feel so vulnerable and annoyed at my state. I don’t know if I can ever be a free denizen of the forest.

OR
As a crow you feel highly insulted by the incorrect perception humans have about your species. Imagine
yourself to be a crow and write your opinion about this prejudice. Make an appeal for breaking stereotypes.