CBSE Sample Papers for Pre-Mid Term Exam Class 10 Communicative English - Paper 1

CBSE Sample Papers for Pre-Mid Term Exam Class 10 Communicative English – Paper 1

Periodic Assessment 1

Suggested Syllabus

Reading Skills

Question 1:
A factual passage of 300-350 words with 8 very short answer type questions.

Question 2:
A discursive passage of 350-400 words with 4 short answer type questions and 4 very short type questions (2 for vocabulary and 2 for comprehension)

Writing Skills with Grammar

Question 3:
Formal letters: complaint and inquiry

Question 4:
Writing a short story

Question 5:
Gap filling

Question 6:
Editing or omission

Question 7:
Sentence reordering or sentence transformation

Literature Textbook and Extended Reading Text

Question 8:
One out of two extracts from prose and poetry with 4 very short answer type questions.

Question 9:
Four short answer type questions (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Mrs Packletide’s Tiger, The Frog and the Nightingale and The Mirror)

Question 10:
One out of two long answer type questions (Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Frog and the Nightingale)

Question 11:
One out of two very long answer type questions
Diary of a Young Girl – Chapter 1 to 7
The Story of My Life – Chapter 1 to 8

Sample Paper 1

Strictly based on the Remodelled Scheme of Assessment, the Latest Syllabus and Design of the Question Paper released by the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi effective from academic year 2017-18.

SECTION A : READING (20 MARKS)

Question 1:
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : [8]
The outer solar system is the name of the planets beyond the asteroid belt. The planets in the outer solar system are called gas giants because they are made up of gas and ice. Other than the sun, the gas giants contain ninety-nine per cent of the mass in our whole solar system!
The first stop of our tour of the outer solar system is the fifth planet, Jupiter. It’s bigger than three hundred Earths! Made up of hydrogen and helium and a few other gases, there are violent wind storms that circle around Jupiter. The most famous storm is called the Great Red Spot. Jupiter has sixty-three known moons and a faint ring around it too.
Next in our space neighbourhood comes Saturn. It is most well-known for the series of beautiful rings that circle it. They are made up of tiny bits of frozen dirt and ice. Like Jupiter, Saturn is made of mostly hydrogen and helium. It is smaller though, at only ninety-five times the size of Earth. Saturn has sixty two moons!
Uranus is the seventh planet. The planet and its twenty-seven moons orbit very far from the sun. In addition to helium and hydrogen, Uranus ’ atmosphere also contains ammonia ice and methane ice. It is a very cold planet, with no internal heat source. Uranus is tipped over and orbits the sun on its side at a ninety-degree angle! The twenty-seven moons it has orbit from top to bottom, instead of left to right like our moon.
The eighth planet is Neptune. Like Uranus, Neptune is made up of hydrogen, helium, ammonia ice and methane ice. Unlike Uranus, Neptune does have an inner heat source. It radiates twice as much heat as it receives from the sun. The most distinctive quality Neptune has is its blue colour Thirteen moons and very faint rings circle around Neptune.
Pluto is beyond Neptune and was considered a planet after its discovery in 1930. In 2006 Pluto was demoted and reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto exists in the Kuiper belt. That’s just a fancy name for the band of rocks, dust, and ice that lay beyond the gas giants. Scientists have found objects bigger than Pluto in the Kuiper Belt.

by Leslie Cargile

(a) What is the outer solar system? [1]
(b) What circles around Jupiter? [1]
(c) Which two gases make up most of Jupiter and Saturn? [1]
(d) What substances make up Saturn’s rings? [1]
(e) How many moons does Uranus have? [1]
(f) Name the very cold planet. [1]
(g) What is the most distinctive quality of Neptune? [1]
(h) In which year Pluto was demoted and reclassified as a dwarf planet? [1]

Question 2:
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : [12]
Although everybody has a creative spark, the potential is not always fully utilised. How does one recognise those who are developing their creative energies to the fullest? Mad painters and tormented poets are only comic stereotypes of the creative personality. The essential traits of creativity are found among a wide variety of less conspicuous creative people in all walks of life. Unfortunately, the structure of our social and educational environment does not always promote its growth.
Generally speaking, creative people often believe their purpose in life is to discover and implement the inter-relatedness of things to make order out of disorder. They also see problems where others see none and question the validity of even the most widely accepted answers. Creative persons are compulsive problem seekers, not so much because they thrive on problems, but because their senses are attuned to a world that demands to be put together, like a jigsaw puzzle scattered on a table.
Several tests now in use reveal that highly creative people are much more open and receptive to the complexities of experience than are less creative people. Highly creative people aren’t afraid to ask what may seem to be naive or silly questions. They ask questions like, “Why don’t spiders get tangled up in their own webs?” and “Why do dogs turn in circles before lying down?” Such questions may seem childlike and in a way they are. Children have not yet had their innate creative energies channelled into culturally acceptable directions and can give full rein to their curiosity, the absolute pre-requisite for full creative functioning, in both children and adults.
Unlike children, creative people appear to have vast stores of patience to draw upon. Months, years, even decades can be devoted to a single problem.
The home that encourages inquisitiveness contributes to creative development. The teacher who stresses questions rather than answers and rewards curiosity rather than restricting it, is teaching a child to be creative.
To be extremely intelligent is not the same as to be gifted in creative work. The quiz kids are often referred to as geniuses. They would undoubtedly score high in memory functions. But it is doubtful whether they are also fluent in producing ideas. Contrary to popular myths that glorify youth, more creative achievements are likely to occur when people grow older. While memory may falter with age, creativity is ageless.

(a) How do creative people think? [2]
(b) What kind of questions do they ask? Why? [2]
(c) How is intelligence different from creativity? [2]
(d) What is the role of a teacher in creative development? [2]
(e) Which single feature makes creative people unlike children? [1]
(f) The quiz kids are often referred to as geniuses. Why? [1]
(g) Find the word in paragraph 4 which means the same of ‘forbearance’. [1]
(h) An antonym of ‘foolish’ in para 6 is ………… [1]

SECTION B : WRITING AND GRAMMAR (30 MARKS)

Question 3:
Write a letter in about 120 words to the Editor of a national daily highlighting continued practice of using animals in roadside shows and as beasts of burden. [8]

Question 4:
Write a short story in about 200-250 words with the given outline. [10]
Hints : An old rich lady becomes blind – calls in a doctor – agrees to pay large sum if cured, but nothing if not – her eyes bandaged – doctor removes something every day – eyes cured – doctor asks for payment – lady refuses to pay – says cure not complete – doctor takes the matter to court – judge asks why she does not pay – she say sight not restored – she cannot see her furniture – judge decides the case in her favour.

Question 5:
Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate words from the given options. [4]
Isaac Newton was born (a) ___________ Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire on Christmas Day in1642. He was named after his father who (b)_____________ a few months before Isaac was born. Isaac’s mother remarried (c)__________ he was two years old and he (d)___________ brought up by his grandmother.

Question 6:
The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correct word in the answer sheet against the correct blank number. [4]

Question 7:
Rearrange the following jumbled up words into meaningful sentences. [4]
(a) respect / said that / demanded / it / but / is / given / is not
(b) if / something / then / in return for / should be / it is so / it
(c) self-respect / come out of / something / has / our / self / is our / that
(d) Oliver Twist / workhouse / in / was / born / a

SECTION C : LITERATURE TEXTBOOK AND EXTENDED READING TEXT (30 MARKS)

Question 8:
Read one of the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow : [4]
They were childish enough, and in many ways quite artless. Jacopo was lively as a squirrel. Nicola s smile was steady and engaging. Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.
(a) Why does the narrator call them ‘childish’ and ‘artless’?
(b) Contrast the two different styles of Nicola and Jacopo.
(c) What brought about a ‘seriousness’ which was far ‘beyond their years’ on their boyish faces?
(d) Find out the exact meaning word of ‘stable’ in the above lines.

“Yes, ” the frog replied. “You see,
I’m the frog who owns this tree
In this bog I’ve long been known
For my splendid baritone
i And, of course, I wield my pen
For Bog Trumpet now and then ”

(a) What bits of information does the frog give to the listener?
(b) Give two reasons why the frog wants to make an impression on the nightingale.
(c) What does the frog’s speech reveal about its character?
(d) Whose voice is being considered splendid in these lines?

Question 9:
Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words : [8]
(a) Why did the two boys survive only on black bread and figs, despite making a decent earning?
(b) How did the creatures of Bingle bog react to the nightingale’s singing?
(c) Why were the narrator and his companion impressed by the two boys?
(d) Do you think the nightingale is ‘brainless’? Give reasons for your answer.

Question 10:
Answer one of the following questions in about 100-120 words : [8]
You are Lucia, the ailing sister of the two boys. Write a letter two your friend about your past life and your present situation, as you are on the way to recovery, with the help of your younger brothers.

What does the poet wish to convey in the poem ‘The Frog and the Nightingale’?

Question 11:
Answer one of the following questions in about 200-250 words : [10]
Anne says, “Memories mean more to me than dresses.” Explain with examples. What does it tell you about Anne?

Give Anne’s views about her boyfriends and her parents. What do they tell you about Anne herself?

Draw up a character sketch of Helen as a little girl before she started her education in a formal way.

Discuss Helen Keller’s love for nature by giving evidence from the text.

CBSE Sample Papers Class 10 Maths Science Social Science Sanskrit English Computer Science Hindi