CBSE Class 8 English IEO Olympiad MCQs with Answers Set F

WORD AND STRUCTURE KNOWLEDGE

FOR QUESTIONS 1 TO 21, CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD/PHRASE TO COMPLETE EACH SENTENCE

1. The way to is to never give in a situation that seems hopeless.
A. go, on
B. win, up
C. come, off
D. let, up
Answer : B

2. stung by insects, she hates the sight of them.
A. Having been
B. Being
C. Since be
D. Is being
Answer : A

3. She fought alone against the bear.
A. has been believing she would
B. is believing she will have
C. believed she has been
D. is believed to have
Answer : D

4. The business should consider how much popularity by advertising the products on TV.
A. can gain
B. can be gained
C. could gained
D. could have gained
Answer : B

5. My grandparents just can’t stand the of life in a big city like Mumbai.
A. wear and tear
B. rules and regulations
C. odds and ends
D. hustle and bustle
Answer : D

6. If you these books for me, I can show you the map.
A. are holding
B. were holding
C. hold
D. held
Answer : C

7. If you eat more sweets, sick.
A. you’re becoming
B. you will be
C. you’ll have to be
D. you must be
Answer : B

8. Andamans are situated in the Bay of Bengal while Sicily is a beautiful island.
A. The, the
B. The, no article
C. The, a
D. No article, no article
Answer : B

9. I’ll definitely not get lost in Delhi. I know the city .
A. outside in
B. by heart and mind
C. like the back of my hand
D. meagerly
Answer : C

10. By the time the school multiplication to Anne, she’ll have learnt the tables at home.
A. teaches
B. taught
C. was teaching
D. had taught
Answer : A

11. The use of plastic bags in this city for two years now.
A. is being preventing
B. has been prevented
C. is preventing
D. have been prevented
Answer : B

12. The teacher kept telling us to look at the map closely but we refused to __________ the hint.
A. take
B. drop
C. accept
D. give
Answer : A

13. I’ve never walk to school all my life.
A. have to
B. had to
C. has to
D. bothered
Answer : B

14. I’m feeling a bit tired. I think I’ll down for few minutes.
A. lain
B. laid
C. lie
D. lied
Answer : C

15. You can get a good of the lake from our balcony.
A. view
B. scenery
C. terrain
D. province
Answer : A

16. His idea of a dinner with family is very different ours.
A. as
B. for
C. with
D. from
Answer : D

17. These two kittens are very similar. They’re difficult to .
A. tell apart
B. say apart
C. speak apart
D. come apart
Answer : A

18. Rita has been having a bad day. I think she got bed on the wrong side this morning.
A. out of
B. into
C. on
D. over
Answer : A

19. The two men got up and their arms and legs.
A. fidgeted
B. strained
C. stretched
D. prolonged
Answer : C

20. The plants need daily.
A. be watering
B. to be watered
C. be watered
D. to be watering
Answer : B

21. She said, “He has been playing well.”
She said that he well.
A. had been playing
B. is playing
C. had played
D. has been playing
Answer : A

READING

FOR QUESTIONS 22 TO 28, READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW

Once, there lived a well-to-do farmer and opposite his house lived a poor barber. The barber thought that if he tried to cultivate the vacant land behind his house, he might get similar results as the farmer’s. So every day he made some pretext to visit the farmer’s house and hear what work he was going to do the next day, and he exactly imitated the farmer. He yoked his cattle and unyoked them, he ploughed and sowed and transplanted just when the farmer did and the result was good, for that year he got a very fine crop.
But he was not content with this and resolved to continue to copy the farmer; the farmer suspected what the barber was doing and did not like it. So he resolved to put the matter to the test and at the same time teach the barber to mind his own business. In January they both planted sugarcane, and one day when the crop was half grown the barber was sitting at the farmer’s house and the farmer gave orders to his servants to put the leveller over the crop the next day and break it down; this was only a pretence of the farmer but the barber went away and the next day crushed his sugarcane crop with the leveller, the whole village laughed to see what he had done; but it turned out that each root of the barber’s sugarcane sent up a number of shoots and in the end he had a much heavier crop than the farmer.
Another day the farmer announced that he was going to sow pulse and therefore ordered his servants to bring out the seeds and roast them well, that they might germinate quickly; and the barber hearing this went off and had his pulse seeds roasted and the next day he sowed them, but only a very few seeds germinated, while the crop of the farmer which had not really been roasted sprouted finely. The barber asked the farmer why his crop had not come up well, and the farmer told him that it must be because he had not roasted the seeds enough; the few seeds that had come up must have been those which had been roasted most. But in the end the laugh was against the farmer, for the few seeds of the barber’s, which germinated, produced such fine plants that when he came to thresh them out he had more grains than the farmer, and so in three or four years the barber became the richer man of the two..

22. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The farmer was very happy to teach the barber.
B. The barber had never cultivated the land before.
C. The barber knew why he was running the leveller.
D. The barber went to the farmer’s home to ask for help.
Answer : B

23. Which of the following statements is false?
A. After the first good crop, the barber was keen to mind his own business.
B. The whole village found the barber’s behaviour funny.
C. The barber was eventually richer than his neighbour.
D. The barber sowed roasted pulse seeds.
Answer : A

24. The barber made some pretext to go to the farmer’s house.
This suggests that the ________________.
A. barber made an excuse to go to the farmer’s house
B. farmer would not share his knowledge with the barber readily
C. villagers were very encouraging and helpful
D. farmer was a very good teacher
Answer : A

25. The farmer created a gag to use a leveller and roast some pulse for his own field. This suggests that the ________________.
A. farmer was a good-hearted man – he anted to teach the right practice
B. farmer was a nasty man – to harm the barber, he bluffed him
C. farmer was a very rich man – he could afford to waste his crop
D. farmer’s servants were very stupid
Answer : B

26. Which line in the passage says that the barber had a good crop by chance?
A. …it turned out that each root of the barber’s sugarcane sent up a number of shoots ...
B. The barber asked the farmer why his crop had not come up well ...
C. …in three or four years the barber became the richer man of the two.
D. ...it must be because he had not roasted the seed enough...
Answer : A

27. Which word in the passage means ‘hitched or harnessed together’?
A. Transplanted
B. Yoked
C. Imitated
D. Sprouted
Answer : B

28. The words ‘threshed and germinated’ belong to the area of ___________.
A. imitation
B. agriculture
C. success
D. enmity
Answer : B

FOR QUESTIONS 29 TO 35, READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.

The ten year old boy had mastered the use of the catapult. He was so excited to place a stone in between the taut leather as he held the stem of the wooden ‘Y’ in his left hand and stretched the leather with his right hand. His eyes and hands aligned as he took aim at a bird flying about in the trees. Then with one powerful long tug he let go of the leather. The stone moved faster than his eyes could track. The bird was down on earth – thrashing about helplessly. Jubilantly, he ran to pick it up. However, as soon as he looked into the bird’s eyes, for the first time he felt uneasy. He decided he would never use the catapult ever again. He lifted the bird and ran to his uncle, Amiruddin. He said, “Uncle, please help this little sparrow!” His uncle was not sure. “It’s definitely too late to help, Salim. But maybe I can tell you something if you promise never to hurt birds.” Salim agreed immediately.
“Well, this is not a sparrow!” Amiruddin said. The bird was as small as a house sparrow but Amiruddin had never seen a sparrow having a yellow patch on its throat. He said, “Let me help you find the name of this bird, son.” And with this he led Salim to the office of the Bombay Natural History Society. In the office, he introduced the boy to Mr W S Millard, the honorary secretary of the Society.
Millard not only answered the boy but also took him around the hall to show him the hundreds of stuffed birds he had in his collection. “This is it!” thought little boy, “I’m not leaving this place ever!” That little boy was Salim Ali, the famous bird watcher. He spent his days in the Society and learnt to identify many varieties of birds and how to preserve them. Later he would spend days on end outdoors following the behaviour of a set of birds: what they eat, how they live, what sounds they make and why… He never went to any college to gain any formal degree on birds but his knowledge of birds and their habits soon matched the best ornithologists. His book The Book of Indian Birds is considered till date the most comprehensive book on Indian birds.
He was fondly called the birdman or the walking encyclopedia of birds. Once when the government awarded him five lakh rupees he donated all of it to the Bombay Natural History Society. Later, he was awarded the Padma Vibushan by the government of India for his outstanding work in identifying and preserving information about the birds of the Indian subcontinent. The little boy had come a long way from using the catapult to becoming the best friend of birds. Generations of children continue to be inspired by Salim Ali.

29. Which phrase in the passage suggests that the ten year old boy had been learning to use the catapult for some time now?
A. He was so excited.
B. The boy had mastered the use.
C. His eyes and hands aligned as he took aim.
D. The stone moved faster than his eyes could track.
Answer : B

30. Words like ‘excited’ and ‘jubilantly’ in the first paragraph tell us that the little boy ________________.
A. was worried about his actions’ effects
B. hit birds regularly to learn more about them
C. was delighted with his newly learnt skill
D. had never used a catapult before in his life
Answer : C

31. Amiruddin knew the bird was not a sparrow because ______________.
A. the bird was similar in size to the house sparrow
B. the bird looked slightly different from a sparrow
C. the little boy had called it a sparrow
D. the bird had been flying around the trees
Answer : B

32. Amiruddin led Salim to Mr Millard’s office because _________________.
A. Millard was good at preserving birds
B. he wanted Salim to become an ornithologist
C. Salim pleaded with him to show him the Bombay Natural History Society
D. he could not answer the boy’s question
Answer : D

33. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Salim was called the walking encyclopedia because he knew a lot about birds.
B. Salim Ali worked hard in many educational institutions to learn about birds.
C. Salim specialised in birds that live in the Indian Subcontinent.
D. Salim visited the Bombay Natural History Society initially to learn more about birds.
Answer : B

34. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The little boy was jubilant to see the small bird die.
B. No one consults The Book of Indian Birds any longer.
C. Salim learnt all about birds by merely observing them.
D. Salim Ali did not give anything back to the Bombay Natural History Society.
Answer : C

35. When the author says ‘Generations of children continue to be inspired by Ali.’
She means ________________.
A. like Salim, children want to learn to be very good at using the catapult
B. like Salim, children do not care to go to any school or college to learn about birds
C. several children become interested in learning about birds and working towards preserving them
D. many people who work towards preserving birds want to get awards like Padma Vibushan
Answer : C

SPOKEN AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

FOR QUESTIONS 36 TO 45, CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION TO COMPLETE EACH CONVERSATION / DIALOGUE.

36. Shopkeeper : You can gift coupons if you correspond with the editor prior to the 5^th of January.
A. receive
B. snatch
C. seize
D. benefit
Answer : A

37. Park incharge : To ensure your safety you are expected to with the regulations in the amusement park.
A. accept
B. say yes
C. comply
D. obey
Answer : C

38. Bank manager : Following a , the Jay Nagar police arrested the bank robbers.
A. dawdle
B. slack
C. recommendation
D. tip off
Answer : D

39. Rohan : The professor gave of the economic situation in the world today.
A. a bird’s eye view
B. a worm’s eye view
C. a fly on the wall view
D. a scenic view
Answer : A

40. Mother : How are you feeling?
Son : Feverish. I think, I’m feeling .
A. run-down
B. run-out of
C. run-short
D. run-over
Answer : A

41. Team lead : I’m afraid you’re __________.
Working such long hours isn’t really healthy.
A. a bad egg
B. a big fish in a small pond
C. burning the candle at both ends
D. born with a silver spoon in your mouth
Answer : C

42. Neighbour A : The people who live upstairs are very noisy and inconsiderate. Sometimes they really .
Neighbour B : I agree.
A. have nerves of steel
B. blow their tops
C. blow open
D. get on my nerves
Answer : D

43. Ravi : The telephone isn’t working.
Rama : I think it’s .
A. in the kilter
B. out of fritz
C. on the blink
D. gone bonkers
Answer : C

44. Jill : My eyesight is getting worse.
Doctor : All right. ?
A. Can I order some contact lens for you
B. Are you short-sighted or longsighted
C. Is the frame of your glasses broken
D. Could you read out the letters on the chart, starting at the top
Answer : D

45. Mira : ?
Jina : Don’t bother. I’ll make myself a cup of tea sometime later.
A. Are you working
B. Can I get you something
C. Do you cook
D. How many sugar lumps
Answer : B

ACHIEVERS SECTION

FOR QUESTIONS 46 AND 47, CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD/PHRASE TO COMPLETE EACH SENTENCE.

46. The British and the Americans speak the same language but in other respects they’re as different as .
A. salt and pepper
B. chalk and cheese
C. cats and dogs
D. cats and mice
Answer : B

47. The villagers the death of their leader by keeping the shops closed.
A. mourned
B. protested
C. avenged
D. consoled
Answer : A

FOR QUESTIONS 48 AND 49, CHOOSE THE MOST SUITABLE SYNONYM TO REPLACE THE WORD GIVEN IN BOLD .

48. The invasion force was completely annihilated by our army.
A. Dismembered
B. Instituted
C. Ratified
D. Obliterated 
Answer : D

49. Most of the politicians these days have alarge number of toadies around them.
A. Servants
B. Sycophants
C. Masters
D. Assistants
Answer : B

50. C hoose the corre ct option to complete the conversation.
Ritu : How do you spend a cold rainy day?
Maya : I like to be home on a cold rainy day reading a book, wrapped in a quilt on my bed, feeling .
A. like an eager beaver
B. as snug as a bug in a rug
C. like a red rag to a bull
D. dead as a dodo
Answer : B