CBSE Class 10 English Language and Literature Question Paper 2010 (1)

CBSE Class 10 English Language and Literature Question Paper 2010 (1). Students can download the last year question papers using the link below. Free download of examination question papers with solutions. Last 10 year question papers should be practised to get better marks in examinations.

ENGLISH (Language and Literature)

SECTION-A(Reading)

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 

1. The exchange of greetings among people is very common. The most popular medium for this is the greetings card. It is usually sent by post. It is an illustrated message that expresses friendship, love, affection, goodwill, gratitude or some similar sentiment. Greeting cards are also sent to convey congratulations, thanks or get-well messages.

2. The practice of exchanging these cards between friends is an ancient one. The ancient Egyptians celebrated New Year by giving each other symbolic presents like scent bottles and mud tablets with the inscription “Good luck to you.” In ancient Rome, the medium of expression was a branch of an olive tree. Their leaves were coated with gold.

3. The practice of sending greetings for the New Year continued in Europe through the early days of the millennium. Then came the printing press. With its commercial use by 18th and 19th centuries, the exchange of New Year cards by merchants and tradesmen became very ordinary and uninteresting. Postal stamps and envelopes were introduced in 1840. They made the process of sending or passing the greetings from one person or place to another very convenient. The modern day greetings card became definite and clear in 1843 when the first Christmas card with season’s greetings was designed in Britain. The commercial production of greeting cards became fully established by 1860.

4. There are several means of conveying greetings but the public post remains the most popular. In the modern times technology has greatly developed. There is almost a revolution in the field of communication. With the availability of this technology electronic mail is also being increasingly used for sending greetings.

5. In India, the practice of sending greeting cards was begun by the British. This practice still continues. We send greeting cards on occasions like New Year, Christmas, Diwali, Pongal, Durga Puja, Baisakhi, Bihu and other regional festivals.

Answer the following questions briefly:

   (a) Why do the people send greeting cards? 

   (b) What symbolic presents did the Egyptians send on the eve of New Year? 

   (c) How did the ancient Romans convey their greetings? 

   (d) What effect did the printing press bring on the exchange of New Year cards? 

   (e) What changes were brought about with the introduction of postal stamps and envelopes? 

   (f) Who introduced this practice in India? 

   (g) Find out from the passage the adverb form of the words given below: 

      (i) usual (Para 1)

      (ii) great (Para 4)

   (h) Find out from the passage the word which means the same as the following:  ‘sense of being thankful for forever’ (Para 1)

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 

A little girl was fond of asking new questions day after day. One day she asked her mother, “Mummy, which one is good - an apple or a pear, a rose or a jasmine, a ball or a doll ?” The mother answered her questions easily but this time she was confused. How could she definitely say that one thing was good and the other was not? However she evaded the answer somehow. But after a few days the little girl posed another question, “Mummy, is a story good or a song ?” This time the mother was well prepared and told the little girl that she would ask her a question first to which she should give a thoughtful reply. The mother then asked, “Tell me, is the sun good or the sky?” The little girl thought and thought but could not find the right answer. She looked at the sky and then at the sun. It was indeed very difficult for her to decide in favour of either of the two since both were stunningly beautiful. Besides both were so close and inseparable. The little girl now understood the point. Thereafter she never asked which one was good - this or that. Now she began to ask, “What is good in stories? What is good in songs?” And the mother answered her questions happily.

   (a) What was the little girl fond of? 

   (b) Why did the little girl’s question confuse the mother? 

   (c) How did the mother solve the problem? 

   (d) Why could the girl not decide in favour of either the sun or the sky? 

   (e) What did she understand now? How did she change herself?

Please click the link below to download pdf file of CBSE Class 10 English Language and Literature Question Paper 2010 (1)