CBSE Class 10 English Sample Paper 2017 Set G

SECTION A:READING 

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

The division of the seasons into six categories, called Ritu (Indian season), is detailed in the Vedas. Basant Panchami is the day chosen to make the beginning of the spring season.

               Although Basant Panchami is a secular seasonal festival in the Punjab region, other states of India celebrate the day as Saraswati Puja. Accordingly, many educational institutions in many parts of India offer prayers in the morning to seek blessings of the Goddess Saraswati.

               On Basant Panchami, it is considered to be auspicious to begin laying one's foundation of neducation- of how to read and write. Pre-school children are given their first lesson in reading and writing on this day. Educational institutions conduct special prayer for Saraswati on this day. "In some regions,on Basant Panchami day, everyone rises early tQ bathe, dress in yellow clothes,adorn their forehead with the yellow tilak of turmeric, and worship the sun goddess, Mother Ganga, and the earth. SaraswatiPuja is also performed. Basant is also associated with the worship of Vishnu, the god of preservation.

In the Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar,on the day of Basant Panchami,musicians start devotional music by singing Basant Raga. This practice continues up until the first day of Vaisakh when Basant Rag is no longer used.

              In Amritsar a fair is held on Basant Panchami at Chheharta Sahib Gurudwara in the village of Wadali where Sri Guru Hargobind Jiwas born in 1595,to celebrate his birthday. The main attraction of Basant Panchami at Chheharta Sahib is the kite flying practice which is a very old custom attached to the festival. People fly colorful kites and during the process eacnof them tries to cut off the other person's kite.

             Accordingly, Basant Panchami is a generic term to refer to the two festivals of Basant and Saraswati Puja as they both fall on the same day. The two are interlinked as Basant Panchamiis also the birthday of Saraswati.

(a) What marks the beginning of the spring season?

(b) Why is goddess Saraswati worshipped on this day?

(c) Which Hindu gods and goddesses other than goddess Saraswati are worshipped on this day?

(d) How is this festival celebrated in Harmandir Sahib

(e) What is the main attraction of Basant PanchamiatChheharta Sahib?

(f) What role does the yellow colour play?

(g) At which place is a fair organized in Amritsar and why ?

(h) What does the term Basant Panchamirefer to ?

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

Sparrows under threat

(1) Gone are the days when house sparrows were the most common birds amongst bird species in India. The chirpy sounds made by these small birds are rarely heard today and their absence, even though tiny, is increasingly becoming noticeable. Due to decrease in numbers, a bird as common as the sparrow was included by the IUCN in its Red Data list of threatened species in 2002 alongside the glamorous snow leopard, tiger and red panda.

(2) How and why did these common birds that were once regarded as dominant bird species, suddenly disappear 7 This is a question frequently asked by ornithologists, researchers, scientists, and bird lovers. At a discussion on disappearing sparrows organised by Toxics link in collaborationwithIndia International Centre, in Delhi on Tuesday, experts discussed the reasons for the decline in the sparrow population.

(3) The destruction of wetland bird areas, loss of shrub vegetation coupled with reduction in potential breeding sites has accelerated the rate of decline in the sparrow population in India. But the major reason for this decline in their number is the scarcity of insects and grains which serve as protein supplements for the young ones of sparrows. The presence of anti knocking agents like lead in petrol is known to cause deadly poisoning in birds.

(4) Since sparrows are sensitive to changes in the environment,they serve as an important hieindicator for a healthy urban ecosystem, indirectly indicating human health, and their decline today has started resulting in increasing diseases among the people, said Neeraj Khera, TechnicalExpert- Deutsch\ Gesellschaft fUr lnternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She added that the growing numbers of rock pigeons has created an imbalance among the species and they now dominate the bird population. People in urban areas are often seen feeding grains to rock pigeons. Due to availability of plenty food which gives these pigeons bliss of food security has resulted in over-explosion of their population. These pigeons are now occupying the nesting spaces of sparrows, as a result of which the sparrow population has drastically declined in urban areas in the country.

(5) Recognising the importance of people's participation in conservation, Sharma highlighted the Citizen Sparrow Project that aims at creating a constituency for sparrows among the citizens in need to be saved before they can be seen only in books or on the internet.

(a) What is the major reason for the decline of sparrow population 

(b) Why is there an explosion of pigeon population inthe cities?

(c) When were the common house sparrows included in the Red Data list of threatened species 

(d) What according to the passage is the cause of deadly poisoning to the birds?

(e) What is meant by 'drastically' (Para 4) as used in the passage?

        (i) slowly ·         (ii) amazingly

       (iii) severely        (iv) gradually

(f) 'bliss' (Para 4) can be best replaced by the word :

       (i) happiness        (ii) sadness

       (iii) calm.             (iv) excitement

(g) The synomym of the word 'glamorous' (Para 1)can be :

       (i) fearful                      (ii) stunning

       (iii) misunderstood         (iv) powerful

(h) 'decline' (Para 3) is an antonym for:

      (i) fall          (ii) decrease

      (iii) rise         (iv) constant

SECTION B : WRITING AND GRAMMAR 

3. Write an article in 100 - 120 words on 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Atta.ining the Prime Minister's  initiative is impossible until all come together''. You are Anu/Anup. 

4. Develop a story in 150-200 words on the basis of the following hints .Give a suitable title to the story. "John was a man who kept his promises and so, he had returned with the money after seven long years..."  

5. Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole passage.

In countries like India, Japan, China etc, a lot of respect is given to teachers from (a)————-we learn. (b)----------- regard and respect continues (c) ----------------the end of life.

(a)     (i) those (ii) which (iii) whom (iv) them

(b)     (i) Those (ii) That (iii) Their (iv) This

(c)     (i) unless (ii) for (iii) till (iv) by

6. The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line against which a blank has been given. Write the error and correction in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the word that you have supplied.

                                                                                   Error                  Correction

The student were blessed and given (a)

a warm farewell by a school management (b)——

committee and the teachers who teach them. (c)

Outgoing students then touch their feet. (d)

7. Read the conversation. given below and complete the passage that follows: 

Anu : There was a meeting yesterday inR.No.6. Why didn't you attend that?

Ajay: Sorry, I was not informed about that.

Anu: You can get the minutes of the meeting from the coordinator..

Anu told Ajay that (a)_____________ and asked him (b) ________________Ajay apologized and said that (c) ________________

SECTION C:LITERATURE 

Read one of the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:-

8. He was my friend, faithful and just to me : 

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honorable man.

(i) Who is the speaker and who is he referring to as his friend?

(ii) What impact do theses have on his listeners?

(iii) What is the significance of 'but' ?

OR

"God save thee, Ancient Mariner, 

From the fiends that plague thee thus!

Why look's thou so?"- "With my crossbow I shot the Albatross"

(a) Who is the speaker of the first two lines?

(b) Explain- "the fiends that plague thee" ?

(c) What was the expression on the mariner's face when he spoke the last line?

Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words "'each.

9a What does Caesar mean when he says, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant  never taste of death but once" ? 

9b What was Lavinia's reaction when she discovered that Helen was actually a ghost? 

9c What was Shelley's purpose when he wrote 'Ozymandias' ? 

9d What is the conflict in the poet's mind when he encounters the snake? 

Answer one of the following questions in about 80-100 words:

10 Mark Antony weeps while saying: "Here was a Caesar! When comes such another ?" Leadership is all about the ability of the leader to inspire his followers. Based on your reading of the play, write a paragraph on how Antony with his oratorical skills changes the mood of the mob. {80-100 words) 

OR

Why does   Patol Babu walk away without taking his payment for role? What  does this reveal about his character ? Describe in (80-100words).

Answer one of the following questions in about 150-200 words:

11. Describe the sibling 'rivalry and affection' with reference to the Frank sisters. 

OR

Mr. Frank evaluates Peter Van Daan as a boy of weak character who can be influenced easily. What are your views on the character of Peter Van Daan ? 

OR

What was Helen's experience at Radcliffe? How did it transform her attitude towards life and learning?  

OR

Helen expressed her immense gratitude for having met Mrs. and Mr. Laurence Hutton. Helen felt that  acquisition of knowledge in diverse fields was extremely important. Elaborate. 

Please click the link below to download CBSE Class 10 English Sample Paper 2017 Set G