CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 SA2 English Solved 2016 Set 10

SECTION A – Reading

2.    Read the following passage carefully.
1 The growth of technology for educational use has transformed the way in which people learn and access education. This is particularly true as regards the learning of languages, an area in which the explosion of mobile apps and interactive software for online learning, has provided choice to a range of people who were previously unable to access foreign language education. Thus there are many people who have begun learning foreign languages through the Duo Lingo system, a system that has been adapted across the entire
US public school system. Worldwide, more than BO mm people have downloaded the 2013 app of the year which imparts education through the medium of games and has thereby attracted new demographics of language learners.
2    The founder of Duo Lingo, Von Ahn, says that when he founded his company, he was determined to find a way for people to learn a language for free. According to him there was an irony that people who needed the language the most didn’t have much money, since learning a language costs a lot.
3    While advances in technology may have created more opportunities for more people to access language learning, the question remains as to whether it is actually possible to learn language only by using online tools. Learning with online tools requires that users have a smart phone or an internet connection. Von Ahn says that this is not as unrealistic a scenario as it might seem. In the lower middle classes of developing countries they usually have a smart phone, a lower end Android phone. With the easy access to online technology, Rosetta Stone has added apps to its suite of language learning tools. This long-standing provider of language learning software, has poured time and resources into research and concluded that mobile is the way forward.
4    One of the big changes caused by technology is the demographic shift of language learners nowl; people from less privileged backgrounds are finding more affordable ways to learn. As is expected, English remains the most-in-demand language. The British Council estimates that by 2020, two billion people will be learning English across the world due to the advantage it offers economic migrants.
2.1 Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words,
(a)    What changes have come about with the use of technology for language learning?
(b)    What is the methodology of language learning in the Duo Lingo system?    .
(c)    What was Von Ahn’s thought process when he founded the company?
(d)    What change has come about in the demographic shift of language learners?
2.2 Do as directed.
(a)    The term ‘previously¹ means………………………………………
(i) prior to the present time    (ii) before the present time
(iii) in line with our times    (iv) after the event is over
(b)    When we speaks of ‘technology advances’ we mean that technology………………………………
(i)    has begun to be used for footwear
(ii)    new inventions have been made in this line
(iii)    is an improved version of the language
(iv)    is from before our days
(c)    The term ‘poured’ in the passage means………………………………………
(i) made into a liquid form (ii) invested in
(iii) taken away from it (iv) put power behind it
(d)    When ‘something is affordable’ it is……………………………….
(i) out of one’s means (ii) a shallow stretch of water for crossing
(iii) within one’s means (iv) something that can be depended upon

8.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords of life And I have something to expiate A pettiness
(a)    Which chance is the speaker talking about?
(b)    What is the meaning of ‘expiate’?
(c)    What are the poet’s emotions here?
Or
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence Do not go forth to-day : call it my fear That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.
(a)    Who speaks these lines and to whom?
(b)    What is the meaning of ‘prevail’?
(c)    What is the listener’s response to the request made to him?
9.    Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words each.
(a)    Do you think the poet of the poem ‘Snake’ was a coward or a brave person?
(b)    What was Lavinia’s reaction when she saw the ghost ‘Helen’ in her husband’s room?
(c)    How does Mark Antony able to instigate the mob?
(d)    Why did Sosanko, script in charge, say that Patol was the luckiest of actors?
(e)    Why does Sylvia Plath describe the mirror as a lake?

Long Reading Text/ Novel (Attempt any one of the parts)

Part A
11. What kind of relationship did Anne share with her mother?
Or
Draw a character sketch of Elli Vossen.
Part B
11. What did Bishop Brooks teach Helen?
Or
Draw a character sketch of Mildred Keller.

Answers

SECTION A – Reading

1. Read the following passage carefully.
1    From the earliest known writing of Charlotte Bronte, a charmingly illustrated short story, the Villette author penned for her little sister Anne, to Jane Austen’s wry recording of an acquaintance’s dismissal of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, as ‘downright nonsense’, the British Library has put together 1,200 of its greatest literary treasures online. With such valuable content, the British Library is expected to become the biggest English Literature resource.
2    The British Library also launched the Victorian and Romantic section of its new Discovering Literature website. This was done after a survey of more than 500 English teachers which found that 82% ofsecondary school students find it hard to identify with classic authors. With materials from organizations like the Bronte Parsonage Museum, and Keats House the site at the British Library features manuscripts from authors, including Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats,. Austen, Dickens and Wilde, as well as diaries letters, newspaper clippings from the time and photographs, in an attempt to bring that period of English Literature to life.
3    ‘There’s a lock of Shelley’s hair in the poem ‘Ozymandias’, and an early draft of Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, as well as newspaper coverage of his 1895 trial. One press clipping from the time reveals an illustration of the trial’s dosing moments as well as two closing vignettes: contrasting the author’s former fame with his new convict status.
4    The website also features an 1809 dictionary of criminal slang, including words found in the works of Charles Dickens, and the largest collection of children’s Bronte writings, such as their miniature notebooks detailing their fantasy words of Gondol and Angria. It also includes Charlotte Bronte’s little book made for her sister Anne, which is illustrated with tiny watercolour drawings, and features its original covers made from a piece of flowered wallpaper. The British Library head of public reading and learning said that contact with such original material can bring life to a novel or poem written centuries ago.
Q. On the basis of your reading of the above passage answer the following questions.
(a)    Cite two examples of valuable content at the British Library expected to become a rich literature resource.
(b)    Why is the British Library expected to become the biggest online literature resource?
(c)    Why was a Discovering Literature section added to the website?
(d)    What attempts have been made to bring English Literature to life at the British Library?
(e)    What is unique about the copy of ‘Ozymandias’ at the British Library?
(f)    What details do the newspaper clippings about Oscar Wilde reveal?
(g)    Besides reporting the event what else do the clippings talk about?
(h)    Describe the book that Charlotte Bronte wrote for her sister Anne.
Ans.(a) The two examples of valuable content at the British Library are Charlotte Bronte’s illustrated short story for her sister Anne, and Jane Austen’s recording of a dismissal of her novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as ‘downright nonsense’.
(b)    The British Library is expected to become the biggest online literature resource because it has just put together 1,200 of its greatest literary treasures online.
(c)    The Discovering Literature segment was added to the website because a survey conducted by 500 school teachers revealed that 82% of secondary school children found it hard to identify with classic authors.
(d)    To bring English Literature to life, material has been collected from the Bronte Parsonage Museum and Keats House as well as manuscripts of prominent authors and diaries and photographs and newspaper clippings.
(e)    There is a lock of Shelley’s hair in the copy of ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley, at the British Library.
(f)    The newspaper clippings about Oscar Wilde are about his trial of 1895.    . _r .    .
(g)    Besides reporting facts, the clippings describe the closing moments of the trial. Also, two vignette pieces contrast Wilde in his former fame with his newfound convict fame.
(h)    The book that Charlotte Bronte wrote for her sister Anne is illustrated with tiny watercolour drawings. It is also featured in its original covers, made from a piece of flowered wallpaper.

Section B – Writing & Grammar
3. You have been witness to a fatal accident on the roads on your way back from school. You learn that the passengers in the rear could have been saved if they had been wearing their safety belts. Write a letter to the editor of The Newsflash newspaper in about 100-120 words about the importance of using safety belts, specially by back-seat passengers in cars. Sign yourself as Viren/Vani. You can take help from MCB unit ‘Travel and Tourism’.
Or
Several national dailies have begun printing a special edition of the daily newspaper for children. Write an article for your school magazine on the benefits of using newspaper as a teaching tool during English lessons. Your article should be in about 100-120 words. You are Pranjal / Pratima.
Ans.
13 Lok Sabha Road
Parliament Street
Bengaluru
The Editor
The Newsflash
Commercial Street
Bengaluru
10 May 20XX Sir
Subject: Wearing of safety belts by back-seat passengers in cars
I was witness to a fatal road accident yesterday. Through the columns of your esteemed paper, I wish to inform your readers about the importance of wearing safety belts by back-seat passengers in cars. The above-mentioned accident, one gathered, was due to the non-wearing of seat belts by rear passengers.
A recent survey reported that most Indian travelers consider these safety belts as ornamental extras given by manufacturers to boost sales. The matter needs to be addressed nationwide publicity through a massive campaign to educate the public on the significance of wearing seat belts.
The Indian record for road safety is one of the lowest in the world according to WHO. A UK study has also confirmed that wearing of seat belts can avoid 92% of road accidents. Not only do the rear passengers put their lives at risk but the impact of the collision also puts at risk the front passengers.
Yours truly
Viren/Vani
Or
Newspaper in Education
by Pranjal
As classrooms begun closely integrated with the world outside, newspapers become windows to look beyond events beyond the schoolroom. Such a practice makes students aware of the worlds around them as they learn of the experiences of children elsewhere and about the latest developments in various spheres of life. Newspapers also become activating sources for students as they contain special columns for lighter reading, as also comic strips and puzzles. The habit leads children into becoming regular newspaper readers as adults.
Above all, newspapers make children aware of practical vocabulary as the language of newspaper writing is not scholastic or dated but prevalent, commonplace and yet expressive. Unlike a textbook, the newspaper can be marked, cut and saved or disposed off according to one’s needs and this makes it a flexible tool of common use. Its cheap pricing makes it accessible to everyone thus becoming a great leveler among students.

Ans. The Masterpiece
When the quake struck at midday, the townspeople had rushed out from their shaking homesteads to safe grounds. Only the master painter had dallied. He had just been inspired by the grandeur of Nature all around his studio and was keen to capture that scene on canvas. When the shaking became stronger, his family had rushed in to plead with him to leave. His reassuring answer was: ‘I’ll run out just as I finish the last stroke on the painting.’
Alas! the last stroke had cost his life, for the roof had caved in and the home was a heap of rubble. The family had moved to a new shelter but still came back to recover their belongings, as bulldozers unearthed their possessions. When the painting had been excavated from the rubble, it was intact and still gleaming. The art dealers had taken it to an international auction where it had fetched crores.
But the family were already rehabilitated and felt that the money should be used to uplift the community once again. The painting now hangs in the Indian Museum and the residents of the town have never forgotten the supreme sacrifice of their master painter for them.
Or
Prashant Babu was a sprightly 75 who told us that he had won a college ‘blue’ in cricket in his university. Yet we boys tended to take his stories with a pinch of salt.
As the time for the annual cricket tournament came round, we decided to meet the veteran for a few tips. But the evening went the usual way. Instead of getting down to serious business and coaching us on how the fieldsmen should be placed for the different types of bowling, or the ways to wield the bat, the old cricketer only continued with telling us about his heydays of glory on the pitch. At last we got bored and took our leave.
On the way home, our captain was the most loud in his complaints. Then the twelfth man in our team strangely enough had a word of praise for Babuji.
I learnt a lot’, he declared. Our curiosity was aroused and we egged him on. To tell us what he had learnt apart from a few more anecdotes.
‘He said that I must keep my eye on the ball.’
We fell silent for that in fact was the crux of the whole matter. The next day’s match was resounding success thanks to Prashant Babu and his one-line coaching statement.

Ans.

7.    Do as directed.
(a)Radha is not going to be available to take calls this evening. (Change into a positive sentence.)
(b)The boy is likely to come for practice matches after the rain stops. (Change into a positive sentence.)
(c) He was disputing the fact. (Change the voice.)
Ans.(a) Radha is going to take calls this evening.
(b)    Is the boy likely to come for practice after the rain stops?    .
(c)    The fact was being disputed by him.
Section C – Literature Textbooks and Long Reading Text

8.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords of life And I have something to expiate A pettiness
(a)    Which chance is the speaker talking about?
(b)    What is the meaning of ‘expiate’?
(c)    What are the poet’s emotions here?
Or
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence Do not go forth to-day : call it my fear That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.
(a)    Who speaks these lines and to whom?
(b)    What is the meaning of ‘prevail’?
(c)    What is the listener’s response to the request made to him?
Ans.(a) The author is talking about the chance to be a good host.
(b)    The word ‘expiate’ means ‘make amends’.
(c)    His act of hitting the snake with a log of wood.
Or
(a)    Calpurnia spoke these lines to her husband Caesar.
(b)    The word ‘prevail’ means ‘beg and request’.
(c)    He felt that Capurnia’s fears were baseless and he went to the senate against her wishes.

9.    Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words each.
(a)    Do you think the poet of the poem ‘Snake’ was a coward or a brave person?
(b)    What was Lavinia’s reaction when she saw the ghost ‘Helen’ in her husband’s room?
(c)    How does Mark Antony able to instigate the mob?
(d)    Why did Sosanko, script in charge, say that Patol was the luckiest of actors?
(e)    Why does Sylvia Plath describe the mirror as a lake?
Ans.(a)The poet of ‘Snake’ is a coward because he didn’t have the courage to listen to the voice of his heart.His knowledge from the books had told him that the snake was a poisonous creature and it should be killed. Though the poet admired the snake but he killed it, because his mind overpowered his heart.
(b)    Lavinia’s reaction was totally opposite to what Mr. Hallock had thought. She neither screamed nor did she faint. She was happy to see Helen. She said to Helen. I thought you were Helen of Troy. She is happy that her husband was not infidel.
(c)    Mark Antony is able to instigate the mob by his artful oratory. He told the mob that Caesar loved Romans a lot. Therefore, he left all his walks, private gardens and orchards on the banks of Tiber to the Romans for their pleasure.
(d)    Sosanko said Patol Babu was the luckiest of all the actors to be shot that day because Patol Babu’s was the only scene that had any dialogue. There had been over hundred actors in that film who played their roles without any dialogue. Most actors had their roles played without having to walk or show their faces.
(e)    The mirror is described in its reflection shows the true image of an old woman. She can clearly see all the defects in her face. The waters of a placid lake create a clear reflection on their waters; hence the comparison.

10. Answer the following question in about 80-100 words each.
Our actions should not be hasty as ‘Haste makes Waste’. Brutus in the play ‘Julius Caesar’ didn’t look into the depth of the things and took a hasty decision of killing Caesar. Elaborate the statement, of ‘We should think before acting as it is no use crying over the spilt milk’ on the basis of your reading, of the play Julius Caesar.
Or
“Technology was advancing everyday and Dad couldn’t resist any of the new gadgets or gizmos that came on the market. That was why we went to the computer fair’. The advancement in technology has not made our life easier but more complicated. We should be the masters of technology and technology should not master us. Elaborate this statement in 120 words.
Ans.Value Points:
Modern life is running very fast.
Everyone seems to be in a hurry.
There is no time to think of the consequences of our actions.
That is why on the spur of the moment people commit crimes.
The rate of crimes and criminals is increasing because people do not think of the result.
But haste makes waste. So, we should think before acting as the result of our actions cannot be reversed.

Long Reading Text/ Novel (Attempt any one of the parts)

Part A
11. What kind of relationship did Anne share with her mother?
Or
Draw a character sketch of Elli Vossen.
Ans.The relationship between Anne and her mother was not harmonious. There was no understanding between them. Anne felt that her mother didn’t love her. She lacked sensitivity and she didn’t know the way to deal with growing children. She could never confide in her mother and she often felt strong hatred towards her. Anne was also rude to her mother. Once when her mother came to tell her that her father won’t be able to say the prayers with her and she could do the prayers with her, Anne immediately rejected the idea. Her mother went away crying. She told Anne that she couldn’t force her love on her. Anne realised that her mother had become indifferent because of the harsh circumstances but still she could never develop any liking, respect or affection for her mother. Anne Frank, from her diary, ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ is revealed as a headstrong girl, enthusiastic and with a positive outlook. However, she is largely misunderstood, especially by her mother who Anne feels blames her for everything. At the same time, Anne has suffered from her mother’s cruel words and feels she must be honest even though she knows how it saddens her mother and,in fact, her father. She feels that she must be truthful and that, in time, her mother will realise the part she played.
Or
Elli was a Dutch woman who did chores and found food and clothing for the Annexe residents as well as arranging for illegal goods coupons. She often gave Anne and Margot some office work, to prevent them from getting bored. Along with Miep, she retrieved and saved Anne’s diary from the floor of the Annexe after the residents were arrested. She helped Anne and others both practically and psychologically. Elli also spent a night in the Secret Annexe sleeping on an air mattress when the Gestapo came to arrest. Elli was broken and cried like a little child. Mr. Koophius told her to go home and she went back to her ailing father.
Part B
11. What did Bishop Brooks teach Helen?
Or
Draw a character sketch of Mildred Keller.
Ans.Helen felt that it was one of her sweetest privileges of her life to have known Bishop Brooks. Helen felt that her spirit couldn’t reach up to his, but he gave her a real sense of joy in life. He taught her that there was only one universal religion—The religion of love. We should love our Heavenly Father with our whole heart and soul, we should love every child of God as much as we can. He also told her that the possibilities of good were always greater than the possibilities of evil and we have the key to heaven. He taught her no special creed or dogma, but he impressed upon her mind two great ideas—The fatherhood of God and brotherhood of Man. He made her feel that these truths underlay all creeds and forms of worship. His life was a happy illustration of this great truth. In his noble soul love and widest knowledge were blended with faith that had become an insight. He saw God in all that liberates and lifts, in all that humbles, sweetens and consoles. He said that “God is love, God is our Father, we are His children; therefore the darkest clouds will break and though right be worsted, wrong shall not triumph.”
Or
Mildred Keller was Helen’s younger sister. Initially, Helen thought her to be an intruder. She was jealous of Mildred as she sat in her mother’s lap constantly, where she used to sit and she seemed to take up all her care and time. One day, when she saw her little sister sleeping in the cradle of her doll, she overturned the cradle in which she was sleeping. But when Mildred grew up, she was a constant companion to Helen and they both shared a strong bond of love and friendship. She was a sweet child who always accompanied Helen. Helen used to feel jealous towards Mildred who she felt had taken her place as her mother’s only darling. In later years, they grew affectionate towards each other and were content to go hand in hand everywhere although she couldn’t understand her finger language or her childish prattle.

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