CBSE Sample Papers for Class 9 SA2 English Communicative Solved 2016 Set 16

SECTION-A

(Reading)

1.(a) Read the passage carefully and complete the sentences that follow: (5)

It is difficult for those who have not seen it to believe in the existence of the devil-fish. This frightful monster, which is so often encountered amid the rocks in the open sea, is of grayish colour, about five feet long and about the thickness of a man’s arm. It is ragged in outline, and in shape strongly resembles a closed umbrella, without the handle. This irregular mass slowly advances towards you. Suddenly it opens and eight antennae issue abruptly from around a face with two eyes. These radii are alive, their undulation is like lambent flames. Underneath each of the antennae are two rows of suckers. These small tubes are capable of piercing to a depth of more than an inch. It is with its sucking apparatus that it attacks. The victim is oppressed by a vacuum drawn in at numerous points. Such was the creature in whose power Gilliatt had fallen. Of the eight arms of the devil-fish, three adhered to the rock, while five encircled Gilliatt.

In this way clinging to the granite on one side, and to its human prey on the other, it chained him to the rock.

It is impossible to tear one self from the clutches of the devil-fish. The attempt only results in a firmer grasp. Gilliatt had but one resource-his open knife was in his left hand.

The antennae of the devil-fish cannot be cut; it is a leathery substance upon which a knife makes no impression. It slips under the blade. To sever it would be to wound severely the victim’s own flesh. The creature is formidable, but there is a way of resisting it. In fact, its only vulnerable part is its head. Gilliatt was not ignorant of this fact.

With the devil-fish, as with a furious bull, there is a certain instant in the conflict which must be seized. It is the instant when the devil-fish advances its head. The movement is rapid.One who loses the moment is doomed.

The abode of the devil-fish is_________ .
The fish uses its_________ .
When a person tries to escape from the devil-fish, its grip___________ .
The weak point of the fish is__________ .
The fish must be attacked the moment it___________ .

(b) Read the following passage carefully : (5)

A sound of quick steps broke the silence of the moor. Crouching among the stones, we stared intently at the silver-tipped bank in front of us. The steps grew louder, and through the fog, as through a curtain, there stepped the man whom we were awaiting. He looked round him in surprise as he emerged into the clear starlit night. Then he came swiftly along the path, passed close to where we lay, and went on up the long slope behind us. As he walked he glanced continually over either shoulder, like a man who is ill at ease.
“Hist!” cried Holmes, and I heard the sharp click of a cocking pistol. “Look out. It’s coming.” There was thin, crisp, continuous patter from somewhere in the heart of the crawling bank. The cloud was within fifty yards of where we lay, and we glared at it, all three, uncertain what horror was about to break from the heart of it. I was at Holmes’ elbow, and I glanced for an instant at his face. It was pale and exultant, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. But suddenly they started forward in a rigid, fixed stare, and his lips parted in amazement. At the same instant Lestrade gave a yell of terror and threw himself face downwards on the ground. I sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind paralysed by the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its mouth, its eyes glowed with a smoldering glare. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appealing, more hellish, be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.

1.On the basis of your reading of the passage complete the following statements :

(a) Holmes and the narrator saw___________ .

(b) Holmes looked pale and expectant as he___________ .

2.Answer the following questions.

(a) What came out of the fog ?

(b) What happened to Lestrade ?

3.Give a word from the passage that means the same as ‘great surprise’, (para 2)

2. Read the passage carefully and on the basis of your study of the passage answer the questions given below : (OTBA) (10)

One cannot be truly human and civilized unless one looks upon not only all fellow-men but all creation with the eyes of a friend. Throughout India, edicts carved on rocks and iron pillars are reminders that 22 centuries ago Emperor Ashoka defined the king’s duty as not merely to protect citizens and punish wrong-doers but also to preserve animal life and forest trees. Ashoka was the first and perhaps the only monarch until very recently to forbid the killing of a large number of species of animals for sport or food. He went further, regretting the carnage of his military conquests and enjoining upon his successors to find ”their only pleasure in the peace that comes through righteousness.”

Along with the rest of mankind, we in India-in spite of Ashoka – have been guilty of wanton disregard for the sources of our sustenance. We share your concern at the rapid deterioration of flora and fauna. Some of our own wild life has been wiped out, miles of forests with beautiful old trees, mute witnesses of history, have been destroyed. Even though our industrial development is in its infancy, and at its most difficult stage, we are taking various steps to deal with incipient environmental imbalances. The more so because of our concern for the human being – a species which is also imperilled. In poverty he is threatened by malnutrition and disease, in weakness by war, in richness by the pollution brought about by his own prosperity.

We inhabit a divided world; on the one hand the rich are critical of our continuing poverty – on the other they warn us against their own methods. We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people. Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters ? For instance, unless we are in a position to provide employment and purchasing power for the daily necessities of the tribal people and those who live in or around jungles, we cannot prevent them from combing the forest for food and livelihood, from poaching and from despoiling the vegetation. When they themselves feel deprived, how can we urge the preservation of animals ? How can we speak to those who live in villages and in slums about keeping the oceans, the rivers and the air clean when their own lives are contaminated at the source ? The environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty. Nor can poverty be eradicated without the use of science and technology.

Must there be conflict between technology and a truly better world or between enlightenment of the spirit and a higher standard of living ? Foreigners sometimes ask what to us seems a very strange question, whether progress in India would not mean a diminishing of her spirituality or her values.

Is spiritual quality so superficial as to be dependent upon the lack of material comfort ? As a country we are no more or less spiritual than any other but traditionally our people have respected the spirit of detachment and renunciation. Historically, our great spiritual discoveries were made during periods of comparative affluence. The doctrines of detachment from possessions were developed not as rationalisation of deprivation but to prevent comfort and ease from dulling the senses. Spirituality means the enrichment of the spirit, the strengthening of one’s inner resources and the stretching of one’s range of experience. It is the ability to separate the essence from circumstances; to accept joy and sorrow with some equanimity. Perception and compassion are the marks of true spirituality.

The Government of India is one of the few which have an officially sponsored programme of family planning and this is making some progress. We believe that planned families will make for a healthier and more conscious population. But we know also that no programme of population control can be effective without education and without a visible rise in the standard of living. Our own programmes have succeeded in the urban or semi-urban areas. To the very poor, every child is an earner and a helper. We are experimenting with new approaches and the family planning programme is being combined with those of maternity and child welfare, nutrition and development in general.

It is an over-simplification to blame all the world’s problem on increasing population. Countries with but a small fraction of the world population consume the bulk of the world’s production of minerals, fossil fuels and so on. Thus, we see that when it comes to the depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution the increase of one inhabitant in an affluent country, at his level of living, is equivalent to an increase of many Asians, Africans or Latin Americans at their current material levels of living.

(a) Most of the problems faced by the world is due to the increase in population. Discuss the statement in the context of the passage.

(b) The conservation of environment is a difficult task in the face of immense poverty in many countries of the world including India. Elaborate.

SECTION-B

(Writing & Grammar)

You are Ankush/Sudha. You are concerned about children becoming disobedient and unruly these days. Taking cues from the MCB unit ‘Children’ together with your own views, write an article on the topic ‘How to Discipline Children’ in 100-120 words. You may take help from these hints. (5)

Hints

children going astray
force parents to do whatever they like
disobey and even insult teachers
needs to be disciplined through persistence, refusal and persuasion

4. Write an original story in 150-200 words, which begins like this : (10)

One night, as I was sleeping on my bed, I heard some sound of someone entering the house by jumping over the wall. I was terrified……………………

5. Choose the most appropriate options from the ones given below to complete the following paragraph. (3)

Harish was one of our best friends (a)______________ we all liked. He fell (b) __________ the stairs and broke one of his bones. He (c)__________________ be hospitalised.

(а) (i) whom (ii) which (iii) that (iv) whose

(b) (i) of (ii) off (iii) from (iv) out

6. In the following passage there is a word omitted in each line. Write the word that is missing along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. (4)

Man is the dangerous animal on the e.g. the most dangerous

earth. He can do anything for own survival. (a) ………………………………

He has eaten many animals to such extent (b) …………………………………

that the list of creatures have vanished and (c) …………………………………

others that on the verge of vanishing is a long one. (d) …………………….

7. Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences as in the example. Write the correct sentencs in your answer sheet. (3)

Rama’s/seriously/to the temple/to pray/spoke to him/mother/and sent him Rama’s mother spoke to him seriously and sent him to the temple to pray.

(a) this time/to heart/mother’s words/made/something/Rama/take his

(b) her glory/sincere prayers/Kali heard/and appeared/in all/Rama’s/ before him

SECTION-C

(Literature Textbook & Long Reading Text) (25 Marks)

8, Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : (3)

Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannons mouth

(a) What does the soldier aim at ?

(b) What tells you that the reputation one aspires for does not last long ?

I believe those people pretend to be ill just to have the Bishop call on them. They have no thought of the Bishop”

(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) What does the speaker think of ‘those people’ ?
(c) What does the word ‘pretend’ mean ?

9. Answer these questions in 30-40 words each : (2×4=8)

(a) Do you find any positive traits of Professor Quelch’s character ?

(b) Who was John A Pescud ? What was his profession ?

(c) ‘And then the lover/sighing like furnace…’ . Explain.

(d) How and why does the Bishop help Mere Gringoire ?

10.Despite the Bishop’s kindness, the convict steals his silver candlesticks.

Do you think it is a human trait to deceive one’s benefactors ? Discuss in 80-100 words. (4)

‘Tactfulness is a desirable virtue in our times’. Discuss it in the context of the story ‘The Man who Knew too Much.’

11.In what ways are the Yahoos similar to human beings? Discuss. (10)

What impression do you form of the Master Horse in Part IV of the novel ?

Narrate in your own words Montmorency’s encounter with the large

black Tom.

Which of the three friends do you like the most ? Give reasons to support your answer.

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