CBSE 2010 English (Communicative) Question Papers Class X

Section A - (Reading)

  1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (20 Marks)
  1. I felt stupid, being made to stand on the desk while the other kids were bent over their notebooks. I couldn’t understand My new school or my new classmates, or their alien language – English – and the fact the they could do sums in their head, while I struggled with a paper and pencil. For me, at age six, the good times had ended. Life seemed a far cry from those days in Nell ore, Andhra Pradesh, all thanks to my grandfather’s reflected glory. He was a military doctor, a great man, and I lived with him. And so even policemen gave me affectionate salaams, which I learned to acknowledge with a nod. I’d simply lay my head down on the desk and sleep in class, if bored. I was a pampered little prince. (12 Marks)

  2. in early 1971, my parents decided it was time I moved to Bombay where father worked. My first few days were a disaster. No one spoke Tamil or telugu, the only languages I knew. I couldn’t keep pace with their writing of reading. then one day, a slight plump lady with large spectacles, wearing trousers walked into the classroom. “Hello,” she said. My name is Miss Jean. I am your new class teacher.” She’d done her homework. Spotting me in a back corner, she beckoned me to the front. My almost empty notebooks must have given Miss Jean a clue that I needed the extra attention. If the class had to write a page, I’d be made to write two . Even during PT, I had to stay back and write. When I was caught sneaking to the window to watch the others playing, Miss Jean put me in the middle raw, far from the windows.

  3. I made some progress and Miss Jean made it a point to praise every little a achievement. If I did my work wrong, she’d call me to her desk, hug m show me to correct my errors. Mistakes were only human in her eyes, but neglecting home –work was a crime - there’d be a terse comment in my diary for mother to see . And I ‘d be grounded that evening. Meanwhile I was getting possessive and minded if another child got more hugs. By Christmas, I stood fifth in class. “I am very proud of Srikant,” she told the class after reading out the marks. I related that moment to Moher again and again. When I returned after summer vacations, I heard that Miss Jean had got married and was going to Austria.

  4. many years went by. I graduated I engineering, then in management, got a job, got married and had kids. One day I found myself thinking of Miss Jean. Soon afterwards I found myself in Sydney, Australia on an official trip. I tried looking up my teacher in the phone book. But it was of no help as I did not even know her surname. Thank you Miss Jean wherever you are for the tact and patience with which you taught me.            

  1.1   Complete the following sentences:

(a) when the author got bored in his class while he studied in Nell ore, he ...................................
(b) He was given a preferential treatment when he was a child because................................ .
(c) The author felt very bad and could not mix with his new classmates because....................... .When Miss Jean discovered that the author needed her extra attention she assigned him............................ .Miss Jean put the author in the middle row far from the window when she found....................... When the author committed mistakes, Miss Jean made it a point to ........................... The author became so possessive of Miss Jean that ................................ Although the author’s efforts failed to trace her later in Australia, he thanked her in his heart because .

1.2  Find words from the passage which mean the same as

  • spoiled with too much attention (para 1)
  • called/signaled  (para 2)
  • having excessive desire to own (para 3)
  • fail to do something (para 3) 
  1.  Read the passage given below and answer the questions that   follow:( 8 Marks)
  1.  llkal, a small town famous for its ethnic saris is in the northern district of Bijapur in  Karnataka. But soon the sound of the loom may belong to the past as more and more weavers leave this art to join more profitable occupations. These saris are unique for their four to six inch broad reddish maroon borders with traditional, distinct designs. It is the families of dayers and weavers who together produce the llkal sari – a deep blue-black indigo body with red borders. It is woven is cotton or silk or a combination of both. The cotton, before the advent of chemical colures, was indigo dyed, and the red border dyed with colors derived from flowers.

  2. A weaver’s living room includes a handloom pit , where the weaver works on the loom at the some time entertaining guests and customers. The bedroom is the store room for yarn and also doubles as the domain of womenfolk of the house. It takes around a week to complete a sari. It is tiresome work. “The wholesaler gives us the required raw materials, mainly yarn, and we weave the sari on a piecemeal basis," he elaborates. "We are then sure the sari is sold and we are not stuck with dead stock. This is how the system mostly works now." 

  3. Traditionally, IIkal saris were made using natural indigo dyes. Then, in the 1970s, the synthetic German indigo replaced this vat dyeing process. Today, this has given way to naphtha based days. The famed and centuries old indigo dyeing is now on the verge of extinction. As the new generation steps into more profitable avenues the skyline of llkal is fast changing too. “The most profitable business in the area now is granite,” states a weaver. With this stone being available plenty here, a number of granite selling agencies and chimneys of granite processing units are proliferating all over. As more and more of town’s younger citizens step into newer ventures like that of selling stones,. The loom may become a mere memory.

2.1 Complet the paragraph using one word only is each blank (1x3 = 3 Marks)

IIkal,once a small town
(a)............................. for its saris is fast changing into one known for granites.
(b) ..................................... a sari takes almost a week and is tiresome work . the younger generation
(c) ..................................... granite business to sari weaving.   

2.2 Complete the sentences given below. (1 x 5 = 5 Marks)

(a) A weaver’ bedroom functions as.................................................
(b) German indigo has functions as..................................................
(c) Weaving saris on a piecemeal basis ensures that .................
(d) Availability of granite stone is plenty in the area has led to....
(d) ..................................................................
(ii) ..................................................................

Section B – (Writing - 30 Marks)

  1. You are the Sports Secretary of your school. There will be a football match between Jawahar School and your school. Put up a notice on the notice board asking students who are interested in joining the team to come for selection. Write the notice in not more than 50 words. (5 Marks)

  2. You are P.A to Mr. Sharma, secretary of T.K Group of Institutions. He wants you to draft a massage to be sent to all the schools in his group. Using the following notes left by him, draft the message in not more than 50 words. Do not add any new information.(5 Marks)
    • Principals, vice principals – attend meeting
    • At the corporate office
    • 10 am 22nd April
    • Topic of discussion –conduct of interschool cultural competitions

  3. You are Rajat/ Rashmi living at 10, Dished Grader, Delhi. As you commute to school, you happen to see garbage heaped on the roadsides spilling into the drains causing them to overflow. As a concerned citizen, write a letter in 150-175 words to the editor of a newspaper on the need for civic sense among the people . Use the notes given below.(10 Marks)
    • Garbage free environment
    • Health hazards
    • Outbreak of epidemics
    • Children to be educated in civic sense from a young age.

  4. The picture given below shows the change in lifestyle brought about by the technology of today. But it has also brought with it a lot of negativities. Write an article in 150-175 words for a magazine on how technology is being over-used by the youth of today. Use ideas from the unit on ‘Science’ and your own ideas. You are kavi /kusum. (10 Marks) 

(For Blind Candidates Only)

with the advent of technology, lifestyle has altogether changed. But it has also brought with it a lot of negativities. Write an article for a magazine of how technology is being over-used by the youth of today. Take ideas from the unit on ‘science’ and use your own ideas. You are Kavi /kusum. Write the article in 150-175 words. Use the notes given below.

  1. Uses of mobile phone
    • e-mail & Internet
    • F.M Radio
    • Still/video Imaging
    • 3D Games
    • Personal Organiser

Section C – (Grammar - 20 Marks)

  1. Look at the notes given below and complete the paragraph that follows. Do not add any new information. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.

Mrs. Gupta –alone-flat-a man knocked –opens-three men enter-Revolvers –tied up -Jewellery worth 50000 – disconnect telephone

Mrs. Gupta was
(a) ......................... A man knocker at her front door. When she opened the door
(b) ........................... At gunpoint they tied up Mrs. Gupta and
(c) ........................Worth Rs. 50,000/- They also
(d) ....................................................(1 x 4 = 4 Marks)

  1. The passage below has not been edited. There is one error in each line. write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. The first one is done as an example.(1/2 x 8 = 4 Marks)

    People should think twice when they     e.g. when before
    Adopt a pet. Pets became adopted           (a)
    member of the family                                   (b)
    One cannot think at ill-treating them.        (c)
    They had to be given wholesome              (d)
    Food . in case they fell sick                         (e)
    They should be taken for a vat.                   ( f)
    Some people acquire pet and                     (g)
    Now neglect them.nbsp nbsp;                    (h)

  2. Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. The first one has done as an example. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers in your answer sheet . (1 x 4 = 4 Marks)

    Join college /decided to /at the /I /thirty-five /age of I decided to join college at the age of thirty –five.
    (a) worried /to work /about /my ability /not / I was
    (b) confused teenager/not a /grown-up /was a /woman and /I
    (c) I realised /than me /the teenagers /very soon /that /better/were
    (d) Had all their /bright condition /they still/classroom skills in

  3. Fill in the blanks in the following passage with one word only in each blank. Write the correct word in your answer sheet against the correct blank number.  (1/2 x 8 = 4 Marks)

    The people in the restaurant seemed
    (a) ...................................lonely as the place itself. Two men
    (b) .............untidy work shirts sat at the counter, staring wearily
    (c) ....................................cups of coffee. I thought that they
    (d) .................................shift workers
    (e) .................................... for some reason, didn’t want ot go home, A little away
    (f) ................................ them sat a couple. The man was staring into space, idly tapping his spoon
    (g) .........................the table while the woman drew aimless parallel lines on her paper napkin
    (h) ....................................a fork.       

  4. Read the conversation given below and complete the passage that follows. Write the answers against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentences. (1x4=4 Marks)

    Anil : Why is there such a big crowd on that street ?
    Ravi : A new shop selling sports goods is opening today.
    Anil : Is a film star doing the opening ceremony ?
    Ravi : I heard that sachin Tendulkar is inaugurating it.
    Anil ask Ravi
    (a) ................ Ravi replied that a new shop
    (b) ............................. Anil enquired
    (c) ...................... Ravi told him that
    (d) ..........................

Section D – (Literature - 30 Marks )
  1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. Write the answers in your answer sheet in one or two lines only. Number the answers correctly. (3 Marks)

    Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I, Think it is a part of my heart.
    (a) Name the poem and the poet. (1 Marks)
    (b) How does the speaker spend his time? (1 Marks)
    (c) What does ‘pink, with speckles’ mean? (1 Marks)

  2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. White the answer in your answer sheet in one or two lines only. Number the answers correctly. (3 Marks)

Other creatures loathed his voice,
But alas, they had no choice,
And the crass cacophony
Blared out from the sumac tree

(a) Who is the singer referred to here? (1 Marks)
(b) How did the other creatures react to the song? (1 Marks)
(c) What does ‘crass cacophony’ mean? (1 Marks)

OR

May he sit still, they said.
May the sins of your previous birth
Be burned away tonight, they said.

    (a) Who are ‘they’? (1 Marks)
    (b) Why had they come to the poet’s house? (1 Marks)
    (c) What do their words tell us about them? (1 Marks)

  1. Answer the following in 50-70 words. (1 Marks)
    How does ‘Ode to the West Wind’ reveal the characteristic of an ode?
    OR
    What traits of the ancient mariner’s character are revealed in the poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’?

  2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines only(4 Marks)

You know not what you do L: do not consent
That Antony speaks in his funeral:
Know you how much the people may be moved
By that which he will utter?

(a) Who advises whom? Whose “funeral” is referred to?(2 Marks)
(b) What light do these words throw on the character of the speaker? (2 Marks)

  1. Answer the following in 50-75 words.(4 Marks)
    Pick out instances from the play, ‘A Christmas Carol’ to bring out the most attractive traits of tiny Tim’s personality.
    OR
    How did Antony convince the Roman mob that Caesar was not ambitious ?

  2. Answer the following in 50-70 words.(4 Marks)
    What information does Ch- tsal give Christopher about his planet in the lesson, ‘Cutie Pie’?
    OR
    Discribe the circumstances under which ali, the hunter, becomes the embodiment of love and patience.

  3. Answer the following in 150-175 words.(8 Marks)
    As Babuli’s second brother, make a diary entry on the night after the partition, expressing your opinion about the actions f your brothers.
    OR
    Imagine that you are the grandfather in ‘The Ultimate Safari’. You have arrived at the camp. Make a diary entry on the hardships you had undergone in the Kruger Park
English (Communicative) 2010 Question Papers Class X

CBSE Class X - 2010 Previous Year Question Papers