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As Valli, make a diary entry sharing your joys and disappointments during the bus ride.
Concept: From the Diary of Anne Frank
Read the passage given below-
| (1) | Milkha Singh, also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold in 400 metres at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements. |
| (2) | The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games. He led the race till the 200 m mark before easing off, allowing others to pass him. Singh's fourth-place time of 45.73 seconds was the Indian national record for almost 40 years. |
| (3) | From beginning that saw him orphaned and displaced during the partition of India, Singh became a sporting icon in the country. In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath described Singh as "the finest athlete India has ever produced". |
| (4) | He was disappointed with his debut performance at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. "I returned to India, chastened by my poor performance in Melbourne. I had been so excited by the prospects of being part of the Indian Olympics team, but, hadn't realized how strong and professional the competition would be. My success in India had filled me with a false sense of pride and it was only when I was on the track that I saw how inconsequential my talents were when pitted against superbly fit and seasoned athletes. It was then that I understood what competition actually meant, and that if I wanted to succeed on the international arena, I must be prepared to test my mettle against the best athletes in the world." |
| (5) | Then he decided to make sprinting the sole focus of his life. "Running had thus become my God, my religion and my beloved". "My life during those two years was governed by strict rules and regulations and a self-imposed penance. Every morning I would rise at the crack of dawn, get into my sports kit and dash off to the track, where I would run two or three miles cross-country in the company of my coach." |
| (6) | On how he pushed himself through the tough days of vigorous training. "I practiced so strenuously that often I was drained of all energy, and there were times when I would increase my speed to such an extent that after my rounds, I would vomit blood or drop down unconscious through sheer exercise. My doctors and coaches warned me, asked me to slow down to maintain my health and equilibrium but my determination was too strong to give up. My only focus was to become the best athlete in the world. But then images of a packed stadium filled with cheering spectators, wildly applauding me as I crossed the finishing line, would flash across my mind and I would start again, encouraged by visions of victory." |
Based on your reading answer any five questions from the six given below: (5)
- What is Milkha Singh known as? What realization did Milkha Singh have when he was on the track during the Melbourne Olympics?
- List any two of Milkha Singh's achievements.
- What strict rules and regulations did Milkha Singh follow?
- State two consequences of his hard and strenuous practice.
- What motivated Milkha Singh to become the best athlete in the world?
- Explain the phrase 'I would start again' in the last sentence.
Concept: Unseen Passage Comprehension
Read the following excerpt from a Case Study. J.K. Rowling - A Journey.
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The story of Joanne Kathleen Rowling's near magical rise to fame is almost as well known as the characters she creates. Rowling was constantly writing and telling stories to her younger sister Dianne. "The first story I ever wrote down was about a rabbit called Rabbit." Rowling said in an interview. "He got measles and was visited by his friends including a giant bee called Miss Bee. And ever since Rabbit and Miss Bee, I have always wanted to be a writer, though I rarely told anyone so. However, my parents, both of whom come from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage or secure a pension. A writer from the age of six, with two unpublished novels in the drawer, she was stuck on a train when Harry walked into her mind fully formed. She spent the next five years constructing the plots of seven books, one for every year of his secondary school life. Rowling says she started writing the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in Portugal, where she was teaching English. At first nobody wanted to publish Harry Potter. She was told that plot was too complex. Refusing to compromise, she found a publisher. In 1997 Rowling received her first royalty cheque. By book three, she had sky rocketed to the top of the publishing world. A row of zeroes appeared on the author's bank balance and her life was turned upside down. Day and night she had journalists knocking on the unanswered door of her flat. Rowling's quality control has become legendary, as her obsession with accuracy. She's thrilled with Stephen Fry's taped version of the books and outraged that an Italian dust jacket showed Harry minus his glasses. "Don't they understand that the glasses are the clue to his vulnerability." Annual earnings of J.K. Rowlin from 2010 to 2019
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On the basis of your understanding of the passage answer any five of the six questions given below. (5)
- Explain J. K. Rowling's 'near magical rise to fame'.
- What reason did the publishers give for rejecting Rowling's book?
- What was the drawback of achieving fame?
- Why was Rowling outraged with the Italian dust jacket?
- Find a word in the last para that means the same as 'insecure/helpless'.
- According to the graph, how many years did it take Rowling to become very successful?
Concept: Unseen Passage Comprehension
What are the raindrops compared to and why?
Concept: A Letter to God
What excuses did Mrs. Pumphrey make about Mr. Herriot's advice?
Concept: A Triumph of Surgery
Answer the following in about 40-50 words:
Why did the night after the rains turn sorrowful for Lencho?
Concept: A Letter to God
Answer the following in about 40-50 words:
How did Mrs. Pumphrey treat Tricki?
Concept: A Triumph of Surgery
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate option:
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He stalks in his vivid stripes He should be lurking in shadow |
- 'He' is in a rage because he is ______. (1)
- hungry
- tied
- thirsty
- in a cage
- He is lurking in the shadow because ______. (1)
- The above lines express the tiger's ______. (1)
- resignation
- fear
- anger
- acceptance
- Complete the sentence appropriately: (1)
It is clear that metaphor is the poetic device used for ‘pads of velvet’ — because ______.
(Clue: explain how metaphor is applied here.) - The contrast in the above extract is between life in the forest and life in the ______. (1)
- circus
- national park
- cave
- zoo
Concept: A Tiger in the Zoo
Why did Hari Singh smile in his most appealing way towards the end of the story?
Concept: The Thief’s Story
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
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He stalks in his vivid stripes He should be lurking in shadow |
- 'Quiet rage' refers to the tigers ______. (1)
- helplessness
- he has not been able to hunt
- his prey has not come to the water hole
- he is not free
- He is lurking in shadows because ______. (1)
- Complete the sentence appropriately: (1)
It is clear that metaphor is the poetic device used for 'pads of velvet' because ______.
(clue-explain how metaphor applies here). - Find a word from the extract which means to walk with measured, stiff of haughty strides: (1)
- steps
- lurking
- pads
- stalk
- State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE: (1)
The tiger is stealthily waiting for the deer to come to the water hole.
Concept: A Tiger in the Zoo
Answer the following in about 100-120 words:
'No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion'. Do you agree? Elaborate on the basis of the chapter "Nelson Mandela - Long walk to freedom".
Concept: Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom
Answer the following in about 100-120 words:
Trust and compassion can reform a person. Justify this statement in the light of the lesson 'The Thief's Story'.
Concept: The Thief’s Story
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate option:
| If strolling forth, a beast you view, Whose hide with spots is peppered, As soon as he has leapt on you, You'll know it's the leopard. 'Twill do no good to roar with pain, He'll only lep and lep again. |
- One can find out that it is a leopard by the way it ______. (1)
- leaps
- eats
- looks
- roars
- State whether the following statement is true or false: (1)
When an animal repeatedly leaps at a person, it is a leopard. - Complete the sentence appropriately: (1)
It is clear that repetition is a poetic device used for 'lep and lep again' because ______.
(Clue: explain how repetition is applied here.) - The Royal Bengal Tiger has black stripes on yellow skin whereas a leopard has ______. (1)
- Complete the analogy with a word from the extract: (1)
claws : nails :: ? : skin
Concept: How to Tell Wild Animals
Answer of the following question in 100-120 words:
Motivation plays an important role in taking risks in life and in succeeding. Do you agree? Discuss with reference to the pilot of the old Dakota and the young seagull.
Concept: Black Aeroplane
Read the extract given below and attempt the questions that follow:
| Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black. If was impossible to see anything outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. I looked at the compass. I couldn't believe my eyes the compass was turning round and round and round. It was dead. It would not work. The other instruments were suddenly dead, too. I tried the radio. "Paris Control? Paris Control? Can you hear me?" There was no answer. The radio was dead too. I had no radio, no compass, and I could not see where I was. I was lost in the storm. |
- As soon as the pilot was inside the cloud ______. (1)
- his ears got blocked.
- he choked with fear.
- his vision was obstructed.
- he was jumping up and down.
- The devices in the aeroplane were ______. (1)
- malfunctioning.
- broken completely.
- giving wrong readings.
- stopped responding completely.
- The Paris air control did not reply to the pilot's call because ______. (1)
- Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word 'twisted' as used in the extract. (1)
- Ragini twisted Raghav's Wrist.
- Ragini twisted the story to suit the occasion.
- Ragini did not appreciate Raghav's twisted bent of mind.
- Ragini matched the swimmer as he twisted twice in the air before diving into the water.
- Fill in the blank with ONE WORD only: (1)
The narrator's ______ comes through clearly when he sees the compass turning round and round.
Concept: Black Aeroplane
Answer the following in about 40-50 words:
Describe the young seagull's first flight.
Concept: His First Flight
Answer the following in about 40-50 words:
How did Ausable get rid of Max without using a weapon.
Concept: The Midnight Visitor
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
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I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed them until I was six, at which time I started in the first form. m the sixth form my teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the headmistress. At the end of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell. In the summer of 1941 Grandma fell ill and had to have an operation, so my birthday passed with little celebration. |
- The narrator 'I' refers to _____. (1)
- Mr. Keesing
- Mrs. Kuperus
- Anne Frank
- Miss Margot
- The phrase 'right away' in this extract most nearly means: (1)
- with delay
- the correct way
- immediately
- overtaking from right
- What does the narrator mean by saying 'we were both in tears'? (1)
- Complete the analogy by selecting a word from the text: (1)
dawn: dusk:: mourning: ______. - Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word 'form' as used in the extract. (1)
- Raghav was in good form while playing the match.
- Saheb was promoted to the next form after the annual exam.
- My brother did not know how to form a circle.
- Anne saw the form on the headmaster's desk.
Concept: From the Diary of Anne Frank
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Don't eat that chocolate Amanda! Remember your acne, Amanda! Will you please look at me when I'm speaking to you Amanda! (I am Rapunzel, I have not a care; life in tower is tranquil and rare, I'll certainly never let down my bright hair) |
- The speaker's tone is ______. (1)
- loving.
- hopeful.
- instructive.
- indifferent.
- Complete the analogy with a word from the extract: (1)
rare : uncommon :: peace : ______. - State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE: (1)
Amanda did not want anyone to invade her privacy and silence. - Select the appropriate option: (1)
Amanda's mother is continuously ______ Amanda.
- encouraging
- reprimanding
- motivating
- disappointing
- Which word in the extract is opposite in meaning to the word 'dull'? (1)
- dreary
- shady
- bright
- angry
Concept: Amanda!
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
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The two boys started in surprise at the fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare feet. What was a barefooted man doing on the steps of a house in the middle of London? And where was the man? As they gazed, a remarkable sight met, their eyes. A fresh footmark appeared from nowhere! Further footprints followed, one after another, descending the steps and progressing down the street. The boys followed, fascinated, until the muddy impressions became fainter and fainter and at last disappeared altogether. |
- The boys were surprised to see a barefooted man in London because ______. (1)
- everybody in London moved around in shoes.
- it was very cold in London to move around barefoot.
- the muddy footprints were fresh.
- only a homeless person would walk barefoot.
- Select the option that correctly captures the usage of the word' started' in the above extract. (1)
- When I reached the theatre the movie had already started.
- The fire started from the kitchen.
- On hearing the bell ring, the sleeping Raman started and jumped out of bed.
- Taking a deep breath, Ravi started down the stairs.
- The boys reaction can best be described as: (1)
- captivated, bored
- repulsed, absorbed
- curious, unhappy
- captivated, interested
- Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text: (1)
Disappeared: Vanished:: Extraordinary: ______. - According to the extract the boys were ______ when they saw the footmark. (1)
1. terrified
2. nervous
3. delighted
4. curious
5. puzzled
Select the correct option:
- 1, 2, 4
- Only 1
- 4 and 5
- 2 and 3
Concept: Footprints Without Feet
