ENGLISH PAPER 1

(LANGUAGE)
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Maximum Marks: 80
Time Allowed: Three hours
(Candidates are allowed additional 15 minutes for only reading the paper.
They must NOT start writing during this time).
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Attempt all four questions.
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].
(You are advised to spend not more than 45 minutes on Question 1,
55 minutes on Question 2, 30 minutes on Question 3 and
50 minutes on Question 4).
(You should begin each answer on a fresh page.)
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Question 1

Write a composition (in approximately 400 – 450 words) on any one of the following [20]
subjects:
(You are reminded that you will be rewarded for orderly and coherent presentation of
matter, use of appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and
grammar.)

(i) Last year, you visited your grandparents. There, you participated in a local festival.
Describe the way people were dressed, the different cultural events and the food
sold in the stalls. What were your feelings as you returned from the festivities?

(ii) While you were at home during the lockdown due to the pandemic, an exciting
event took place that turned you into a local hero. Narrate the incident.

(iii) Advertisements should only present the truth. Argue for or against this idea.

(iv) Hope

(v) ‘Be the change you want to see.’ Present your reflections on this statement.

(vi) Write an original short story that begins with the following words.:
He stood still in the kitchen, wondering what to do, when…

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Question 2

(i) You are the Head Boy/ Head Girl of The XYZ School and you have been asked to [15]
give a speech at the morning assembly on the topic – Waste Not, Want Not. Use
the following guidelines to write the speech:
Greeting and address to the gathering—importance of resources—careful use of
food—careful use of money—conserving electricity—preserving the environment
for the next generation.

(ii) As the President of the Student Council of The XYZ School, you have been asked [10]
to organise a food festival. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to an animal
shelter nearby. Write a proposal in not more than 150 words, outlining the steps
you would take to make this event a success.

Question 3

Answer sections (i), (ii) and (iii).

(i) In each of the following items, sentence I is complete, while sentence II is not. [5]
Complete sentence II, making it as similar as possible to sentence I. Write
sentence II in each case.
Example:
(z) (I) The heavy showers of rain revived the plants
(II) The plants……..………………………………
Answer: (z) The plants were revived by the heavy showers of rain.
(a) (I) They are repairing my piano at the moment.
(II) My ……………………………………….
(b) (I) If you do not reach the theatre early, you will not get a good seat.
(II) Unless ……………………………………
(c) (I) There were many obstacles, yet she succeeded in her mission.
(II) Although …………………………………
(d) (I) Chocolate cake is the best dessert I have ever eaten.
(II) No ………………………………………..
(e) (I) Scarcely did the famous store open when they all rushed in.
(II) As soon as ………………………………..
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(ii) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. (Do not write the sentence.) [5]

(a) She decided not to give _________ to the pressure.

(b) The teacher asked me to give _________ the worksheets.

(c) The young man set _______ his own business.

(d) The CEO set ________ the rules on the very first day of the year.

(e) When his friends come home, he puts ______ a fake accent.

(f) Do not put ________ for tomorrow what you can do today.

(g) She advised me not to look __________ on what had already happened.

(h) If you look ________ it carefully, you can see the mark.

(i) Go __________ the document carefully before you sign it.

(j) The price of gold is not likely to go _________ anytime soon.

(iii) Fill in the blanks in the passage given below with the appropriate form of the verb [5]
given in brackets. Do not write the passage but write the verbs in the correct order.

As the highway policeman was _________ (1) (watch), he _________ (2) (notice)
a car inching along really slowly. Thinking that an extremely slow car is as
dangerous as a speeding one, he _______ (3) (pull) the car aside. He _________
(4) (approach) it and noticed that there were five old ladies, two in the front and
three at the back, looking wide eyed and white as ghosts. The lady who had been
_________ (5) (drive) said, “Officer, I was not speeding. Why did you pull me
up?"
The officer ________ (6) (reply) that going below the speed limit was also
dangerous for other drivers.
“Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was ________(7) (do) exactly twenty-two
miles per hour!” the old woman ________ (8) (say) proudly, pointing to a board.
The officer chuckled and said, “Ma’am, that’s the route number, not the speed
limit.”
A bit embarrassed, the woman smiled and ___________ (9) (thank) the officer for
pointing out the error. As she started the car, the officer said, “Before I let you go,
I must ask, are these other ladies ok? They seem to be a bit shaken and have not
____________ (10) (utter) a word.”
“Oh, they’ll be alright in a bit. We just got off route 119.”

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 Question 4

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow:
(1) Mrs. Knight’s school, to which Katy Carr went, was a low, one-storey building,
and had a yard behind it, in which the girls played at recess. Next door to it was
Miss Miller’s school, equally large and popular, and with a yard behind it also.
Only a high board fence separated the two playgrounds; and a feud raged constantly
between the two schools as to the several merits of the respective teachers and their 5
methods of teaching.
(2) Mrs. Knight’s had one great advantage over the other; it possessed a wood-shed
with a climbable roof, which commanded Miss Miller’s premises, and upon this
roof the girls used to sit in rows, turning up their noses at the foe in the next yard.
(3) One morning, Katy was late for school. She could not find her things. Her algebra, 10
as she expressed it, had “gone and lost itself” and the string was off her sun-hat.
She ran about searching for these articles and banging doors, till Aunt Izzie was
out of patience.
(4) “As for your algebra,” she said, “if it is that very dirty book with only one cover,
you will find it under the kitchen table; and here is the hat-string. Now, stand still 15
and don’t fidget! You shan’t stir till I have sewed it on properly.”
(5) It was not easy to do so, but Katy bore it as well as she could, only shifting
perpetually from one foot to the other. The minute she was released, she flew into
the kitchen, seized the algebra, and rushed like a whirlwind to the school.
(6) She ran as fast as she could, but time ran faster, and before she was half-way there, 20
the town clock struck nine, and all hope was lost. She marched into school in a very
cross mood.
(7) A day begun in this manner is pretty sure to end badly, as most of us know. All the
morning through, things seemed to go wrong. Firstly, Katy made errors in her
grammar lessons. Then her hand shook so much when she wrote her composition, 25
that the writing could hardly be read and Mrs. Knight said that she had to do it all
over again. This made Katy crosser than ever; the tears came into her eyes from
vexation, and she made a bolt for the yard as soon as the bell rang, climbing up all
alone to the wood-house roof, where she sat with her back to the school, trying to
get her face in order before the rest should come. 30

(8) Miss Miller’s clock was about four minutes slower than Mrs. Knight’s, so the next
playground was empty. It was a warm, breezy day, and as Katy sat there, suddenly
a gust of wind blew, and seizing her sun-hat, which was only half tied on, whirled
it across the roof. She clutched after it as it flew, but too late. Once, twice, thrice it
flapped and Katy saw it lying in a crumpled little heap in the enemy’s yard. 35
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 (9) This was horrible! Not merely losing the hat, but to lose it so! In another minute,
the Miller girls would be out. Was it to be endured? Never! Katy set her teeth, and
sliding rapidly down the roof, seized the fence, and with one bold leap, vaulted into
Miss Miller’s yard.
Adapted from: What Katy Did
By Susan Coolidge

(i) (a) Given below are three words and phrases. Find the words which have a [3]
similar meaning in the passage:

(1) Break time

(2) Prolonged quarrel or dispute

(3) A feeling of being annoyed

(b) For each of the words given below, write a sentence of at least ten words [3]
using the same word unchanged in form, but with a different meaning
from that which it carries in the passage:

(1) cross (line 22)

(2) bolt (line 28)

(3) school (line 29)

(ii) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible:

(a) Explain the phrase, ‘turning up their noses’. State how this feeling is brought [2]
out in the passage.

(b) Describe the uniqueness of Katy Carr’s school. [2]

(c) What made Katy late to school one day? [2]

(d) How did Aunt Izzie help her out? Explain whether this served the purpose. [2]

(iii) Summarise all the things that went wrong for Katy in school, ultimately forcing her [6]
to jump into Miss Miller’s playground (paragraphs 6 to 9). You are required to
write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure
to keep within the word limit will be penalised.

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