Roll No.

________________

Code : 820122.1(M)-SA1

CLASS : VIII

ENGLISH (COURSE-'A')
(Summative Assessment - I)
Time : 3.00 hrs.

Please check that this question paper contains 16 questions and 10 printed pages. Maximum Marks : 90

General Instructions : 1. This paper consists of 4 sections : A, B, C & D. 2. Attempt all the questions. 3. Ensure that questions of each section are answered together. 4. Read each question carefully and follow the given instructions. 5. All the answers must be correctly numbered as in the question paper and written in the answer sheet provided to you. 6. Strictly adhere to the word-limit given with each question. Marks will be deducted for exceeding the word limit. 7. Don't write anything on the question-paper. SECTION-A (READING) 1. Read the following passage carefully : VALUES AND T.V. (1) Values are the essence of humanity, values assist a nation live and build her identity. India, the mother to all human values, enjoys a much privileged position in the world, thanks to a well developed system and defined set of values that the people here have been practising since ages. Values are in no way hostile to materialistic, technological and scientific progress. They help people live life in peace with themselves, with society and nature. The satellite channels, another manifestation of science, in spite of all of their advantages have been hitting hard and hard at the very root, the foundation of Indian society, i.e. its values. The availability of BBC, CNN, Zee TV, Discovery etc. in sitting room at the click of button have exposed the Indians, especially the young and impressionable ones to the culture practices which pollute the young and old alike. The majority of programmes beamed on the satellite channels are based on fantasy. They suggest infeasible solutions for day-to-day life problems. Moreover, the programmes such as W.W.F. make the (1) (20 MARKS) (10)

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viewers aggressive, callous and violence-crazy. In addition to it, the life styles shown in various programmes stand a stark contrast to the one appreciated and suggested by our values. The new generation the youth is definitely being impressed with the alien culture of short dresses and vulgarity. Moreover, the long hours of television viewing has led to our younger generation becoming couch potatoes. Also the time spent on social interaction, the most educative and informative interaction is decreasing. Consequently, all the values-social as well as moral are now going haywire with the blatant display of flirting, romance, extra-marital relations on various channels. (4) It is now imperative that the parents should take up the duty of minimizing the exposure of the children to the 'idiot box'. They should owe this as the dutiful citizens of a nation. Also, the government should ensure a strict censorship of these channels so that our principles, values and culture are not eroded, damaged and spoiled.

1.1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following statements. Write your answers in your answer sheet 8 against the correct blank number (a) India has a very special place in the world, since it has 2 _______________ and _______________. 1 (b) Values help people live in _______________. (c) Indian values have been hit hard by ______________ 1 ________________ of science. 1 (d) Most of the programmes shown on T.V. are _______________. (e) Our youngsters are becoming couch potatoes due to ______ 1 _______________________________________. (f) Both _______________ and _______________ should join hands to + stop the harm being done by the satellite channels. (g) It is imperative to safeguard the basic values as these are the 1 _______________. 1.2. Find words from the passage that mean the same as the following from the paragraphs indicated. Write your answers in the answer sheet against the correct blank number (4)=2 (a) honoured / entitled ____________ (para 1) (b) unfeeling / cold-hearted ____________ (para 3) (c) unashamed / bold ____________ (para 3) (d) easily influenced ____________ (para 2)

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2.

Read the following poem carefully. A CHILD'S PET When I sailed out of Baltimore, With twice a thousand head of sheep, They would not eat, they would not drink, But bleated o'er the deep. Inside the pens we crawled each day, To sort the living from the dead; And when we reached the Mersey's mouth, Had lost five hundred head. yet every night and day one sheep, That had no fear of man or sea, Struck through the bars its pleading face, And I stroked it. And to the sheep-men standing near, "You see", I said", this one tame sheep ? It seems a child has lost her pet, And cried herself to sleep. And every time we passed it by, Sailing to England's slaughter-house, Eight ragged sheep-men - tramps and thieves Would stroke that sheep's black nose. 2.1. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions. Write the correct option in your answer-sheet against the correct answer number. (a) The number of sheep at the start of the journey was (i) 3000 (ii) 2000 (iii) 1000 (iv) 1500 The sheep were being taken to the (i) market (ii) fields (iii) slaughter-house (iv) zoo 'One sheep that had no fear of man and sea' means (i) sheep was innocent like a child unaware of its fate. (ii) it was strong and well-built, thus unafraid (iii) it was over-confident (iv) both (ii) & (iii)

(b)

(c)

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(d)

(e)

During the journey, the sheep (i) ate nothing (iii) bleated continuously ____________ sheep were left at (i) one thousand (iii) five hundred

________ (ii) did not drink anything (iv) all the above the end of the journey (ii) one thousand five hundred (iv) seven hundred 5

3.

Read the following passage carefully The great Wall of China is said to be one structure built by man on earth which would be visible to observers on moon. It covers a distance of 1,500 miles as the crow flies. From the Liaotung Peninsula westward to the last fortress in Central Asia, it crosses the northern province of China. In the eastern section its height varies from 15-30 feet and its width from about 25 feet at the bottom to 15 feet at the top, where there is a pathway wide enough for six house-men to ride side by side protected by parapets. When the wall was built it had about 25000 towers each 40 feet square and 40 feet high projecting from it every few hundred yards, with holes from which the defenders could shoot at attackers. There are also many watch-towers on the enemy side, outside the wall on hilltops or passes. These towers were used for signalling with smoke or flags by day and with fire by night. The great Emperor Shih Haung Ti joined three earlier frontier walls to form a great wall to act as a boundary between China and the north, and keep out the feared nomads of the Mongolian. Steppes. The wall was designed to strengthen the nation's defences. Later it became in Ming times, a substitute for a strong army and state. 3.1. Answer the following questions by choosing the correct option from the ones given below (a) The Great Wall of China is so 'great' that (i) it can be seen from another continent (ii) one can't measure it (iii) it can be seen from the moon (iv) it can be seen from Mars. (b) The Great Wall of China is so wide that (i) eight horses could run side by side. (ii) one could drive motors on it. (iii) six horse-men could ride side by side. (iv) one could drive a truck on it.

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(c)

The wall is like a fortress with holes form which one can (i) see the enemy down (ii) oversee the enemy's positions (iii) attack the enemy's horses (iv) shoot the attackers Emperor Shih Haung Ti got the Wall constructed to (i) act as a boundary (ii) protect the country from attackers (iii) keep the wandering tribes off (iv) all the above The towers of the Wall were used for signalling with (i) smoke (ii) flags (iii) fire (iv) all the above

(d)

(e)

PART -B (WRITING) 4. (a)

(25 MARKS)

You are Sarup/Saru secretary, Public speaking forum of your school. You plan to organise an inter-class Debate competition for the students of classes VI to VIII. Write a notice in about 50 words inviting the interested students to participate in the debate. Invent all the necessary details like date, time, venue and topic for the debate. Put the notice in a box. You are Anuj/Anuja of class VIII. Recently Sports Day was celebrated in your school. You took part in a number of events like high jump, hurdle race and relay race with great enthusiasm. You won many medals and were highly applauded by your Principal and teachers. You decided to share your feelings with your cousin Shrey / Shreya through an e-mail. Write the e-mail in about 60-70 words. Copy the format of the e-mail from the question-paper in your answer-sheet. Date : From : To : Subject : MESSAGE Complimentary close

(b)

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5.

You are Amit/Anu living at 6, Jawahar Nagar, New Delhi. You come to know that your younger brother who lives in a hostel, avoids reading books and spends most of his time in playing in the ground. You decide to write a letter to him telling him about the importance of books in our life and the pleasures of reading. Taking clues from the visual given below and using your own ideas, write the letter in about 100-150 words.

6.

You are Ajay/Aparajita, student of class VIII. You consider Sh. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India as your role-model and have been greatly impressed by his books. You decide to prepare a speech to be delivered in the morning assembly of your school on the topic Role models can influence lives. highlighting the importance of having a role-model in our lives. Write the speech in about 100-150 words.

SECTION-C (GRAMMAR) 7.

(20 MARKS)

Read the notes given in the box below and complete the paragraph that follows. Write your answers in your answer-sheet against the 8=4 correct blank number. UTTARANCHAL bounded by U.P. south, Nepal east, H.P. west, China northeast; forests cover 63% of total land area; called Land of Gods; earlier part of U.P. agitations 2000 U.P. State Reorganisation Ball introduced Uttaranchal declared 27th state; languages spoken Hindi, Garhwali, Kumaoni districts 13

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The State of Uttaranchal (a) ______________ by U.P. on the South, Nepal on the east, Himachal Pradesh on the west and China on the north east. 63% of its total land area (b) ______________ by forests. It (c) ______________ the Land of the gods (Dev Bhoomi) because of its various holy places. The present State of Uttaranchal (d) ______________ part of Uttar Pradesh, but (e) ______________ agitations for a separate hill state. So in 2000 U.P. State Reorganisation Bill (f) ______________ and enacted. uttaranchal (g) ______________ the twenty-seventh state of the Indian Union on November 9, 2000. The state of Uttaranchal has 13 districts and Hindi, Garhwali and Kumaoni languages (h) ______________ by the people of Uttranchal. 8. The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. The first one has been done for you as an 8=4 example. Pyramids can be find nowhere in the world except at Egypt. Even though Pyramids was built more than 10,000 years ago, they were still consider great tourist attractions and draw million of people every year as visitors. Pyramids are nothing and graves or burial chambers to the king of Egypt. A first true pyramids were the pyramids at Gizeh. 9. Incorrect Correction e.g. find found (a) __________________ (b) __________________ (c) __________________ (d) __________________ (e) __________________ (f) __________________ (g) __________________ (h) __________________

Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. Write your answer in your answer sheet against the correct 41=4 answer number. The first one has been done for you as an example : e.g. extremely important / the Egyptians / was / to / Pyramid building Pyramid building was extremely important to the Egyptians. (a) (b) (c) (d) their pharaohs / live for / destined to / believed that / were / they / millions of years. laboured willingly / these monuments / the people / for their rulers / of Egypt / to build the names of / these tombs / the ancient kings / have / kept alive pyramid building / about 400 years / the great age of / lasted for (7)

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10. Complete the following paragraph by choosing the most appropriate option. Write your answer in your answersheet against the correct blank 8=4 number. There are certain activities (a) ___________ (and , or , but , as) hobbies that give us immense pleasure and (b) ___________ (may, can, will, shall) even make us forget the tensions (c) ___________ (of, to, by, for) everyday life. Hobbies are considered to be (d) ___________ (the, a, an, any) real stress buster by some, while others (e) ___________ (think, thought, thinking, thinks) of them as a nice escape (f) ___________ (to, for, from, with) the drudgery of routine life. Hobbies, in fact, (g) ___________ (adds, add, adding, added) colour and substance to the otherwise monotonous life. One must indulge (h) ___________ (himself, oneself, herself, yourself) in some recreational activities to lead a happy and smooth life. 11. Read the conversation given below and complete the following 41=4 paragraph by choosing the most appropriate option : Mother Son Mother Son : : : : How have you done your test? I cannot answer this now. How many marks do you expect? I shall get good marks.

Mother asked her son (a) ____________________. Son replied that (b) ____________________. At this, the mother asked him (c) ____________________. The son told her (d) ____________________ (a) (b) (i) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) how he had done his test (ii) how has he done his test (iv) he can not answer this now. he could not answer that now. he could not answer that then he could not answer this now. how much marks he expected how many marks he expected how many marks do you expect how many marks did he expected he would get good marks he will get good marks that he would get good marks that he will get good marks (8) how had he done his test how you have done your test

(c)

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SECTION-D (LITERATURE)

(25 MARKS)

12. Read the following extract and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option. Write your answers in your 41=4 answer sheet against the correct answer number Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee, Our love and toil in the years to be; When we are grown and take our place As men and women with our race. (a) Name the poem and the poet (i) 'The Children's Song' (ii) 'My Mother' (iii) 'My Mother' (iv) 'The Children's Song 'We' (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) The (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) of the above lines Joseph Rudyard kipling A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond their their their their motherland motherland grand mother mother

(b)

and 'thee' here stand for the poet and his friends the children the poet and his cousins the children -

(c)

poet is talking about the children's 'pledge' to serve their motherland with all sincerity of heart to make any sacrifice demanded of them to leave behind an unsullied heritage all the above

(d)

The rhyme scheme of the above lines is (i) aabb (ii) abab (iii) abba (iv) abbc

13. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option. Write your answers in your 41=4 answersheet against the correct answer number : Your love, your care and your faith gave me strength To face the world without fear. (a) Name the poet of the above lines (i) Ruskin Bond (ii) (iii) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (iv) Joseph Rudyard kipling Alexander Pope

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(b)

The (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

poet's mother's love, care and faith helped him to face the challenges of life face the world boldly fight in the war grow up strong

(c)

Besides his mother, the poet pays a tribute to (i) his father (ii) his brothers and sisters (iii) God (iv) his motherland The poet hopes to meet his mother again on (i) Mother's Day (ii) Judgement Day (iii) Annual Day (iv) Parent's Day

(d)

42=8 14. Answer any four of the following questions : (30-40 words) (a) How was Granny's tree-climbing a cause of worry for the poet's family? (b) Why did the hermit not answer the king's questions immediately? (Three Questions) (c) What was awfully funny about the words written in the book found by Tommy? (The Fun they Had') (d) What was Swami's actual impression about Samuel? (Father's Help) (e) What was Granny advised by the doctor? How did she feel about it? 15. What sort of a school did Margie study in? What were her feelings towards her school? (40-50 words) 16. You are Samuel. You were quite surprised at Swami's strange behaviour in the class. You decided to write a page in your diary expressing your feelings of astonishment and guilt. Write the diary entry in about 80-90 words. OR You are the king. You felt quite satisfied after meeting the hermit and getting the answers to your three questions. You decided to write a page in your diary about the events of the previous day. Write the diary entry in about 80-90 words. 3

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