CBSE Board Class 10 English Elective Previous Year Question Papers 2005

ENGLISH ELECTIVE
PREVIOUS PAPER 2005
CLASS 10

Time allowed : 3 hours] [Maximum Marks : 100
General Instructions :
(i) This paper is divided into four Sections — A, B, C and D.
(ii) All questions are compulsory.
(iii)  Marks are indicated against each question.

SECTION  -  A 15
(Reading)

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
Of all the creatures living on earth, none causes more harm to man than the
rats and mice. Their high rate of breeding beats all efforts at controlling them.
The damage done by them to agriculture alone is enormous. Grains of all sorts
are their chief and favourite food. Grave havoc is also caused to all kinds of
fruits and vegetables and to poultry and other domestic stock. They are also
the cause of dangerous diseases. Rat-tainted food causes disease to man and
animal. Bubonic plague, the dreadful disease, is spread by rats. There are many
kinds of rats and mice in India; first, those that live in fields, the common
enemy of crops; the second, the wild species found in forests; and the last
those which are household pests.2
(a) How do rats and mice prove more destructive to man than any other
creature ? 2
(b) Why is it not possible to control them ? 1
(c) Mention any two kinds of rats and mice found in India ? 2
(d) Name the dreadful disease spread by rats ? 1
(e) Find the word, from the passage, which means ‘very great/immense’. 1

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
Fire has been worshipped in ancient cultures worldwide. In Greek Mythology
Prometheus is said to have stolen fire from heaven. He brought it down to
earth for human use. Fire is the spirit of the Sun. It is the purest of all elements
on earth. It clears darkness which is the region of the evil spirit. It is always
moving upwards. It is compassionate when controlled, but it is merciless in
destruction when out of control. Moreover it is the most human of all elementsit is used in service of the human beings. An animal has no use of fire. It is
used in cooking, in forging ploughs and swords, in kilns for building houses
etc. It has made human cultural evolution on earth possible.
(a) What did Prometheus do ? Why did he do it ? 2
(b) What does darkness represent ? 1
(c) How does fire act when it is under control and when it is out of control ? 2
(d) How is it used in the service of human beings ? 2
(e) Find the word, from the passage, which means ‘gradual development’. 1

SECTION - B 20
(Writing)

3. Health Awareness Camp was organized by the Science Club of your school.
Mentioning the details of the programme such as eye check-up, lectures on
primary health care etc., write a report in about 40 words for your school
magazine. You are Shyam Chakraborty, the Secretary of your club. 43

4.    Write a paragraph on any  one of the following topics in about 80 words : 6
(a) Independence Day Celebrations in Your School
(b) Your Experience of An Indian Village
(c) How You Spent Your Summer Vacation

5. Your friend Abhinav lives in Bangalore. An International Book Fair is going
on in your city. Write a letter inviting him to come and stay with you and visit
the Book Fair. You are Pulkit/Nikita living at A-405, Vijay Laxmi Apartments,
Lajpat Nagar, Delhi. 10
Or
You are Tarun/Shikha living at D-503, Ganesh Nagar, Delhi. There is a lot of
garbage lying on the main road just near the bus stand. Write a letter to the
Municipal Commissioner of Delhi complaining against this nuisance.

SECTION - C 15
(Grammar)

6. Read the following paragraph and fill in the blanks with the correct form of
verbs given in the brackets :
A six year boy ................. (get) injured after the school van .................. (hit)
by a car on Saturday afternoon. He ...................... (admit) to a nursing home
whe r e  he   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ( r e c e ive )   s ix  s t i t che s  on hi s   for ehe ad.  The
incident .................. (occur) when the children .................. (be) on their
way back home.

7. Combine the following pairs of sentences using the sentence connectors given
in the brackets : 2
(a) The maintenance of a Maruti car is easy. I want to purchase it. (because)
(b)   You are very hard working. You are bound to get success. (as)4

8. Fill in the blanks with non-finites : 2
It is difficult especially for lady teachers .................... (report) for duty early
morning at the polling centres which are situated as far as 20 kilometres away
from their homes. Each time the pre-poll promise of ....................  (spare) them
from duty is not kept. If it is not possible ....................  (spare) them, at least
special arrangements should be made .................... (carry) them to and from
the place of duty.

9. Fill in the blanks using suitable modals : 2
Teacher : Sarthak, you ............... (may/should) leave the class if you have
completed your practicals.
Sarthak : Madam, ............... (can/should) I collect my last practical file ?
Teacher : Certainly. But you .................... (must/might) get it checked
thoroughly before you collect it.
Sarthak : Madam, when ............... (can/would) you be able to spare some
time for it, please ?
Teacher : Come tomorrow morning.

10. Complete the following paragraph, using clauses given in the box : 3
because it contains, which can provide, that milk is beneficial
Dieticians are of the opinion ................. for children ................. calcium,
protein and vitamin A. But after the age often there are other foods .................
all these nutrients.

11. Change the following dialogue in the indirect form of narration : 3
Sumit : Where will the next Olympics be held ?
Raman : In China.5

SECTION — D 20
A  (Prose)

12. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
Never in his career as a postman had he known that address. The postmastera fat, amiable fellow — also broke out laughing, but almost immediately he
turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented, “What faith ! I
wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting up a
correspondence with God !”
(a) Which address had he never known as a postman ? 1
(b) What type of man was the postmaster ? 1
(c) Why did the postmaster become serious all of a sudden ? 2
(d) Find the word, from the passage, which means ‘good-tempered’. 1

13. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
Once again there was this unhappy incident which kept bothering him. At
sunrise he finished his bath in the courtyard and took a glass of tea from his
wife’s hand. His fingers suddenly slackened and the glass slipped from his
grasp spilling the contents. It was his first conscious knowledge of the fear he
carried, this superstition that had become an anxiety which he knew could
haunt him throughout his life.
(a) Which unhappy incident is referred to here ? 1
(b) What did Gobinda Maharana do at sunrise ? 1
(c) The ‘glass slipped from his grasp’. What does it suggest about Gobinda
Maharana’s state of mind ? 2
(d) Which word in the passage means ‘return to the mind repeatedly’ ? 1
14. Answer the following in about 100 words : 10
“The seed of achievement lies in human mind”. How is this true of Sudha
Chandran’s life ?6
Or
Describe the methods used by the seagull family to help the young seagull
overcome his fear and fly.

SECTION — D 10
B (Poetry)

15. Answer any  two  of the following questions in about 30-40 words each : 6
(a) When is the earth “dry to the center” ? When will it be filled with new
life? (‘Nothing Will Die’) 3
(b) Where was the Inchcape Bell placed ? Who had put it there and why ?
(‘The Inchcape Rock’) 3
(c) Who are the people nearest to the poet ? What does he pray in relation to
them ? (‘Teach Me to Listen, Lord’) 3

16. Answer any  two  of the following questions in about 30-40 words each : 4
(a) “The sea is a hungry dog,
giant and grey.
He rolls on the beach all day.”
Which figures of speech have been used in the above lines ?  (The Sea’) 2
(b) “Sometimes he’ll hide in the cave of a rock,
Then whistle as shrill as the buzzard cock;
- Yet seek him - and what shall you find in the place ?
Nothing but silence and empty space,
Save, in a corner, a heap of dry leaves,
That he’s left for a bed for beggars or thieves !”
Give two examples to show the evidence given by the wind of its
presence. (‘Address to a Child’) 2
(c) What is the rhyming scheme of the above stanza at (b) ? 27

SECTION — D 20
C  (Supplementary Reader)

17. Answer the following in about 100 words : 8
Why did the tiger’s opinion about human beings change when he came out of
circus and roamed through the streets of the town ?
Or
“At the end of ten years, they had restored all”. What had Matilda and her
husband restored and at what cost ?

18. Answer any  two  of the following questions in about 30-40 words each : 6
(a) How did Hari Singh justify to himself his intention of stealing Anil’s
money ? 3
(b) What experiments did Griffin carry out ? What was the final result of
these experiments ? 3
(c) What did Matilda’s husband bring home one evening ? Why was he
greatly elated? 3

19. Answer any  two  of the following questions in about 30-40 words each : 6
(a) What story did Ausable tell about the unwelcome guests that entered his
room ? 3
(b) Why did Horace Danby feel sure of his success in that year’s robbery ? 3
(c) Why did Laszlo not bring the dressing from Ranki Street ? What
information did he give to Joszef ? 3