SECTION-A
Reading Comprehension (Seen)
**1. Read the following text and answer the questions set below:**
It is always lovely on the Big Half Moon in Summer. When it is fine, the harbour is blue and calm, with little wind and ripples. Every Summer, we had some hobby. The last Summer before Dick and Mimi came, we were crazy about kites. A boy on the mainland showed Claude how to make them. Back on the island we made plenty of kites. Claude would go around to the other side of the island and he would play shipwrecked mariners signalling to each other with kites.
We had a kite that was big and covered with lovely red paper. We pasted gold tinsel stars all over it and had written our names full on it - Claude Leete and Philippa Leete, Big Half Moon light-house.
**A. Tick off (✔) the correct alternatives:**
(i) Claude learnt kite making from-
(a) the narrator
(b) Dick
(c) Mimi
(d) a boy in the mainland
**Ans:** (d) a boy in the mainland
(ii) During Summer the harbour was-
(a) gloomy
(b) pleasant
(c) wild
(d) stormy
**Ans:** (b) pleasant
**B. Answer the following questions:**
(i) What is the name of the narrator?
**Ans:** The narrator's name is Philippa Leete.
(ii) Where does the narrator live?
**Ans:** The narrator lives on Big Half Moon island.
**C. Answer the following questions:**
(i) What game did they play with the kite and how?
**Ans:** They played the game of shipwrecked mariners signaling to each other with kites. Claude would go to the other side of the island, and they would use the kites to communicate.
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**2. Read the following extract and answer the questions set below:**
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife,
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
**A. Tick off (✔) the correct alternatives:**
(i) The 'yarn' the poet intends to hear is-
(a) Happy
(b) sad
(c) horrendous
(d) ghostly
**Ans:** (a) Happy
(ii) Here the term 'trick' refers to-
(a) trouble
(b) foam
(c) sea-journey
(d) dream
**Ans:** (c) sea-journey
**B. Answer the following questions:**
(i) Why does the poet desire for the life of a gypsy?
**Ans:** The poet desires the life of a gypsy because it represents freedom, adventure, and a close connection with nature, which he finds appealing.
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### Reading Comprehension (Unseen)
**3. Read the following passage and answer the questions set below:**
The kings of ancient Siam (now Thailand) had a rather unusual way of telling a troublesome courtier that they were displeased with him. They would actually present the unfortunate nobleman with the most valuable gift - a white elephant. This was an expensive but extremely effective form of punishment. The elephant would be a constant burden on the nobleman, as it would require to be fed large quantities of food. Since white elephants are considered sacred, the poor nobleman could not put it to work. Neither could he risk offending the king by selling off the gift. The king's gift would finally ruin the nobleman and leave him penniless. This is the origin of the phrase 'a white elephant' which means any object that makes us spend on its upkeep without it being of the slightest use.
**A. Tick off (✔) the correct answer from the given alternatives:**
(i) The king of Siam gifted a white elephant to a nobleman who-
(a) pleased the king
(b) did something noble for the king
(c) thought that the king was troublesome
(d) displeased the king
**Ans:** (d) displeased the king
(ii) White elephants are thought to be-
(a) ferocious
(b) ominous
(c) holy
(d) very effective
**Ans:** (c) holy
(iii) To a nobleman, the gift of a white elephant was-
(a) a punishment
(b) a constant joy
(c) the king's blessing
(d) the king's special favor
**Ans:** (a) a punishment
(iv) The king's valuable gift finally turned the nobleman into-
(a) a rich person
(b) an impoverished person
(c) a cheerful person
(d) a fortunate person
**Ans:** (b) an impoverished person
**B. Complete the following sentences with information from the given passage:**
(i) The nobleman could not offend the king by __**selling off the gift**__.
(ii) Here 'the most valuable gift' refers to __**a white elephant**__.
(iii) The white elephant could not be put to work because __**it was considered sacred**__.
(iv) The unusual way of punishing a nobleman was to __**present him with a white elephant**__.
**C. Answer the following questions:**
(i) How was the white elephant a constant burden to the nobleman?
**Ans:** The white elephant was a constant burden to the nobleman because it required large quantities of food and care, and being sacred, it could not be put to work or sold, thus draining the nobleman's resources without providing any benefit.
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### SECTION-B
**4. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:**
Though the man is blind **in** an eye, he is not blind **to** his son's fault.
**5. Do as directed:**
(i) Do or die. (Change into simple sentence)
**Ans:**You must do to avoid death.
(ii) Virat is one of the best batsmen of the world. (Turn into positive degree)
**Ans:** Very few batsmen of the world are as good as Virat.
(iii) "Let's sit down here and talk the matter over," said Davy to Faraday. (Turn into indirect speech)
**Ans:** Davy suggested to Faraday that they should sit down there and talk the matter over.
(iv) He died only after saying a word. (Re-write using noun form of 'died')
**Ans:** He met his death only after saying a word.
**6. Find from the passage of Question No. 3 words having the same meaning as:**
(i) Strange: __**unusual**__
(ii) Continual: __**constant**__
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### SECTION-C
**7. Suppose you are the Secretary of the Welfare Committee of your school. A free Health Check up camp will be held in your school for two days. Now write a notice for the students informing them about the camp. Use the following:**
[Points: Date and time — doctors— facilities — enlisting names]
Ans:đ➡️Click Here
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