The Queen's Language

 If you can keep your head when all about you        Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,     But make allowance for their doubting too;    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,     Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,     And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;        If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster     And treat those two impostors just the same;    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,     And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings     And risk it o...

  (a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets.  Example: My guide (0) ………. (tell) me if I wanted to meet these people I would have to walk two miles. Answer: told. We finally (1) ……….. (reach) a village where I (2) ………… (meet) a lady whose age I (3) ………… (can) not immediately make out. My translator (4) ……….. (find) it difficult to interpret the lady’s words because her dialect was quite different. She (5) ………. (is) a dark-skinned and dark-haired lady. She must have been around seventy years old but there was no grey in her hair. She obviously could not afford to dye her hair. So what was her secret? Nobody (6) ……….. (know). It must have been a ‘secret’ common to all for not one person in that whole village (7) ………… (has) a trace of grey hair! I (8) ………. (think) about it for a long time. (b) Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word:                 [4] He was touched ……….. pity when...

  (a) Write an original short story that begins with the words: It wasn’t going to be easy she knew. She took a deep breath and walked into the room....... (b) “Money causes more harm than good.” Express your view either for or against this statement. (c) People play a very important role in our lives. Describe in vivid detail, any one person and show how the person has been a very special influence in your life. (d) Modes of Communication are continually changing. What are some of these changes? Say which one change you like best and why? OR (a) Many areas near your school have been affected by floods. You are the President of your school social service club. Write a letter to the Mayor of your town/city telling him! her what you plan to do for the relief of the victims, Suggest ways in which you can combine with other organizations to bring about a better distribution of relief items. (b) You were taken by your school to visit a place of historical interest. Write a letter to you...

 (a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space. [4] Example: (0) A woman …….. (wait) at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. Answer: was waiting. She (1) ……… (hunt) for a book in the airport shops, (2) ……….. (buy) a bag of cookies and found a place to sit. She (3) ………. (engross) in her book but happened to see that the man sitting beside her, bold as could be, grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene. So she (4) ………. (munch) the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy thief diminished her stock. She (5) ………. (get) more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I (6) ………. (black) his eye.” With each cookie she took, he took one too. When only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face and a nervo...

  (a) Write an original short story that begins with the words: “It's not my fault”, he shouted………” (b) ‘Working women make better mothers than women who stay at home. Express your views either for or against this statement. (c) Describe an early morning walk through your city or town in winter. Give details of the smells, sights, sounds and feelings you experienced. (d) Think of a time when you found yourself in an embarrassing situation. Narrate how you got into that situation, how you dealt with it and the lesson you learnt from it. OR (a) Write an original short story that begins with the words: “In the background, I could hear an awful commotion, men’s voices raised and women screaming.” (b) Boarding schools are far better than day schools for the all-around education of a child. Express your view either for or against this statement. (c) You were on a school trip and were on your way back to the hotel late one night when your school bus, full of children, broke down in a lone...

  (a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Example: (0) One morning I (0) ……. (see) the python curled up on the dressing table. Answer: saw. It was (1) ……. (gaze) at its own reflection in the mirror. I (2) ……… (go) for grandfather but by the time we (3) ……… (return) to the room, the python (4) …….. (move) on. He was seen in the garden and once the cook saw him (5) ……… (crawl) up the ladder to the roof. Then we (6) …….. (find) him on the dressing table again (7) (admire) himself in the mirror. “He’s faying to look better for Aunt Mabel” I said. I (8) ……. (regret) this remark immediately because grandmother overheard and held up my pocket money for the rest of the week!   (b) Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word:                         [4] He found the key just …….. the front door. I could not accompany my cousin …….. the trip because I had fever. The nois...

  Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Lying in bed, Swami realized with a shudder that it was Monday morning. It looked as though only a moment ago it had been the last period on Friday; already Monday was here. He hoped that an earthquake would reduce the school building to dust, but that was a good building—Albert Mission School—had withstood similar prayers for over a hundred years now. At nine O’clock Swaminathan wailed, “I have a headache.” His mother said, “Why don’t you go to school in a bullock cart?” “So that I may be completely dead at the other end? Have you any idea what it is. means to be jolted in a cart?” “Have you any important lessons today?” “Important! Bah! That geography teacher has been teaching the same lesson for over a year now. And we have arithmetic, which means for a whole period we are going to be beaten by the teacher Important lessons!” And Mother generously suggested that Swami might stay at home. At 9:30, when h...

  (a) Write an original story that begins with the words: “He was the funniest boy I had ever met. He would make everyone laugh………” (b) You had booked a ticket on an early morning train. However, you woke up late and missed it. You then decided to run to catch a bus to the next station where you hoped to catch up with the train. Narrate the entire event, how you felt, the effort you made and how you finally caught the train. What did you learn from this stressful experience? (c) All Girls or all Boys Schools provide a better learning environment than co-educational schools. Express your views either for or against the statement. (d) Describe in detail the view from your bedroom window. Does your room overlook a park? A busy street? What are the sights, sounds and smells that you would typically see, hear and experience at different times of the day? What do you most enjoy the view? Early in the morning, in the evening or late at night? (e) Break time (recess) at your school is only...

Write a composition (350 – 400 words) on any one of the following: (a) Write an original short story that begins with the words: “The day started off well enough, whoever thought it would ……….” (b) Narrate an incident from your own experience when you expected to do very well, but for some reason were unable to do so. Explain what happened and why it happened. What lesson did you learn from it? (C) You walk home from school one afternoon to find the door unlocked and on entering you are shocked to see the house in total disarray. You call out but get no answer. Describe in detail what you saw, the reason behind your house being in total disarray and how you found your family. Mention also how the experience ended and what impact it had on your life.

 (a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. [4] Example : (o) roamed Once upon a time, in the days when genies and giants (0) ……………… (roam) the land, there (1) …………… (live) a farmer (2) ………….. (name) Baba Ayub. He lived with his family in a little village by the name of Maidan Sabz. Because he had a large family to feed, Baba Ayub (3) ………….. (see) his days ………………….. (4) (consume) by hard work. Every day, he (5) …………………. (labour) from dawn to sundown (6) …………….. (plow) his field and (7) ……………. (turn) the soil and (8) ………………… (tend) to his meagre pistachio trees. (b) Fill in each blank with an appropriate word : [4] (i) The puppy was hiding ……….. the sofa. (ii) Stop worrying ………….. your future. (iii) When I stepped …………… the lift, I found it had stopped working. (iv) We had to use a bridge to go ………… the river. (v) I have lived in this town …………. ten years. (vi) Please switch ……………… all lights and fans when you leave the room. (vii) R...

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow : Billy Weaver had travelled down from London and by the time he arrived it was nine o’clock in the night and the moon was coming up. “Excuse me/’ he asked a porter, “but is there a cheap hotel nearby ?” “Try The Bell Hotel,” the porter answered, pointing down the road. Billy thanked him, picked up his suitcase and set out to walk the distance 5 to The Bell Hotel. He had never been to Richmond before. But the man at the Office had told him it was a splendid city. Billy was seventeen years old. He was wearing a new navy-blue overcoat, a new brown hat, and a new brown suit, and he was feeling fine. He walked briskly down the street. He was trying to do everything briskly 10 these days. The big shots up at the Head Office were fantastically brisk all the time. They were amazing. The road was lonely and dark with a few scattered houses. Suddenly, in a downstairs window, Billy saw a printed notice propped up against t...

 Write a composition of (300 – 350 words) on any one of the topics given below: (a) Write an original short story in which two children and their Grandfather are the main characters. (b) Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) must be installed in every classroom. Give your views either for or against this statement. (c) Your class had to conduct a Morning Assembly. Write an account of how you prepared for it, what your role was and what you gained from the experience. (d) Summers are becoming hotter with each passing year. Write a description of one such very hot day. What did you see and hear as you walked outside? How were birds and animals affected ?

  (a) In the following passage, fill in each of the numbered blanks with the  correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank  space. Example: (0) discussed. The other day we (0) ______(discuss) the attitudes of people in our  country. Why (1) _____ (be) most of them rude and aggressive? Pritam  asked. Sanjana (2) ______(say) that it (3) _____(be) because there  (4) ________(be) too many people and one had to fight for everything.  Nirad (5)______(insist) that it (6) ______(be) the climate. We  (7) _______(be) as efficient and polite as Europeans if only our weather  (8) _______ (be) better. (b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate words: (i) Her parents live ________ New Delhi. (ii) Joe‟s parents are sick ________ his behaviour. (iii) Colonel Gurmeet congratulated the soldiers _______ their victory. (iv) The planet was seen ________ the telescop...

  Write a composition (350 - 400 words) on any one of the following: (a) Me and my big mouth! (b) Write about a time when you were late for an important function. What lesson on punctuality did you learn? (c) Every home should adopt a pet animal. Express your views either for or  against this statement. (d) Write an original short story that illustrates the truth of the statement, One lie leads to another. Select one of the following:  (a) Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper telling him/her what you think about global warming, its effects and what people should do to prevent it from getting worse. (b) A friend of yours has been out of station for a month and there was an important event/function held in the school while he/she was away. Write him/her a letter describing the event/function, and your role in it, and why your friend was missed.

  A Poison Tree BY WILLIAM BLAKE I was angry with my friend;  I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe:  I told it not, my wrath did grow.  And I watered it in fears, Night & morning with my tears:  And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles.  And it grew both day and night.  Till it bore an apple bright.  And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine.  And into my garden stole,  When the night had veiled the pole;  In the morning glad I see;  My foe outstretched beneath the tree. which 

 1. On the banks of the Thames it is a tremendous chapter of accidents - the London-lover has to confess to the existence of miles upon miles  of the dreariest, stodgiest commonness. Thousands of acres are  covered by low black houses, of the cheapest construction, without  ornament, without grace, without character or even identity. In fact  there are many, even in the best quarters, in all the region of Mayfair  and Belgravia, of so paltry and inconvenient and above all of so  diminutive a type, that you wonder what peculiarly limited domestic  need they were constructed to meet. 2. The great misfortune of London, to the eye (it is true that this  remark applies much less to the City), is the want of elevation. There  is no architectural impression without a certain degree of height, and  the London street-vista has none of that sort of pride. All the same, if  there be not the intention, there is at least the accident, of st...

 Read the passage and answer the questions below: Most people do not realize the impact of well-planned lighting in a given space. Putting a  light fixture on every wall of every room will only create, simply put, a lit room. Yes, there  is no substitute for natural light but when the sun goes down, we all need a little help from  some man-made lighting devices.  There are four key aspects to remember while creating a lighting plan: Place the right 'type  of light', with the 'right intensity' and 'colour', in the 'right location'. The overall look, mood  and feel of the room depending on the kinds of light you use and their positioning. Different  techniques can change the feel of the space. While some spaces need bright clear light, it could prove harmful for others. Did you know  that indirect and low-level lighting protects the vulnerable eyes of premature children from  blindness in the pediatric ward of hospitals.  Lighting is ...

1 The world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade and  poaching, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gain. Recently, in one  of the largest seizures of illegal ivory, 23 metric tons (representing 2500  elephants) of ivory was confiscated by authorities. On the occasion of World  Environment Day on June 5, draft a speech in approximately 100-120 words  expressing your concern for the school assembly on the topic, “Inculcating Zero Tolerance for Illegal Wildlife Trade.’ 2   Describe an influential person and explain why you feel this person is a  positive role model. 3 Water is the force behind agriculture, industries, trade and commerce.  Lately, India has been facing severe scarcity of this vital resource. Write  an article for your school magazine on the need for water conservation. You are Rajiv/Ragini. 4 It is seen that public property is often defaced and damaged. The  infrastructure (public tra...

 Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 1. The Ring at Casterbridge was merely the local name of one of the  finest Roman amphitheaters, if not the very finest remaining in Britain.  Casterbridge announced old Rome in every street, alley, and precinct. It  looked Roman, bespoke the art of Rome, concealed dead men of Rome. It was  impossible to dig more than a foot or two deep about the town fields and  gardens without coming upon some tall soldier or other of the Empire, who  had laid there in his silent unobtrusive rest for a space of fifteen hundred  years. 2. Imaginative inhabitants, who would have felt an unpleasantness at the  discovery of a comparatively modern skeleton in their gardens, were quite  unmoved by these hoary shapes. They had lived so long ago, their time was so  unlike the present, their hopes and motives were so widely removed from  ours, that between them and the living there s...

 Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: Across the Kashmir Valley and over the famous Zoji La pass lies Ladakh - the Land of High Passes. It is a magical land, completely different from the green landscape of many other parts of the Himalayas. It is nature at an extreme. A 10 land of freezing winds and burning hot sunlight, Ladakh is a cold desert lying in the rain shadow of the Great Himalayas and other smaller ranges. Little rain and snow reaches this dry area, where natural forces have created a fantastic landscape. This region once formed part of the erstwhile Kingdom of Ladakh, believed to have been inhabited by the early colonizers of Ladakh - the Indo-Aryan Mons from across the Himalayan range, the Darads from the extreme western Himalayas, and the itinerant nomads from the Tibetan highlands. Also, its valleys, by virtue of their contiguity with Kashmir, Kishtwar and Kulu, served as the initial receptacles of successive ethnic and cultural waves e...

 Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow: 1. That large animals require luxuriant vegetation has been a general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but I do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in every one's mind. If, however, we refer to any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. The same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which have been published of various parts of the interior. 2. Dr. Andrew Smith, who has lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn,...