DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, CHANDIGARH

Annual Examination, Session 2018-19

Class : VIII Subject : English (Sample Paper)
Time: 3 hours MM : 80
This paper consists of 4 sections.
A. Reading 18 marks
B. Writing 20 marks
C. Grammar 20 marks
D. Literature 22 marks
General Instructions: 1. Attempt all the questions.
2. Read each question carefully and follow the instructions.
3. Strictly adhere to the word limit given with each question. Marks
will be deducted for exceeding the word limit.
SECTION – A (Reading – 18 marks)
Q.1 Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:
1. Cinema is full of contradictions. It is high-tech and old-fashioned at the same time.
Today's films are full of digital sound and computer-generated special effects. Yet
they are still stored on celluloid film, the basis of which is more than 100 years old.
They are also displayed with projectors and screens that seem to belong to our great
grandparents' generation.
2. Now that we are in the second century of cinema, there are moves to bring the
medium right up-to-date. This will involve revolutionising not just how films are
made but also how they are distributed and presented. The aim is not only to
produce and prepare films digitally, but to be able to send them to movie theatres
by digital, electronic means. High-resolution digital projectors would then show the
film. Supporters say this will make considerable savings at all stages of this chain,
particularly for distribution.
3. With such a major technological revolution on the horizon, it seems strange that the
industry is still not sure what to call itself. This may appear a minor point, but the
choices, 'digital' cinema and 'electronic' cinema (e-cinema), suggest different
approaches to, and aspects of, the business. Digital cinema refers to the physical
capture of images; e-cinema covers the whole chain, from production through post-
production (editing, addition of special effects and construction of soundtrack) to
distribution and projection.
4. And what about the effects of the new medium? The main selling point of digital
cinema is the high resolution and sharpness of the final image. But those who
support the old-fashioned approach to film, point to the celluloid medium's quality of
warmth. A recurring criticism of video is that it may be too good: uncomfortably real,
rather like looking through an open window. In 1989, the director of the first full-
length American digital high-definition movie admitted that the picture had a 'stark,
strange reality to it'.
5. Even the money-saving aspect of e-cinema is doubted. One expert says that existing
cinemas will have to show the new material and not all of them will readily or rapidly
furnish themselves with the right equipment. 'E-cinema is seen as a way of saving
money, because print costs a lot,' he says. But for that to work, cinemas have to be
showing the films because cinemas are the engine that drives the film industry.'

Class – VIII (English) Sample Paper Page 1 of 6 Annual Examination (2018-19)

 6. This view has prompted some pro-digital entrepreneurs to take a slightly different
approach. H D Thames is looking at reinventing the existing cinema market, moving
towards e-theatre, which would use digital video and projection to present plays,
musicals and some sporting events to the public. This is not that different from the
large-screen TV system that was set up in New York in 1930, and John Logie Baird's
experiments with TV in the late 1920s and early 30s.
1.1 On the basis of your reading the given passage, complete the following sentences:
(1x4=4)
(a) To bring cinema up-to-date there is a need ……………………………………………………
(b) E- cinema is different from digital cinema in the way …………………………………
(c) Supporters of old fashioned cinema feel that new videos …………………………….
(d) Money-saving aspect of e-cinema is doubted because …………….……....………….
1.2 Answer the following questions briefly: (2x2=4)
(a) What are the contradictions that define cinema?
(b) How does H D James visualize revolutionizing the existing cinema market?
1.3 Pick out the word from the passage which is similar in meaning to the
following: (1x2=2)
(a) skyline/ field of view (para 3) ………………………………
(b) provoked (para 6) ………………………………
Q.2 Read the following poem carefully:
1. Happiness perhaps once had features
Of a single, compact whole,
But countless are the craving creatures
Praying God some bliss to dole.
2. He therefore must have sadly shattered
Happiness into many a bit
And had the pieces widely scattered
To give all eyes a glimpse of it.
3. So, those who wish to own a share
Should not think it strain or stress
To search around, with utmost care,
Some dazzling fragments to possess.
4. A particle here, a particle there,
To your happy lot may fall;
Not any time, not anywhere,
Can you ever find them all.
5. However long, however far-
Spreading your quest may be,
Too many are, too tiny are
The splinters all for you to see.
6. Give your neighbour just a half
And see your pleasure growing double:
Make your neighbour smile or laugh;
You yourself with glee will bubble.

Class – VIII (English) Sample Paper Page 2 of 6 Annual Examination (2018-19)

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above poem, complete the statements which
follow with the help of the given options. (1x8=8)
(i) According to the poet, happiness ................... .
(a) initially was a complete whole
(b) is wanted by many
(c) is prayed for by people
(d) All of the above
(ii) Happiness was made available to all by ................... .
(a) shattering it into pieces
(b) scattering it all for everyone
(c) both a and b
(d) None of these
(iii) If one wishes to be happy, he/she ................... .
(a) must own a share
(b) must stress out looking for it
(c) should search with utmost care
(d) should not search around wanting to possess it
(iv) One must ................... .
(a) be contended with whatever happiness comes his/her way
(b) try to look for happiness everywhere
(c) find all particles of happiness at one place
(d) learn to fall
(v) The search for happiness ................... .
(a) might end in despair
(b) may be long, still one can’t get all of it
(c) may end in splinters
(d) ends in the neighbourhood
(vi) If we wish to double our happiness we must ................... .
(a) take it from our neighbour
(b) blow bubbles with our neighbours
(c) share it with people around us
(d) keep it carefully hidden
(vii) The poetic device in the line ‘a particle here, a particle there’ is ................... .
(a) onomatopoeia
(b) repetition
(c) alliteration
(d) metaphor
(viii) ‘Quest’ in the fifth stanza means ................... .
(a) search for something
(b) give something
(c) taking a risk
(d) shine out
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 SECTION - B (Writing – 20 Marks)
Q.3 Your school is organizing a fete in the school. There would be food stalls, games,
free activities and games to be won. Design a poster for the same.(50 words) (4)
Q.4 You have won a contest on the radio. Write an e-mail in about 100-120 words to
your friend, Sumita, telling her about the contest and the prize. You are Kriti /
Hemant. (6)
Q.5 Using the prompt given below write a story in 120-150 words.
It was a beautiful morning. It was her fourteenth birthday and her parents had
promised her the most amazing thing ever … (10)
SECTION – C (Grammar – 20 Marks)
Q.6 The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each of the lines
against which a blank is given. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your
answer sheet against the correct blank number. Remember to underline your
answer. (½×8=4)
Incorrect Correct
One of the great dancers of our (a) ………….. ……………
time, Indrani Rehman was among a (b) ………….. ……………
brightest names which carried the (c) ………….. ……………
glory of Indian classical dance too every (d) …………. ……………
corners of the world. Having settled in (e) …………. ……………
an United States, she had become a (f) …………. ……………
distant legend for dance enthusiastic in (g) …….…… ……………
India. She is awarded Padma Shri in 1969. (h) ………….. …………….
Q.7 Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. Write the
correct sentences in your answer sheet. (1x4=4)
(a) in London/ most important/ the Big Ben/ and spectacular landmark/ is the
(b) at the/ House of Parliament/ eastern end of the/ it is housed/ in the Clock
Tower,
(c) confidence / as an / it stands / icon of
(d) and sovereignty / the symbol/ it is / of power
Q.8 Change the voice. (1x4=4)
a) The labourers have called off the strike.
b) Were the students solving the sums?
c) People will fly kites on the kite festival.
d) The smoke of the factory pollutes the environment.

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Q.9 Read the following conversation and then report what was said by completing the
sentences. (1x4=4)
Anita : What do you want to do this morning ?
Prakash : I feel like taking a walk. It‘s so nice outside.
Anita : Great! Let‘s walk around the lake in the park.
Prakash : It‘s really rocky here.
Anita : Yes, watch your steps so you don‘t trip.
Anita asked Prakash (a) …………………………. . Prakash answered that he (b)
…………………………. because it was so nice outside. Anita agreed to this and
suggested they should (c) …………………………. . Then Prakash observed that (d)
…………………………. . Anita cautioned him to watch his steps so he doesn’t trip.
Q.10 Fill in the blanks with ONE word only. Write the correct answers against the correct
blank numbers in your answer sheet. Do not copy the whole passage. (½ x8=4)
Is Corbett National Park, India’s (a) …………………. known tiger sanctuary, (b)
…………………. a hunting ground for party animals (c) …………………. the cost of real
ones? (d) …………………. study commissioned by the Union Tourism Ministry (e)
…………………. that seventy percent of the resorts (f) …………………. the parks (g)
…………………. venues for weddings, rain dance parties (h) …………………. bike races.
SECTION – D (Literature– 22 Marks)
Q.11 Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
A. Just one bite- I ask no more-
For I have learned from learned lore
That the royal blood contains
Remedies for aches and pains.”
(i) The speaker wants to …………... . (1)
a) join the louse family
b) take a bite from the louse’s food
c) bite the king
(ii) The poetic device in the second line is …………………. . (1)
a) repetition
b) alliteration
c) simile
B. “I do not know you and have nothing to forgive you for.”
(i) Who is the speaker? (1)
(ii) Who was asking for forgiveness and why? (2)

Class – VIII (English) Sample Paper Page 5 of 6 Annual Examination (2018-19)

Q.12 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each. (3x4=12)
a) Why didn’t the young man stay at the Patagonian Hotel?
b) Why didn’t the Prince of Arragon choose the gold casket?
c) How was Patroclus killed? What was the result?
d) How and where did Rusty find the pool?
Q.13 Answer the following in 60-80 words: (5)
You are Norman Gortsby. You were fooled by the young man’s story, though initially
you had not believed him. You acted too quickly on discovering the cake of soap.
Write a diary entry expressing your feelings.
OR
If positions were given on the basis of merit, what, according to the Prince of
Arragon would the changes be?

Class – VIII (English) Sample Paper Page 6 of 6 Annual Examination (2018-19)