HALF YEARLY EXAMINATION (TERM –I) - 2022

CLASS: VII A, B, C SUBJECT: ENGLISH ROLL NO:____

TIME: 2.5 HRS MAX MARKS:80
Q.NO. QUESTION MARKS
Section A (Reading)
1 Read the passage given below and choose the correct option: 1X6=6
Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos islands are in the Pacific Ocean, off the western
coast of South America. They are a rocky, lonely spot, but they are
also one of the most unusual places in the world. One reason is that
they are the home of some of the last giant tortoises left on earth.
Weighing hundreds of pounds, these tortoises, or land turtles,
wander slowly around the rocks and sand of the islands. Strangely,
each of these islands has its own particular kinds of tortoise. There
are seven different kinds of tortoises on the eight islands, each kind
being slightly different from the other.

Hundreds of years ago, thousands of tortoises wandered around

these islands. However, all that changed when people started
landing there. When people first arrived in 1535, their ships had no
refrigerators. This meant that fresh food was always a problem for
the sailors on board. The giant tortoises provided a solution to this
problem.

Ships would anchor off the islands, and crews would row ashore
and seize as many tortoises as they could. Once the animals were
aboard the ship. The sailors would roll the tortoises onto their
backs. The tortoises were completely helpless. Once on their backs,
so they could only lie there until used for soups and stews. Almost
100,000 tortoises were carried off in this way.
A) The author calls, the Galapagos Islands, an unusual place
because:
i) They are in the Pacific Ocean.
ii) The endangered giant tortoises are found there.
iii) They are rocky and lonely spots.
iv) They are located off the western coast of America.
B) Which statement is correct?
i) There is same kind of tortoise found on the seven
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 islands.
ii) There are eight kinds of tortoise found on the eight
islands.
iii) There are seven kinds of tortoise on the eight islands.
iv) All the tortoise are found on one island.
C) The giant tortoises provided a solution to the problem of not
having refrigerators’ means:
i) The sailors were looking for refrigerators.
ii) Fresh food was available in plenty.
iii) The giant tortoises were killed and eaten
iv) The sailors seized the tortoises to store in refrigerator.
D) ‘Ships would anchor off the islands’ means:
i) Ships would go off
ii) Ships would be near the shore.
iii) Ships would be off to another land.
iv) Ships would go to another island.
E) In paragraph 4, the word ‘crew’ means:
i) The new settlers.
ii) Men arriving on Galapagos islands.
iii) Men working on the ships.
iv) Men catching the tortoises.
F) Choose the word from the passage which means the same-
i) To take over something forcibly: _________
ii) To be on the ship: ________

2. Read the poem given below and answer the questions 1X6=6
appropriately:
Be the Best
If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley—but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill,
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree
If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass
But be the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.
If you can’t be a highway then just be a trait
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 If you can’t be the sun, be a star,
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail
Be the best of whatever you are!
A. Message of the poem is ______
B. Winning does not depend on________
C. Which word in the poem means the same as:
i) ‘piece of work is difficult’- _______
ii) Specific characteristic- ______
D. Select a collective noun from the poem for: A _____ of
sailors.
E. Figure of speech in the given line:
And some highway happier make _____

Section B (Writing and Grammar)

3. Your friend has received gold medal in English Olympiad Exam. 5
Write an email appreciating his hard work and motivating him for
future. (word limit- not more than 100 words)
4. Imagine you are Soapy of the story ‘Cop & the Anthem’. Write a 5
diary entry on your soul transformation after listening the sweet
music. (Word limit: 150 words)
5. a. Write question tags to these sentences: 2
i) Boys worked hard.
ii) They are not very intelligent.
b. State the case of the underlined noun: 2
i) Jinnia’s father is a doctor in the village.
ii) Rohan does not eat burgers.
A. c. Insert suitable adjectives from the brackets given: 2
i) There is a________ increase in the stolen cars.
(threeless/threefold)
ii) No mistake, not even a tiny one is _______
(pardoned/pardonable)

● d. Insert appropriate articles in the given blanks. 2

i) We met ________ European family on ______ Sunday.
_______ family had spent all their lives in _________ India.
●
e. Underline the pronouns and state their kinds in the following 2
sentences.
i) I saw the girl again in the mall who won the inter school
sports competition.
ii) While cutting the vegetables, I hurt myself.
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 f. Underline the verbs and state whether they are Transitive or 2
Intransitive.
i) She was crying all day long.
ii) We showed her the photo album.
g. Fill in the blanks with correct forms of present tense from 2
the brackets.
i) The train ____ just ______ at the platform. (arrive)
ii) The babies ____ bitterly _______ in the hospital room. .
(cry)
h. Use relative pronoun to join the sentence. 1
i) This is George. His brother went to school with me.
Section C (Literature)
6. Answer the given questions in detail. (50-60 word limit) 3 x 3= 9
i) Mention three things we can learn from the ‘tiny teacher’.
ii) What made the bearded man turn from the king’s enemy to
his most faithful servant?
iii) The act of the good old man and the wicked neighbour were
similar but had different consequences. Justify.
7. Answer the given questions in brief. (30-40 word limit) 2x5= 10
a. What did Gopal do when the men outside did not let him see
the king?
b. What were the instructions for Kari to walk and sit down?
Why was it necessary for an elephant to learn to sit down?
c. Why doesn’t the poet D.J. Enright want us to become a
rebel?
d. List two things the elephant can do with his trunk, and two
which he cannot.
e. Based on your understanding of the poem- ‘The Squirrel’.
Describe the squirrel.
8. A. Read the extract from the text and choose the correct 1X8=8
answer.
There he waited until daimio’s train came along and, instead of
kneeling down like the crowd; he climbed a withered cherry tree.
When daimio himself was almost directly under him, he threw a
handful of ashes over the tree, which did not change a particle.
a. ‘he’ in the passage refers to _______
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 i) The good old man
ii) Wicked old woman
iii) Wicked old man
iv) The competent man
b. Reason behind waiting for the daimio was:
i) Old wicked man wanted to sprinkle ash on
withered tree.
ii) He wanted to greet the daimio
iii) He wanted presents from the daimio
iv) Both (i) & (iii)
c. ‘Daimio himself was almost directly under him.’- choose
the correct kind of pronoun for the underlined word:
i) Reflexive Pronoun ii) Emphasis Pronoun
iii) Personal Pronoun iv) Demonstrative Pronoun
d. ‘withered’ in the passage is:
i) A verb ii) an adverb
ii) An adjective iv) a noun
B. Read the extract from the text and answer appropriately.
The man followed him quickly. “My umbrella” he said. “Oh, is it?”
said Soapy. “Why don’t you call a cop? I took it. Your umbrella!
Why don’t you call a cop? There’s one standing at the corner.”The
man walked more slowly. Soapy did the same. But he had a feeling
that he was going to fail again. The cop looked at the two men.
Write True/False for each statement:
i) Soapy stole a man’s umbrella. _______
ii) The owner of the umbrella offered to give it to Soapy.
_____
iii) The man had stolen the umbrella that was now
Soapy’s .______
iv) The cop helped to solve the problem. ______
6. Read the extracts from the poems and answer the questions 1x6=6
appropriately.
A) Grown up’s say things like:
Speak up
Don’t talk with your mouth full
Don’t stare
Don’t point
Don’t pick your nose.
a. The grown ups _____ the children.
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 i) Often praise ii) always nag
iii) are always happy with iv) are always inspired by
b. Which phrase in the poem means, ‘Don’t clean your
nose’?
i) Don’t talk with your full mouth
ii) Don’t pick your nose
iii) Shut the door behind you
iv) Take your hands out of your pockets
c. What is the figure of speech in the above given lines?
i) Anaphora ii) Alliteration
ii) Personification iv) Metaphor
B) My brother says there’s a ghost in the shed
Who hides under the rotten floorboards,
And if I ever dare to set foot inside
He’ll jump out and chop off my head,
But I’ll take a peek one day.
a. What will happen if the poet dares to set foot inside?
b. Rhyming scheme of the above stanza is __________
c. Pick the line from the above lines which shows that the poet
is hesitant and he doesn’t want to go to the shed that very
day?

7. Write a word for the meanings given below. 1x5=5

a. Dead body: _________
b. In a bad shape: ________
c. A royal van/cart: ________
d. Small patches of ground for plants: ______
e. To take something by force: _______
8. Complete the following with suitable prepositions. 1x5=5
1. He shows great aptitude ____ business.
2. I am anxious ______ avoid mistakes.
3. I don’t concur _____ you.
4. He is laboring _____ a misapprehension.
5. He is acquitted _____ the charge against him.