1.

Passage

Many of us believe that ‘small’ means ‘insignificant’. We believe that small actions and choices do
not have much impact on our lives. We think that it is only the big things, the big actions and the
big decisions that really count. But when you look at the lives of all great people, you will see
that they built their character through small decisions, small choices and small actions that they
performed every day. They transformed their lives through step-by-step or day-by-day
approach. They nurtured and nourished their good habits and chipped away their bad habits,
one by one. It was their small day-to-day decisions that added up to make tremendous
difference in the long run. Indeed, in matters of personal growth and character building, there is
no such thing as an overnight success.

Growth always occurs through a sequential series of stages. There is an organic process to growth.
When we look at children growing up, we can see this process at work: the child first learns to
crawl, then to stand and walk and then finally to run. The same is true in the natural world. The
soil must first be tilled and then the seed must be sown. Next, it must be nurtured with enough
water and sunlight and only then will it grow into trees laden with ripe fruits.

Gandhi understood this organic process and used this universal law of nature to his benefit. Gandhi
grew in small ways, in his day-to-day affairs. He did not wake up one day and find himself to be
the ‘Mahatma’. In fact, there was nothing much in his early life that showed signs of greatness.
But from his mid-twenties onwards, he deliberately and consistently attempted to change
himself, reform himself and grow in some small way every day. Day by day, hour by hour, he
risked failure, experimented and learnt from mistakes. In small as well as large situations, he
took up the responsibility rather than avoiding it.

People have always marvelled at the effortless way in which Gandhi could accomplish the most
difficult tasks. He displayed a great deal of self-mastery and discipline which was amazing. These
things did not come easily to him. Years of practice and disciplined training went into making his
success possible. Very few saw his struggles, fears, doubts and anxieties, or his inner efforts to
overcome them. They only saw the victory, but not the struggle.

This is a common factor in the lives of all great people: they exercise their freedoms and choices in
small ways that make great impact on their lives and their environment. Each of their small
decisions and actions, add up to have a profound impact in the long run. By understanding this
principle, we can move forward, with confidence, in the direction of our dreams. Often when
our ‘ideal goal’ looks too far from us, we become easily discouraged, disheartened and
pessimistic. However, when we choose to grow in small ways, by taking small steps one at a
time, our achievement becomes easy.

Q. Answer the questions briefly:

1.How do small actions and choices impact our lives?

 2.Describe organic process of growth through an example from the text.

3.What according to the author is the ‘universal law of nature’?

4.How did Gandhi accomplish the most difficult tasks effortlessly?

5.Which things about Gandhi’s life were not seen by most of the people?

6.Pick out words from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following:

i. Intentionally/ purposely (Para 3)

ii. Of deep significance; far-reaching (Para 5)

Writing-B

Question 3: Below is a graph given showing birth and death rates in a country from 1901 to 2101.
Write an analytical paragraph (100-150 words).

Question 4
You are Anshul/Anshika, a student of class X and resident of 56 D, Ring Road, ITO, New Delhi, and wants
to be a choreographer. Write a leter to the director, National Institute of Choreography, Noida, seeking
information about their course, admission procedure, eligibility criteria and other necessary details.

Question-5

The following passage contains 10 mistakes, such as grammatical errors, wrong prepositions and
conjunctions. Correct the mistakes and rewrite the correct version of this passage.

On cold, wet morning, my class was filled with excitement. Someone (1) have discover that the
next day was our teacher’s birthday. Our teacher was the kindest person that ever (2) exist. Thus it (3) is
no surprise she was the favourite teacher (4) to the pupils. Everyone (5) want to get her a present. I,
very much wanted to (6) shown any appreciation too. That afternoon, I (7) spends the whole afternoon
(8) shop for a present. After a long search, I finally made (9) on my mind. The next day I (10) gived her a
bouquet of beautiful roses and she exclaimed with pleasure.

Literature-C

1. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel? Is the story of Amanda
similar to the story of Rapunzel?
2. Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Support your answer with
an example.
3. The author describes the things that valli sees from an eight year old’s point of view. Can you
find evidence from the text for this statement?
4. Bholi’s real name is Sulekha. We are told this right at the beginning. But only in the last but one
paragraph of the story is Bholi called Sulekha again. Why do you think she is called Sulekha at
that point in the story?
5. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride?

Q11. Compare all three stories given in chapter Glimpses of India. And summarise all three
stories in not more than 200 words.
Q12. Write a critical analysis of chapter The Proposal. Does the title of the chapter support the
story of The Proposal.
Q13. Write the summary of the chapter Madam Rides the Bus in not more than 200 words.