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Monthly Test - May 2021 Paper = /95

Subject : English Language and Literature Handwriting = /05
Class : 8 …....... Total = /100
Duration : 1 hour and 40 minutes Date : .......................................
Candidate's name : ............................................................. Admission no : .........................

Part I

COMPREHENSION AND GRAMMAR

(1) Read the following article and answer the questions in complete sentences.

Pi
I was named after a swimming pool. My uncle, who was a great storyteller, had spent time in France.
Most of his stories were about swimming competitions and
swimming pools there, in particular Piscine Molitor, or Molitor
Swimming Pool, ‘piscine’ being the French word for ‘swimming
pool’. What was even more peculiar about my name was that my
parents never likedlarge expanses of water.

On my first day at school, one of my classmates, full of evil genius, pointed at me, shouting, ‘Piscine!
What a silly name!’ In a second everyone was laughing, and it did not fall away until we filed
into class. The cruelty of children comes as news to no-one. Laughter would waft across the yard
to me, unprovoked. I would freeze or, alternatively, pursue my activities, pretending not to have
heard. The sound would disappear, but the hurtwould linger.

Teachers also showed, however inadvertently, that they found my name amusing. As the day wore
on, the temperature rose and the lessons, which in the morning had been as compact as an oasis,
started to stretch out like a desert. In the afternoon, as the teachers wiped their foreheads with
their handkerchiefs, even they seemed to smirk as they used my name. Sometimes when my hand
was up to give an answer, I anticipated the insult andchanged my mind.

When I went to secondary school, my older brother Ravi was already there and, like all younger
brothers, I would suffer from having to follow in the footsteps of a very clever older sibling, who
already had a good reputation. That I was an excellent swimmer was unimportant; it

Grade 8 Engish Language and Literature May 2021

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seems to be a law of nature that those who live by the sea, as we did, see swimmers as rather odd.
But it wasn’t being related to Ravi, the elected captain of the school cricket team, that allowed me
to escape from my name. I had a better plan than that.

I carried out my plan on the very first day of secondary school, in the very first class, which started
with the checking of names. We were to remain seated and call out our names from our desks.
‘Vipin Nath,’ said Vipin Nath.
‘Stanley Kumar,’ said Stanley Kumar..

It was my turn. I got up promptly from my desk and hurried to the chalkboard. Before the
teacher could say a word, I picked up a piece of chalk and said as I wrote, ‘My name is Piscine
Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi.’ I double-underlined the first two letters of my given name. There
was silence. The teacher was staring at the chalkboard. I was holding my breath. Then he said,
‘Very well, Pi. But next time ask permission before leaving your desk.’ I was saved. I could
breathe. It was a new beginning. I repeated the stunt with every teacher that day.

When I put up my hand that day to answer questions, which I did at every chance I had, teachers
granted me the right to speak with a single syllable that was music to my ear. Students followed
suit; in fact, the name really caught on. Even my brother, that local god,
the captain of the school cricket team, approved.

And so, in my new name, I found refuge.

(i) The main purpose of the story is

a) to tell about a boy who is envious of his elder brother.
b) to show how a boy is ridiculed by his classmates and punished by his teachers.
c) to show how a boy, who is ridiculed for his name, finds a way to overcome it.
d) to tell about a school boy who disliked his name.

(2 marks)

(ii) Mark 'true' (T) or 'false' (F).

a) Teachers wiped ‘their foreheads with their handkerchiefs’ because they were
terrified. [-------- ]
b) Teachers would unintentionally snigger when using Pi’s name. [-------- ]

c) Ravi was smart and intelligent. [-------- ]

(3 marks)

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(iii) In which two ways, according to Pi, was his name odd?

a) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 marks)

(iv) Pi’s uncle was ‘a great storyteller’. What was the topic of his favourite story?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1 mark)

(v) One of Pi’s classmates pointed at him. In what way did the other children show their
‘cruelty’?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 marks)

(vi) Write the single word which shows that Pi dealt with ‘the cruelty of children’ in
different ways. (Refer to the second paragraph)

---------------------------------------------
(1 mark)

(vii) The lessons ‘started to stretch out like a desert’. What idea about the lessons is given
by this description?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 marks)

(viii) How did Pi solve the problem regarding his name?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3 marks)

(ix) Why do you think Pi took ‘every chance’ he could to answer questions that day?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 marks)

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(x) Write the meanings of the following words as used in the passage.

a) Peculiar - -----------------------------------------------------------
b) Pursue - -----------------------------------------------------------
c) Linger - -----------------------------------------------------------
d) Inadvertently - -----------------------------------------------------------
e) Reputation - -----------------------------------------------------------
(5 marks)

(xi) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of verb in brackets.
a) He usually -------------------------- (spend) his holiday by the sea.
b) While they -------------------------- (walk) in the park yesterday, they met
their neighbours.
c) I -------------------------- (hear) the news two hours ago.
d) The boys are sweating because they -------------------------- (play) football
for three hours.
e) Maggie -------------------------- (study) English before she moved to London.
f) Look! Ravi -------------------------- (climb) over the wall.
(6 marks)

(xii) Change the following sentences into indirect speech.

a) Pi said, ‘I was named after a swimming pool.’
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b) They found my name amusing,’ said the boy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
c) ‘Why don’t you ignore the matter?’ my friend asked me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
d) ‘Pie, put your bag away and take a seat,’ said the mother.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e) ‘You have to decide how you are going to face the problem,’ said Ravi to me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(2 x 5 = 10 marks)

[Total = 39 marks]

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Part II

COMPOSITION

2. Select one of the topics and write a composition of 275 –300 words.

(i) Imagine you were Piscine Molitor’s friend. Write a letter to Piscine, appreciating his
bravery and describing a similar situation you faced in life and how you got through it
successfully.

OR

(ii) Write an argumentative essay on the topic ‘Is it right for circuses to use animals in their
shows?’

[Total = 26 marks]

CONTENT – TOPICS (i) & LANGUAGE

(ii)

Adhering to instructions /3 Grammar

Coherence /3 Accuracy /3
Level
Ability to describe / /2
Argumentative presentation
/3 Vocabulary

Creativity /3 /3
Variety
Mastery /2

Spelling /2

Punctuation /2

Total /26

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Part III

LITERATURE
3.

 Answer both the questions.

 Write a minimum of 20 – 25 lines per answer.

POETRY

(Leave Taking – Cecil Rajendra)

(i) How does the grandson stand apart from the rest of the people in the poem
‘Leave Taking’? Discuss with examples.

[Total = 15 marks]

PROSE

(The Village by the Sea –Anita Desai)

(ii) Closely examine how Hari’s life changes as he moves from Thul to Bombay.

[Total = 15 marks]

Poetry Prose

Grammar /3 /3

Vocabulary /2 /2

Pertinence / Organisation /6 /6

Quotations / Examples /4 /4

Total /15 /15

END
Ref : AP

Grade 8 English Language and Literature May 2021