DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, BANGALORE- EAST

MOCK TEST PAPER [2017-2018]

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

CLASS:IX MAX-MARKS:80
DATE: TIME:
NAME :

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

• All questions are compulsory.

• Read all the Questions carefully.

SECTION A-READING [20 Marks]

Q1. Read the following passage carefully.

Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may
perhaps be regarded as a doubtful question. There is certainly much work which is exceedingly irksome, and
an excess of work is always very painful. However, work is not, to most people, more painful than idleness.
There are, in work, all grades; from more relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights, according to the
nature of the work and the abilities of the worker. Most of the work that most people have to do is not
interesting in itself, but even that work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills a good many
hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill
their own time according to their own choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be
worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have
been more pleasant here. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization and at
present very few people have reached this level. Moreover the exercise of choice is tiresome in itself.
Except,to people with unusual initiative, it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the
day, provided the orders are not too unpleasant. Most of the idle rich suffer unspeakable boredom. At times
they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa or by flying around the world, but the number of such
sensations is limited, especially after youth is past. Accordingly, the more intelligent rich men work nearly
as hard as if they were poor.

Work, therefore is desirable, first and foremost as a preventive of boredom, although uninteresting work is
as boring as having nothing to do. With this advantage of work, another associated advantage is that it
makes holidays much more delicious when they come. Provided that a man does not have to work so hard as
to impair his vigour, he is likely to find far more zest than an idle man would possibly find.

The second advantage of most paid work and some of unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and
opportunities for ambition. In most work, success is measured by income and while our capitalistic society
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 continues, this is inevitable. However dull work too, becomes bearable, if it is a means of building up a
reputation. Continuity of purpose is one of the most essential ingredients of happiness and that comes
chiefly through work.

A. Answer the following questions

a) What doubtful question is being discussed in the above passage? (1)
b) When does the work become painful? (1)
c) What are the advantages of working? (1)
d) Why do people fail to fill their own time according to their choice? (1)
e) How does the idle rich spend their time? (1)
f) Why is work desirable? (1)
g) Write one harmful effect of work? (1)
h) How is success measured in our society? (1)
i) Find the word which means same as :- ( 2)
(i) Annoyance (paragraph 1)
(ii) Boredom (paragraph 1)

Q2. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. (10 Marks)

It was Wednesday, the 9th of October. Seven days has passed since Mr. Fogg had begun his journey. The
steamer Mongolia was to arrive at the Suez at 11 a.m. This was one of the fastest ship and it voyaged
between Brindisi and Bombay regularly. Two men were walking up and down the dock-side at Suez,
awaiting the steamer. One of them was a small built man with a nervous, intelligent face with bright eyes
peering out from under his eyebrows which were forever twitching. This was Mr. Fix, the detective,
dispatched from England in search of bank robber. His job was to watch every passenger who arrived at
Suez minutely and see if any of the passengers resembled the bank robber whose description he got from
police just two days back. Fix was hoping to receive a splendid reward for catching the bank robber.
- Extract from ‘AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS

a) How much time has passed since Mr. Fogg started his journey? (1)
b) What is the destination of the ship? (1)
c) Describe Mr.Fix’s personality. (2)
d) What was fix’s profession? (1)
e) Why did Fix come from England? (1)
f) How did Fix work towards achieving his goal? (2)
g) Which of the word from the passage mean ‘sudden, quick movement’? (1)
h) What is the antonym of the word ‘reward’? (1)

SECTION B- WRITING and GRAMMAR [30 Marks]

Q3. You are of the view that every citizen of your country must go through on year military training. Write
a letter to the editor of a national daily expressing your view on this.
Or

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You are Sumit/Suman living at B 65, Jehangir Puri, New Delhi. You experienced that there are too many
stray animals in your locality and they are wandering freely which causes serious accidents and public
issues. Write a letter to NDM Commissioner to control the stray animals, ensuring the safety of the people.
(8 Marks)

Q4. Write a short story in 200-250 words on any one of the following. Give a suitable title also. (10 Marks)
International Polo Day – Competitive match with visiting team – win for home team – Chetak, the horse of
the show – final chukker – scores goal – tread session with families – Chetak and her filly for photo shoot
Or
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As he raised a
glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the ‘half empty or half full’ question. Instead, with a
smile on his face, he inquired ,”Can you guess how heavy is this glass of water?”………….

Q5. Fill in the blanks with correct words. Write the answer in your answer sheet against the correct blanks.
Do not copy the whole passage. (4 Marks)

A couple (a) _________ million years ago (b) _______ small waterbody containing (c)_______ ancient
group (d) __________ microbes was sealed beneath (e) ________ thick layer of ice (f) _________ the
Taylor Glacier. The trapped lake has (g) __________ isolated from light, heat, (h) ________ oxygen ever
since.

Q6. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the lines. Write the incorrect
word and the correction in the space provided. Do not copy the whole passage. (4 Marks)

Incorrect Correct
Parts in North India could (a) _________________ ________________
Still experience a extended winter. (b) _________________ ________________
As cluster of disturbances has closed (c) _________________ ________________
In nearly half of the country in many sides. (d) _________________ ________________
These twirling ball of moisture-laden (e) _________________ ________________
Winds have fan out into a wide swathe (f) _________________ ________________
Across the Indian Mainland. Storm (g) _________________ ________________
Have batter farms in nine states. (h) _________________ ________________

Q7. Rearrange the following words to make meaningful sentences: (4 Marks)

(a) Japan / by / formed / were / volcanoes / the / of / islands /

(b) can / be / still / active / found / volcanoes / here /
(c) are / everyday / mild / an / earthquakes / occurrence /
(d) the / earthquakes / even / sometimes / are / that / powerful / so / they / cities / destroy /

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 SECTION C-LITERATURE [30 Marks]

Q8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: (4 Marks)

“I knew then that my student had passed with flying colours…..”

(a) Who knew about whom?
(b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘flying colours’?
(c) Which examination had the student passed?
(d) How did the student show gratitude towards the teacher?

Or

“And I gaze up his nose in despair,

And his drill it do whine,
In these molars of mine.”
(a) Who does ‘his’ refer to?
(b) What is being drilled?
(c) What does the word ‘whine’ mean?
(d) Why does the poet have to face this situation?

Q9. Answer any four of the following questions in about 30-40 words each: (2 X 4= 8 Marks)

(a) How is the journey of human life different from the journey of the brook?
(b) Do you think Chuck was a duty conscious man? How can you tell?
(c) How does Persome react to the loss of the salt-cellars?
(d) What does rain do for the Earth and Clouds?
(e) What was Pescud’s opinion about best sellers?

Q10. Answer any one of the following questions in about 100-120 words: (8 Marks)

How was the sale of the villa a battle of wits between Gaston and Juliette in the play ‘Villa for sale’?
Discuss the values Gaston should have possessed with regard to moral ethics?
Or
Private Quelch was indeed a knowledgeable person. But he was disrespectful towards his teachers. The
narrator writes a diary entry on the day Private Quelch was punished by Corporal Turnbull, remembering
the qualities the Brainiac lacked. Also state the values he should have possessed. Write the diary entry in
about 80-100 words.

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Q11. Answer any one of the following questions from the novel in about 200-250 words: (10 Marks)

Describe the incident at Boveney in your own words?

Or
Jerome appears to be a happy-go-lucky man. Give a character sketch of the narrator of the novel ‘Three men
in a boat’?

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