PREBOARD EXAMINATION – 1 (2022 – 2023)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (184)

CLASS – X
TIME : 3 HOURS M.M. 80
** GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
(1) THIS QUESTION PAPER CONTAINS THREE SECTIONS: READING, WRITING SKILLS AND GRAMMAR AND
LITERATURE.
(2) ATTEMPT QUESTIONS BASED ON THE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH PART.
SECTION A: READING SKILLS (20 MARKS)
Q.1. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE CAREFULLY: (10 MARKS)
“Woman thy name is frailty”. The quote that doesn’t hold meaning in today’s world. Though we have
historical evidences vouching for the strength women possess, yet the role of women has been recognised
globally recently. Women have ensured the stability, progress and long term development of nations since
time immemorial. The contribution of women is worth mentioning in all spheres of life, be it as a home maker
or as a professional. The participation of women in the field of agriculture is noticeable as women comprises
43 percent of the world’s agricultural labour force globally, rising to 70 percent in some countries.
Women have always been at the front end when it comes to being the caretakers of the family across the
world. International studies demonstrate that when there are changes in the system and patterns of a social
set up, women take the lead in helping the family adjust to new realities and challenges. Women play the
largest role in decision making family, nutrition and health.
Education is the strongest weapon to achieve the desired outcomes towards development of a society. The
contribution of women in the field of education is undeniably vital that transforms a society from pre literate
to literate. For a country and a society, to grow and sustain, basic education is the key. Better education has
positive impact on agricultural productivity, status of girls and women and standard of living of the masses.
Educated population contributes towards reducing population growth rates and enhancement of
environmental protection.
As per survey, the median female share of the global workforce is 45 percent. This contribution helps a
community from being an autonomous society to become an active participant in the national economy. The
role of women in the urban and rural workforce has expanded exponentially in recent decades.
Constant efforts and clashes with ‘ so called representatives’ of the society have resulted in achieving this
status for womenfolk in the society. Though ironically, gender inequality can still be seen even after all
transformation. Women have the power to face any kind of challenge and work towards the upliftment of
society/community etc. Women started their empowerment in World War II after which all rights of women
have been recognised in civilised countries. The professions and fields which are previously considered only for
males are now open for females as well.
In Hindu mythology, woman is depicted as an epitome of strength and perseverance in the form of goddess.
This belief is being practiced since ancient times. But unfortunately, we just follow idol worship though in
reality, women are not treated like the ones. Certain classes of the society still indulge in woman abuse.
Women are paid relatively less compared to their male counterparts for the same work both the parties do. A
variety of significant and important roles are played by women from their birth till the end of their life. She is
still considered weak even when she plays all the roles and jobs efficiently.
The government of India is working upon making ‘women empowerment’ a national and global agenda by
implementing various rules and regulations. The government has banned all these evil practices like female
foeticide, dowry deaths, early child marriage, domestic abuse, child labour etc., which has improved the status
of women in society. It’s disappointing even to mention that in rural areas the notion of preserving women’s
backwardness is considered significant. To ensure progress on all fronts, it is very crucial to bring equality
between women and men.
With the steps taken by government, the flexibility in job profiles have taken place. Women are entering the
jobs which were taken up by men conventionally and vice versa. Women have also earned name in politics, in
banking and financial sector. This transformation has really been phenomenal since the time when women
were not allowed to voice their opinions to the present time when women have considerable leadership roles
in various spheres of life. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that they are the multi taskers who perform their
jobs most efficiently to ensure smooth functioning at all levels and handle two full time jobs – the one at the
workplace and the other one at home. Women now a days are becoming successful home keepers, planners of
family events, errand runners and bill payers.
** BASED ON YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PASSAGE, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. (ATTEMPT
ANY TEN)
** NOTE: Q.1 TO Q.5 (SUBJECTIVE) Q.6. TO Q.11 (MCQ BASED QUESTIONS)
Q.1. Which industry has 43% of female workforce across the globe?
Q.2. Why is the women workforce worth mentioning in agriculture?
Q.3. What is the status of women in Hindu mythology?
Q.4. State two places where role of women is important?
Q.5. What kind of discrimination women still face at their workplace in the world of gender equality?
Q.6. The word ‘frailty’ means ..........
(a) strength (b) temperaments (c) weakness (d) hope
Q.7. What do you understand by the term ’median female force’?
(a) The female force (b) The average female workforce (c) The female efficiency rate
Q.8. Who are the ‘so called representatives’ of the society mentioned in the passage?
(a) The elderly people (b) The male (c) The rural folks (d) The politicians
Q.9. The practices like ’female foeticide’ and ‘dowry system’ .........................
(a) represent Indian customs and traditions.
(b) symbolise evilness and constriction of the structure of a society.
(c) depict women as ‘the inferior’.
(d) prove that women are weak.
Q.10. The role of women can be related to .....................
(a) devotion and dominance (b) authority and success (c) strength and nurturing (d) frailty and submission
Q.11. Synonym for the word ‘perseverance’ is .................
(a) vigour (b) determination (c) decisiveness (d) hopefulness

Q.2. READ THE PASSAGE GIVEN BELOW. (10 MARKS)

The cartoon given has become the reality of modern life. People are trying to deal with the demon which
hasn’t even spared the younger ones.

The childhood obesity has always been prevalent in developed western countries and now it has entered the
developing countries like India as well. This growing trend of childhood obesity is alarming as it negates all the
health benefits which have already been achieved.
India, which is already the third most obese country in the world, is showing the trend of childhood obesity
more in urban areas. Adolescents are also caught in the clutches of this evil as the obesity rate has grown from
16% to 29% in the last five years whereas globally it has increased by 50% in the last 40 years. As per a report
presented by WHO Commission, the number that was at 42 million for obese children in 2013 worldwide will
reach to 70 million by 2025 if the same trend continues.
This trend is worrisome as obesity in children gives rise to many health issues like diabetes and heart
problems. Children get prone to premature onset of illness and they become a victim of them for rest of their
lives. There is a flow chart given below that clearly represents the factors that lead to obesity and the
outcomes of the same.
Children have a miserable life these days. They indulge in high fat foods and zero physical activity due to
several reasons. Gradually, a healthy child falls into the trap and get stuck as the normal activities of routine
seem to be difficult as obesity sets in. It inhibits their movement and they start believing into following a
regime where there is no place for physical activity. When the body shape gets deformed due to excess weight
children lose confidence and experience low esteem. In a state of depression, it becomes a no – win situation
where everything seems to be lost other than gaining weight.
It is found that overweight was found to be significantly higher in those who regularly eat out and among
those who replace snacks for meals. Physical inactivity trends have been increasing, not just in adults but also
among children and adolescents mainly due to the switch to sedentary activities such as watching television
and playing computer games. Parental obesity is considered to be a main factor of obesity in children. Genetic
factors influence the susceptibility of a given child to an obesity conductive environment.
Recent reviews on childhood obesity prevalence in India clearly show that childhood obesity has become a
major trend thus making obesity a significant public health problem. India should initiate appropriate steps in
this regard to put an early stop to the eventual consequences of childhood obesity and to effectively tackle this
problem in the country. This is the time to act before childhood obesity becomes deep rooted and make the
country ‘sans strength’, ‘sans health’ and ‘sans happiness’.
** BASED ON YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PASSAGE, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. (ATTEMPT
ANY TEN)
** NOTE: Q.12. TO Q.16. (SUBJECTIVE) Q.17. TO Q.22. (MCQ BASED QUESTIONS)
Q.12. What is the main factor that lead to the childhood obesity?
Q.13. Why does the situation of childhood obesity seem to be challenging?
Q.14. Why are children in urban areas more prone to obesity?
Q.15. What is the estimated number for childhood obesity to reach by the year 2025?
Q.16. Arrange in correct sequence.
(a) difficulty in carrying out routine activities (b) gaming (c) loss of confidence (d) weight gain
Q.17. What is meant by the term ‘sans strength’?
(a) Devoid of strength
(b) Sufficient strength
(c) Presence of strength
(d) With little strength
Q.18. What do you understand by the term ‘built environment’?
(a) Green environment – plant, trees etc.
(b) Neighbourhood factors – availability of parks, transportation facilities etc.
(c) The congenial atmosphere a child gets at his/ her home.
(d) The people in vicinity.
Q.19. Socio economic status has an impact on causing childhood obesity as .......
(a) it creates easy accessibility to amenities of modern life style.
(b) parents want their children to explore everything.
(c) children develop unhealthy habits automatically.
Q.20. Choose an antenatal factor causing obesity in children.
(a) Mother’s features.
(b) Mother’s pre pregnancy BMI
(c) Parents behaviour towards each other.
(d) Mother’s social life.
Q.21. The obesity rate in past five years have become almost double because ....... .
(a) people are not well informed.
(b) people don’t worry about growing weight of their children.
(c) people don’t want to stop their children for anything.
Q.22.‘Obesity conducive’ atmosphere means :
(a) Fruitful environment.
(b) Atmosphere promoting and supporting factors causing obesity.
(c) Atmosphere against those factors that cause obesity.
(d) None of the above
 SECTION B: WRITING AND GRAMMAR (20 MARKS)

Q. 23 A. The following pie-chart shows the percentage distribution of the expenditure incurred in publishing a
book. Study the pie-chart and write an analytical paragraph in about 100 – 120 words. (5 MARKS)

OR

Q.23.B. The bar graph given here shows the annual rate of forest cover change in India. Study the given
data carefully and write an analytical paragraph in about 100 – 120 words.

Q. 24. A. You are Sujal / Sujata of Pragya Public School, Nangal, New Delhi, who had arranged a trip of fifty
students to Nainital for ten days with ‘Mount Travels And Tourism’ New Delhi. The arrangements done by the
travel agency were far below standard. Write a letter of complaint in 100 – 120 words to the Director of the
agency to stop duping tourists with false promises as it tarnishes the image of the locals. (5 MARKS)

OR
Q. 24. B. You are Rajesh staying at house no. 80, Tilak Lane, New Delhi. You are disturbed to find that the
number of beggars has increased enormously recently. Write a letter in 100 – 120 words to the Editor of a
national daily, expressing concern about this problem. Give suggestions to curb it.
Q.25. READ THE FOLLOWING CONVERSATION AND FILL IN THE BLANKS USING RULES OF REPORTED SPEECH.
(4 MARKS)
Wilma : Can I have a small packet of cheese ?

Storekeeper : Sorry, I have only big packets.

Wilma : When will it be available ?

Storekeeper : I can give it to you tomorrow.

Wilma : Thank you, I will get it

tomorrow.
Wilma asked the storekeeper (a) .......... . The storekeeper said that he had only big packets of cheese. Wilma
wanted to know (b) ........... The storekeeper said (c) .......... . Wilma thanked him and said (d)....... .
Q. 26. FILL IN THE BLANKS BY SLECTING THE CORRECT OPTIONS: (3 MARKS)

The life of soldiers who (a) ... at Siachen is extremely tough. For drinking water, they (b) ...... ice from glacier,
boil it and drink it. There is one person (c) .... to keep water warm at all times. The main task of the infantry is
to hold the ground .

(a) (1) stationed (2) are stationed (3) were stationed (4) is stationed

(b) (1) beak (2) broke (3) have to break (4) have broken

(c) (1) assign (2) assigning (3) assigned (4) has assigned

Q. 27. Find the error in each line of the following passage that has not been edited. There is one error in
each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction against each line of the passage. (3 MARKS)

Bread and butter are a wholesome meal. (a) ..... .....

Little bread loaves are always (b) .... ....

available in my kitchen. It makes the good snack (c) .... ....

with tea. Most of the people love it.

SECTION C: LITERATURE (MARKS)

Q. 28. A. READ THE EXTRACTS GIVEN BELOW AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.(5 MARKS)

** NOTE : (Q.1- SUBJECTIVE) (Q.2,3,4 AND 5 – MCQ BASED QUESTIONS.)

“ Our elders are often heard reminiscing nostalgically about those good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese
and their famous loaves of bread. Those eaters might have vanished but the makers are still there. We still
have amongst us the mixers , the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Those age old time tested furnaces
still exist. The fire in these furnaces has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of traditional baker’s
bamboo, heralding his arrival in the morning, can still be heard in some places.”

Q.1. Why do you think that a baker come in with a thud and jingle?

Q.2. The narrator says that the furnaces were ‘time – tested’ because ......

(a) they had been thoroughly tested each time, before being used.

(b) they had proved the test of time and were working well.
(c) they had been tested by modern day experts.

(d) they had the power to withstand inexperienced usage.

Q.3. Those eaters might have vanished but the makers are still there. Pick the option that expresses the tone
of the narrator.

(1) elated (2) morose (3) nostalgic (4) hopeful (5) sarcastic (6) critical (7) celebratory

(a) 1and 7 (b) 2 and 6 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 4 and 5

Q.4. Pick the option that brings out the same meaning of ‘reminiscing’ as used in the passage.

(a) train of thought (b) commit something to memory (c) a trip down memory lane (d) jog somebody’s memory

Q.5. The ‘fire in the furnace has not yet been extinguished’ implies that

(a) the furnaces are still being used to bake the loaves of bread.

(b) the fire in the process of being reviewed as a replaceable method for heating furnaces.

(c) the furnaces are very strong and be shifted for use in other areas.

(d) the fire in the furnaces takes a long time to cease burning, once lighted.

OR

Q. 28. B. He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,

The epistemology of loss, how to stand up

Knowing what every man must one day know

And most know many days, how to stand up.

** NOTE : (Q.1- SUBJECTIVE) (Q.2,3,4 AND 5 – MCQ BASED QUESTIONS.)

Q.1. What does the poet mean by ‘knowing what every man must one day know’?

Q.2. Why is the boy desperate?

(a) He has lost his childhood companion.

(b) He knows that he cannot get the ball back.

(c) He doesn’t have money to buy a new ball.

(d) The realisation that he had failed to take care of his possession.

Q.3. What is the boy learning?

(a) That lost ball cannot be replaced.

(b) That he can buy a new ball and so losing the old ball doesn’t matter.

(c) To understand the value of money.

(d) That he is not the only one to suffer loss in life.

Q.4. What lesson does the poem convey?

(a) That one has to learn how to deal with the grief of loss and move on.

(b) That one has to take care of objects, one owns.

(c) That worldly possessions are not permanent in life.

(d) That loss of a ball is not worth feeling sad because one can always buy another one.

Q.5. Which word DOES NOT collate with ‘desperate’?

(a) Hopeless (b) Demoralise (c) Downcast (d) Composed

Q. 29. A. READ THE EXTRACTS GIVEN BELOW AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW. (5 MARKS)

** NOTE : (Q.1- SUBJECTIVE) (Q.2,3,4 AND 5 – MCQ BASED QUESTIONS.)

As she and her husband turned away in terror, the extraordinary chair pushed them both out of the room and
then appeared to slam and lock the door after them. Mrs. Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. She was
convinced that the room was haunted by spirits and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into
her furniture. “My poor mother used to sit in that chair,” she moaned! “To think it should rise up against me
now!” The feeling among the neighbours was that the trouble was chased by witchcraft.

** NOTE : (Q.1- SUBJECTIVE) (Q.2,3,4 AND 5 – MCQ BASED QUESTIONS.)

Q.1. What extraordinary things happened in the room?

Q.2. Mrs. Hall felt that the room was haunted by spirits because ......

(a) she could see evil spirits. (b) she heard strange noise. (c) uncanny things happened there. (d) the door
slammed shut.

Q.3. Pick the option that best describes how Mrs. Hall must be feeling at the moment described in the extract.

(a) Stunned and furious (b) Shocked and outraged (c) Outraged and nervous (d) Stunned and agitated

Q.4. Pick the sentence that brings out the meaning of ‘hysterics’ as used in the extract.

(a) My friend and I were in splits when we saw the clown’s antics.

(b) I don’t know why I suddenly felt worried about flying home.

(c) The sight of blood put the old man in a panic situation.

(d) The people who had witnessed the accident were spellbound.

Q.5. The neighbours thought that it was ‘witchcraft’. This shows that the neighbours were ......

(a) suspicious (b) superstitious (c) nervous wrecks (d) gossip mongers

OR
Q. 29. B. Clothed like a woman of the people, she went to the grocer’s, the butcher’s the fruiterer’s with her
basket on her arm, shopping, haggling to the last sou of her miserable money. The husband worked evenings,
putting the books of some merchants in order and nights he often did copying at five sous a page. This life
lasted for ten years. At the end of ten years they had restored all. Mme Loisel seemed old now. She had
become a strong, hard woman, the crude woman of the poor household. Her hair badly dressed, her skirts
awry, her hands red, she spoke in a loud tone and washed the floors with large pail of water. But sometimes,
when her husband was at office, she would seat herself before the window and think of that evening party of
former times, of that ball where she was so beautiful and so flattered.

** NOTE : (Q.1- SUBJECTIVE) (Q.2,3,4 AND 5 – MCQ BASED QUESTIONS.)

Q.1. What qualities of Mr. Loisel does the extract reveal?

Q.2. The antonym of ‘crude’ is .....

(a) coarse (b) unpolished (c) unrefined (d) sophisticated

Q.3. What does ‘clothed like a woman of the people’ reflect?

(a) Dressed respectably (b) Dressed in rich clothes (c) Dressed like a commoner (d) Dressed like a beggar

Q.4. Why did she haggle to the last sou?

(a) She did not want to part with money. (b) She had to save every sou. (c) She realised that penny saved is
penny earned. (d) She want to spend money.

Q.5. The synonym of ‘former’ is .......

(a) earlier (b) new (c) modern (d)current

Q.30. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING IN ABOUT 40 – 50 WORDS. (ATTEMPT ANY FOUR) (12 MARKS)

Q.1. Why was Nelson Mandela labelled as a ‘criminal’?

Q.2. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?

Q.3. How did the bus move as it made the journey towards the town? What did Valli see on her way that made
her laugh?

Q.4. Why doesn’t death bring grief to the wise? Who can obtain peace of mind?

Q.5. What excuses did Ink, Blink and Mustard give for showing cowardice in front of the pirate?

Q.6. According to the poet, why will young men love Anne Gregory? Why would the lady change the colour of
her hair?

Q.31. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING IN ABOUT 40 – 50 WORDS. (ATTEMPT ANY TWO) (6 MARKS)

Q.1. How did vet cure Tricki of his ailment? What was Tricki’s experience during the feeding time on the third
day ?

Q.2. How does the poet describe tiger’s appearance? Why is the tiger angry?

Q.3. How do hyena and crocodile differ from each other?

Q.4. How does the poet present fog as a living being?

Q.32. ANSWER ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING IN 100 – 120 WORDS. (6 MARKS)

Q.1. “Coorg is a paradise for travellers” Discuss.

Q.2. How can you compare poem “TheTrees” with “A Tiger In The Zoo”?

Q.33. ANSWER ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING IN 100 – 120 WORDS. (6 MARKS)

Q.1. Describe the events that took place on the night of the theft. (THE THIEF’S STORY)

Q.2. What ‘drama’ unfolded on the wedding day of Bholi’s marriage?

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