ENGLISH (HL)

SOLUTION : PRACTICE ACTIVITY SHEET 3

[Note : Some activities are open-ended. The answers given to such activities are just as a model.]
Q. 1. (A)
A1. (1) Moonlight, letter box.
(2) The little girl fainted at the sight of blood.
(3) You see, I don’t eat luncheon.
(4) Imperative sentence.
(5) break, kite, elephant, tiger, rose
A2. (1) (a) The speaker was a big bore and the audience was irritated.
(b) The young boy bore the pain without crying.
(2) I will start a company.
(3) Restaurant : waiter, food, menu, bill
Q. 1. (B)
(1) must – indicates obligation
(2) We had already done our homework – Main Clause
I was well prepared – Main Clause
Q. 2. (A)
A1.

Event Year
(1) The birth of Arjan Singh 1919
(2) Selected for the Empire Pilot Training Course 1938
(3) Promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader 1944
(4) Retired from service 1969

A2. 
In 1944, Arjan Singh led a squadron against the Japanese during the Arakan
Campaign. He flew close air support missions during the crucial Imphal campaign.
He then assisted the advance of the Allied Forces to Rangoon. In recognition of his
feat, Arjan Singh was given the DFC award.
A3. (1) After a brief stint as a lecturer, Ravi took up an important post in a multinational
company.
(2) In recognition of his research, they awarded him with a Ph.D. (degree).
A4. (1) In 1944, during the Arakan Campaign, a squadron against the Japanese had been
led by the Marshal.
(2) 
His first assignment when he was commissioned was to fly Westland Wapiti
biplanes in the North-Western Frontier Province.
A5. Model Answer : A leader must be able to make the correct decisions. He should
be firm with his team or group. He should be able to instil confidence in them, and
he should be just. Thus the qualities he should have are : decision making ability,
firmness, ability to instil confidence in others and a fair sense of justice.

NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)] 1

Q. 2. (B)
B1. (1) Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown
waters.
(2) Della’s beautiful hair could have outshone the Queen of Sheba’s jewels.
(3) Della sold her lovely long hair to get money to buy a Christmas present for Jim.
(4) Della felt sad on losing her hair because it was very beautiful and her prized
possession.
B2. (1) Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement,
Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck
at his beard with envy.
(2) And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute
and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
B3. (1) possessions – possessive (2) treasures – treasured
(3) envy – envious (4) sparkle – sparkling
B4. (1) Where did her hair reach?
(2) Give it to me quick, won’t you?
B5. Model Answer : The buyer can increase the value of a gift bought for someone very
dear in the family by giving it with words of love and gratitude. He / She can also write
something loving on a card and attach it to the gift.
Q. 3. (A)
A1. (1) If you want a thing, you should not give up your sleep. – False
(2) You should be afraid of your opposition. – False
(3) Life will not seem useless and worthless without achieving your goal. – False
(4) You should do your utmost to get what you want. – True.
A2.

Strengths Weaknesses

(l) work day and night (1) sickness

(2) sacrifice time and peace (2) life seems useless and worthless

A3. Tautology – ‘Life seems useless and worthless without it’. 

The words ‘useless’ and ‘worthless’ have almost the same meaning.
Q. 3. (B) Appreciation :
The poem ‘Animals’ has been penned by Walt Whitman.
The poet has broken away from the conventional use of a rhyme scheme and has
written the poem in free verse.
The chief figure of speech used in the poem is Repetition. Lines such as ‘They do not
sweat …’, ‘They do not lie awake …’, ‘They do not make me sick …’ make a strong
impact, expressing the qualities that humans should possess, but do not. The other
figures of speech are Alliteration, Tautology, Hyperbole, etc.
The central idea of the poem is that animals today are better than humans.

2 NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)]

Q. 4. (A)
A1. (i) Those who choose to live well must help others. – True
(ii) 
If neighbours grow inferior corn, cross pollination will steadily
improve the quality. – False
(iii) The farmer grew award winning corn. – True
 (iv) The reporter discovered that the farmer didn’t share his seed corn
with his neighbours. – False
A2. The consequences if :

The farmer shares his corn The farmer doesn’t share his corn
(1) There will be good corn growing in (1) There will be inferior corn growing in
and around the neighbourhood. and around the neighbourhood.
(2) Cross pollination will ensure that the (2) Cross pollination will steadily degrade
farmer too gets a good corn harvest. the quality of the farmer’s own corn.
A3. (i) superior  inferior (ii) lost  won
(iii) improve  degrade (iv) inconstantly  steadily
A4.  (i) We should help our neighbours.
(ii) The wind not only picks up pollen from ripening corn but also swirls it from field
to field.
A5. From the story, we learn that if we wish to be wealthy and successful, the people
around us must also be wealthy and successful. We cannot succeed if we do not help
our neighbours to improve. The best way of doing ourselves good is by doing good to
others. The good that we do ultimately comes back to us in some form or the other.
Title : Help others to help yourself.
Q. 4. (B) Summary :
Help others to Help Yourself
 A reporter discovered that a farmer, who grew award-winning corn, shared his
corn with his neighbours. He wondered how this could be so, for the neighbours
were also the farmer’s competitors in the state fair. The farmer replied that if his
neighbours grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would degrade the quality of his own
corn. Hence, for his corn to improve, his neighbours’ corn had also to improve. This
teaches one a lesson : Those who choose to live well must help others live well too.

For Q. 5, Q. 6 & Q. 7...

About Self-assessment of Writing Skills Questions...

While answering the writing skills questions, students are expected to write their thoughts in
their own words/language. Such answers are open-ended ones. Students may attempt these
questions on their own. Students may, however, study the answers given in the solved Activity
Sheet and consider the marking scheme given along with them. They can try to self-assess their
own answers. They can also get the guidance from their teacher, if necessary.
For more topics and study of writing skills questions, refer to
Navneet Writing Skills in English (HL) : Std. X.

NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)] 3