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Read the given passage carefully. (5)
It is a sunny August afternoon outside, but conveyer belt number 3 in the arrival lounge of the domestic terminal of New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport is full of army men in uniform. It is on this belt that the luggage from a special Indian Airlines flight for the armed forces from Srinagar is scheduled to arrive. A motley crew of army men waits for the belt to move, as other passengers pass them by, without a second glance.
Adity Varma, 27, cannot help saying, ''We don't have that respect and admiration for our army anymore. India remembers her soldiers only during war,'' he says. Though passionate about the forces, he knew when he was 16 that he would not wear the uniform. 'It's not the same army any more, everything has changed,' he says. Army families across the country share Varms's sentiment. Disillusionment, disappointment, resentment, bittersweet nostalgia, a fierce sense of pride and possessiveness, they today battle many contrasting emotions when it comes to the organization that was their universe.
From senior officers getting caught in corruption and scandals to children growing up without their fathers, with every controversy, a bit more of the army's halo is chipped away. It is a battle between an organisation holding onto its values and traditions and a world where the only value is change. And the army is losing on every front.
Choose the most appropriate options from those given below.
(a) The other passengers passed them by without giving a second glance because .............
(i) we do not have respect and admiration for our army anymore.
(ii) we remember the army only during wars.
(iii) with every scandal the army's halo is chipped away
(iv) All of the above
(b) At the age of only 16 Aditya Varma had decided.........
(i) that he would join the army.
(ii) he would marry before joining the army.
(iii) that he would never join the army.
(iv) he would join the army very soon.
(c) In the passage the word 'motley' means..........
(i) dull.
(ii) scruffy.
(iii) diversified in colour
(iv) unkempt.
(d) The organisation was their universe because
(i) earlier a lot of facilities were provided.
(ii) army means everything to them.
(iii) it was easy to get into the army
(iv) they had an easy life and good salary
(e) The army is losing its importance on every front because of..........
(i) the corruption prevailing in the army.
(ii) lack of commitment.
(iii) no ethics and values left.
(iv) All of the above
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Read the given passage carefully. (5)
Agatha Christie was probably the most successful writer in history. She wrote 78 crime novels, six other novels, 150 short stories, four non-fiction books and 19 plays. That represents two billion books sold, more than William Shakespeare!
Christie became a writer by accident. She was bored when her husband was away in the First World War. Agatha was working in a hospital dispensary (which is where she learned all the information about poisons that she used in her books). She decided to write a novel to pass the time. She chose a detective novel because she loved reading them. Her first novel, the Mysterious Affair at Styles, was an instant success. Each book had a new ingenious plot. Readers loved the books, particularly because Christie always gave the readers all the information they needed to find the solution.
Christie loved travelling. When she became rich she could go all over the world. She used the travels in her writing. Agatha Christie died in 1976, but her stories are still immensely popular. Many have been adapted for film or television.
Choose the most appropriate options from those given below.
(a) Christie was a ..........
(i) famous singer.
(ii) famous writer.
(iii) famous dancer.
(iv) famous actress.
(b) She knew a lot of things about poisons because ..........
(i) her father was a doctor.
(ii) she was ill.
(iii) her husband was a doctor in First World War.
(iv) None of the above
(c) The title of her first book was...........
(i) The Mysterious Affair at Styles.'
(ii) 'War.'
(iii) The Mysterious Prison.'
(iv) The Body in the Library.'
(d) The readers like her novels because ..........
(i) they could find who was guilty.
(ii) her books contained great love stories.
(iii) the story was easy to understand.
(iv) her stories were full of action.
(e) When she became rich she ..........
(i) travelled a lot. (ii) ate a lot.
(iii) drank a lot. (iv) spent a lot.
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Read the given passage carefully,
'Mum!' I shouted. Are you okay?' I saw her little tent shuddering in the
gale and listened closely for her response. Her voice was almost casual: 'Oh,
yes, I'm fine.' That's my mother. It was the first night of our cycling trip
through the interior of Iceland?a region so remote and inhospitable that for centuries,
according to legend, it was abandoned. The weather was decidedly
hurricane-like, but Mum wasn't concerned. Months ago, I told her about my plan
to pedal across Iceland. 'It will be really difficult,' I said. "The roads
are unpaved and often washed out and the wind is blowing constantly sometimes
so hard that it pushes you off the road." There was silence for a moment.
Then she asked, 'Can I come?' 'Sure,' I replied. "But like the rest of us,
you have to train to do two 160 kilometres a day back-to-back," 'Wow,' she
said, 'I could never do that.' I had more faith in my mother's physical abilities
than she did. I'd seen her raise six children and put in long hours doing
physical labour on our small farm. 'Sure you can,' I told her, 'Start
tomorrow.' What really concerned me was what I perceived to be her frustrating
humility, I thought her too self-deprecating about her intellect just because
she had not completed college. I felt she underestimated her attractiveness
just because she was not the type to wear make up or fancy clothes. As I had
grown into adulthood, the life I'd chosen seemed light-years away from Mum's
quiet existence, still caring for her children and her children's children.
Sometimes, on a visit home, I'd describe some recent trip I'd taken and her
blue eyes would shine with interest. So, I couldn't help thinking this trek
might revitalise Mum, who had started to slow down in her 50s. It might spice
up what I saw as her humdrum life. And it might be a boost to her tentative and
retiring persona. Mum trained furiously, months in advance. As the trip roster
was pared down to Mum, my good friend Alien and me, she stood as the most
dedicated. Soon she was riding 80-100 Ion per day and was as strong a rider as
Alien or I.
Complete the statements.
(a) The narrator describes roads across Iceland as .........
(b) The narrator had faith in his mother's physical abilities because
.........
(c) In his adulthood the narrator realised that his life was ........
(d) The narrator and his friend were sure about Mum's preparation when
.........
(e) The word in the passage which means the same as 'noticed/became aware
of is ......
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Read the given, poem carefully. (5)
Be the Best of Whatever You Are
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill, We
can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
Be a scrub in the valley, but be There's
something for all of us here,
The best little scrub by the side of the rill; There's big
work to do and there's lesser to
Be a bush if you can't be a tree. do,
And
the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make; If you can't be
a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass? If you can't be the
sun be a star;
Be the liveliest bass in the lake! It
isn't by size that you win or fail-
Be
the best of whatever you are!
Douglas Malloch
Complete the following statements.
(a) Being the best little scrub tree is as good as being a...............
(b) 'Be the liveliest bass in the lake!' Here bass means...........
(c) 'We can't all be captains, we 've got to be crew' means...........
(d) The message of the poem is................
(e) The tone of the poem is.....................
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You are Aman. Write an E-mail in about 120 words to your friend Rajat inviting him to lunch at Hotel Park Plaza. (6)
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You are Sunil Verma. Based on your reading of the Unit 3, 'Science' together with your own ideas, write an article on the topic 'Science and Human Happiness'. You may consider the visual stimuli given below,
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Your new 'Bicycle has been Stolen' from the school cycle stand. Write a notice in not more than 80 words of the loss, giving necessary details. Promise a suitable reward for the finder. Say where you can be contacted. (4)
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Read the headlines and complete the report by filling in the blanks with grammatically appropriate structures,
(a) Countdown begins
The countdown to Indian Idol-5 ______.
(b) 17 Names Announced
India's foremost and the biggest singing based talent hunt show ______ its exceptional top 17 singing sensations.
(c) Hunt for 'Desh Ki Awaaz'
One among them ______ as 'Desh Ki Awaaz'.
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In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet.
Before Missing After
(a) Egyptian pyramids served tombs for kings ___ ____ ____
(b) and queens, but they also places of ongoing ___ ____ ____
(c) religious activity. After a ruler died, his her ___ ____ ____
(d) body carefully treated and wrapped to ___ ____ ____
(e) preserve it a mummy. According to ancient ___ ____ _____
(f) Egyptian belief, the pyramid, the mummy ___ _____ ____
(g) was placed, provided a place the monarch ___ ____ ____
(h) to pass after life. ___ ____ ____
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Read the following conversation between customer and shopkeeper and complete the paragraph.
Customer Can I have a packet of biscuits?
Shopkeeper Sorry, I have only chocolates,
Customer When will biscuits be available?
Shopkeeper I can give them to you tomorrow.
The customer asked the shopkeeper (a) ____ a packet of biscuits. The shopkeeper said that he only had chocolates. The customer wanted to know (b)_______? The shopkeeper said that (c)______.
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Read the given extract carefully and answer the questions that follow,
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme.
(a) Who has composed these lines?
(b) What does 'outlive' mean?
(c) Who are these lines addressed to?
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Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.
(a) Why didn't Luigi, the driver, approve of the two boys?
(b) Mrs Packletide was a good shot. Comment.
(c) What does the phrase, Terrible fish' symbolise in the poem, 'Mirror'?
(d) What does Mrs Jordan describe as 'a fatal mistake'? What is the irony in the comment she makes on Mrs Slater's defense?
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'For now the postmaster understood AU's heart and his very soul. After spending but a single night in suspense, anxiously waiting/or news of his daughter, his heart was brimming with sympathy/or the poor old man who had spent his nights in the same suspense/or the last five years.'
At the end of the story, the postmaster accepts his fault and shows sympathy towards Alt. Imagine you are the postmaster. You have just realised what the pain of being away from your loved ones is. You and Lakshmi Das have just placed Miriam's letter on All's grave.
Write a letter to Miriam telling her about her father's love for her and how he died. (4)
or
"In today's manipulative world, it does not work to have talent only, you also need to understand how to utilise it properly." Comment in the context of the poem, 'The Frog and the Nightingale'.
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Why do you think Anne started writing a diary? (Diary of a Young Girl) (5)
or
Benevolent aspects of nature thrilled Helen, but soon she learnt that nature can be ferocious also.
Comment. (The Story of My Life)
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Throw some light on the character of Margot Frank. (Diary of a Young Girl) (5)
or
Draw a pen-portrait of Dr Alexander Graham Bell. (The Story of My Life) (5)
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