English · Sample Paper 2

General instructions

Section A · Reading skills

1. Question 110 marks

   Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

   1. In the dry hills of a western Indian district, the wells used to run empty by February. Women walked for hours to fetch water, and many families left for the cities after every harvest. Today, the same villages have water in their wells till the monsoon returns. The change did not come from a large dam or a pipeline. It came from thousands of small, patient efforts.

   2. Villagers, guided by a local voluntary group, dug trenches along the slopes so that rain would soak into the ground instead of rushing away. They built small check dams of stone across seasonal streams, and they revived old ponds that had silted up. Each village formed a water committee, and everyone, including the landless, had a say in how the water would be shared.

   3. The committees also made hard rules. Farmers agreed not to grow sugarcane, which drinks enormous amounts of water, and not to dig borewells deeper than a fixed limit. Grazing was banned on the newly planted slopes for three years so that grass and saplings could take root.

   4. The results were slow to show. For the first two years, very little seemed to change. But by the fourth year, the water table had risen by several metres. Farmers could now grow a second crop, and fewer families migrated. Children, especially girls, who had once spent their mornings carrying water, were back in school.

   5. Experts who visit these villages often say that the real achievement is not the trenches or the dams. It is the trust that the villagers built with one another — the belief that if everyone gives up a little, everyone gains a great deal.

   Answer the following (1 mark each):

   (i) What problem did the villages face before the change?

   (ii) Why did many families leave for the cities?

   (iii) Name any two structures the villagers built or revived.

   (iv) Why were trenches dug along the slopes?

   (v) Why did the farmers agree not to grow sugarcane?

   (vi) Why was grazing banned on the slopes for three years?

   (vii) Which of these is NOT mentioned as a result? (a) a second crop (b) less migration (c) a new factory (d) girls back in school

   (viii) According to experts, what is the real achievement of the villages?

   (ix) Find a word in paragraph 2 that means 'brought back to life'.

   (x) Find a word in paragraph 4 that means 'moved away to live elsewhere'.

2. Question 210 marks

   Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

   A survey of 800 households in a city asked how they deal with their household waste.

   • 35% of households separate wet (kitchen) waste from dry waste every day; 25% do it sometimes; 40% never separate waste.
   • Of the households that separate waste, 30% compost their kitchen waste at home.
   • The most common reason for not separating waste (given by 55% of non-separating households) was 'the collector mixes it anyway'. The second (30%) was 'lack of space for two bins'.
   • After the city introduced separate collection trucks for wet and dry waste in two wards, the share of households separating waste daily in those wards rose from 35% to 62% within six months.
   • Households that compost reported sending about 60% less waste to the collector.

   Answer the following (1 mark each):

   (i) How many households were surveyed?

   (ii) What percentage of households never separate their waste?

   (iii) What percentage of households separate waste at least sometimes?

   (iv) What do 30% of the waste-separating households do with their kitchen waste?

   (v) What was the most common reason for not separating waste?

   (vi) The second most common reason was: (a) no time (b) lack of space for two bins (c) bad smell (d) high cost

   (vii) What step did the city take in two wards?

   (viii) By how many percentage points did daily separation rise in those wards?

   (ix) How much less waste did composting households send to the collector?

   (x) What does the data suggest is needed to make people separate waste?

Section B · Grammar and writing

1. Question 31 mark

   Choose the correct option to fill in the blank:

   The students ______ the project before the teacher arrived.

   1. A.complete
   2. B.have completed
   3. C.had completed
   4. D.will complete
2. Question 41 mark

   Choose the correct modal:

   You ______ not shout in the hospital.

   1. A.need
   2. B.should
   3. C.might
   4. D.could
3. Question 51 mark

   Choose the correct option:

   The committee ______ divided in their opinions.

   1. A.is
   2. B.was
   3. C.were
   4. D.has
4. Question 61 mark

   Choose the correct determiner:

   She has ______ friends in the new city, so she feels lonely.

   1. A.a few
   2. B.few
   3. C.little
   4. D.a little
5. Question 71 mark

   Choose the correct reported form:

   Meera said, "I have finished my homework."

   1. A.Meera said that she has finished her homework.
   2. B.Meera said that she had finished her homework.
   3. C.Meera said that I had finished my homework.
   4. D.Meera told that she finished her homework.
6. Question 81 mark

   Identify the error and choose the correct option:

   One of my friend is a doctor.

   1. A.One → Ones
   2. B.friend → friends
   3. C.is → are
   4. D.a → the
7. Question 91 mark

   Choose the correct passive form:

   Someone has stolen my bicycle.

   1. A.My bicycle was stolen.
   2. B.My bicycle has been stolen.
   3. C.My bicycle is stolen.
   4. D.My bicycle had been stolen.
8. Question 101 mark

   Choose the correct preposition:

   She is good ______ mathematics.

   1. A.in
   2. B.at
   3. C.on
   4. D.with
9. Question 111 mark

   Choose the correct reported form:

   The guide said to the tourists, "Please do not touch the paintings."

   1. A.The guide requested the tourists not to touch the paintings.
   2. B.The guide said the tourists please not touch the paintings.
   3. C.The guide requested the tourists to not touching the paintings.
   4. D.The guide told to the tourists not touch the paintings.
10. Question 121 mark

    Choose the correct option:

    Hardly ______ the station when the train left.

    1. A.I had reached
    2. B.had I reached
    3. C.I reached
    4. D.did I reached
11. Question 135 marks

    You are Aditi/Arjun, 14 Lake View, Bhopal. Write a letter in about 120 words to the Municipal Commissioner about frequent water-logging on the main road near your school during the monsoon, and suggest solutions.

12. OR

    Question 135 marks

    You are Simran/Sameer, 22 Civil Lines, Lucknow. Write a letter in about 120 words to the manager of an online store complaining about a defective mobile phone delivered to you, and asking for a replacement.

13. Question 145 marks

    The table shows the average number of hours per week that students of a school spent on different activities in 2020 and 2025. Write an analytical paragraph in about 120 words on the data.

    | Activity | 2020 | 2025 | |---|---|---| | Outdoor sports | 6 | 3 | | Reading (non-school books) | 4 | 2 | | Social media and gaming | 8 | 15 | | Hobbies (music, art) | 3 | 4 |

14. OR

    Question 145 marks

    The data below shows the share of electricity generated from different sources in a state in 2015 and 2025. Write an analytical paragraph in about 120 words on the data.

    | Source | 2015 | 2025 | |---|---|---| | Coal | 70% | 52% | | Solar | 3% | 20% | | Wind | 7% | 12% | | Hydro | 20% | 16% |

Section C · Literature

1. Question 155 marks

   Read the extract and answer the questions that follow.

   The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree

   Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I had rued.

   (i) What did the crow do? (1 mark)

   (ii) What was the poet's mood before this happened? (1 mark)

   (iii) What does 'rued' mean? (1 mark)

   (iv) Why are the crow and the hemlock tree unusual choices for the poet? (1 mark)

   (v) What is the message of the poem? (1 mark)

2. OR

   Question 155 marks

   Read the extract and answer the questions that follow.

   If ever you should go by chance To jungles in the East; And if there should to you advance A large and tawny beast, If he roars at you as you're dyin' You'll know it is the Asian Lion.

   (i) Where does the poet suggest the reader may go? (1 mark)

   (ii) How is the beast described? (1 mark)

   (iii) How will you know it is the Asian lion? (1 mark)

   (iv) What is the tone of the extract? (1 mark)

   (v) Find a word in the extract that means 'brownish-yellow'. (1 mark)

3. Question 162 marks

   In 'His First Flight', what finally made the young seagull fly?

4. Question 172 marks

   Why did Hari Singh return to Anil in 'The Thief's Story'?

5. Question 182 marks

   What lesson does the boy learn when he loses his ball in 'The Ball Poem'?

6. Question 192 marks

   Why did Bholi refuse to marry Bishamber?

7. Question 203 marks

   Why did Lencho think the post office employees were 'a bunch of crooks'? What does this show about him?

8. OR

   Question 203 marks

   How did Mijbil amuse himself in his new home?

9. Question 213 marks

   Describe the role of the baker in the Goan village life as told in 'A Baker from Goa'.

10. Question 223 marks

    Why does Amanda want to be a mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel?

11. Question 233 marks

    How was Horace Danby himself robbed in 'A Question of Trust'?

12. Question 243 marks

    How was the narrator fooled by Bill in 'The Hack Driver'?

13. Question 256 marks

    'The Proposal' is a satire on the institution of marriage among the rich. Discuss with reference to the play.

14. OR

    Question 256 marks

    How did the Buddha help Kisa Gotami understand the truth about death?

15. Question 266 marks

    How did Ausable outwit Max in 'The Midnight Visitor'? What qualities of Ausable does the story highlight?

16. OR

    Question 266 marks

    Griffin was a brilliant scientist but a lawless person. Justify with reference to 'Footprints without Feet'.