English · Sample Paper 3

General instructions

Section A · Reading skills

1. Question 110 marks

   Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

   1. Every morning at six, Lakshmi Amma opens the gate of her small nursery on the edge of the town. For thirty years she has grown saplings of neem, mango, jamun and gulmohar, and sold them for little more than the cost of the pot. Schools, temples and young couples planting a tree for a new baby all come to her.

   2. She did not set out to be a gardener. When her husband fell ill, she needed a way to earn money without leaving home. A neighbour gave her a handful of neem seeds and showed her how to sow them in old milk packets. The first batch sold out within a week, and she never looked back.

   3. Lakshmi Amma keeps a notebook in which she writes the name of every buyer and the tree they took. Years later, she sometimes visits them. 'A sapling is like a child,' she says. 'Planting it is easy. Looking after it for the first two summers is the real work.' She refuses to sell trees to anyone who cannot tell her where they will plant them.

   4. Today, students from the local college help her on weekends and have started a social media page for the nursery. Orders now come from nearby villages, and the municipality has asked her to supply saplings for the new road divider.

   5. When asked how many trees she has grown, she laughs and points to the shady streets around her. 'Count them yourself,' she says.

   Answer the following (1 mark each):

   (i) What kind of trees does Lakshmi Amma grow? Name any two.

   (ii) Who are her usual buyers?

   (iii) Why did she start the nursery?

   (iv) What did her neighbour give her?

   (v) Why does she keep a notebook?

   (vi) According to her, what is 'the real work' in growing a tree?

   (vii) Why does she refuse to sell trees to some people?

   (viii) The tone of the last paragraph is: (a) proud and modest (b) angry (c) sad (d) boastful

   (ix) Find a word in paragraph 1 that means 'young trees'.

   (x) Find a word in paragraph 3 that means 'declines'.

2. Question 210 marks

   Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

   A town's sports club recorded how its 400 junior members (aged 10–16) spent their time at the club over one year.

   • 35% played football, 25% played badminton, 20% swam, 12% played cricket and 8% did athletics.
   • Members who came at least four times a week improved their fitness test scores by 30% on average; those who came once a week improved by 8%.
   • Attendance was highest in October–November and lowest in April, when school exams were held.
   • 60 members took part in district-level competitions, and 15 of them won medals.
   • In a feedback survey, 70% of members asked for more evening coaching slots.

   Answer the following (1 mark each):

   (i) How many junior members does the club have?

   (ii) Which sport was the most popular?

   (iii) How many members swam?

   (iv) What was the percentage improvement for members who came four times a week?

   (v) In which month was attendance the lowest, and why?

   (vi) How many members won medals at the district level?

   (vii) What fraction of competitors won medals? (a) 1/2 (b) 1/4 (c) 1/3 (d) 1/5

   (viii) What did most members ask for in the survey?

   (ix) How many members did athletics?

   (x) What conclusion can you draw about regular practice?

Section B · Grammar and writing

1. Question 31 mark

   Choose the correct option to fill in the blank:

   Look! The children ______ in the rain.

   1. A.dance
   2. B.are dancing
   3. C.danced
   4. D.have danced
2. Question 41 mark

   Choose the correct modal:

   You ______ see a doctor if the pain continues.

   1. A.should
   2. B.can
   3. C.may
   4. D.would
3. Question 51 mark

   Choose the correct option:

   The teacher, along with her students, ______ visiting the museum.

   1. A.are
   2. B.is
   3. C.were
   4. D.have
4. Question 61 mark

   Choose the correct determiner:

   He didn't have ______ money to buy the book.

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

   Choose the correct reported form:

   Ravi said, "I bought a new bicycle yesterday."

   1. A.Ravi said that he bought a new bicycle yesterday.
   2. B.Ravi said that he had bought a new bicycle the day before.
   3. C.Ravi said that I had bought a new bicycle the day before.
   4. D.Ravi told that he has bought a new bicycle.
6. Question 81 mark

   Identify the error and choose the correct option:

   She is one of the best player in the team.

   1. A.is → was
   2. B.best → better
   3. C.player → players
   4. D.in → of
7. Question 91 mark

   Choose the correct passive form:

   The police will catch the thief.

   1. A.The thief will be caught by the police.
   2. B.The thief will catch by the police.
   3. C.The thief is caught by the police.
   4. D.The thief would be caught by the police.
8. Question 101 mark

   Choose the correct preposition:

   The book is ______ the table.

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

   Choose the correct reported form:

   The mother said to her son, "Don't play in the sun."

   1. A.The mother told her son not to play in the sun.
   2. B.The mother said her son don't play in the sun.
   3. C.The mother told her son to not playing in the sun.
   4. D.The mother asked that her son not play in sun.
10. Question 121 mark

    Choose the correct option:

    If I ______ you, I would apologise.

    1. A.am
    2. B.was
    3. C.were
    4. D.be
11. Question 135 marks

    Write a descriptive paragraph in about 120 words describing a rainy day in your town — the sights, sounds and smells, and how people go about their work.

12. OR

    Question 135 marks

    Write a descriptive paragraph in about 120 words describing your best friend — appearance, nature and the qualities you value most.

13. Question 145 marks

    Complete the story in about 120 words, giving it a suitable title:

    Meera had practised for the school quiz for weeks. On the day of the final, just as the last question was read out, the lights in the hall went off...

14. OR

    Question 145 marks

    Write a diary entry in about 120 words about a school trip to a historical monument — what you saw and learnt and how you felt.

Section C · Literature

1. Question 155 marks

   Read the extract and answer the questions that follow.

   Away, away in the Northland, Where the hours of the day are few, And the nights are so long in winter That they cannot sleep them through;

   (i) Where is the Northland? (1 mark)

   (ii) What is special about the days in the Northland? (1 mark)

   (iii) Why can't the people sleep through the winter nights? (1 mark)

   (iv) Which poetic device is used in 'Away, away'? (1 mark)

   (v) Name the poet. (1 mark)

2. OR

   Question 155 marks

   Read the extract and answer the questions that follow.

   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

   (i) When will the poet tell this story? (1 mark)

   (ii) Why will he tell it 'with a sigh'? (1 mark)

   (iii) Which road did he choose? (1 mark)

   (iv) What has 'made all the difference'? (1 mark)

   (v) What does the road 'less traveled by' stand for? (1 mark)

3. Question 162 marks

   Why did Margie hate school in 'The Fun They Had'?

4. Question 172 marks

   How did Kezia's feelings towards her father change at the end of 'The Little Girl'?

5. Question 182 marks

   What does the poet say about weak people in the poem 'Wind'?

6. Question 192 marks

   How did Lushkoff change at the end of 'The Beggar'?

7. Question 203 marks

   Why did Einstein write a letter to President Roosevelt? How did he react when the atom bomb was used?

8. OR

   Question 203 marks

   Contrast the atmosphere at Pashupatinath temple and the Boudhanath stupa as described in 'Kathmandu'.

9. Question 213 marks

   Why does the poet want to go to Innisfree? What kind of life will he live there?

10. Question 223 marks

    What is the tone of the poem 'On Killing a Tree'? What message does the poet give?

11. Question 233 marks

    Why did the lost child no longer want the toys and sweets he had wanted earlier?

12. Question 243 marks

    Describe the ghost story Iswaran told Mahendra and how it affected him.

13. Question 256 marks

    How did Santosh Yadav break the traditional mould and reach the top? What qualities does her life show?

14. OR

    Question 256 marks

    How did the guru save his disciple in 'In the Kingdom of Fools'? What does the story teach?

15. Question 266 marks

    Imagine you are the author of 'A House Is Not a Home'. Write a diary entry about the day your cat came back.

16. OR

    Question 266 marks

    Describe the humour in 'The Snake and the Mirror'.