SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT I, 2012

ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE EC2-028

Class - X

Time : 3 hours Maximum Marks: 90

Instructions :
The question paper is divided into four sections.
Section A : Reading 20 marks
Section B : Writing 25 marks
Section C : Grammar 20 marks
Section D : Literature 25 marks

SECTION - A
(Reading 20 Marks)

1 Read the following passage carefully : 10

In the early 1920s, settlers came to Alaska looking for gold. They travelled by
boat to the coastal towns of Seward and Knik, and from there by land into the
gold fields. The trail they used to travel inland is known today as the Iditarod
Trail, one of the National Historic Trails designated by the Congress of the
United States. The Iditarod Trail quickly became a major thoroughfare in
Alaska, as the mail and supplies were carried across this Trail. People also
used it to get from place to place, including the priests, ministers, and judges
who had to travel between villages. In the winter, the settlers only means of
travel down this trail was via dog sled.

Once the gold rush ended, many gold-seekers went back to where they had
come from, and suddenly there was much less travel on the Iditarod Trail.
The introduction of the airplane in the late 1920s meant dog teams were no
longer the standard mode of transportation, and of course with the airplane
carrying the mail and supplies, there was less need for land travel in general.
The final blow to the use of the dog teams was the appearance of
snowmobiles.

By the mid 1960s, most Alaskans didnt even know the Iditarod Trail existed,
or that dog teams had played a crucial role in Alaskas early settlements.
Dorothy G. Page, a self- made historian, recognized how few people knew
about the former use of sled dogs as working animals and about the Iditarod
Trails role in Alaskas colourful history. To raise awareness about this aspect
of Alaskan history, she came up with the idea to have a dog sled race over the
Iditarod Trail. She presented her idea to an enthusiastic musher, as dog sled
drivers are known, named Joe Redington, Sr. Soon the Pages and the
Redingtons were working together to promote the idea of the Iditarod race.

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 Many people worked to make the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race a reality
in 1967. The Aurora Dog Mushers Club, along with men from the Adult
Camp in Sutton, helped clear years of overgrowth from the first nine miles of
the Iditarod Trail. To raise interest in the race, a $25,000 purse was offered,
with Joe Redington donating one acre of his land to help raise the funds. The
short race, approximately 27 miles long, was put on a second time in 1969.

After these first two successful races, the goal was to lengthen the race a little
further to the ghost town of Iditarod by 1973. However in 1972, the U.S. Army
reopened the trail as a winter exercise, and so in 1973, the decision was made
to take the race all the way to the city of Nome- over 1,000 miles. There were
many who believed it could not be done and that it was crazy to send a bunch
of mushers out into the vast, uninhabited Alaskan wilderness. But the race
went on! Twenty two mushers finished that year, and to date over 400 people
have completed it. (509 words)

Q.1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following (1x6=6)
statements briefly.

(1) The Iditarod trail was used by __________.

(2) The Iditarod trail fell into disuse because __________.
(3) Dorothy G. Page, a self- made historian, started the Iditarod race in
order to __________.
(4) __________ helped to clear the overgrowth on the first nine miles of
the Iditarod Trail.
(5) The first and the second race took place in __________ and covered
__________.
(6) The prize for the race was __________.

1.2 Answer the following questions briefly. (1x2=2)

(1) Who is a musher ?

(2) What is the role of the US army in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ?

1.3 Give the meanings of the following words :

(1x2=2)
(1) Designated __________.
(2) Throughfare __________.

2. Read the following passage carefully. 5

Marine biologists and philosophers have joined forces to support a

controversial declaration of rights for whales and dolphins on the grounds
that their astonishing intelligence and emotional empathy puts them on a par
with humans.
Research into the complex behaviour of cetaceans- whales, dolphins and
porpoises- is revealing that these sea mammals are so highly evolved and
complex in terms of their behaviour that they deserve special protection with
a universal bill of rights, they said.

Dolphins and whales have complex vocal communications and are able to
learn an astonishing variety of behaviours when they come into contact with
humans, such as cooperative fishing with native fishermen.
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 The proponents of the bill of rights argue that the cetacean mind is so
advanced and self aware that whales and dolphins should be classified as
non-human persons who deserve the right to enjoy life, liberty and well
being.

A person needs to be an individual, said Tom White, a philosopher at the

Hilton Centre for Business in Los Angeles. The captivity of beings of this sort
particularly in conditions that would not allow for a decent life is ethically
unacceptable. So commercial whaling should be completely banned all over
the world.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following (1x5=5)
sentences by choosing the correct options from those given below :

(a) Dolphins and whales have __________.

(i) complicated behaviour
(ii) complex physical features
(iii) complex vocal communications
(iv) complex intelligence
(b) Whales and dolphins are put on a par with humans because of their
___________.
(i) emotional empathy
(ii) ability to learn and follow
(iii) excellent intelligence
(iv) astonishing intelligence and emotional empathy
(c) Whales and dolphins deserve the right to ___________.
(i) live freely
(ii) move freely
(iii) enjoy life, liberty and well being
(iv) eat freely
(d) Tom White was __________.
(i) a guide (ii) a scientist
(iii) a philosopher (iv) a businessman
(e) The word, astonishing means the same as __________.
(i) shocking (ii) surprising
(iii) impressing (iv) killing

3. Read the following poem carefully 5

The Shark

A treacherous monster is the Shark

He never makes the least remark.

And when he sees you on the sand,

He doesnt seem to want to land.

He watches you take off your clothes,

And not the least excitement shows.

His eyes do not grow bright or roll,

He has astounding self-control.
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 He waits till you are quite undrest,
And seems to take no interest
And when towards the sea you leap,
He looks as if he were asleep.

But when you once get in his range,

His whole demeanour seems to change.

He throws his body right about,

And his true character comes out.

Its no use crying or appealing,

He seems to lose all decent feeling.

After this warning you will wish

To keep clear of this treacherous fish.

3.1 On the basis of your reading of the above poem, complete the following 1x5=5
statements by choosing the correct options.

(i) The shark does not make any remark because ______________.
(a) he does not have any interest in disturbing anyone
(b) he wants to take rest as he is very tired.
(c) he wants to meet the other sharks
(d) he wants to attack you at the right time.
(ii) The shark neither makes its eyes big nor rolls them because
______________.
(a) he is feeling sleepy
(b) he has determination to keep quiet.
(c) he has no interest in you.
(d) he is not hungry
(iii) The meaning of demeanour is _______________.
(a) nature
(b) appearance
(c) movement
(d) behaviour
(iv) The shark loses his decent feeling because ____________.
(a) he has been waiting since long for his prey
(b) he is very tired
(c) he has become angry with you
(d) he feels very curious about you.
(vi) The shark is called treacherous because ____________.
(a) he makes you feel comfortable
(b) he wants to have a wrong impression about it to make you fall
in its trap
(c) he wants to play with you
(d) he wants to observe you

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 SECTION B
(WRITING 25 MARKS)

4. You are Amit/ Sita, Cultural Secretary of R.P. School, Nainital. The school is 4
organising an inter class debate competition on Abuse of Environment.
Write a notice in about 50 words, giving necessary details.

5. The bar graph given below shows nutrient content of some common food 6
items. Briefly summarise the data making appropriate comparisons in about
100 words.

6. There has been a major change in the learning and evaluation of children with 7
C.B.S.E introducing C.C.E. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily
highlighting the importance of the activity based learning in schools. Write
the letter in about 120 words.

7. Based on your reading of the unit, Health and Medicine. Write a speech in 8
about 150 words on the topic, Health is Wealth.

SECTION C
(GRAMMAR 20 MARKS)

8. Read the paragraph given below and fill in the blanks with options that x8=4
follow :
Amitabh Bachchan is (a) _____________ of the greatest actors this country has
produced. His fluency, his gift of timing, his command (b) _____________ the
language is unparalleled. (c) ____________ his histrionic talents too are among
the (d) ________________ this country (e) ____________ produced. Even now
he (f) ______________ to be the (g) ____________ popular actor of the country.
He (h) ______________ been declared as The Actor of the Millenium by the
BBC Poll.
(a) (i) one (ii) two (iii) a (iv) of
(b) (i) of (ii) over (iii) off (iv) upon
(c) (i) Never (ii) Otherwise (iii) Always (iv) Sometimes
(d) (i) best (ii) better (iii) worst (iv) good
(e) (i) was (ii) have (iii) has (iv) had
(f) (i) continues (ii) continued
(iii) is continuing (iv) has continued
(g) (i) more (ii) most (iii) much (iv) very
(h) (i) has (ii) had (iii) have (iv) is

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9. Complete the following paragraph by filling in the blanks with the help of 1x4=4
given options.

The Boston tea party began when England (a) _____________unfair taxes on
the prices of imported items. Cloth, tea and spices (b) _____________ abused
because tea was new, cloth was essential, and spices were used for cooking.
Settlers in New England (c) _____________ these outrageous sums. When a
new boat full of tea (d) _____________ unguarded, the settlers knew this was
probably their only chance.
(a) (i) begun to put (ii) began putting
(iii) has began to put (iv) begins to putting.
(b) (i) were mere (ii) was much
(iii) were most (iv) was much
(c) (i) refuses to pay (ii) refuse to pay
(iii) refuses paying (iv) refused to pay.
(d) (i) will be left (ii) was left
(iii) has been left (iv) had left

10. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each x8=4
line. Identify the error and write it along with the correction (as shown
below). Underline the correct word as shown in the example.
Error Correction
Enid Blyton books are, of course, of primary e.g : of for
school children. Many were suitable for old (a) _______ _______
primary school children, but any are (b) _______ _______
especially write for new readers (c) _______ _______
in a early primary school years. Here, (d) _______ _______
both the vocabulary or story lines are (e) _______ _______
tailored of young children. However, the (f) _______ _______
Blyton books are not high imaginative (g) _______ _______
books that may imprint at your minds (h) _______ _______
a picture of artistic faculty.

11. Rearrange the following words/phrases to make meaningful sentences. 1x4=4

(a) have been/ by/ infuriated/ I/ of/ etiquette/ lack/ peoples

(b) cannot/ freedom/ away/ be/ taken/ one/ from/ of speech
(c) cannot/ speaking/ yet one/ all the time/ keep on
(d) to be/ a chance/ others/yet/ also have/ given/ to speak

12 Read the following conversation and complete the paragraph given below. 1x4=4
Customer : Can I have a small bottle of tomato sauce ?
Shopkeeper : Sorry, I have only big bottles.
Customer : When will it be available ?
Shopkeeper : I can give it to you tomorrow.
Customer : Thank you, then I will come for it tomorrow.

The customer asked the shopkeeper (a) ___________. The shopkeeper felt
sorry and said that he had only big bottles. The customer wanted to know
(b) __________. The shopkeeper said (c) __________. The customer thanked
him and said that (d)__________.

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 SECTION - D
(LITERATURE 25 MARKS)

13A. Read the extract given below and complete the statements that follow with 1x3=3
the help of given options.

Neither stones nor prayers nor sticks,

Insults or complaints or bricks
Stilled the frogs determination
To display his hearts elation.

(a) The stones were thrown at the ______________.

(i) frog (ii) nightingale
(iii) birds (iv) tree
(b) The frog determined to __________.
(i) sing from dusk to dawn
(ii) sing from dawn to dusk
(iii) perch upon the sumac tree
(iv) croak from dusk to dawn
(c) The figure of speech in line 1 is __________.
(i) simile (ii) metaphor
(iii) alliteration (iv) personification
1x3=3
13B. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow in brief.

An old man was walking through the town, now and again drawing his
tattered clothes tighter to shield his body from the cold and beating wind.
(a) Who is the old man ?
(b) Where is he going ?
(c) Why is he going there ?
1x3=3
13C. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow in brief
in your answer sheet.

It didnt take you long to start

dividing my things between you.
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) Who were dividing the speakers things between them ?
(c) Why were they doing that ?

14. Answer any four of the following in 30-40 words each. 2x4=8
(a) How do you know that Ali was a familiar figure at the post office ?
(b) Why didnt the narrator go inside Lucias room in the hospital ? What
character trait is revealed here?
(a) Compare and contrast the characters of Victoria and her mother ?
(a) What was the frogs reaction when the earnings from the box office
dropped ?
(a) Why are the candles and the moon called liars ?

15 Answer the following question in about 150 words. 8

One fine day Miriam visits her father when he was still alive. Ali, no sooner
he sees her, collapses, on account of extreme joy. She too is broken and is
shocked to realise that she has caused his death! Write down her feelings in
the form of a diary entry.
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 OR
The narrator decides to write an article on Dignity of Child Labour, keeping
in mind Nicola and Jacopo, who preferred- to do odd jobs to earn money for
their ailing sister. They might have easily resorted to begging for the
treatment of their sister. But they didnt. Write his article.

-oOo-

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