cbse sample papers pre mid term exam class 9 communicative english paper 2

CBSE Sample Papers for Pre-Mid Term Exam Class 9 Communicative English – Paper 2

Sample Paper 2

Strictly based on the Latest Scheme Of Assessement, the latest Syllabus and Design of the Question paper released by the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi effective from academic   year 2017-18.

SECTION A : READING                                                                                                                                                   (20 MARKS)

Question 1:
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :   [8]
At the end of the 16th century, economic historians tell us, India’s wealth sustained more than a hundred million people. With plenty of stable land, its agriculture was vibrant with productivity comparable to the best in the world. The economy produced a great financial surplus, and the annual revenues of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1659-1701) were more than ten times those of his contemporary’ Louis XIV, the richest king of Europe. This supported the growing Mughal empire and financed spectacular monuments like the Taj Mahal.
The Indian peasant, however, was very poor. Because the rapacious Mughal State took away something like half the agricultural product, there was little incentive to improve the land.
The English, who learned about textiles from India, soon turned the tables in the late 18th century. They began making textiles with machines and this began the west’s industrial revolution, and brought it amazing prosperity. We blamed the Britain for impoverishing us, but the question is why India did not experience an industrial revolution.
Since Britain’s industrial revolution there has been for the first time in recorded history a continuous flow of inventions. Moreover, these have been absorbed commercially as profitable innovations. History teaches that a nation’s ability to absorb these innovations and create an industrial revolution depends on having the right institutions in place—for example, property rights, schools, and stable governance.
In the second half of the 20th century, the Far-Eastern nations demonstrated that it can be done—a poor nation can become rich, and very quickly. They took less than thirty years to transform their societies, whereas the West needed a hundred. After the reforms, India too is poised to do it soon-as long as we keep vigorously reforming our damaging socialist institutions and investing in education.

(Courtesy : The Times of India)

(a) What do the historians tell us about India’s economic conditions at the end of 16th century?   [1]
(b) How does the writer prove that there was great financial surplus in the 17th century? [1]
(c) Give one reason that the Indian peasant remained very poor, in spite of the surplus under the Mughals?[1]
(d) Does the writer blame Britain for making us a poor country? Why? Why not? [1]
(e) What do we need to create an industrial revolution? [1]
(f) What did the Far Eastern nations prove in the second half of the 20th century? [1]
(g) Give one advantage of Britain’s industrial revolution for other countries. [1]
(h) How can India also         follow the Far Eastern example and get rid of poverty? [1]

Question 2:
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :             [12]
It is now high time to do our own share in protecting the Earth and her wonderful creatures. Here are some practical and small ways that would make our planet get a sigh of relief Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Make it a habit to reduce the number of the things we need or we consume. Purchase things that we really need and eat only what you must. Let us do our share not to be part of the problem or should I say part of the garbage problem. Reuse all the things that can still be repaired/fixed or those things that are still okay. Recycle things to conserve our resources; collect old newspapers, books, magazines, used papers, bottles (plastic and glass), and any other thing that you could sell to junkyards. These is money in garbage and at the same time we ‘re doing our part in recycling process.
Be kind to trees. Use forest products and timber judiciously. You may use the back of coupons, use pencils until they become as small as possible, and don’t play with matches. Try to get involved in trees planting in your conservation programme. This could be fun as trees can give us added oxygen, shade for people and a refuge to different insects and birds.
Do not buy exotic and endangered animals. These animals are intended to be in the wild not as mere decorations to your home or as pets or playthings. Educate our children, friends and even our local community about the harmful effects of dynamite fishing, illegal logging, animal poaching, over reliance on wood products and other environmental issues.
Be responsible with your garbage, dispose it properly. Also try to use segregation scheme with your trashes, separate those decomposable from those that are non-biodegradable. You may utilise a compost pit to house all of your organic trashes and eventually use this as your fertiliser for your backyard or for your plants.
When visiting any tourism site/protected parks behave responsibly and adhere to the rules and regulations of the park even if no one is looking at you. Learn how to appreciate nature and her gifts to mankind and support any environmental campaigns that will help nature and protect the only planet we live on.
(a) What does the writer mean by the Earth’s wonderful creatures? [2]
(b) Why does the writer want us to make a habit of reuse and reduce? [2]
(c) What is the main objective of the passage according to the writer? [2]
(d) Mention the final advice given to us by the writer and its significance. [2]
(e) Give the synonym of the word ‘wonderful’. [1]
(f) Replace the phrase ‘to stick firmly’ by the word given in the last paragraph. [1]
(g) Find out the word in the paragraph 3 which is the antonym of ‘carelessly’.? [1]
(h) Give the noun form of ‘appreciate’. [1]

SECTION B : WRITING AND GRAMMAR                               (30 MARKS)

Question 3:
Not all old people are likely to write a bestseller like ‘Baghban’. One glaring fact is that with the crumbling of socio-economic structure, the nuclear family has choked communication channels within the family and social equations have changed. The elderly parents are looked upon as a liability, rather than help at hand. There are lots of problems facing them, along with psychological pressures. Write an article in about 100-120 words on the topic ‘Loneliness and Neglect of the Elderly — A Depressing Phenomenon’. You can refer to the M.C.B. Unit – ‘People’.                                 [8]

Question 4:
Write a short story in about 200-250 words with the given outline.           [12]
a small boy — bullied by the school bully — twin sister challenges the big bully — corridor full of students — recess —bully cornered — beats a hasty retreat — loud laughter follows him.

Question 5:
Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate words from the given options.   [ ½ x 6 = 3]
Unconsciousness is a state (a) ______ the person appears to be in deep sleep from which he/she (b) __________  be awoken. The individual does not respond to (c) ____________external stimuli, like sprinkling cold water on the face, and (d) _____________ that matter even painful ones like piercing with a pin, tingling a nerve, etc. This insensible state is (e)_________ about by some interference in the normal functioning of the brain and (f)_________ nervous system.

Question 6:
The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correct word in the answer sheet against the correct blank number.   [4]

Question 7:
Rearrange the following jumbled up words into meaningful sentences. [3]
(a) pay / the / had to / poor farmers / high taxes / very
(b) natural disasters / farmers / share of taxes / even / pay / their / in times of / the / had to
(c) also / cultivate / they / asked them to / had to / those / which / crops / the English

SECTION C : LITERATURE TEXTBOOK AND EXTENDED READING TEXT (30 MARKS)

Question 8:
Read one of the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow :                                     [4]
In 1953, Hooper was a favoured young man. A big genuine grin civilized his highly competitive
nature. Standing six-foot-one, he’d played on the university football team. He was already a
hard-charging zone sales manager for a chemical company. Everything was going for him.
(a) With reference to Hooper, the author says, “Everything was going for him.”What does it imply?
(b) What was Hooper’s occupation?
(c) How was Hooper well-suited for the job?
(d) What does the author want to say by the word ‘civilized’?

OR

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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference
(a) Which road did the poet leave?
(b) When will the poet look back on his life?
(c) Why do you think the poet says this “with a sigh”?
(d) Why was the narrator sorry?

Question 9:
Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words :                         [8]
(a) How do we know that the grandmother was determined to read?
(b) Why do you think Charles Hooper’s appointment as Assistant National Manager is consid ­ered to be a tribute to Duke?
(c) In reference to the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, do you believe in making choices that are acceptable and less risky or ones
which are adventurous, ambitious, and unconventional?
(d) What according to the poet, is the duty of a traveller?

Question 10:
Answer one of the following questions in about 100-120 words :         [8]
Who was Duke? Why was he loved by his master’s family so much?

OR

Suppose you are the poet standing at the point of diversion in the forest. Describe the dilemma you go through while choosing any one of the roads and reasons for it in a letter to your friend.

Question 11:
Answer one of the following questions in about 150-200 words :         [10]
In spite of his terror, Gulliver feels that he is more civilised, therefore less violent and more reasonable than these large creatures. Quote an observation by Gulliver which supports this view.

OR

Describe how the three wisemen examined Gulliver, their views and their final verdict. Bring out the humour and satire in the description.

OR

“Now I’m not like that. I can’t sit still and see another man slaving and working. I want to get up and superintend, and walk around with my hand in my pockets and tell him what to do. It is my energetic nature. I can’t help it.”What does this reveal about the narrator’s character?

OR

Over confidence sometimes leads us into a tight spot. Do you agree with this statement? How does Harris fit in this particular situation?

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