Practice Paper – TERM II (2021 – 2022)
Class – IX
English- Language and Literature (184)
Time: 2 hours Maximum Marks: 40
General Instructions:
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING & GRAMMAR and LITERATURE.
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part.
SECTION – A
Q. No.1 Read the passage given below:
The act of gardening goes back thousands of years. If gardens are beautiful to look at, imagine the pride and sense of accomplishment that the creator of such beauty can feel.
Numerous studies have been undertaken which show that gardening offers many health related benefits. The most obvious benefit of gardening is that it can be a great way to relieve stress. Work, family commitments, and social engagements are just some of the things that take up chunks of peoples’ lives. Planning the garden and then caring for the garden offers the gardener a simple and inexpensive way to unwind and relax. Gardening can help a person clear the mind.
Second most important health related benefit of gardening is that it offers nutritional benefits to those who choose to plant a vegetable garden. Creating a vegetable garden is a way of ensuring that there is a continuous supply of fresh vegetables to consume. Vegetable gardeners know exactly where their produce is coming from and they also know exactly what chemicals were used to grow the produce. Eating more vegetables, and especially home-grown vegetables, is a simple way to ensure that the body is getting a proper balance of vitamins and nutrients.
Another health related benefit of gardening is that when people tend to their gardens, they are getting exercise. Even an activity as simple as gardening can contribute towards weight loss. Gardening gets a person outdoors, exposed to natural air, and refocused on a pleasant activity.
And finally, some studies even report that people who are exposed to gardens and gardening recover more quickly from illnesses. It seems that for many people, gardening is just what the doctor ordered.
Gardening can be a creative experience as well. It’s one thing to throw some seeds down and then wait to see what grows. While gardening does not require that the participant has a degree in landscape architecture, a bit of planning will go a long way towards enhancing the beauty and the gardening experience overall.
And finally, the act of gardening teaches people the art of being patient. Unlike other activities, gardening does not produce instantaneous results. As such, a person who takes up gardening must wait for the rewards. Cut the flowers and vegetables, bring them inside and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that is gained from the benefit rich activity called gardening!
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below.
i. What are the two most important health-related benefits of gardening?
The two most important health-related benefits of gardening are: It relieves stress and offers nutritional benefits to those who choose to plant a vegetable garden.
ii. How does gardening help a person clear his or her mind?
Planning the garden and then caring for it helps a person in unwinding and relaxing thereby clearing his or her mind.
iii. When does a person know about the chemicals used to grow vegetables he or she eats?
A person knows about the chemicals used to grow vegetables only when he or she himself grows it in the garden
iv. Which human quality is enhanced through gardening?
The human quality of being patient is enhanced through gardening.
v. Which of the following words can replace the word ‘enhancing’ (para 6-7)?
A improving
B intensifying
C increasing
D enriching
vi. According to you, what are the uses of gardening? Mention any two.
Gardening can have functional and recreational uses:
Relaxation: basking in warm sunshine.
Growing useful produce: Fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Etc.
Q No. 2 Read the following excerpt from a report titled ‘Road Traffic Crashes’
Each year nearly 1.2 million people die and millions of others are injured or disabled as a result of road traffic crashes. The vast majority (over 90%) of all road traffic deaths and injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries.
In high-income countries, most of those killed or injured in road traffic crashes are drivers and passengers of four-wheeled vehicles. In low-income and middle-income countries, however, “vulnerable road users” – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and users of public transportation – constitute a higher proportion of road users, and consequently make up a larger proportion of those injured or killed on the roads.
This report focuses on young road users, defined as those under 25 years of age. The document highlights the main risk factors for road traffic injuries, noting how many of these risks are elevated in youth. It stresses that successful prevention programmes can be put in place to protect young people, and presents examples of interventions from different geographic and cultural contexts that have been shown to be effective.
Children and young people under the age of 25 years’ account for over 30% of those killed and injured in road traffic crashes. Of the 383046 road traffic deaths that were recorded in this age group around the world, at least half were road users from the World Health Organization’s African and South-East Asia Regions. However, the highest rates of road traffic fatalities in the 0-25-year age range occur among road users in the African and the Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Road traffic injuries among those under 25 years rank as the eighth leading cause of death around the world. However, when analyzed by five-year age groups the significance of road traffic injuries rises dramatically. Among 15-19 year-olds, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death, while among the 10-14 years and 20-24 years’ age groups they are the second leading cause of death. Children under five years of age, and in particular infants under 1 year, being especially vulnerable to other diseases and conditions, have the lowest ranking for road traffic deaths.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below.
i. Where do more than 90% of road traffic accidents and injuries occur?
In low-income and middle-income countries
ii. Why do you think that pedestrians and cyclists constitute a higher proportion of road users in low and middle – income countries?
Pedestrians and cyclists constitute a higher proportion of road users in low and middle – income countries because majority of people can’t afford to buy four wheeled vehicles.
iii. Identify the word which means ‘to be at risk’ (para 2 – 3)
1. Disabled
2. Intervention
3. Vulnerable
4. killed
iv. Which group accounts for 30% of those killed and injured in road traffic crashes?
Children and young people under the age of 25 years.
v. Which regions or countries have the highest rate of road traffic fatalities in the 0- 25 year age?
African and the Eastern Mediterranean regions
vi. Examine why infants under 1 year have the lowest ranking for road traffic deaths?
Infants are vulnerable to other diseases and conditions and always need an adult to carry them around.
SECTION B
Q. No.3 Attempt ANY ONE from i and ii.
i. You are Manish/Manisha, a student of class IX. Due to the pandemic situation you have been distracted from your studies and have not performed well in your Periodic Tests. Write a diary entry in not more than 120 words describing why this has happened and your resolution to do better in Annual Examination.
Diary Entry:
Format – 1 mark
Content – 2.5 marks
Expression – 1.5 marks
ii. Develop a short story with the help of the given hints. Give a suitable title to your story. (120-150 words) Ranjit — addicted to mobile phone —does not attend online class — secretly goes out with friends on a trip — lockdown happens — gets stuck— parents worry — efforts made — gets back home after many days
Story Writing:
Title – 1 mark
Content – 2 marks
Accuracy – 1 mark
Fluency – 1 mark
Q. No.4
The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Identify the error and write its correction against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the correction. The first one has been done for you.
ERROR CORECTION
Obesity is now well recognize as e.g. recognize recognized
a disease on its own right. a) ___on____ ____in____ Though obesity commonly mean overweight, b) ___mean____ ____means___ it is defined as a excess amount of body c) ___a____ _____an___ weight that includes bones and water.
Q. No.5 Read the conversation between a father and his son and complete the passage that follows:
Father: We have to pay the toll tax here.
Son: What is toll tax?
Father: This is paid by the people for the maintenance of roads
Father told his son that (a) _______________. The son (b) ______________. Father told him that it was paid by the people for the maintenance of roads.
(a) they had to pay the toll tax there
(b) asked what toll tax was
SECTION C
Q.No.6 Answer ANY SIX questions in 30 – 40 words each
i. What skills and qualities did Santosh develop after she took up climbing as a career?
Santosh developed:
* remarkable resistance to cold and the altitude
*a strong will
*physical endurance and mental toughness
ii. Justify the statement ‘Love is mutual’ with reference to the story ‘The Bond of Love’.
*The author’s wife loves her pet Bruno deeply
*Both enjoy each other’s company
* When reunited, both feel relieved
*All sadness wades away, so love is mutual
iii. What message does the poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’ convey?
*The theme revolves around brotherhood among all humans
*That people living in other parts of the world are like us in many ways
*Sends a message to stop all wars and look upon humanity as unified entity
iv. Is it possible for a “simple jab of the knife” to kill a tree? Why or why not?
* No, because a tree feeds upon the crust, absorbing years of sunlight, air and water. It rises out of the earth.
v. Pets are sweet and loveable. But every living being has its limitation. In the story ‘Packing’, how is this fact described?
*Montmorency was always ready for mischief as it was his natural habit.
*He was present where he was not wanted.
*He put his damp nose in the articles to be packed etc.
vi. Prashant decided to work towards resettling the orphans and widows. Comment.
* Prashant was a courageous boy. He guided the victims, especially women and children.
*He became the leader of the village. He appointed a group of volunteers to help the victims
* He handed over the orphans to those who lost their children.
vii. Explain why Sergei felt extremely delighted to see Lushkoff at the theatre?
Sergei felt proud of converting a beggar into a hardworking man. Lushkoff took inspiration from Olga (the cook).
Q.No.7 Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120 words each.
i. Johnsy could not get better despite the efforts made by the doctor and her friend Sue. Examine the negative feelings that keep one ailing and also discuss the values which remove such feelings and fills a person with a desire to live?
*The author tells us that our positive thoughts work as a remedy in illness
*Johnsy linked her life to the falling of ivy leaves
*Our thoughts shape our action
*Person with good thoughts enjoys life
*Pessimistic and negative thoughts ruin life
*Positive thoughts make us happy, lead us to the right path.
*Sue and Behrman help in infusing positive thoughts in Johnsy
ii. The narrator of the story ‘A house is not a Home’ would have continued to suffer miserably, if the students of the high school had not displayed the concern and warmth towards him. What did the students do for the narrator? What values do you think guided them?
*Narrator’s classmates in the new school helped him in many ways with text books, clothes and other usual things. They invited him to their houses.
*The students showed genuine concern. Narrator was really touched
* The students were empathetic towards the narrator
*The narrator was overwhelmed
iii. The intruder had come into the house with the intension to harm. If such a person is cheated by anyone else, can that be justified? Discuss on the basis of the play “If I Were You”, how does the intruder become a victim of his own wicked plan?
* Bad intensions can never be justified
*Intruder entered the house to take on the identity of Gerrard after killing him
*Gerrard makes intruder believe in his words and shows disguise outfit as proof
*Gerrard tricks the intruder and pushes him into the cupboard and calls police