SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT – I (2015-16)
ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE
Class - IX
Maximum Marks: 70
Time: 3 hours
Instructions :
The question paper is divided into Three sections.
Section A
:
Reading
Section B
:
Writing & Grammar
Section C
:
Literature & Long Reading Text
20 marks
25 marks
25 marks
SECTION A
(READING :20 marks)
1
Read the passage given below and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow :
(1x8)
Many years ago, when the art of stunting plants was quite unheard of except in remote areas of India,
Buddhist monks in isolated monasteries in Tibet stunted trees like the oak, orange tree, peepal tree,
watching with excitement, the tree still flowering and bearing fruit regardless of this „deformity.‟ Since
the trees looked so artistically beautiful, the art was learnt by some Chinese monks who taught
“Bonsai” making, an art that became most sought after in China. Every garden, among plant lovers,
had at least half a dozen „bonsais‟ .China and India claimed rights of the art, till Japan followed,
fascinated by its beauty. Today Japan leads in Bonsai making of plants and has devised new methods
to make the plants look aesthetic and artistic. The most beautiful is the cherry blossom that is
breathtakingly attractive. The Bonsai remains full grown for even more than ten years, although it
needs constant pruning, watering, shaping and correct environment. The trees can be planted in
colourful containers of your choice.
Innumerable schools have mushroomed where the art is taught and cultivated. Best known among
them is the Indian Bonsai Association.
India has great demand for Bonsai in hotels, homes, garden houses, farm houses, Restaurants, guest
houses, invariably decorate lobbies, dining halls, drawing rooms with these exotic plants. It is aptly
said, that „a thing of beauty is a joy forever.‟ Indeed the Bonsai lasts in one‟s imagination long after the
plant has lived its life span.
Bonsai gardeners use methods including wiring branches, extreme pruning of roots and branches, root
binding, grafting, and custom soil and cinder mixtures. But perhaps the most important element of all is
patience. Instructions for achieving the "roots over rock" effect give insight into the work of a bonsai
artist: trim the roots, place the rock, bind roots, then re-pot and wait two years. Often a bonsai is
created by many hands over the years---a highly prized tree is one where the hand and ego of the artist
become invisible, as in the Zen concept of "artless art."
(a)
Who first began to stunt trees and plants?
(b)
Which Bonsai is breathtakingly attractive?
(c)
Who leads in the art of stunting today?
(d)
How can we take care of plants?
(e)
What is the life span of a bonsai?
(f)
Where is great demand for bonsai in India?
(g)
Why does the writer say „a thing of beauty is a joy forever?‟
(h)
2
8
The word „charmed‟ means ------------------.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
(2x4)+(1x4)=12
With at least a month-and-a-half break in the school schedule for the summer, entertaining
children can be a tough challenge. While students look forward to vacations to let off steam, looking
after them or taking them on a holiday is a tough task. As more and more couples are taking to work
and opting out of the joint family fold, children‟s recreation options during vacations are limited to just
television or comics. Sending a kid to a summer camp during vacations, something unheard of till a
decade ago has become an unavoidable circumstance today.
12
These summer camps are conducted over a short period of four to five weeks involving interesting and
fun- filled activities. A whole new world is opened up for the child, who can have a taste of adventure
or sports or he can be part of a personality development camp. Camps offer interesting and fun-filled
activities and artistic pursuits like painting, music; classes like craft, cookery, courses in spoken English
to lessons in yoga, cricket or even trekking, rafting and rock-climbing.
Camps develop the child‟s confidence, as he is encouraged to do things on his own. Very active and
aggressive children are benefited by these camps as their energies are fruitfully used. They are an ideal
place for a child to learn about social skills and also have fun in the process. The camp experience is
specially designed to provide all of these developmental needs for children. Consider camp as the
perfect partner to family, school, and community youth activities in helping your child learn
independence, decision-making, social and emotional skills, character building and values-all in an
atmosphere of creativity and enrichment under the supervision of positive adult role models.
In today's pressure-oriented society, the camp provides a non-threatening environment for the
youth to be active, to develop competence in life skills, to learn about and enhance their own
abilities and to benefit from meaningful participation in a community designed just for them.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
What is a „summer camp‟ ?
What helps reduce the stress from the pressure oriented society, for the youth ?
How are camps beneficial for very active and aggressive children ?
Why are „camps‟ considered a perfect partner for children ?
What is meant by „schedule‟ ? (Para 1)
What is meant by „recreation‟ ? (Para 1)
Find the word opposite in meaning to „slavery‟. (Para 3)
Find the word opposite in meaning to „meaningless‟. (Para 4)
SECTION B
(WRITING & GRAMMAR: 25 Marks)
3
Ramesh, a student of class IX stood first in the Poem Recitation Competition and was 5
awarded the prize in the school assembly. Since it was his first achievement, he was elated. He
decided to write a diary entry. Write the diary entry for him in about 100 -120 words.
4
Develop a story in about 150-200 words using the following hints. Also give a suitable title.
10
Hints : Ram - a very intelligent boy - father, a rickshaw puller - mother, a domestic servant parents met with an accident - unable to afford educational expenses - gave tuitions - did odd
jobs - continued his studies - excelled
5
Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones 3
given below. Write your answers in the answer sheets against the correct blank number. Do
not copy the entire passage.
And the boys. The boys. They laughed (a) _____ her openly. It was the boys, in fact, (b) _____
coined the nickname „Fats‟. They spread malicious stories about her which were mean
(c)_____untrue.
(a)
(b)
(i)
in
(ii)
over
(iii)
which
(iv)
at
(i)
who
(ii)
that
(iii)
had been referring
(iv)
refers
(c)
(i)
but
(ii)
and
(iii)
or
(iv)
yet
6
There is an error in each line. Write the error and the correction in the answer sheet as given below :
Error
Correction
The effects or the use of crystals or gemstones (a) __________ __________
is mentioned in the astrology of the East and
(b) __________ __________
the West. Experts world under are trying to
(c) __________ __________
understand the relationship among humans
(d) __________ __________
and stones through scientific methods.
4
7
Rearrange the given words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. Write the correct
sentences in your answer sheet.
3
e.g. : salty fluid / tear / is / a / filled with / water / mucus and oil/protein
Tear is a salty fluid, filled with protein, water, mucus and oil
(a)
humans / usually / excessive / tears / produce / emotional contexts / in
(b)
not all / of course / tears /are /of / the emotional / variety
(c)
three types / of / tears / with / exist / different / purposes
SECTION C
(LITERATURE & LONG READING TEXT: 25 Marks)
Read one of the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
8
‘Go run around the house Duke’. But Duke wouldn’t . He’d lie down with a reproachful eye on Hooper.
(a)
What do these lines tell us about Duke ?
(b)
Duke was unhappy with Hooper because __________.
(c)
„Reproachful„ means __________.
3
OR
"While you were upstairs, I had been thinking a lot about your papa and mamma"
(i)
Who spoke these words and to whom ?
(ii)
How does the statement differ from the statement made by him earlier ?
(iii)
What impression do you form about the speaker ?
Answer the following questions in about 30 - 40 words:
3
9(i)
Why was Hooper taken to the hospital ? What was the diagnosis ?
2
9(ii)
The final stanza in the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’ starts ‘with a sigh.’ Why ?
2
9(iii)
Do you agree that Mrs. Al Smith is the representative of American outlook ? Give reasons.
2
9(iv)
How is the road a metaphor ? Use examples from the poem, „The Road Not Taken‟ to support 2
your answer.
Answer one of the following questions in about 80-100 words
10
'It is very difficult to cope with the present world and its challenges without the tool of
education". Justify with reference to 'How I Taught My Grand Mother to Read'.
4
OR
'Obstacles and hurdles are part and parcel of life'. The Brook teaches us never to give up
under any circumstances. Express your views in about 80 -100 words on the given statement.
4
Answer one of the following questions in about 150-200 words.
11
What were the conditions imposed on Gulliver by the king of Lilliput for setting him free ?
Describe in about 150 - 200 words.
10
OR
Comment on the character of James Bates in about 150 - 200 words.
10
OR
How did the friends reach Kingston to begin their holiday trip ?
10
OR
Why is Uncle Podger a lovable character despite his being clumsy and sloppy ? Give a
reasoned answer.
10
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