SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT – I (2014-15)
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 that follow:
8
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It covers an area of nearly 2.8 million
square miles, which is nearly the size of the continent of Australia. The Amazon rainforest
gets its life from the majestic Amazon river, the world’s second largest river, which runs
directly through the heart of the region The rainforest itself is simply the drainage basin for
the river and its many tributaries. The vast forest itself consists of four layers, each featuring
its own ecosystems and specially adapted plants and animals.
The forest floor is the lowest region. Since only two percent of the sunlight fitters through the
top layers to the understory, very few plants grow here. The forest floor, however, is rich
with rotting vegetation and the bodies of dead organisms, which are quickly broken down
into nutrients and integrated into the soil. Tree roots stay close to these available nutrients
and decomposers such as millipedes and earth worms use nutrients for food.
The understory is the layer above the forest floor. Much like the forest floor, only about 2- 5
percent of the sunlight reaches this shadowy realm. Many of the plants in the understory have
large, broad leaves to collect as much sunlight as possible. The understory is so thick that
there is very little air movement. As a result, plants rely on insects and animals to pollinate
their flowers.
The layer above the understory is the canopy. This is where much of the action in the
rainforest occurs. Many canopy leaves have specially adapted leaves which form "drip tips".
Drip tips allow water to flow off the leaves which prevents mosses, fungi, and lichens from
occupying the leaves. Leaves in the canopy are very dense and filter about 80 percent of the
sunlight. The canopy is where the wealth of the rainforest's fruits and flowers grow.
Bromeliads, cup-like plants, provide drinking pools for animals and breeding locations for
tree frogs.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Page 1 of 5
Why is the Amazon rainforest called the world’s largest rainforest?
Amazon river is the world’s _________.
How important is the Amazon river for Amazon rainforests?
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
2
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
12
(4x2)+(4x1)=12
Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than
exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. And
the benefits of exercise are yours for the taking, regardless of your age, sex or physical ability
Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.
Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your
cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more
efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores.
Physical health affects the mind and vice-versa. Let us be clear that a sound mind in a sound
body are prerequisites for high efficiency and good quality work in the office, factory or field,
which lead to a sense of achievement and fulfilment.
Our health is, of course, important not only to us, but also to our families and even to our
employers. No wonder then those companies everywhere have a stake in the health and
fitness of their employees and are willing to spend considerable money towards this purpose.
Japanese companies particularly excel in this and the more successful among them start off
the day with a body bending and stretching session and even singing the company song
designed to promote loyalty and motivation among the workforce!
It is estimated that some 20,000 American firms have established in-house health clubs.
Typical of there is the soft drink manufacturer, Pepsi Cola which has spent about 2 million in
setting up a health club at its head office in New York State. Such expenditure has proved to
be a wise investment in achieving better efficiency and high productivity. It has indirectly
also helped reduce the premium on the health insurance of staff. Hundreds of consultancies
have sprung up for the management of health clubs and fitness centres.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
Page 2 of 5
Why do very few plants grow in the understory of the rainforests?
Why is there very little air movement in the understory?
What is the layer above the understory called?
How are bromeliads useful for animals and tree frogs?
Find the word from the passage which means ‘grand’.
How is exercising the most inexpensive way to keep healthy?
How does regular physical activity help us?
What shows that the health of the employees is important in a company?
Why expenditure on health is considered a wise investment?
What is meant by ‘ignore’? (Para 1)
What is meant by ‘prerequisites? (Para 2)
Find the word opposite to ‘low-grade’. (Para )
Find the word opposite to ‘exact’. (Para 4)
SECTION B
(WRITING & GRAMMAR: 25 Marks)
3
4
Your friend was quite demotivated after getting low grades in his exams. He didn’t feel like 5
studying and went in depression. Seeing his condition you decide to write an article on the
importance of positive thinking, how the power of positive thinking can improve one’s life,
ensure happiness, health and successful results. Do not exceed 120 words.

Positive thinking – reduces stress

Do not develop self pity

Sports, yoga - help
Write a story with a catchy title using the following hints in 150-200 words.
10
Alone in the classroom—headache—missed Activity class—unnatural sound heard—Tom and Jerry in
the classroom—interaction with them.
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.
When Frank and I stepped (a) _____ the post office doors, (b) _____ was a crowd gathered,
gawking (c) _____ the new fixture on the wall like a chorus of wide-mouthed frogs.
(a)
(b)
(c)
6
Page 3 of 5
(i)
through
(ii)
by
(iii)
from
(iv)
against
(i)
their
(ii)
there
(iii)
there being
(iv)
been
(i)
on
(ii)
at
(iii)
by
(iv)
along
There is an error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction in the answer
sheet as given below :
Incorrect
Correct
Education is a process, which was deemed to
(a) _____
_____
develop desirable qualities with the people.
(b) _____
_____
The need of this quality differs by person to
(c) _____
_____
person, place to place but time to time.
(d) _____
_____
4
7
Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences.
Write the correct sentences in your answer sheet.
3
Eg : are located / the Arctic and the Antarctica / the south / around the north / of the earth /
poles / and
The Arctic and the Antarctica, are located around the north and the south poles of the earth.
(a)
the / at both / atmosphere / is / cold / these places / very
(b)
experience / they / extreme / solar / periods / exposure
(c)
several / therefore / similarities / weather patterns / in the / there / are
SECTION C
(LITERATURE & LONG READING TEXT: 25 Marks)
8
Read the extract given below and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow.
3
‘My grandmother never went to school, so she could not read’.
(a)
What was the grandmother’s name ?
(b)
How did the grandmother know the details of the story published in her favourite
magazine ?
(c)
The grandmother had not gone to school because __________.
OR
Read the extract given below and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow.
3
‘I come from haunts of coot and hern ;
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern ,
To bicker down a valley’.
(A)
(B)
(C)
Who is " I'' in these lines ?
What is this figure of speech known as ?
Why does it bicker down a valley ?
Answer the following questions in 30 - 40 words:
9(i)
How much time did it take for Chuck to stand on his own feet ?
2
(ii)
How did the granddaughter react to her grandmother's request to teach her to read ?
2
(iii)
To whom does Wordsworth compare the solitary reaper ?
2
Page 4 of 5
(iv)
Do you agree that Mrs. Al Smith is the representative of American outlook? How?
2
10
Sometimes human friends may not prove as worthy as our pet animals. Discuss the values Duke
possessed that helped it prove to be one such friend. (80-100 words)
4
OR
Speaking metaphorically, what values does the poet learn while treading on the second road in the poem 4
‘The Road Not Taken’? How can we integrate such values in our lives? (80-100 words)
Attempt either question no. 11 or 12 (in 150-200 words).
11
How did Gulliver escape the punishment for high treason? Answer in 150 - 200 words.
10
OR
Sketch the character of Lilliputians as insignificant people in 150 - 200 words.
12
10
Describe the funny incident that happened to George’s father and his friend at the inn called 10
‘The Pig and Whistle’.
OR
The narrator brings out a contrasting picture of ‘day and night’ How do day and night affect
our mood ?
Page 5 of 5
10