ICSE Paper 2008 ENGLISH-I Question 1. fa) ) (©) (d) @ @o not spend more than 35 minutes on this question.) [25] Write a composition (360-400 words) on any one of the following : Write a short story in which a little girl, her twin brother and the school bully are the main characters. “No other subject taught in school is as important as Moral Science”. Express your views either for or against this statement, Elements of Western Culture have had a very influential role on cultures of the world. How are these elements different from those of Indian culture? What according to you, should we as Indians adopt from the West to make life more meaningful. A village fair is very different from a city one. It is usually held annually and is connected with a religious festival or harvest. The purpose of such fairs is usually trade and to exhibit and sell villoge handicrafts. Describe one such fain Study the picture given below. Write a story or a description or an account of what it suggests to you, Your composition may be about the subject of the picture or you may take suggestions from it; however, there must be a clear connection between the picture and your composition.English-T,2008 | 67 Answer. * (@) Little Joanne and Joe are twins. They are ten years old. It is hard to tell them apart. Blessed with abundant good looks and bunches of curls on their adds, they had wonderful hearts which any parent would feel proud of. They are known for their kind words and good deeds. The smiles on their faces were million dollar ones. Joanne and Joe study in St. Jude's School, They are in class four Also known to everyone in the schoo! is James—the school bully. He is known {or his rudeness, disrespect, tormenting and teasing other students. He has @ Uittle band of supporters to boot. He is in class eight. Sly by nature, he always carries out his mischief behind the teachers backs. He always protest his Christmas was around the corner. The teacher had asked the children how best they could spread the message of Christmns to others. Joanne and Joo soon, get busy decorating a litle tree in front of their class. They were putting up little icces of paper on the tres. From a distance, James was enjoying the duo wore st work. The twins went about their task assiduously, emiling and humming carols. Mr. Dariels, the Head Master passed by and applauded their effort. ames, like a hawk, was waiting to swoop down and seize the opportunity to destroy the twins labour of love. His moment soon came. Joanne and Joe left the Caristmas tree. James thought that it was a pretty ordinary effort.on their Part. Seemingly, plain bits of paper, strung up on the boughs. He and his gang craved, unnoticed towards the tree. They begin to pull ofthe rolled up proves of paper: However, before tearing them up, James decided to open the papers and see what was written. On one of those many bits of paper was written—“Happy Christmas James, We love you. Jeaus loves you too. God Bless, Joanne and Joe.” James’ heart molted. A stream of tears began to flow down his checks, He scampered off to search for the twins, He found them and apologized to them for all his earlior rude behaviour. (®) There is no doubt about it ‘that today we are’ living in a world of sin, corruption, evil and immorality The atmosphere prevailing in many educational institutions is one of disrespect, scorn and intolerance. The reason ? Well, Lack of Moral Scieriee. anal round development and that includes the spiritual aspect as well. “Know God- Peace. No God—Hell”. Too much of stress is given to secular subjects hich are soon forgotten when the child is promoted to thenext class. However the moral foundation laid in school, lasis a life time. One's charactor and personality afe formed on the basis of this Moral Science taught in school.68 | ICSE Last 10 Years Solved Papers © ‘While living independently is the importance is given to living in je dress, sense and etiquettes are all different. People in western cultures do not show enough respect and/honour to the old and aged. They do not perform their duties towards their parents, till the end. They take them and put them in an old persons home In India, we keep our Parents and love them till death snatches them away from us, Also, it has been Observed that morals are not taken very seriously in western countries. They {ead a very loose, vulgar and immoral lifestyle. We in India exe ‘taught at an early age to lead a highly moral life, Again, in western culture, more stress is given to friend circles than to family Life. There is very Little family life in fact. Children leave thete parents’ home considered a holy and blessed thing, However, not all is wrong and undesirable about the west culture. ‘We in India Saud do with a few meaningful things which can enhance the qualify of vce ©(a) @ ST English-t, 2008 | 69 can certainly do with some elements of western culture. India isa land of many religions, Religions, mean celebrating festivels, So, fairs ere held in every part of the country, throughout the year, to celebrate soma festival or harvest, Every part of the country is different from the othes and have their own culture and traditions. Usually fairs are held in the: villages and they are so different from the ones held in the cities. state and country. Camels sre the most sold animal. They are beautifully decorated end tended. ‘The whole place takes on a different atmosphere. There is the sound ofrevelry, ‘srusic, noise and laughter. Tradesmen ery out their trade ery. The women axe sell all their handmade village wares, ( Usually, in the evening, the village people put up a cultural programine, In this 72y: they also exhibit their culture, beliefs and customs. They show the world their rich cultural heritage. It is so nice to see people from western cutters shoving so much of interest in the simple Wfestyle of these humble village poople: After a week of hectic activity and a lot of fun, freak aud feusting, tke annual fair draws to a close, with a smile on many people's faces, pandering India in the North Hast is very poor country. Most of the people live in poverty. The leaders are corrupt and ruthless. The people ure fgeeyes live in abjget conditions and to work for meagre incomes, bette bad the opportunity to visit this country. What I saw made ray heart bleed. I saw nothing that my beautiful country has. But yes, thee, sae showed sorrow, pain and hopelessness. Sibsided to goto the country side. Bverywhere there was greenery and serenity Scores of poorly clad people worked in the fields. Hunger and ster ration stared them in the eyes. Children were left to be by themselves, I decided te go and talks to one poor little girl. She had her baby brother on er back. Tasked her70 | ICSE Last 10 Years Solved Papers fa) b) what her name was. She couldn’t understand what I was saying. An eld cls nenae (2 my rescue. He started interpreting for me. He told me that ti, sirV'sname was Aung Bin, The little brother's name was Hudin. The mex began Fennld the little gins life story to me. She came ftom a very poor and large T looked at the girl closer and I could see beauty in her face, Assofft, rosy blush and a smile beginning to break forth. The little boy on her back ‘trying to hide bis face st intervals. The man who had stopped to help me, weet hhis way. I thanked him for his kindness. I stood there long trying to befriend the little girl Toffered hor a fow sweets which she shyly acceptod. I thanked my lucky (Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.) Select one of the following : Co) Write a letter toa friend who was absent from school on a day when @ really Simieel incident took place. Deserbe the incident, say what was so funny abers it and what you learnt from it. trificzams in your city/town are getting worse day after day, Write a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffiz) complaining about the problen eng offering suggestions for improvement. Answer, (a) 18, The Mall Road Agra-Cantt-282001 10th March, 2008 Dear Jason, am fure that you will be surprised to hear from me. I hope you are feeling Tauer etter now. I mise you a lot. T have written to tell you about somnethins very funny that happened when you were not in school, James, David and Pau! were all absent from school for two days, They were piers their uniforms, during school hours, hiding in the park near the ccheol In short, they were just playing truant, When they returned to school: : {hey were al called to the Principals office. Bach one was asked to give cc explanation for hisabsence in writing. Harlier they had all ald the clase foxctor something else, When the principal read their answers in front of the cles jeacher and other boys, it was proved that they were liars. Everyone sterret innghing at them. Bven the Principal laughed. But he lovingly explained to thecy ever to prevaricate. The matter ended there but it was doubtlessly comical The lesson ta be learnt by all of us is never to lie to our teachers and elders, 1 hope you will return to school soon. Please give my love and best wishes to your parents. ‘Yours loving friend, derryEnglish-I, 2008 | 71 (b) 102 Rainbow Road Goregaon Mumbai Ast April, 2008 The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) ‘No. 1 Anne Besant Road Vasai Mumbai Dear Sir, Tewould like to draw your attention towards the increasing traffic jams in our tity, This is causing havoc on the roads of Mumbai. The reasons for, this cexieasant situation are the increasing number of vehicles on the rond, reckless Gnving, and trae policomen not doing their duty: People are unable to reach ‘their work places in time. T would strongly recommend strict action against the erring policemen and hheavy fines for traffic offenders. I hope that you will take remedial measures as soon as possible. ‘Thanking you. Yours faithfully, QM BRYAN ADAMS) Question 3. ‘Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that Sita went to her grandfather and sat down beside him. "When you are hungry, tell me,’ she said, ‘and I will make the bread.’ ‘Js your grandmother asleep?” “Yes, But she will wake soon. The pain is deep.’ ‘The old saan stared across the river, atte dark green ofthe forest, at the leeden ‘iy and sai, ‘If she is not better by morning, I will take her to the hospital in Seoagenj, They will know how to make her well. You may be on your own for ‘wo or three days. You have been on your own before.’ Sita nodded gravely—she had been alone before; but not in the middle of the Se with the river so high, But she knew that someone must stay behind. She coined Grandmother to get well and she knew that only Grandfather could {ake the small boat across the river when the current. wos so strong, Sita wae not afraid of being left alone but she did not like the look of the river. ‘That eveningit began torain again. Big pellets ofrain were scarring the surface Of the river. But it was warm rain and Sita oould move about in it. She was not afraid of getting wet, she vather liked it. In the previous month, when the aeoon shower hed arrived, washing the dusty leaves of the tree end bringing tp the good smell of the earth, she had exulted in it, hed run about shouting: {ar joy. She wos used to it now, even a little tired of the rain, but she did not vind getting wet. It was steamy indoors and her thin dress would scon dry in the heat from the kitehen fire. She walked about barefooted, barelegged. She was very sure on her feet, Her tues grown accustomed to gripping all kinds of rocks, slippery or sharp, and though thin, she was surprisingly strong.4 12 | ICSE Last 10 Years Solved Papers Black hair, streaming across het face. Black eyes, Slim brown arms. A scar on her thigh: when she was sraall, visiting her mother’s village, a hyena hed entered the house where she was sleeping, fastened on to hor leg and tried to drag her away but her screams had roused the villagers and the hyena had run off ‘She moved about in the pouring rain, chasing the hens into a shelter behind the hut. A harmless brown snake, flooded out of ts hole, was moving across the ‘open ground. Sita took a stick, picked the snake up with it, and dropped it behind a cluster of rocks. She had no quarrel with snakes. They kept down the rats and the frogs. She wondered how the rats had first come to the island probably in someone's boat or in a sack of grain. ‘She disliked the huge black scorpions who left their watorlogged dwellings and tried to take shelter in the hut. It was s0 easy to step on one and the sting could be very painful. She had been bitten by a scorpion the previous monsoon and for a day and a night she had known fever and great pain, Sita had never killed living creatures but now, whenever she found. a scorpion, she crushed it with a rock! When, finally, she went indoors, she was hungry. She ate some parched gram and warmed up some goat’s mill. Grandmother woke once and asked for water and Grandfether held the brass tumbler to her lips. ‘The roof was leaking and a small puddle formed on the floor. Grandfather kept the Kerosene lamps alight. They did not need the light but somehow it made them feel safer. trained all night. (a) Three words from the passage are given below. Give the meaning of each word ‘08 used in the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be accepted (i) gravely (line 9) i) steamy (line 20) (ai) parched (line 40) is] (b) Answer the following questions briefly in your words. (i) Why was Sita willing to stay alone? 2 Bi Gi) What had made Sita like the first monsoon shower? 2] Gi) Why did Sita have a scar on her thigh ? 1 (iv) Which word n the passage tells us that Sita did not need to fear the snake? ty (v)_ Why did she think snakes were useful ? U1 (vi) What did Sita do with the snake? ul (vii) The passage tells us that Sita never killed living creatures. Why did she crush acorpions with a rock ? a (viii) Why did they keep the lamps alight ? i (©) What kind of a girl was Sita? Describe her in 60 words, [8] G@) Give title to your summary in 8 (e). State a reason ta justify your choice. [2] Answer, (@) @ gravely—seriously i) steamy—hot, suffocating (i) parched—dried, ©) @ Sita was willing to stay alone because she lmew that someone had to stay behind at home. Besides, she wanted her grandmother to get well and she© @) English-I, 2008 | 78 also knew that only grandfather could take the smnall hoat across the river when the current was so strong. Sita liked the first monsoon shower because the rain was warm and she could move about in it. She was not afraid of getting wet. Sita had a scar on her thigh as she been bitten by a hyena when she was small. The hyena had entered their house and tried to drag her out. (iv) The word is ‘harmless’. {v) Sita thought snakes were useful for killing rats and frogs. (vi) Sita took the snake and dropped it behind a cluster of rocks. (vii) Sita crushed scorpions with a rock because she disliked them. Previously, she had been bitten by a scorpion and she got fever and was in great pain. (viii) They kept the lamps alight to feel safer. ‘was a very caring, loving and good little girl. She was very understanding and responsible too. She was not afraid of heing alone. She was playful in nature. She loved the raiv. She was » preity little girl. She did not like killing living creatures. Title of summary “Sita’s Love.” Ibis clear that Sita did not just love her grand parents, but living creatures and nature too. Question 4. fa) b) {e) In the following passage, fill in each of the nuimbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space. i] Example: (0) was. : There (0) (be) some confusion in the doorway. A man @.. (get) into the compartment (2) {stammer) an apology. Then the door (3) (bang) and the world was @.. (shut) out again. (6) (return) to my berth, ‘The guard (6) .. . (blow) his whistle and we (7) (move) off. Once again: (has) a game to play. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words : [41 The elderly man prepared himself for a life retirement. i) Do you take his word ... mine? . Rohini is very concerned her father’s health. Gv) Altaf had many books and papers seattered all . (v) ‘The Phoenix is a logendary bird that rises (vi). The police pulled the briefease from (vii) The mob rushed onto the pavement, everyone seemed angry . everyone elge. (viii) The old wortan looked... the cupboard, searching for the photograph. doin the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or s0. 4] (The heart attack was mild. Mr. Bose stayed in bed for three weeks. Gi) Themen went out tosee if anyone was missing. The women stayed behind to care for the injured. Gii) Her mother warned her not to talk to strangers. She told her not to accept gifts from people she did not know. iv) Everyone was drenched wet by now. The rain had come down harder.74 | ICSE Last 10 Years Solved Papers (Gd) Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of eack sentence. [8] (“Have you walked alone, this long distance today ?” he asked Sumita, (Begin: He asked Sumita i ) (Gi) The detective interrogated the suspect closely for over three hours, Begin: The suspect... ) Gi) Lauddenty realized that the room was too small for the three of us to share. (Begin: I suddenly realized that the room was so. ) iv) Inspita of all her efforts, Susan did not succeed. (Begin : Despite. .) () Assoon as the bell rang, the children rushed out of class, (Begin: No sooner. .) (vi) Sachin stood first in class and he also excelled at debate. (Begin: Not only.. + (vii) She was the only person capable of being House Captain. (Use: capability) (viii)Roban was the tallest boy in the basketball team. (Rewrite using: taller) Answer. @) (was (@ getting Gi) stammered ii) banged Gv) shut (vi blew (vii) moved (b) of Gi) for iv) over (¥) from (vii) with (viii) into © @ @ As the heart attack was mild, Mr. Bose stayed in bed for three weeks. Gi) While the men went out to see if anyone was missing, the women stayed behind to care for the injured. (iii) Besides warning her not to talk to strangers, her mother also told her not to accept gifts from people she did not know. Gv) As the rain had come down harder, everyone was drenched wet by now. (@) He asked Sunita if she had walked alone, that long distance that dey, Gi) The suspect was interrogated closely for over three hours by the detective. (i) Tauddenly realized that the room was so eral het three of us could not it. iv) Despite her efforts, Susan did not succeed. (¥) No sooner did the bell ring than the children rushed out of the class. (vi) Not only did Sachin stand first in class, but he also excelled et debate, (vii) She was the only person who had the capsbility of being house captain, (viii)No other boy in the basketball team was taller than Rohan. °