HIRANANDANI FOUNDATION SCHOOL, THANE

Second Comprehensive Assessment – March 2021

Subject: English I (Language)
Std: IX Time: 2 hours
Date: 02.03.21 Max. Marks: 80
__________________________________________________________________
Note: Answers to this paper must be written on the paper provided separately. You will not be
allowed to write in the first 10 minutes. This time is to be spent in reading the question paper. The
time given at the head of this paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
Attempt all five questions.
The intended marks for the questions or parts of the question are given in the bracket [ ]. You are
advised not to spend more than 35 minutes in answering Question 1 and 20 minutes in answering
Question 2. This paper consists of three printed pages.

Question 1
(Do not spend more than 35 minutes on this question.)
Write a composition (300 - 350 words) on any one of the following: [20]

(a)You had to attend an important event which you could not miss. You had to use
a public transport but there was a sudden transport strike. No one from the family
could be reached. Narrate your experience in detail.

(b) Imagine yourself to be a locomotive engine at the Railway museum. Describe your
Journey through the different stages, the changes you experienced and how you feel
today.

(c ) Death Penalty should be abolished. Express your views either for or against
this statement.

(d) Write a short story beginning with the line : 'It was his lack of fear.............'.

(e) Study the picture given below and write a short story or description or an
account of what the picture suggests to you. Your composition must have a clear
connection with the picture.

Question 2
(Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)
Select any one of the following: [10]

(a) A number of loose electric wires are hanging from a lamp post near the main
gate of your school. Write a letter to the Municipal Commissioner explaining
the problem and the danger it poses. Suggest a quick solution.

(b) One of your grandparents has completed one hundred years of age. Write a
letter congratulating him/her, expressing gratitude, praise and admiration for
 the way he / she has lived his / her life.

Question 3 (5+5)
(a)You are the Head Boy/ Girl of your school.
Write a notice informing students about a charity fair that is going to be
organised in the school to collect donations for the needy group of people.

(b) Write an email to your school’s headmaster or headmistress seeking permission

and inviting him/her to attend it.

Question 4

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: [20]

The Battle of Chancellorsville was one of the most famous battles fought during the turbulent
years of the American Civil War. This battle was fought between the Union Army of Potomac
and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. It took place in Virginia in the spring of 1863.
For days at stretch, the two armies had been staked out on opposite banks of a narrow river. The
Confederate troops were led by perhaps the most revered military tactician in American history,
General Robert E. Lee. The Union soldiers were led by ‘Fighting’ Joe Hooker.

In appearance, personality, and lifestyle, the two commanders were nearly perfect opposites.
Robert Lee, the Commander of the Confederate Army, was an older man in poor health with a
gray beard, and somber, measured demeanor. Quite unlike him, Joe Hooker was a blond,
strapping young man whose vanity over his appearance was but one aspect of his egotism. While
Lee was devout and principled, Hooker was known for his rollicking enjoyment of pleasures of
life.

Despite the fact that the Confederacy had won the last four major battles and the Union soldiers
were famished, exhausted, and demoralized, Hooker proclaimed, “My plans are perfect and
when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on Bobby Lee, for I shall have none.” Why,
aside from a propensity for narcissism, was Hooker so confident? Hooker had used spies,
analysts, and even hot air balloons to compile a vast amount of intelligence about Lee’s army. He
had discerned, for example, that Lee had only 61,000 men to Hooker’s own 134,000.

Buoyed by his superior numbers, Hooker covertly moved 70,000 of his men fifteen miles up and
across the river, and then ordered them to sneak back down to position themselves behind Lee’s
army. In effect, Hooker had cut off the Confederate soldiers in front and behind. They were
trapped. Satisfied with his advantage, Hooker became convinced that Lee’s only option was to
retreat to Richmond, thus assuring a Union victory.

Yet Lee, despite his disadvantages of both numbers and position, did not retreat. Instead, he
moved his troops into position to attack. Union soldiers who tried to warn Hooker that Lee was
on the offensive were dismissed as cowards. Having become convinced that Lee had no choice
but to retreat, Hooker began to ignore reality. When Lee’s army attacked the Union soldiers at
5:00 p.m., they were eating supper, completely unprepared for battle. They abandoned their rifles
and fled as Lee’s troops came shrieking out of the brush, bayonets drawn. Against all odds, Lee
won the Battle of Chancellorsville, and Hooker’s forces withdrew in defeat.

(a) Give the meaning of each of the following words as used in the passage. One word
answers or short phrases will be accepted. [3]
(i) Revered
(ii) Propensity
(iii) Discerned

(b) ) Answer the following questions briefly, in your own words.

(i) When and where did the Battle of Chancellorsville take place? Between whom
was this battle fought? [1]
(ii) Why did Hooker lose the battle? [2]
(iii) Draw a contrast between the personalities of Lee and Hooker. [2]
 (iv) Why was Hooker confident of his victory against Lee? [2]
(v) Quote a sentence from the passage which reflects Hooker’s merciless nature. [2]

(c ) In not more than 50 words write how Hooker planned to defeat Lee. [8]

Question 5

a) In the following passage, fill in each of the numbered 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. [4]

Example: (0) was.

There …(0)……… (be) some confusion in the doorway. A man …(1)…….. (get) into the
compartment …(2)……… (stammer) an apology. Then the door …(3)………. (bang) and
the world was ……(4)…… (shut) out again. I ……(5)…… (return) to my berth. The guard
……(6)…… (blow) his whistle and we ……(7)….. (move) off. Once again I ……(8)…..
(has) a game to play.

(b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate words: [4]

(i) The elderly man prepared himself for a life ……….. retirement.
(ii) Do you take his word …………. mine?
(iii) Rohini is very concerned ………….. her father’s health.
(iv) The curious child eagerly begged ………… an answer to the riddle.
(v) What a contrast ……….. the two siblings!
(vi) The theory exam was followed ………….. a group discussion.
(vii) I ran ……….. my teacher at the show last night.
(viii) She is extremely anxious ……….. an interview next week.

(c) Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so. [4]

(i) Swarna asked me a question. I was unable to answer it.

(ii) You helped Tania. She will always be grateful.
(iii) I heard you won a prize. I am extremely delighted.
(iv) There was heavy traffic. We reached the stadium on time.

(c) 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 each . [8]

(i) Unless Ria takes care of her health, she will not be able to look after her family.
(Begin : Ria must…………)
(ii) His arrogance was the cause of his losing the election.
(Rewrite the sentence using “arrogant”)
(iii)If you are not a member you cannot borrow books.
(Begin : Only………….)
(iv) It is a pity our vacation is not longer.
(Begin : I wish………..)
(v) These windows need cleaning again.
(Begin : These windows will……….)
(vi) My mother said I could go with you only if I returned home by five o’clock.
(Use : as long as)
(vii)It doesn’t matter which chemical you put into the mixture first, the results will be the
same.
(Use: difference)
(viii)Who, does this pen belong to?
(Being : Do you know……….)

______________________________________________________________________________