CBSE X | ENGLISH

Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

CBSE Board
Class X English Language and Literature
Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

Time – 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

The question paper is divided into the following sections.

Section A: Reading 20 marks
Section B: Writing & Grammar 30 marks
Section C: Literature 30 marks

SECTION A
(READING-20 MARKS)

Q 1. Read the following passage carefully:

Tourism formed an important part of the Kashmiri economy before revolt intensified in
1989. Kashmir has been under the wrath of extremists since the Partition in 1947. Since
then, many people have died, fled, or become militants to survive the rebellion.

Recently, since 2009, tourism has seen a surge in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir, Srinagar,
Shalimar Gardens, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Jammu and Ladakh are the major tourist regions in
Jammu and Kashmir. Despite militancy in the region, millions of people visit the holy
shrines of Jammu and the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh every year. Thousands of Hindu
pilgrims visit the holy shrines of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath.

In the recent years, Kashmir has become one of the top tourist destinations of India.
Gulmarg is one of the most popular ski resort destinations in India and also home to the
world's highest green golf course. It is surrounded by dense forest, and hence, the natural
beauty accompanied with clean fresh air and a beautiful environment makes Gulmarg as a
major tourist destination. The town of Katra is the home to the scared cave shrine of the
mother goddess Vaishno Devi. The cave is 30 metres long and just 1.5 metres high. At the
end of the cave are shrines dedicated to the three forms of the mother goddess — Mahakali,
Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati, which is manifested as Vaishno Devi.

Shalimar Bagh is a Mughal garden located near Srinagar. The garden was built by Emperor
Jehangir for his wife Nur Jahan in 1619 and is now a public park. The hill station of
Pahalgam is located at an altitude of 7200 ft. from the sea level. This place is a health resort
and is associated with the annual Amarnath Yatra. Amarnath is a cave shrine located at an
altitude of 3,888m and is considered as one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave
itself is covered in snow for most part of the year except for a short period of time in
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Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

summer. It is during this time that thousands of devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the
Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain to see an ice stalagmite formed inside
the cave. The stalagmite is considered to be Shiva Linga by Hindus. According to a Hindu
legend, this is the cave where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to Parvati. Two
other ice formations represent Parvati and Shiva's son, Ganesha.

On the basis of your reading of the passage given above, answer the following
questions [1 x 8 = 8]
1. ____________________________________________________ makes Gulmarg as a major tourist
destination.

2. The Vaishno Devi cave is in __________________________ and is just

__________________________________.
a. Karta b. Katra c. Ladakh d. Pahalgam

3. Emperor Jehangir build the Shalimar Gardens ________________________________________.

4. ___________________ is considered to be Shiva Linga by Hindus.

5. Although militancy and rebellion have tried their best to ruin the (a)________ called
Jammu and Kashmir.

6. ______________ (b) has seen some hope since 2009.

7. Of the many places worth seeing in the valley, Gulmarg is a world famous skiing
destination. It is surrounded by (c) _____________ and its clean air attracts many
people every year.

8. The valley is home to two sacred Hindu cave shrines of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath,
the (d) _____________ of goddess Vaishno Devi and Lord Shiva respectively. Thousands
of pilgrims walk up to the Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain to see
an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave.

Q 2. Read the following passage carefully:

Many animals are able to communicate with each other very well but none of them can talk
like humans. Animals do not have a well-defined speech like humans and therefore, they
cannot use words. Birds cry out and make sounds that other birds understand. Smells,
movements, and sounds are used for communication by animals such as lions, tigers, cats,
dogs, etc. They express joy or anger or fear through these sounds of varying pitches.

Human speech is a very complicated process, which no animal can follow. One reason is
that in a very special way we use a whole series of organs to produce the sounds we want

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Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

to make when we utter words. The way our vocal cords are made to vibrate, the way the
throat, mouth and nasal cavities are adjusted, the way the lips, teeth, lower jaw, tongue, and
palate are moved - just to make vowel and consonant sounds, is something animals can't
do. They cannot produce a whole series of words to make a sentence. And there is another,
perhaps more important reason why animals can't talk. Words are only labels for objects,
actions, feelings expressions and ideas. For example, the word 'bird' is a label for a living,
flying object. Other words describe its colour, shape, flying and singing. Still other words
would be used to tell what the speaker thinks or feels about the bird or its actions.

For human beings, therefore, the use of words means the use of labels or symbols, and then
organizing them in a certain way to communicate something. This requires a degree of
intelligence and logical thinking that no animals have. So, they can't talk the way people do.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above extract, answer the following questions
in 30-40 words each: [2 x 4 = 8]
a) What do birds and animals use as speech for communication?
b) In what ways humans differs in modes of communication as compared to birds and
animals?
c) Human speech is a very complicated process. Explain?
d) Give a suitable title for the passage and justify your answer.

2.2 On the basis of your reading of the above extract, answer the following: [1 x 4 = 4]
a) Synonym of the word ‘fear’ in the first paragraph is ________.
i. terror ii. fair iii. assurance iv. calmness
b) Antonym of the word ‘complicated’ in the second paragraph is __________.
i. arduous ii. entangled iii. intricate iv. facile
c) Antonym of the word ‘palate’ in the second paragraph is __________.
i. bias ii. Penchant iii. aversion iv. disposition
d) Synonym of ‘intelligence’ from the third paragraph is _____________.
i. ignorance ii. stupidity iii. precocity iv. ineptness

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 CBSE X | ENGLISH
Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

SECTION B
(WRITING & GRAMMAR– 30 MARKS)

Q 3. Your younger brother/sister wastes lot of time and neglects her studies. Write a letter
to him/her advising her to manage her time well. [8]

Q 4. Write a short story with the help of outline below. [10]

Man - finds a purse in a ditch - covered with stone- moves the stone to allow a car to pass
by - sees the purse - takes it out- opens it - finds money - people gather-think he is a thief -
start beating him - Man runs to save himself - finds a police station- hands over the purse-
is appreciated by the police

Q 5. Complete the passage by choosing the correct option from those given in
brackets: [4]

Three years ago, fresh (a) __________ of school, I (b) _________ the intimidating task of choosing
a career (c) __________ college started. My uncle, (d) __________ of the elders of the family,
suggested (e) _________ I do a summer job (f) __________ a multinational company followed by
a month of social service with an NGO. He said that (g) __________ I could (h) ___________ which
career to choose.

Q 6. The following passage has not been edited. There is ONE error in each of the
lines. Write the missing word against the correct blank number in your answer
sheets. [4]
Error Correction
a) England has been long famous for her dramatist, ________ ________
b) the greatest of who was William Shakespeare. ________ ________
c) It is hard to find the educated man in ________ ________
d) the English speaking world whom had not heard ________ ________
e) for his name. The actor and playwright ________ ________
f) born more than 400 years ago had ________ ________
g) become not only for the Englishman but for ________ ________
h) the whole world chief symbol for British culture, ________ ________

Q 7. Rearrange the following words and phrases to make meaningful sentences.[1 x 4 = 4]

1. is familiar \ properties \ most \ the neem \ medicinal \ to \ people \ for its
2. it is \ distinctive curled \ star-shaped \ recognized \ leaves \ by its \ flowers \ and
3. are pale \ tinge of rust \ the young \ and green \ with a \ leaves
4. enters \ millions tons \ the\ every year \ of \ ocean \ plastic

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 CBSE X | ENGLISH
Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

SECTION C (LITERATURE – 30 MARKS)

Q 8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: [1 x 4 = 4]
“But, please, Stephen Stepanovitch, how can they be yours? Do be a reasonable man!
My aunt’s grandmother gave the Meadows for the temporary and free use of your
Grandfather’s peasants. The peasants used the land for forty years and got accustomed to
it as if it was their own, when it happened that ........
(a) Who is the speaker of the above lines?
(b) Why did his aunt’s grandmother give the meadows?
(c) Why did the peasants treat the land as their own?
(d) What light do these lines throw on the speaker’s character?
OR
Belinda tickled him, she ticked him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio , truli , cowardly dragon.
(a) Who was tickled by Belinda?
(b) Why did she tickle ‘him’?
(c) Who are Ink, Blick and Mustard?
(d) Why did they all laugh at ‘him’?

Q 9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each: [2 x 4 = 8]

(a) What excited Rajvir? Why did Pranjol not share his excitement?
(b) ‘He sense first responsibility is referred to here? (The Ball Poem)
(c) What was Horace Danby’s hobby? How did he manage to fulfill it?
(d) Why did Matilda leave the ball in a hurry? What does it show about her character?
(e) In which Queer way did Anil make a living? (The Thief’s Story)

Q 10. Answer the following question in 100-120 words: [8]

In life, people who easily trust other are sometimes made to look foolish. One should not
be too trusting. Describe how Oliver Lutkins made a fool of the young lawyer.
OR
What lesson on death and suffering did the Buddha teach Gotami in the chapter, ‘The
Sermon at Benaras’?

Q 11. Answer the following question is 200-250 words: [10]

Described the importance of dairy in Anne Frank’s life.

OR
What problem do Margot and Anne face with regard to the way their parents treat them?
OR

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 CBSE X | ENGLISH
Sample Paper – 1 (Updated 2019-2020)

Helen Keller’s determination to study and compete with the normal children helps her to
enter Radcliffe College. What does this show about her personality?
OR
Describe how Miss Sullivan succeeds in helping Helen Keller achieve her aim in life.

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