SAI CITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

TERM – 2 EXAMINATION (2023-24)

TH
CLASS: 9 STD SUBJECT: ENGLISH TOTAL: 80
SECTION A – READING SKILLS

Q1) Read the following passage and answer the questions below: 10 Marks
The third great defect of our civilisation is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science
has given us powers fit for the gods, yet we use them like small children. For example, we do not know
how to manage our machines. Machines were made to be man's servants; yet he has grown so
dependent on them that they are in a far way to become his masters. Already most men spend most of
their lives looking after and waiting upon machines and the machines are very stern masters. They must
be fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and they must be kept at the right
temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to
work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all round them. So we have to
wait upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it
difficult either to work or play without the machines, and a time may come when they will rule us
altogether, just as we rule the animals. And this brings me to the point at which I asked, “What do we do
with all the time which the machines have saved for us, and the new energy they have given us?” On the
whole, it must be admitted, we do very little. For the most part we use our time and energy to make
more and better machines; but more and better machines will only give us still more time and still more
energy, and what are we to do with them? The answer, I think, is that we should try to become more
civilised. For the machine themselves, and the power which the machines have given us, are not
civilisation but aids to civilisation. But you will remember that we agreed at the beginning that being
civilised meant making and liking beautiful things, thinking freely, and living rightly and maintaining
justice equally between man and man. Man has a better chance today to do these things than he ever
had before; he has more time, more energy, less to fear and less to fight against. If he will give his time
and energy which his machines have won for him to making more beautiful things, to finding out more
and more about the universe, to removing the causes of quarrels between nations, to discovering how to
prevent poverty, then I think our civilisation would undoubtedly be the greater, as it would be the most
lasting that there has ever been. - C.E.M. Joad

A) Choose the correct option 3 Marks

i) This passage is about: a) Civilisation b) Only the defects of civilisation c) Making things
more beautiful using the power given by the machines d) Removing the causes of quarrels
between nations and overcoming poverty
A) Only option ‘a’ is correct B) Only option ‘b’ is correct
C) ‘a’, ‘c’ & ‘d’ are correct D) ‘b’, ‘c’ & ‘a’ are correct

ii) According to the author, who does man rule presently: a) Women b) Machines
c) Nations d) Animals
A) Only option ‘c’ is correct B) Only option ‘d’ is correct
C) ‘a’, ‘c’ & ‘b’ are correct D) ‘d’, ‘c’ & ‘a’ are correct

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iii) According to the author, what has the machine actually won for man: a) Civilisation
b) Time c) Energy d) Poverty
A) Only option ‘c’ is correct B) Only option ‘a’ is correct
C) ‘c’ & ‘b’ are correct D) ‘d’, ‘c’ & ‘a’ are correct

B) Answer the following questions 7 Marks

i) Write a suitable title for this passage. 1 Mark

ii) What was the actual role of machines and what have they become now? 2 Marks
iii) What is the definition of civilisation according to C.E.M Joad? 2 Marks
iv) What should man do to make his civilisation last? 2 Marks

Q2) Factual Comprehension Passage 10 Marks

Varieties of birds migrate or travel from one region to another depending on the availability of food,
habitat and climatic conditions. In order to escape the severe winter of northern and central Asia, several
migratory birds visit the Indian subcontinent during winter. Here they find optimal conditions of food and
climate for their survival. Studies reveal that the quality of habitat and human disturbances along their
migratory routes are the deciding factors of the number of migratory birds that come to a place. Loss of
habitat due to human encroachment, like settlement, grazing and agriculture, is regarded as the main
reason for this decline. Scientists have observed that the breeding habitats of these birds are becoming
fragmented and the tropical grounds surrounding the habitats are being destroyed. According to
ornithologist and professor of Zoology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Surya Prakash, the numbers
per species of migratory birds have drastically gone down because of the loss of habitat, specially
wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, due to commercial use of land and other anthropogenic factors. The
changing crop pattern is also seen as a major factor for the reduction in the number of migratory birds in
India and certain birds have stopped visiting some areas due to such changes. Delay in rainfall also leads
to a delay in the arrival of migratory birds. Rains obstruct their flight and cause low visibility. Another
cause of decline in migration to India is the large scale hunting of these birds. Birds like falcons are targets
for many illegal hunters. In addition to this, the availability of food is also becoming scarce and various
water bodies have dried up, thus robbing these birds of their habitat. Unhygienic water, along with thin
tree cover leads to lesser number of birds visiting man-made sanctuaries. High voltage power lines are
another threat to the lives of these birds as they can get caught in between these lines and be
electrocuted. The World Migratory Bird Day is now celebrated to spread awareness about threats faced
by migratory birds.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions.
i) Why do birds migrate from one region to another? 2 Marks
ii) What are the factors that can lead to delays in the arrival of migratory birds? 3 Marks
iii) What is man’s contribution in the decline of migratory birds? 3 Marks
iv) Give a suitable title for the above passage. 1 Mark
v) Name the day that is celebrated to spread awareness about threats faced by migratory
birds. 1 Mark

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 SECTION B – WRITING SKILLS WITH GRAMMAR

SECTION B – WRITING SKILLS WITH GRAMMAR

Q3) Attempt any one of the following 5 Marks

Write a letter to the local panchayat development officer about the condition of the road
to your school and request for immediate remedial solution
OR
Write a letter to the Branch Manager of Dominos in your town to apply for a part time job
and also state why you should be selected.

Q4) Attempt any one of the following 5 Marks

Write an analytical paragraph in 100-120 words on any one of the following pictures

OR
Q5) Attempt the following questions 10 Marks

A) Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners 5 Marks

i) ___ scooter met with ____ accident yesterday. (the/an, a/an)
ii) Are ____ your toys? Can you share them with me? (these/this)
iii) ____ of the students got ____ chocolates from the teacher. (each/any, each/some)

B) Change the sentence to match the tense given in bracket 3 Marks

i) The ship sailed yesterday. (Simple Present Tense)
ii) Nisha ate all the chocolates. (Present Perfect Tense)
iii) Ram saw the Chief Minister yesterday. (Future Continuous Tense)

C) Fill in the blanks with appropriate verb forms 2 Marks

i) Ramu ____ to school everyday. (walk)
ii) All my classmates ____ here. (be)

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 SECTION C – LITERATURE

Q6) Answer any one of the following 5 Marks

A) Read the given extract carefully and answer the given questions.
“Has a snake ever coiled itself round any part of your body? A full-blooded cobra?” All of us fell silent.
The question came from the homeopath. The topic came up when we were discussing snakes. We
listened attentively as the doctor continued with his tale.
It was a hot summer night; about ten o’clock. I had my meal at the restaurant and returned to my room. I
heard a noise from above as I opened the door. The sound was a familiar one. One could say that the rats
and I shared the room. I took out my box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table.
The house was not electrified; it was a small rented room. I had just set up medical practice and my
earnings were meagre. I had about sixty rupees in my suitcase. Along with some shirts and dhotis, I also
possessed one solitary black coat which I was then wearing.
I took off my black coat, white shirt and not-so white vest and hung them up. I opened the two windows
in the room. It was an outer room with one wall facing the open yard. It had a tiled roof with long
supporting gables that rested on the beam over the wall. There was no ceiling. There was a regular traffic
of rats to and from the beam. I made my bed and pulled it close to the wall. I lay down but I could not
sleep. I got up and went out to the veranda for a little air, but the wind god seemed to have taken time
off.

i) Who is the author of this extract 1 Mark

ii) What is a gable? 1 Mark
iii) What were the doctor’s only possessions? 3 Marks

B) Read the given extract carefully and answer the given questions.

“One day a tusker escaped from the timber yard and began to roam about, stamping on bushes, tearing
up wild creepers and breaking branches at will. You know, sir, how an elephant behaves when it goes
mad.” Iswaran would get so caught up in the excitement of his own story that he would get up from the
floor and jump about, stamping his feet in emulation of the mad elephant.
“The elephant reached the outskirts of our town; breaking the fences down like matchsticks,” he would
continue. “It came into the main road and smashed all the stalls selling fruits, mud pots and clothes.
People ran helter-skelter in panic! The elephant now entered a school ground where children were
playing, breaking through the brick wall. All the boys ran into the classrooms and shut the doors tight. The
beast grunted and wandered about, pulling out the football goal-post, tearing down the volleyball net,
kicking and flattening the drum kept for water, and uprooting the shrubs. Meanwhile all the teachers had
climbed up to the terrace of the school building; from there they helplessly watched the depredations of
the elephant. There was not a soul below on the ground. The streets were empty as if the inhabitants of
the entire town had suddenly disappeared.

i) Who is describing the above event to whom? 1 Mark

ii) What can you tell about the story telling ability of the speaker? 2 Marks
iii) Who is the author of this extract? 1 Mark
iv) What is the meaning of the word depredation? 1 Mark

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Q7) Answer any one of the following 5 Marks

A) Read the poem’s extract carefully and answer the given questions.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evenings full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

i) What is the name of this poem? 1 Mark

ii) Who is the poet? 1 Mark
iii) Why is the poet nostalgic about the lake and the surroundings? 3 Marks

B) Read the poem’s extract carefully and answer the given questions.

They, too, aware of sun and air and water,

Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.

Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.

i) What is the name of this poem? 1 Mark

ii) Who is the poet? 1 Mark
iii) Who is the “they” here and what is the poet trying to tell us? 3 Marks

Q8) Answer any four in 40-50 words each 12 Marks

i) What makes both the climbs of Santosh Yadav a record breaking feat?
ii) Explain the poem ‘Wind’ in brief
iii) Why did Kezia stutter when talking to her father?
iv) Explain the poem ‘A Legend of the Northland in brief?
v) Describe the Doctor’s personality before & after his encounter with the snake?

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Q9) Answer any two in 40-50 words each 6 Marks

i) The swallow was a very kind soul. Explain with instances

ii) Write a brief about Toto and his first few days at the author’s house.
iii) Summarise “The Last Leaf” in not more than 60 words.

Q10) Answer any one in 100-120 words each 6 Marks

i) Summarise “No Men are Foreign” in not more than 130 words
ii) Describe incidents in Dr. APJ Kalam’s childhood which shaped his future.

Q11) Answer any one in 100-120 words each 6 Marks

i) Summarise “The Beggar” in not more than 130 words

ii) Explain the story of “Iswaran the Storyteller” in your words.

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