This pre-board English exam question paper helps you become familiar with the latest CBSE class 10 English examination pattern. Improve your chances of scoring higher marks in your class 10 English exam by solving this pre-board question paper.

Marks – 80

Time – 3 hours

Section A – Reading

I. Read the passage carefully. (1 x 10 = 10)

(1) The Indian subcontinent consists of a number of separate linguistic communities each of which shares a common language and culture. The people of India speak many languages and dialects which are mostly varieties of about 14 principal languages. Some Indian languages have a long literary history-Sanskrit literature is 3,000 years old and Tamil 2,000. India also has some languages that do not have written forms.

(2) The number of people- speaking each language varies greatly. For example, Hindi has more than 250 million speakers, but relatively few people speak Andamanese. Although some of the languages are called ‘tribal’ or ‘aboriginal’, their populations may be larger than those that speak some European languages. Examples are Bhili and Santali. The two tribal languages each has more than 1 million speakers, Gondi is spoken by nearly 2 million people.

(3) India’s schools teach 58 different languages. The nation has newspapers in 87 languages, radio programmes in 71, and films in 15.

(4) The Indian languages belong to four language families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon-Khmer, and Sino-Tibetan. Indo-European and Dravidian languages are used by a large majority of India’s population. All language families can be divided roughly into geographic groups. Languages of the Indo-European group are spoken mainly in northern and central regions.

The languages of southern India are mainly of the Dravidian group. Some ethnic groups in Assam and other parts of eastern India speak languages of the Mon-Khmer group. People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border speak Sino-Tibetan languages.

(5) Speakers of 54 different languages of the Indo-European family make up about three-quarters of India’s population. Twenty Dravidian languages are spoken by nearly a quarter of the people. Speakers of 20 Mon-Khmer languages and Sino-Tibetan languages together make up about 2 percent of the population.

(6) Official language: Hindi is the principal official language of India. Sanskrit and 16 regional languages are also official languages. English has the status of an ‘associate’ language. Hindi is the native language of more than a third of India’s people, and many others speak Hindi as a second language. Only about 2 percent speak English, but it serves as a common language among most educated Indians, and people use it for many official and administrative purposes.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions.

1. Which language is considered to be the official language of India?

a) The official language of India is Hindi.

b) The official language of India is Hindi, Sanskrit and 16 regional languages.

c) The official language of India is English.

d) Both a and b

II. Ethnic group means the same as:

a) A group that shares a common language, cultural beliefs and common history

b) A group that does not share a common language, cultural beliefs and a common history

c) A group that shares different languages, cultural beliefs and a common history

d) A group that shares a few languages, cultural beliefs and a common history

iii) Which word in paragraph 1 means a form of a language that is spoken in one area of a country?

a) linguistic

b) dialect

c) language

d) literature

iv) Prove that Indian languages have a long literary history.

v) Choose two correct statements from the options given below:

a) The Indo European language is mainly spoken in the Northern and Central regions.

b) The Dravidian language is spoken in western India

c) Assam and northern India speak the Mon-Khmer dialect

d) Sino-Tibetan language is spoken by people near the Burmese border and northern Himalayan regions.

vi) What connection does the writer draw between Indo European language and India’s population?

vii) Justify the following statement.

Some of the languages are called tribal or aboriginal but are spoken by more number of people than those who speak European languages.

viii) From the given options choose the statement that is correct.

a) Twenty Dravidian languages are spoken by a quarter of India’s population.

b) Speakers of 54 different languages of the Indo European family make up about three quarters of India’s population.

c) Speakers of twenty Mon-Khmer languages and Sino-Tibetan languages together make up about two percent of the population.

d) India’s schools teach eight-five different languages.

II. Read the following passage carefully (10 x 1 = 10 marks)

The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation and is based on the fortune of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor and entrepreneur. The Nobel Prize is awarded for

the best contribution in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and to the person who has contributed by and large to bring Peace on Earth. In 1968, Sweden’s central bank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.

2. A look into the history of the recipients of the award reveals that only 57 women have received the award compared to 873 male recipients. There are various historical reasons for why this is the case, but the trend appears to be improving.

3. Goran Hansson, the permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said , “While more women are being recognised now compared with previous decades, only about 10% of the professors in natural sciences in western Europe or North America are women, and even lower if you go to east Asia.” All over the world, the number of men working in STEM fields is much higher than the number of women.

4. Hansson emphasised that they have made sure to identify the problem and also learn about subconscious bias in the prize-awarding committees and academies. “We’ve had lectures by sociologists, we’ve had group discussions, we have put quite a lot of effort into it,” he said.

5. “In the end, we will give the prize to those who are found the most worthy, those who have made the most important contributions,” he added.

Source (adapted):

1: https://factly.in/data-30-of-all-nobel-laureates-were-born-in-the-usa/

2 : https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/not-enough-women-nobel-laureatesno-quotas-says-academy-1039745.html

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions.

i) Infer one reason for the following based on information in paragraph 2:

Gender disparity among Nobel Prize recipients

ii) Based on the passage what efforts are being made by the Royal Swedish academy of Science to address the low representation of female scientists?

a) The academy is consciously awarding female scientists from the 2000s.

b) The academy is inviting sociologists to lecture about the gender gap.

c) The academy is hosting group discussions to boost the intelligence of female scientists.

d) The academy is being headed by a team of women scientists.

iii) Complete the following analogy correctly with a word or phrase from paragraph 4:

overcooked : annoyed :: …………………………… : dissatisfaction

iv) Which of these can be inferred from the graph showing the number of women Nobel laureates by decade?

a) No women received the Nobel Prize before the year 1910.

b) More women have received the Nobel Prize since 1971 than men.

c) At least one woman received the Nobel Prize every year since 1901.

d) Since 1961, women Nobel laureates have been increasing steadily every decade.

v. Which of the following option corresponds to the word ‘receiver’?

a) recipient

b) investor

c) entrepreneur

d) None of these

vi) Write two reasons why fewer women are selected for the Nobel Prize compared to men even in modern times.

vii) Write the criteria for how a Nobel laureate is selected.

viii) Select the option that gives appropriate titles to paragraph 1, 2 and 3.

a) Origin of Nobel Prize, Statistics of Recipients, Male Domination

b) The Sveriges Riksbank, Discrimination, Positive Change

c) Classification under Nobel Prize, Improved Scenario, Intelligent Men

d) Reasons Historical, Inequality, Women Focus on Peace

Section B – Grammar

III. Attempt any Ten of the following questions.

(i) Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option.

I can’t find my watch. I ……………………… for it everywhere.

a) looked up

b) looked for

c) looked in

d) looked through

ii) Read the conversation between Mohit and Rohan. Complete the sentence by reporting the conversation.

Mohit: Have you seen zebras in the zoo?

Rohan: No. There are no zebras in Mumbai zoos.

Mohit asked Rohan if he had seen zebras in the zoo. Rohan replied in the negative and added that …………………………………….

iii) Select the correct option to fill in the blank in the sentence below:

Stand up for your rights because nobody else ………………………..!

a) need to

b) will

c) must

d) might

iv) Complete the given narrative by filling in the blank with the correct option:

In 1619, the first African slaves ……………………….. in Virginia, USA and by 1790, their numbers ………………………… nearly 7,00,000.

a) have arrived, reached

b) had arrived, reached

c) arrived, had reached

d) arrived, reached

v) Select the correct option that identifies the error and supply the correction for the following line from a newspaper.

During the last few decades, many skilled men and women lost their jobs inside the pottery industry in the UK, but gradually English porcelain is regaining its reputation.

	Error	Correction
(a)	last	past
(b)	many	a lot of
(c)	inside	in
(d)	is regaining	has regained

(vi) Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:

Either of the two candidates …………………….. eligible.

a) are

b) is

c) has been

d) had been

(vii) Report the dialogue between Sam and Peter by completing the sentence.

Sam: Do you speak Italian?

Peter: No, I don’t speak Italian.

In response to Sam’s question whether Peter speaks Italian, Peter says ………………………………..

viii) Identify the error in the given sentence and supply the correction.

Have you ever learn from a mistake you made?

Error	Correction

(ix) Report the dialogue between Anita and Reena by completing the narration.

Anita: Do you know how to swim?

Reena: Yes, I learnt it during the summer vacation.

Anita asked Reena ………………………………………………….. Reena replied in the affirmative and added that she had learnt it during the summer vacation.

(x) Complete the following sentence by filling in the blank with the correct option:

If I were a billionaire, I …………………….. buy a posh bungalow.

a) would

b) should

c) will

d) must

(xi) Select the correct option to complete the dialogue between Anshu and Mohan.

Anshu: When will you be coming back home?

Mohan: I will be back by dinnertime.

Anshu asked Mohan when he would be coming back home. Mohan replied …………………………………………

a) if he would be back home by dinnertime

b) that he would be back home by dinnertime.

c) he would be back home by dinnertime.

d) that he was coming home by dinnertime.

xii) Identify the error on the board near a tree in the tropical rain forest in the Western Ghats and supply the correction.

Kokam Butter Tree

It was an evergreen tree with drooping branches. The leaves are egg shaped and dark green.

Error	Correction

Section B – Creative Writing Skills

IV. Attempt any one from A and B give below.

A. You are Nitin Sharma / Nitya Sharma, Head, Gold Gym Fitness Group, 234, Ram Vihar, Delhi. You wish to purchase certain herbal medicines and wellness products. Write a letter to the Store Manager, M/S East India, 54, Preet Vihar, Delhi placing an order for the specific products required by you.

OR

B. You are Vrinda / Varun. You attended an Art of Living for Students Workshop’ organized by your School’s Yoga Club. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing your views about how Yoga is beneficial and how it helps in coping with academic pressure.

V. Attempt any one from A and B given below.

A. With the help of the given flow chart, write an analytical paragraph in about 120 words on Rising Prices.

B. For a tourist, the ease of traveling to a country makes travel pleasurable and smooth. It makes a visitor go back to the destination again. In order to make the trip to India worth its while, the GOI has introduced a visa on arrival facility for travelers from many countries and the list keeps getting longer every year. Analysing the data in the graph below, write an analytical paragraph.

Section C – Literature (40 marks)

V. Reference to the context:

1. Attempt any one of the two extracts given:

A: IOTA: I can’t figure it out, Captain (holding up a book) I’ve counted two thousand of these peculiar items. This place must be some sort of storage barn. What do you think, Sergeant Oop?

Oop: I haven’t a clue. I’ve been to seven galaxies but I have never seen anything like this. Maybe they are hats. (He opens a book and puts it on his head) Say, maybe this is a haberdashery!

Omega: (bowing low) Perhaps the Great and the Mighty Think Tank will give us the benefit of his thought on the matter.

i) Select the option that correctly captures the usage of the expression ‘figure out’ from the first line of the extract?

a) It took them about one month to figure out how to operate the equipment.

b) Have you guys figured out a venue for the party yet?

c) It is difficult to access funding before an outline business plan has been figured out.

d) I took the figure out of the box and placed it on the mantelpiece.

ii) Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text.

Hint: strange :: Clue :: ………………………

iii) How do Omega, Iota and Oop describe the place they are in on Earth? Where are they actually? Answer in about 30-40 words:

iv) Choose the option that best describes the meaning of haberdashery as used in the extract.

(a) An investigator of strange unknown places

b) A shop where cloth, pin, threads etc are sold

c) A place where books are bound

d) A sort of witchcraft

OR

B. During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide. He used to come at least twice a day – once, when he set out in the morning on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from our sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine, the maid servant of the house! What we longed for were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully. Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.

i) Select the option that correctly captures the feeling that the baker’s arrival evoked in children’s mind

a) irritation

b) optimism

c) excitement

d) indifference

ii) State whether the following statement is True or False in the context of the extract above.

Both jingling and thud are onomatopoeic words because their respective sounds describe the noise the baker’s staff would make.

iii) The names Paskine or Bastine most probably refer to the ……………………….. in the narrator’s family.

a) servants

b) uncles

c) old men

d) older children

(iv) What light does the extract throw on the children’s relationship with the baker?

2. Attempt any one of two extracts given:

a) He stalks in his vivid stripes

The few steps of his cage,

On pads of velvet quiet

In his quiet rage

i) The expression ‘quiet rage’ is an example of the literacy device that has contradictory terms.

Name the literary device.

ii) The expression ‘few steps’ is suggestive of the tiger’s

a) inaction

b) laziness

c) freedom

d) captivity

iii) In addition to oxymoron, two other literary devices used in lines 3 and 4 are:

1. Repetition

2. Simile

3. Anaphora

4. Metaphor

5. Alliteration

a) options 3 and 4

b) options 1 and 3

c) options 2 and 5

d) options 1 and 4

(iv) How do you think the meaning of quiet in the third line contrasts with the meaning of quiet in the fourth line? Answer in about 30-40 words.

B. But presently up spoke little dog Mustard,

I’d have been twice as brave if I hadn’t been flustered.

And up spoke Ink and up spoke Blink

We’d have been three times as brave, we think,

And Custard said, I quite agree

That everybody is braver than me.

(i) Which of the following statements are true according to the extract?

1. The dog and the kitten stopped bragging about their bravery.

2. Belinda never claimed that she was the bravest.

3. Blink was not cured of his boasting.

4. Custard never claimed to be the bravest.

5. Custard did not deserve being called brave.

6. Mustard confessed that he was flustered.

a) Options 1, 3 and 5

b) Options 2, 5 and 6

c) Options 3, 4 and 6

d) Options 4, 5 and 6

(ii) …………………. is to flustered what sweet is to sour.

a) agitated

b) suppressed

c) calm

d) silent

(iii) The character trait of Ink, Blink and Mustard as evident in the extract is ………………………….

(iv) What is ironical with Custard’s comment ‘I agree that everybody is braver than me’?

VI. Answer any four of the following in about 40-50 words each.

i. Why does Gavin Maxwell say ‘the airhostess was the very queen of her mind’?

ii. How did Nelson Mandela illustrate that depths of oppression can create heights of character?

iii. What was the source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?

iv) What does Anne write in the diary about herself and her sister?

v) Money is External. What does Poet John Berryman mean by these words?

VII. Answer any two of the following in about 40-50 words each.

i. Were the twelve tiny gold spots on the monarch pupa just ornamental? What did Richard Ebright prove in this regard?

ii) Hari Singh could have lived like a rich Arab for a week or two with the money he stole from Anil but he chose to go back to Anil. Why?

iii. Do you think that the young woman in red proved to be smarter than Horace Danby? Elucidate.

VIII. Answer any one of the following in 100 – 120 words.

i. Parental acts are for the betterment of the children. Justify this statement by taking points from ‘His first flight’.

ii. One is known by one’s roots. The people of Coorg are also recognised for their values and traits in spite of being thousands of miles away from their places of origin – Greece and Arabia. Describe their values and traits.

IX. Answer any one of the following in 100 -120 words.

i. Presence of mind is more powerful than a gun. How far is it true in the case of Ausable, the secret agent?

OR

ii. Not accepting the limitations of our life makes us unhappy in our lives. Describe how Matilda Loisel suffers in her life because she does not accept that she is not a rich person.