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QUESTION PAPER CLASS X English -Communicative Maximum marks: 70 The question paper is divided into three sections. Section A: Section B : Section C: Time-3 hours 20 marks 25 marks 25marks SECTION-A : READING ( 20 MARKS) Read the following passage carefully: (12 marks) 1. Why is it that there are very few women players in our orchestras ? If one could reply flatly - sex discrimination: they don t want women in orchestras that would be a definite answer. But one can t say that. As a matter of fact there are, if not many, a few women playing today in symphony orchestras. Nevertheless, it is true that male orchestral players are in an overwhelming majority. Why is that ? I m afraid, there is no one answer. There are physical reasons why women don t perform well on certain instruments. The average woman is not likely to possess sufficient lung power and sheer muscular strength to play the tuba just as an average woman s hands are not likely to be large enough to finger a double bass satisfactorily. But what about the other instruments ? 2. I think social and family pressures have been very strong in keeping women out of orchestras. Think of the prejudice that existed half a century ago against the so-called nice girls going on stage. The stage was won out for the simple reason that it had to have women to play feminine roles in plays and operas, and was willing to offer a young woman more money than she could make in any other profession. Moreover, on stage, she was appearing as an individual, as a center of attraction. This was gratifying to both her and her family. To this day, while the average parents are reconciled to seeing their daughter become an opera singer or concert artist, they don t like the idea of seeing her submerging her personality to become the member of a chorus of the orchestra. 3. Another reason why we have so few women orchestral musicians is that so few of them play wind instruments well enough. They don t play well enough because they haven t had the proper training; and the reason for that lies in the history of orchestral music. You will find that famous European families of bassoon players or clarinetists taught their sons to play the family instrument.
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