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ICSE Class X Prelims 2026 : English Paper 1 (English Language) (GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai)

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Ashtaad Ashrat Bharucha
GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai

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MOCK EXAMINATION 2026 ENGLISH LANGUAGE Grade: 10 Time: 2 hours Date: 16.2.2026 Max. Marks: 80 Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately. You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes. This time is to be spent 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 questions or parts of questions are given in brackets []. Question 1 (Do not spend more than 30 minutes on this question.) Write a composition (300-350 words) on any one of the following: [20] a) You once helped your friend during a difficult time. Give an account of what happened, what motivated you and what you learnt from your experience. b) Describe the scene outside your school at dispersal time. Describe what you see or hear and express the feelings the scene evokes in you. c) Single-use plastics should be banned globally. Express your views either for or against this statement. d) Write an original short story in which a salesman unexpectedly wins a lottery ticket that brings about a significant change in his life. e) Study the picture given overleaf. Write a story or a description or an account of what it suggests to you. Your composition may be about the subject of the picture or you may take suggestions from it. However, there must be a clear connection between the picture and your composition. Page 1 of 7 Question 2 (Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.) Select one of the following: [10] a) You recently organised a bake sale in your school. Write a letter to your cousin who lives in another city/town, explaining why the bake sale was organised, the specific role you played in it and the outcome of your efforts. b) Several streetlights in your neighbourhood have not been functioning for weeks, making the area unsafe at night. Write a letter to the Municipal Commissioner of your town/city complaining about the problem. Offer possible solutions. Question 3 [5+5] a) Your school is hosting an Inter-School STEM Competition for students from grades 8 to 12. Draft a notice for your school noticeboard giving all the necessary details. b) Write an email to an industrial expert requesting him/her to judge the event. Page 2 of 7 Question 4 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: [20] You are not to go into the gooseberry garden, said the aunt, changing the subject. Why not? demanded Nicholas. Because you are in disgrace, said the aunt loftily. Nicholas did not admit the flawlessness of the reasoning; he felt perfectly capable of being in disgrace and in a gooseberry garden at the same moment. His face took on an expression of considerable obstinacy. It was clear to his aunt that he was determined to get into the gooseberry garden, only, as she remarked to herself, because I have told him he is not to. Now the gooseberry garden had two doors by which it might be entered, and once a small person like Nicholas could slip in there, he could effectually disappear from view amid the masking growth of artichokes, raspberry canes, and fruit bushes. The aunt had many other things to do that afternoon but she spent an hour or two in trivial gardening operations among flower beds and shrubberies when she could keep a watchful eye on the two doors that led to the forbidden paradise. She was a woman of few ideas with immense powers of concentration. Nicholas made one or two sorties into the front garden, wriggling his way with obvious stealth of purpose towards one or the other of the doors but never able for a moment to evade the aunt s watchful eye. As a matter of fact, he had no intention of trying to get into the gooseberry garden but it was extremely convenient for him that his aunt should believe that he had; it was a belief that would keep her on self-imposed watch duty for the greater part of the afternoon. Having thoroughly confirmed and fortified her suspicions Nicholas slipped back into the house and rapidly put into execution a plan of action that had long germinated in his brain. By standing on a chair in the library, one could reach a shelf on which reposed a fat important-looking key. The key was as important as it looked; it was the instrument that kept the mysteries of the lumber room secure from unauthorized intrusion, which opened a way only for aunts and such-like privileged persons. Page 3 of 7 The key turned stiffly in the lock, but it turned. The door opened, and Nicholas was in an unknown land, compared with which the gooseberry garden was a stale delight, a mere material pleasure. Often and often Nicholas had pictured to himself what the lumber-room might be like, that region that was so carefully sealed from youthful eyes. In the first place it was large and dimly lit, one high window opening on to the forbidden garden being its only source of illumination. In the second place it was a storehouse of unimagined treasures. The aunt-by assertion was one of those people who think that things spoil by use and consign them to dust and damp by way of preserving them. Such parts of the house as Nicholas knew best were rather bare and cheerless, but here there were wonderful things for the eye to feast on. She had grown suspicious at his long disappearance and had leapt to the conclusion that he had climbed over the wall. Nicholas, Nicholas! she screamed, you are to come out of this at once. It s no use trying to hide there; I can see you all the time. It was probably the first time in twenty years that anyone had smiled in that lumber-room. (The Lumber Room by Saki) i) For each word given below, choose the correct meaning (as used in the passage) from the options provided: [2] 1. Obstinacy a) Flexibility b) Stubbornness c) Offering d) Accepting 2. Sorties a) Attempts b) Planning c) Pleasant walks d) Sprints ii) Which word in the passage is the opposite of darkness ? (1) a) Intrusion b) illumination c) Germinated d) Execution Page 4 of 7 ii) iii) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words: 1. Why did Nicholas find the aunt s reasoning unacceptable? [2] 2. How did the aunt try to prevent Nicholas from entering the garden? [2] 3. What did Nicholas do to trick his aunt? [2] 4. Quote a sentence from the passage that shows that the aunt was a disciplinarian. [1] 5. How according to Nicholas did the aunt preserve things? [2] In not more than 50 words, describe how Nicholas cleverly distracts his aunt and enters the lumber room. 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: Mental health is (1) (be) a significant concern among students worldwide. Many students _____ (2) (experience) stress and anxiety due to academic pressures. In the past, mental health _____ (3) (be) often stigmatized, but now it's gaining recognition. By next year, more resources _____ (4) (allocate) to support students' mental well-being. Currently, universities ____ (5) (implement) various initiatives to promote mental health awareness. Students who _____ (6) (practise) mindfulness often report better coping mechanisms. If students _____ (7) (seek) support early, they're more likely to succeed academically. In the future, mental health support _____ (8) (integrate) more into university curricula. As awareness increases, students ______ (9) (empower) to prioritize their mental health. b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate words: 1. The hikers had to walk ________ the dense forest to reach the campsite. 2. The new policy is geared ________ supporting local businesses. Page 5 of 7 [4] 3. The treasure was hidden ________ the walls of the old mansion. 4. The conflict was settled ________ the two parties involved. 5. The artist's work is often misunderstood _____ its complexity. 6. The new road runs _______ the coast offering stunning views. 7. The students are working ________ a project on sustainable energy. 8. The economy has grown significantly ________ the new government's policies. c) Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so. Choose the correct answer: [4] 1. The company is small. It has a big impact. a) Although the company is small, it has a big impact. b) In spite of its small size, the company has a big impact. c) The company may be small, but it has a big impact. d) Small as the company is, it has a big impact. 2. They got the tickets. They rushed into the theatre immediately. a) They got the tickets and rushed into the theatre immediately. b) They got the tickets, so they rushed into the theatre immediately. c) As soon as they got the tickets, they rushed into the theatre. d) As soon as they got the tickets they rushed into the theatre immediately. 3. Mohan is industrious. He is very particular in his work. a) Mohan is industrious as well as particular in his work. b) Mohan is industrious and particular in his work. c) Mohan is not only industrious but also very particular in his work. d) Mohan is industrious because he is very particular in his work. 4. Tom is not good at sports. Tom is not good at studies. a) Tom is either good at sports or good at studies. b) Tom is neither good at sports nor at studies. c) Tom is not good at sports and at studies. d) Tom is not at sports nor he is not good at studies. d) 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 sentence. Choose the correct options: [8] 1. Lena said, Where have you been yesterday? [ Begin: Lena asked ] a) Lena asked where she had been the day before. b) Lena asked where she had been yesterday. Page 6 of 7 c) Lena asked where she was the day before. d) Lena asked where she could be the day before. 2) Who brought you here? [ begin: By . ] a) By whom have you been brought here? b) By whom are brought by whom here? c) By who were you brought you here? d) By whom were you brought here? 3) Despite the best efforts by the Police, the money could not be retrieved. [Begin: In spite ] a) In spite the best efforts by the Police, the money could not be retrieved. b) In spite the best efforts by the Police the money could not be retrieved. c) In spite of the best efforts by the Police, the money could not be retrieved. d) Inspite of the best efforts, the police could not retrieve the money. 4) No sooner had the whistle been blown than the athletes leapt forward. [Begin: Scarcely .] a) Scarcely had the whistle been blown than the athletes leapt forward. b) Scarcely had the whistle been blown, the athletes leapt forward. c) Scarcely did the whistle blow when the athletes leapt forward. d) Scarcely had the whistle been blown when the athletes leapt forward. 5) How exhilarating it was to see the rainbow! [Begin: It ] a) b) c) d) It was very exhilarating to see the rainbow. It was very exhilarating to see the rainbow! It was exhilarating to see the rainbow. It was so very exhilarating to see the rainbow. 6) Jonas would rather stay at home than go out and play in the rain. [Begin: Jonas prefers ] a) Jonas prefers staying home to going out and playing in the rain. b) Jonas prefers staying at home than going out and playing in the rain. c) Jonas prefers staying at home to going out and playing in the rain. d) Jonas prefers staying at home to playing out in the rain. 7) She is the most confident speaker in the team. [ Begin: No ] a) No other speaker in the team is as confident as she is. b) No other speaker in the team is so confident as she is. c) No other speaker in the team is more confident as she is. d) No other speaker in the team is confident as she is. 8) If I do not practice, my English will not improve. [Begin: Unless ] a) Unless I practice my English will not improve. b) Unless I practice my English will improve. c) Unless I practice, my English will not improve. d) Unless I practice it, my English will not improve. Page 7 of 7

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