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CBSE Class 10 Exam 2024 : English Language & Literature : Periodic Test

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UNIT TEST 2 (TERM- 1) SUBJECT: ENGLISH GRADE: X DATE: 18.8.23 Duration: 1 HOUR Max Marks: 30 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE Sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. SECTION A: READING SKILLS 1. 6 Marks Read the following text. 1. If one is looking for the origins of today s newspapers, then one should go back to the days of the Romans under Julius Caesar. He started issuing handwritten public announcements which he called Acta Diurna , which means Daily Events . Then in 59 BC, he began issuing Acta Senatus which contained a summary of the debates that were held in the Roman Senate. These were pasted on walls at places where it was convenient for the public to read. But some government officials were dissatisfied with this arrangement. They began objecting to the common people knowing too much about them and the news bulletins were discontinued. In the present day, such a measure would be termed as censorship, when people in power curb the power of the press. 2. Newspapers got a great boost thereafter, when in the 15th century in Europe, printing presses came into use. The printed word became one of the most important means of communication. Large news-sheets were produced and this was a precursor of today s newspaper. The first newspapers, as we think of them, began in the 16th century. But these papers contained mainly commercial news. It was only later that political news began appearing in newspapers and that too, when it had a direct impact on commerce and trade. Finally, the first newspaper as we know it, was published in 1609, in German, and was called the Avisa Relation oder Zeitung . 3. In India, although printing on cloth, using wooden blocks was much in use, the link between communication and printing remained unexplored. Urgent news was carried by relays of runners and in the time of the Mughals, news writers kept the emperor informed about conditions in distant parts of the country. The technology of printing began in India when some Portuguese Jesuit priests imported the first printing press in 1550, and used it to publish religious books and leaflets to spread Christianity among people. The first news SNS-GGN/Subject- English /Grade- 10/Unit Test 2/Term-1/2023-24 1 sheets came up when the British set up their presidency in Calcutta and Madras. These news sheets were not for general circulation but were meant for informing their offices in Calcutta and Madras about what was happening to their fellow countrymen in India. 4. But an adventurous individual among them, James Augustus Hicky, who had come to India to seek his fortune, began printing the first newspaper. He brought out a paper titled the Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Adviser , in 1780, which described itself as being a weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none. The paper contained advertisements, commercial news, and government or party gossip. It became unpopular with the government and two years later, Hicky was jailed. Other newspapers sprang up in its place, but now the government carefully watched its contents and often censored what was written. However, many newspapers escaped censorship as they operated underground and had selective circulation. Answer the following questions, based on the passage above. i) Why does the author refer to Acta Senatus ? 1 Mark (a) These were the first public announcements shared by a king. (b) They were the first newspapers published in Europe. (c) They were summary of the debates held in the Roman Senate. (d) They were official laws or acts announced by the Roman government. ii) According to the author, the fact that the earliest synopses of the Senate proceedings were discontinued at the behest of some senators, have an analogy in modern times which is 1 Mark (a) Acta Diurna (b) editing (c) newspapers (d) censorship iii) When the Bengal Gazette came out with the tagline - A weekly political and 1 Mark commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none what, according to you, were its aims as a newspaper? (30 words) iv) The writer says that the early newspapers in the 16th century were printed on large news-sheets. Which social strata did they cater to? Explain with an example from the text. (30 words) SNS-GGN/Subject- English /Grade- 10/Unit Test 2/Term-1/2023-24 1 Mark 2 v) The news sheets that were introduced in the British presidency in Calcutta and Madras were not meant for general circulation. Which word matches with this statement? (Para 3) 1 Mark (a) inclusive (b) exclusive (c) censored (d) comprehensive vi) Given below is the list of means of relaying of news in India, as mentioned in the passage since the Mughals. Mark the INCORRECT entry in this list. 1 Mark 1. relays of runners and news writers 2. written announcements of public importance 3. news sheets for the British Presidency 4. Bengal Gazette 5. Newspapers SECTION B: WRITING SKILLS 5 Marks 2A. You are Minu Sen, an intern in a software company in Hyderabad. You feel that the growing relationship of companies with non-profit organisations have made Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the buzzword today. Your own involvement in one such project for your company has convinced you that CSR looks beyond the company profits and focuses on benefiting the greater community. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily in about 120-150 words, sharing your opinion about CSR and its advantages and provide suggestions to make it an integral part of every organisation. Use the given cues along with your own ideas to compose this letter. OR 2B. You are Ruchir/Ruchira Dagar living in Gulmohar Apartments, Ghaziabad whose residents frequent a park situated nearby. While it is the hub of games SNS-GGN/Subject- English /Grade- 10/Unit Test 2/Term-1/2023-24 3 for the children in the evenings, it is also where the adults spend their time walking, doing yoga, and socially interacting with each other. However, a commercial shopping complex backed by local political leaders and a renowned real estate company will replace the park soon, according to the local RWA. Express your concerns in a letter to the editor of a national daily. SECTION C: LITERATURE TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLEMENTARY READING TEXT 3. Read the given extract and answer the questions given. 5 Marks But he s locked in a concrete cell, His strength behind bars, Stalking the length of his cage, Ignoring visitors. i) Bring out the significance of the word But in the first line. 1 Mark ii) The tiger s attitude towards the visitors comprises the following - 1 Mark a) indifference and bitterness b) indifference and regret c) indifference and uneasiness d) indifference and spite iii) The tiger is powerless in its cage. Comment on the language used in the extract 2 Marks that suggests the tiger s helplessness. iv) The figure of speech used in His strength behind bars is ________________ 1 Mark Answer ANY THREE of the following four questions, in about 40-50 words. 9 Marks 4. The function of freedom is to free someone else. How do Mandela s actions, after he joined the ANC, prove the sentiment expressed by the quote? 3 Marks 5. The narrator asks himself Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane flying in a storm, without lights? Comment on the various emotions that the narrator would have felt after landing safely and, then, learning that the black aeroplane had not been visible on the radar. 3 Marks 6. Mrs. Pumphrey does not realize the harm she has caused Tricki even when he is at the vet s clinic. Elaborate. 3 Marks 7. The young seagull failed to muster up courage to take that plunge . In what way can the reference to the plunge here be both literal and metaphorical? Explain 3 Marks SNS-GGN/Subject- English /Grade- 10/Unit Test 2/Term-1/2023-24 4 Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 100-120 words. 5 Marks 8A. The young seagull s mother watches as he makes a desperate plunge for the food and, then falls through the air before embarking on his first flight. Later she hops over to where the family has stopped all activities and is tracking the flight of one its youngest member. Write a brief conversation among the mother, father and the siblings, highlighting their reflections on self-belief, courage and discovering one s potential. OR 8B. Prejudice based on race and colour or any other reason causes profound hurt. Discuss the consequences of prejudice as faced by the natives of South Africa tracing them from the Anglo Boer war to how they shaped Mandela s ideas regarding oppression and emancipation. SNS-GGN/Subject- English /Grade- 10/Unit Test 2/Term-1/2023-24 5

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