ICSE Class 10, 9 English Language Practice Papers – 5 With Answers
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Write a composition (350-400 words) on any one of the following:
Question 1(a).
You have gone to a circus with your friends. Describe your visit and your experience.
Answer:
The circus which had camped in our town had become the talk of the town. It had been attracting large crowds. People who had seen its show were full of praise for the daring physical feats of men and women and the antics of the tamed animals. The lions, the elephants and the hippopotamus were the great crowd pullers.
My friends and I made a program to visit the circus on a Sunday. The show began at 6.00 p.m. We reached the circus, purchased our tickets and were in our seats by 5.45 p.m. First of all some young gymnasts, both boys and a girl, showed their physical feats. The way the twisted their bodies made one wonder whether their bodies were made of flesh or rubber.
The physical movements of their bodies were greatly applauded by all. Intermittent feats by the joker made the spectators burst in to laughter. He seemed to be quite an expert but performed in a funny way just to amuse the people.
Next a girl on a wire performed in mid-air with an umbrella in her hand. The rope dancing of the Japanese girl was very interesting. The body builder or acrobat showed the control of his muscles. The throwing of sharp daggers by a man at a beautiful girl standing against a board was quite interesting.
Then came the cyclists. Their valiant and dangerous feats on wheels had everyone applauding.This was followed by the motor cyclists who ran their motor cycles simultaneously in a deep well. They called it the “well of death”. Their daring and dangerous feats kept the spectators spellbound.
Last of all were displayed the feats of animals. The monkeys rode unicycles. A bear drove a motor cycle. Then came the turn of the elephants .Their leader saluted the spectators and played football. The show of the lions was marvellous. It really proved man’s supremacy over the animals. The lion and the goat stood side by side.
Finally to everyone’s disappointment the show came to an end and we returned home.
Question 1(b).
“The use of polythene bags should be banned.” Give your views for or against the statement.
Answer:
There is no doubt that the current use and disposal of polythene bags, both by consumers and through waste management activities, not only create environmental problems, but also reinforce the perception of a wasteful society.
Polythene is not biodegradable. So where ever people leave them, they will stay, forever. Plastic bags as litter create a visual pollution problem, and affect our aquatic wildlife, while the heavy reliance on ‘disposable’ plastic bags raises questions of resource consumption and resource efficiency. Environmentalists rightly point out that we have “modified our environment so radically that we must now modify ourselves to exist in this new environment.” The polyethene articles affect the survival of animals and the aquatic and marine eco systems. Polythene is harmful for animals if swallowed. It can accumulate in the bowels which ultimately becomes lethal to the animal.
In most households poly bags are used to preserve food items. Reused bags may be contaminated by materials harmful to human health.
Moreover vital natural resources are used to make the plastic bags. Polythene is made from crude oil and natural gas. We are extracting and destroying the Earth to use a plastic bag for 10 minutes.
Thus we see that polythene bags are an environmental hazard. Plastic bags are now ubiquitous in our environment, and animals both on land and in water are being strangled, choked and killed by them. Plastic bags are now the fifth most common debris item found on beaches. Meanwhile, Planet Ark, an international environmental group, estimates that, worldwide, 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year. Visually also the litter of bags everywhere is a disgusting site and by not using them we could also be saving our depleting natural resources.
Question 1(c).
Write a story which justifies the theme, “A blessing in disguise.”
Answer:
There was once an old man in a village in a remote area .The man lived with his son and wife on a stud farm where they bred horses for the army. One day while they were all sleeping soundly at night the servant by mistake left the stable door open and one of the old man’s favourite stallion escaped. The stallion was an expensive horse worth a lot of money and necessary for the stud farm to make profit. The neighbours came to sympathise with the old man but he told them that there was nothing to grieve about as it was the will of god and there must be some blessing in it.
Months passed and then one day the stallion returned, accompanied by a beautiful ,rare breed of white mare. The neighbour’s heard the good news and came to congratulate the old man. But again he told them that there was no need for feeling so happy as it was god’s will and things had so happened because there was a reason for it. He neighbours were surprised at his answer and went back.
One day while his son wasriding the stallion, the horse tripped and fell breaking the son’s leg. As a result the son could no longer walk without a limp. The neighbours again came to offer their sympathies on his bad luck but his answer was the same—that it was god’s will and there must be some good in it. The neighbours felt that the old man had gone mad and went back.
Soon a war broke out in the country and all the old man’s neighbours had to join the army. The old man’s son could not join the army as he had a limp. Most of the neighbours were killed in the war but the old man was lucky to have his son alive. If he had not fallen and broken his leg he too would have had to go and fight the war and might have died.
Very often, when an event takes place that everybody thinks is good luck, the end results are disastrous. In the same way, an unlucky event can bring about happiness. Therefore, one should not lose heart if something goes wrong because it might be a blessing in disguise.
Question 1(d).
“Nothing is impossible in this world.” Narrate an incident from your experience which brings out the truth of this statement.
Answer:
I strongly believe in the adage that nothing is impossible and history bears testimony to the truth of this statement. People like Alexander ,the Great, Louis Braille, the blind educationist and Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf have proved that the term impossible itself comprises the words ‘I’ ‘M’ Possible.
An incident from my life also proved its truth to me. 1 was born with a major handicap and was born paralysed from waist downwards. But that did not deter me from leading a normal life. Nor did it dampen the will of my parents. They encouraged me to be self-reliant and to participate in all physical and mental activities.
Since early childhood I was interested in sports but my favourite was swimming. All said that it was an impossible dream and I could never swim .But 1 did not give up. My parents spared no effort to look for doctors who would help me and finally they found a doctor who could help me to use my legs like the flapping tail of a fish. A coach started my swimming practise and after a gruelling training of about three years I participated in the World Paralympics. This is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 4.4 million athletes in 170 countries. There 1 met others like me who were ready to challenge their destiny and emerge winners.
I was the winner of the swimming championship and proved to the world and to me that nothing is impossible if one has the will and the determination to achieve one’s goals.
Question 1(e).
Study the picture given below. Write a story or an account of what the picture suggests to you. Your composition maybe about the subject of the picture or you may take suggestions from it; but there must be a clear connection between the picture and the composition.
Answer:
The menace of pick pockets is rather common in all major cities in India. If you have an iPhone/iPad, you might want to use the app called Be Safe that lets you assess “hotspots” of where pickpockets and gangs prowl, and which are the most dangerous neighborhoods.
A person might sit down in a park or lounge on a station or bus stop. Then the pickpocket sits behind the person facing the other way. They usually work in groups and will use a strange distraction method like extremely loud music to distract you. The pickpocket slides his or her hand into the person’s coat pockets and steals its contents. They are very professional, leave fast and get lost in the crowd outside.
One must be particularly aware in the colder months with heavy coats on die metro at bus stops or any crowded place. When it is crowded it is very easy for the pickpockets to slip their hands in big pockets. Do not keep valuables in exterior coat pockets or back pockets on backpacks/knapsacs, and keep your purse in front of you where you can see it.
Pickpockets will stand very close to you on the train even if it is not crowded. They can be very well dressed and extremely young girls, that look 8 or 10. They will put their bag close to yours and reach underneath with their other hand try and reach in yours.
Thieves are at this time either already in the train or even outside, and they will take advantage of the situation when the doors are closing to swiftly catch the victim’s bag and run away in the metro’s tunnels. As soon as they start running, an accomplice takes the belonging and runs in the opposite direction so that they make sure not being easily arrested. The best strategy to follow is to avoid staying close to the doors within the train. Many pickpockets do their job while it is crowded and people are about to enter the train. This is usually a moment where people are more distracted and vulnerable. So one must keep a safe distance from strangers especially at crowded places, hold bags tightly, be vigilant and keep your money in front pocket.
(Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)
Select one of the following:
Question 2(a).
Write a letter to your friend describing a protest rally in which you participated recently.
Answer:
26, Curzon Road
Calcutta
West Bengal
Dear Moorthy
How are you? I am sorry for not writing to you earlier but I was busy as I had participated in a protest rally.
Let me tell you in detail about it. Ramdev had announced that he would launch a people’s anticorruption movement called Bharat Swabhiman Andolan. Ramdev subsequently led a major protest at the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi on 4 June 2011. He intended to highlight the need for legislation to repatriate black money deposited abroad. He demanded that such untaxed money should be declared to be the wealth of the nation and, further, that the act of caching money alleged to have been obtained illegally in foreign banks should be declared a crime against the state.
I was very impressed and decided to join the protest rally. Preparations included setting up toilet, drinking water and medical facilities, as well as a media center. 65,000 followers gathered at the Maidan. The rally started and a peaceful march was held with the police monitoring the whole set up.
I was very happy to be a small part of a big movement against the widespread corruption ! in our country. Next time I will also invite you to participate.
Do keep in touch. Regards to your parents.
Your loving friend
Deepak
Question 2(b).
You have been requested to judge a one-act play competition. However you are unable f to do so due to unavoidable circumstances. Write a letter of regret to the principal of the host school declining the invitation.
Answer:
24, Curzon road
Muzaffarpur 20th Sep, 2014
To
The Principal
XYZ School
Muzaffarnagar.
Sir,
My sincere thanks for the thoughtful invitation to judge the One-Act Play Competition being hosted by your school. However, I am sorry that my travel plans will take me away during that week, so I won’t be able to be part of the program; otherwise, I would have been pleased to accept your invitation.
If you do not have another person in mind, you might consider inviting my colleague, who is also a professor in the university. I think you would find his insights very interesting. In any case, I wish you a very successful evening. Thank you for thinking of me.
Regards
Yours sincerely
Professor XYZ
Question 3.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Answer:
“Which flowers do you like best?” Octavian asked the children with eagerness in his voice.
“Those with all the colours, over there.” Three little children pointed to a distant tangle of sweet-pea. Childlike, they had asked for what lay farthest from hand, but Octavian trotted off to obey their welcome behest. Octavian pulled and plucked and brought a variety of flowers he could see into his bunch. Then he turned to retrace his steps, and found no trace of Olivia, his two-year-old daughter. Far down the meadow three children were pushing a cart at the utmost speed they could muster in the direction of the cowshed; it was Olivia’s cart and Olivia sat in it.
Octavian stared for a moment at the rapidly moving group, and then he started in hot pursuit, sheeding as he ran sprays of blossom from the mass of flowers that he still clutched in his hands. Fast as he ran, the children had reached the cowshed before he could overtake them. He arrived just in time to see Olivia being hauled and pushed up to the roof of the nearest cowshed.
“What are you going to do with her?” he panted. ,
“We are kidnapping her and keeping her with us,” said the boy.
“You surely wouldn’t treat my poor little Olivia in that way?” he pleaded.
“You had injured our cat,” came in stern reminder from three throats. A few days ago, Octavian’s poor helpless chickens had gone one by one to their doom, so it was in order that the cat, their destroyer had to be given a sound beating.
“I’m very sorry I did that,” said Octavian.
“We shall be very sorry when we’ve kidnapped Olivia,” said the girl. Before Octavian could think of any fresh line of appeal, his energies were called out in another direction. Olivia had slid off the roof and fallen into a dirty muck. Octavian scrambled hastily over the wall to her rescue, and at once found himself in a loose wet ground that engulfed his feet. Octavian, battling on the slippery ground, saw his daughter slowly disappearing in the engulfing slush.
“I can’t reach her in time,” gasped Octavian; “she’ll be choked in the muck. Won’t you help her?”
“But you had injured our cat,” came the inevitable reminder.
“I’ll do anything to show you how sorry I am about that,” cried Octavian.
“Will you stand in a white sheet under the oak tree for three hours holding a candle?”
“Yes,” screamed Octavian.
“All right,” came the reply from the roof, and a moment later a short ladder was pushed across to Octavian, who lost no time in propping it against the low wall. Scrambling carefully along its rungs he was able to lean across the messy ground that separated him from his slowly sinking Olivia and extract her like an unwilling cork from its slippery embrace.
That same evening when twilight was deepening into darkness, Octavian took up his position as penitent under the lone oak tree. He held in one hand a lighted candle and in the other a watch. He felt certain that three pairs of solemn eyes were watching his moth-shared vigil.
Question 3(a).
Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be accepted.
(1) Behest
Ans. behest-a person’s orders or command.
(2) clutched
Ans. clutched-grasp (something) tightly.
(3) penitent
Ans. penitent-feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant.
Question 3(b).
Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:
Question 1.
What was the welcome behest which Octavian obeyed?
Answer:
Octavian obeyed the welcome behest of the three children to get them the flowers of all colours from the tangle which was the farthest.
Question 2.
Where did Octavian see Olivia first? What was happening to her when Octavian arrived at the cowshed?
Answer:
At first Octavian saw Olivia sitting in a cart which was being pushed at the utmost speed by the three children. When Octavian arrived at the cowshed the children were hauling and pushing Olivia onto the roof of the nearest cowshed.
Question 3.
What were the children going to do with Olivia? How was Octavian responsible for the children’s action?
Answer:
The children were going to kidnap Olivia and keep her with them. Octavian was responsible for the children’s action because he had injured their cat.
Question 4.
In what precarious position were Octavian as well as Olivia a little later?
Answer:
A little later Octavian found himself falling into a loose wet ground and he saw Olivia also engulfed in the wet slush.
Question 5.
State how Octavian rescued Olivia?
Answer:
Octavian agreed that he would stand under the oak tree in a white sheet holding a candle for three hours. The children pushed a ladder towards him and he propped it against a low wall and scrambled carefully along its rungs to lean across the messy ground and extract from the slush his slowly disappearing daughter.
Question 6.
What penance did Octavian do for injuring the cat of the three children?
Answer:
As penance Octavian stood that same evening under the oak tree holding a lighted candle in one hand and a watch in the other. He was to stand there in the deepening darkness for three hours as penance.
Question 7.
In not more than 60 words, explain why Olivia was held captive by the three children and how she was rescued.
Answer:
Olivia was held captive by the three children because her father had injured their cat. Octavian rescued her by promising to do penance for his action and rescued her from drowning in the slush in the cowshed.
Question 8.
Give a title to the passage and give a reason to justify your choice.
Answer:
A suitable title would be “A tooth for a tooth” because the children wanted to punish Octavian * by hurting his loved one just as he had hurt their loved cat.
Question 4(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 the correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space.
__ 1___ (wish) to test the security system in his new fort, the king and his minister__ 2___ (disguise) themselves and reached its main gate . They______ 3__ (stop) by the guard ,who did not 4 (recognise) either of them. “We have come on an urgent business inside,” said the minister. “Kindly let us in.” “ No,I cannot ,Sir ,1 need 5 (get) the permission from the security chief,” said the guard.The minister urged the guard to let them in, and 6 (offer) him a bag full of gold coins.___ 7___ (tempt) by the money, the guard allowed the minister and the king to enter the fort. Then said the minister, ‘Your Majesty, security is not about how strong your fort is. It is about how dependable your men 8 ______ (be).”
Answer:
- Wishing
- disguised
- were stopped
- recognise.
- to get
- offered.
- tempted
- are
Question 4(b).
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
- The firm decided to cut down on expenditure due to inflation.
- Shakespeare drew upon folklore for the themes of his plays.
- Unjust criticism was levelled at the school.
- The Municipality allowed us to proceed with our building plans.
- Heavy fines deter motorists from speeding.
- They split our party into three groups.
- They blamed me for forgetting the passport.
- Compare hotel prices in Delhi with the prices in Mumbai.
Question 4(c).
Combine each set of the following sentences without using and, but or so
(1) He is tall. His brother is equally tail.
Ans. He is as tall as his brother.
(2) The thief saw me. He at once took to his heels.
Ans. As soon as the thief saw me ,he took to his heels.
(3) He did not succeed in his plan. Can you tell me the reason?
Ans. Can you tell me the reason why he did not succeed in his plan?
(4) This is an anthill. A snake lives here.
Ans. This is an anthill, however a snake lives here.
Question 4(d).
Rewrite 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.
(1) Did you manage to finish the job? (Use: succeed)
Ans. Did you succeed in finishing the job?
(2) He was unable to take up the post until early the following year. (Begin: not until…)
Ans. Not until early the following year was he able to take the job.
(3) He was too young to be employed. (Begin: Had he..)
Ans. Had he been older he could have been employed.
(4) Its too late to do anything about it. (Begin : I wish …)
Ans. I wish it was not too late to do anything about it.
(5) He conducted the show like a trained artist. ( Use : as if)
Ans. He conducted the show as if he was a trained artist.
(6) In addition to an accountant we need a superintendent. (Use: not only…but also)
Ans. Not only do we need an accountant but also a superintendent.
(7) As soon as i heard a knock at the door, I switched on the light. (Use: No sooner…than)
Ans. No sooner did I hear a knock at the door than I switched on the light.
(8) Meera said to me, “Please do not forget to bring your passport tomorrow.” (Begin: I was…)
Ans. I was requested by Meera not to forget to bring my passport the next day.
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