CBSE Sample Paper 9 2020-21 English half yearly
Half Yearly Examination (2020-21)
Class-IX
Time- 3:00 hours
Maximum Marks-80
Subject: English (184)
All questions are compulsory.
SECTION ‘A’: READING (20 MARKS)
1- Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow : (8)
Heavy rain in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand since Friday claimed 27 lives, even as rivers continued to be in spate in Bihar. Fifteen deaths were reported in Madhya Pradesh since Friday evening as the Met department predicted more showers and sounded heavy downpour alert for some districts on Sunday. Three Indian Air Force aircraft dropped food packets and medicines and flooded areas of Rewa district, Collector Rahul Jain said. Seven people, including a woman and four minors, were killed and three others were injured when a house collapsed in Rahatgarh area of Sagar district on Saturday. Two people, including an old woman, were also killed and seven others were injured when a newly constructed building collapsed due to incessant rains at Maihar in Satna district. A jeep carrying two persons was swept away in the swollen Betwariveras it attempted to cross a bridge in Raisen district. Three bodies were recovered from a nullah on Saturday in Chhattarpur district. The victims were travelling in a car that was washed away off a bridge on the flooded nullah on Friday. In Rajasthan, five people were killed when their house collapsed in Phool Baroda village in Baran district due to incessant rains since Saturday morning that created a flood like situation in several parts of the state. Several people are feared stranded in Chabra, Chipabarode, Kawai, Harnavadashahajiareas as the Parvan, Parwati, Ujjad and other rivers areoverflowing after the rains.Seven members of a family were killed when their hose wasrazed to the ground by huge boulders that rolled down the hillfollowing a cloudburst in Pauri district of Uttrakhand on Saturday.
The Army was called in to the flood affected areas of Saran district as senior officials also rushed to the spot. At least 24 people were airlifted in Baran district and nearby areas. Several villages remained inundated after water entered buildings, houses and a private power plant in Baran.
(i)How many lives have been lost in heavy rain?
(ii) What happened in Satna district?
(iii) Who was the collector of Rewa district?
(iv) Why was a jeep swept away?
(v) In which district does Phool Baroda village lie?
(vi) How many people died in Rahatgarh area?
(vii) Which rivers are overflowing after rains?
(viii) Who rescued the lives of people in Baran district?
2- Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. (12)
One more Olympics has gone by. A total of 974 medals were won by 87 countries; 54 countries won at least one Gold. The U.S flew home with the best medal tally of all time for that country with 121 medals. Notwithstanding the individual brilliance and the face-saving medals of P.V.Sindhu and SakshiMalik, India’s performance is the poorest among all big countries.
The discourse on this is an unhappy one: there has been a lot of handwringing, blame on the Sports Ministry and sports administrators, complaints about lack of facilities, grumbles about corruption being the villain, and so on. India says the same things, once in four years, during and after every Olympics. It should instead look for simple lessons, develop a strategy to win medals and execute it diligently. No, I don’t believe that India should be planning for the Olympics scheduled eight or twelve years from now. While long-term thinking is good, any leader will tell you that it is too slow. We should aim to win a lot more medals in Tokyo in 2020. But how? The final medals tally by country tells all sorts of stories.
The top 22 countries — those with a double —digit medals tally with a minimum of three gold medals — took home a total of 702 medals, or 72 per cent of all medals. The top ten suggests that only the established West (the U.S., Great Britain,Germany, France, Italy and Australia) along with Russia, Japan and SJuthKorea will continue to dominate. The emergence of China is explained as “you know the Chinese can dictate anything, so they are not comparable.” It is often implied that wealth and size are the reasons for the success of these countries. They have the facilities and programmes in place. They are bound to win. So goes the argument and acceptance.
This logic should be probed further. Olympics medals are won by people between the ages of 15 to 29, with a few exceptions on either side of this age band. I looked at the number of medal wins in relation to the population in the age group 15 to 29 in each country, for which data is available. This was juxtaposed with medals won, to calculate the numbers of medals won per lakh of population in this age group. The story changes dramatically.
(i) What was the result of Olympics?
(ii)How can India stand at the strong position in Olympics?
(iii) How do the other countries dominate in Olympics?
(iv)What are the short comings for the poor position in Olympics?
(v) Identify the word which means the same as ‘a plan of action'(Para2)
a) discourse
b) wringing
c) complain
d) strategy
(vi) Identify the word which means the same as ‘carry out’.(Para2)
a) strategy
b) execute
c) grumbles
d) diligently
vii) Identify the word which means the same as ‘suggested’.(Para3)
a) implied
b) established
c) dominate
d) explained
viii) Identify the word which means the same as ‘investigated’.(Para4)
a) exception
b) juxtaposed
c) calculate
d) probed
(SECTION ‘B’: Writing and Grammar):30 marks
3- You visited an ‘Old Home’ with your friends. Using the hints given below together with your own ideas, make a diary entry of what you saw and experienced there.(5)
Hints: Old Home — People mostly above Sixty years- a residence- Peaceful surroundings-Spacious- good sanitation- regular medical checkup- feeling of co-operation- means of creation-A home away from home.
OR
Write a descriptive paragraph on your best friend based on the clues given below. Name of the friend-why do you admire him or her- his or her qualities that appeal to you-His or her hobbies, traits, achievements etc.
4- Write a story in 100-120 words based on the clues given below: (5)
A boy was waiting for the bus on the bus stop. He saw an old man who was just crossing the road. Suddenly a car was coming towards him from the opposite side. Then he rushed to ….
OR
You are Poonam. You wanted to write a story but could not go beyond a line or two. Taking help from the hints given below complete the story and supply a suitable title and moral to it. Mr. Vijay was a wealthy businessman. One day he was alone sitting at his dining table when________
Hints: entry of thief________ Mr.Vijay thanked________to give company________in the evening________enjoyed food and drink________gave a purse full of silver and gold coins________fortune changed________Vijay became poor________living alone________no food and drinks________a man emerged________recognized________the old thief ________a bag full of money
5- Read the sentence given below and fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones that follow: (4)
He was (a)________at the news (b)_______the success of(c)______poor candidate (d)______ got the highest votes in Bihar election.
(a) (i) surprising (ii) surprise (iii) surprised (iv) having surprised
(b) (i) of (ii) for (iii) to (iv) by tiwariacademy.com
(c) (i) a (ii) an (iii) the (iv) both
(d) (i) which (ii) whose (iii) whom (iv) who
6- The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line against which a blank has been given. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the correct blank number as given in the example. Remember to underline the word that you have supplied. (4)
Incorrect Correction
Research is an detailed study of a eg. An a
subject undertaking on a systematic (a) ________ _______
basis in order to increase a stock of (b) ________ _______
knowledge, including knowledge for man, (c) ________ _______
culture and society, that the use of this stock (d ) ________ _______
of knowledge to devise new applications.
7- Rearrange the jumbled words and phrases into meaningful sentences. (4)
(i) in/the cactus/very hot,/grows/dry places/and
(ii) Do not/leaves/have/they/but/spiny needles.
(iii) Flowers/are/and/bloom/some of them/Cactus/at night/big,
(iv) Absorb/from fog/water/in the air/Cacti can/in the desert
SECTION ‘C'(Literature /Textbooks: 30 Marks)
8- This was hardly what I intended. What I had meant, of course, was that I should boss the job, and that harries and Jorge should potter about under my directions. (5)
(i) What had the author actually intended?
(ii) Could he get his way? What happened eventually?
(iii)Explain the term ‘potter about’?
(iv) Make a sentence with ‘intend’?
(v) Who is ‘I’ here?
9- Then the matter 5
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening’
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) How is the tree uprooted?
(iii) What does ‘it is done’ refer to here?
(iv) Find out the word from the passage which means ‘causing to become dry and discolored’.
(v) Explain the meaning of the line ‘Of scorching and choking’?
10- Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.(12)
(i) Why does happy prince send a ruby for the seamstress?
(ii) Where was Prashant when the cyclone hit Orissa?
(iii)How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
(iv) Who was Bruno and how was it caught?
(v) What does the poet consider more power full love or war?
(vi) What Jorge and harries did while packing the butter?
11- Why did Marya have to stay away from her mother? How did she feel about that?(8)
OR
How did Bruno become an integral part of the narrator’s family?
12- How did the prince and the swallow help the poor?(8)
OR
What did Prashant decide to do when he saw the destruction and the desperate situation people were in?