The transition from a traditional lifestyle to a modern one has severely impacted human health and the environment. In the past, people led lives that were deeply connected with nature. Their daily routines involved physical labor, eating fresh, locally produced organic food, and living in pollution-free environments. Diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity were rare, as people’s active lifestyles kept them naturally fit.

However, the rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization has changed everything. Today, a large part of the population leads a sedentary lifestyle, spending long hours sitting in front of computer and mobile screens. Fast food, which is rich in harmful fats and chemical preservatives, has replaced wholesome traditional meals. Consequently, lifestyle disorders are rising at an alarming rate globally. Furthermore, industrial emissions and vehicular smoke have degraded air quality, leading to severe respiratory issues, particularly in cities.

To secure a healthy future, a balance between technological development and environmental preservation is absolutely essential. Individuals must make conscious choices to include regular physical exercise in their routine and reduce reliance on processed foods. On a larger scale, governments must implement stricter environmental regulations to control pollution and promote sustainable green movements.

Effective communication is an essential life skill that enables people to share information, build relationships, and resolve conflicts. It involves both speaking clearly and listening actively. Active listening requires paying full attention to the speaker, understanding their perspective, and responding thoughtfully rather than just waiting for your turn to talk.

There are several barriers to effective communication, such as emotional distress, cultural differences, and physical distractions like noise. Overcoming these barriers requires patience and practice. Using simple language and maintaining open body language, like eye contact, can significantly improve interpersonal connections.

Q.6 Fill in the blanks with the correct options given in brackets (Any Five):

(i) He is _________ M.A. in English. (a / an / the)
(ii) There is not _________ water left in the jug. (many / much / few)
(iii) You _________ respect your elders. (must / out / can)
(iv) The train _________ before we reached the station. (left / had left / leaves)
(v) She has been studying in this school _________ three years. (since / for / from)
(vi) Knowledge is _________ than wealth. (good / better / best)

[5 Marks]
Q.7 Do as directed (Any Five):

(i) He sings a beautiful song. (Change into Negative sentence)
(ii) They were playing cricket. (Change into Passive voice)
(iii) If you do not work hard, you will fail. (Rewrite using ‘Unless’ in place of ‘If’)
(iv) He is very weak. He cannot walk. (Combine using ‘so…that’)
(v) found / I / book / a / exciting / yesterday. (Rearrange the words to make a meaningful sentence)
(vi) She speaks English fluently. (Change into Past Indefinite Tense)

Section D: Literature (34 Marks)

[5 Marks]
Q.8 Read the following extract from Prose (Hornbill) and answer the questions that follow:
My grandmother, like everybody’s grandmother, was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe. My grandfather’s portrait hung above the mantelpiece in the drawing room. He wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white beard covered the best part of his chest and he looked at least a hundred years old.

Questions:

(i) Who is the author of the lesson from which this extract has been taken?
A) Gordon Cook
B) Khushwant Singh
C) Ted Hughes
D) Shirley Toulson

(ii) How long had the narrator known his grandmother as old and wrinkled?
A) Ten years
B) Fifteen years
C) Twenty years
D) Five years

(iii) Where was the grandfather’s portrait hung?
A) In the bedroom
B) Above the mantelpiece in the drawing room
C) In the kitchen
D) Near the main door

(iv) According to the text, the grandfather looked at least _________ years old.
A) Fifty
B) Eighty
C) One hundred
D) Sixty

(v) Find a word from the extract which means ‘a painting, drawing, or photograph of a person’.
A) Wrinkled
B) Mantelpiece
C) Beard
D) Portrait

[3 Marks]
Q.9 (A) Read the following extract from Poetry (Hornbill) and answer the questions that follow:
The cardboard shows me how it was

When the two girl cousins went paddling,

Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,

And she the big girl — some twelve years or so.

Questions:

(i) What does the word ‘cardboard’ refer to in the poem?
A) A box
B) A photograph frame/photograph
C) A notebook cover
D) A piece of wood

(ii) Who is the ‘big girl’ mentioned here?
A) The poet’s cousin
B) The poet’s mother
C) The poet herself
D) None of these

(iii) Name the poem and the poet.
A) The Laburnum Top – Ted Hughes
B) A Photograph – Shirley Toulson
C) Voice of the Rain – Walt Whitman
D) Childhood – Markus Natten

[4 Marks]
Q.9 (B) Read the following extract from Snapshots and answer the questions that follow:
One day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a delightful and mysterious dream, my cousin Mourad, who was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me, came to my house at four in the morning and tapped on the window of my room. Aram, he said.

Questions:

(i) From which story has this extract been taken?
A) The Address
B) Birth
C) The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
D) The Tale of Melon City

(ii) How old was the narrator at that time?
A) Twelve years old
B) Nine years old
C) Fourteen years old
D) Seven years old

(iii) Who came to the narrator’s house at four in the morning?
A) His uncle Khosrove
B) His cousin Mourad
C) John Byro
D) His teacher

(iv) Who is the writer of this story?
A) Marga Minco
B) William Saroyan
C) A.J. Cronin
D) Vikram Seth

[10 Marks]
Q.10 Answer the following Short Answer Type Questions from Prose (Hornbill) in about 30 words (Any Five):

1. Describe the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country.
2. Why did the grandmother always carry holy scriptures to the village school?
3. What was the object of the journey planned by the narrator in “We’re Not Afraid to Die…”?
4. What injury did Sue sustain during the storm, and how did she behave?
5. Who was King Tut, and why was his mummy scanned?
6. What was the Green Movement, and what is its role as outlined in ‘The Ailing Planet’?

[6 Marks]
Q.11 Answer the following Short Answer Type Questions from Poetry (Hornbill) in about 30 words (Any Three):

1. What has not changed over the years in the poem ‘A Photograph’? What does it suggest?
2. What does the ‘Laburnum Top’ look like in September afternoon sunlight?
3. What happens when the goldfinch arrives at the Laburnum tree?
4. Why does the rain call itself the ‘Poem of Earth’?

[4 Marks]
Q.12 Answer the following Short Answer Type Questions from Snapshots in about 30 words (Any Two):

1. Which tribe did Aram and Mourad belong to? What were the chief characteristics of their tribe?
2. Why did Mourad steal the horse, and why did he return it later?
3. Why did the narrator visit the address ‘Number 46, Marconi Street’?

[6 Marks]
Q.13 Answer the following Long Answer Type Questions from Prose (Hornbill) in about 75 words (Any Two):

1. Compare and contrast the city school education with the village school education as depicted in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’.
2. “We’re Not Afraid to Die…” is a story of immense courage, teamwork, and resilience. Elaborate with examples from the text.
3. Discuss the scientific developments and modern technology used in unearthing the secrets of King Tut’s life and death.

[3 Marks]
Q.14 Answer the following Long Answer Type Question from Poetry (Hornbill) in about 75 words (Any One):

1. Write the central theme of the poem ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson.
2. Describe the relationship between the tree and the bird in the poem ‘The Laburnum Top’.

[3 Marks]
Q.15 Answer the following Long Answer Type Question from Snapshots in about 75 words (Any One):

1. Narrate the story ‘The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse’ in your own words focusing on the conflict between desire and honesty.
2. Describe the painful experience of the narrator when she visited Mrs. Dorling’s house after the war in ‘The Address’.

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