Exam 1 for seniors- question paper

Test paper (seniors)

Total marks= 80, time= 2 hours

Q1. Composition (20)

a) Choose any 1 topic and write a complete essay on it.

b) Write the introductions for all the topics as discussed in class. If you write climax introduction for topic (1), you cannot repeat climax dialogue with any other topic.

1. The most memorable day of my life
2. a robbery in a moving train
3. the day I met my favorite filmstar
4. lost in the jungle

(Essay- 14 marks, introductions- 2 marks each)

Q2. Comprehension (10)

My husband Pele and I were staying in a holiday house overlooking the beautiful, lush rainforests of Indonesia. The glass walls framed a fine view across the Bagon Valley to what had been the summer palace of President Suharto. The first morning we strolled hand in hand up a winding pathway, heading to the main building for breakfast. But once we arrived at the dinning room, I realized we’d forgotten our money, so I volunteered to run back to the house. Making my way down the path, I turned the last corner only to find a giant bird, similar to an emu, standing outside our front door. “Hey baby, what are you doing?” I cooed, moving slowly so as not to frighten it. Having a deep, abiding fascination with all creatures great and small, I wanted a closer look. This was my first mistake.

As I came within a few meters, he took a big breath and let out a nasty hiss, stopping me in my tracks.

“That’s not very friendly,” I said, clueless. He hissed again and I promptly made the second mistake of turning and running, instead of backing away slowly. As I rounded the corner I heard his razor-sharp claws scrabbling on the cobblestones.

“Oh!”

His steps sounded like a drum as they hit the ground, quickly coming too close for comfort. I suddenly changed direction and headed into the trees dodged in and out of the foliage. I hoped my tactic would fool him. A crash behind me indicated no such luck. Jumping over a small bush, I found myself out in the open and not far from the dining room. Picking up speed, I bolted over the plants and rockeries surrounding the perimeter and dashed through the gate. When I turned to close it, the bird was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t realize it and at the time, but I had just come face to face with a cassowary, a bird also found in Australia’s north Queensland rainforests. Cassowarys weigh kilos or more, stand about 180 centimeters tall and have saber-like toenails that can open a human from chin to groin like a zipper and kill humans.

“What’s wrong?” Pele asked as I stumbled back into the dinning room. 30

“A big bird chased me all the way from the house,” I replied.

“What?” he asked incredulously. “You’re scared of a bird?”

“It’s as big as me and very mean,” I said in a rather sulky voice.

“Oh, all right,” he laughed. “I’ll come with you.”

Much to Pele’s amusement, I stayed behind him on the path and held onto the back of his shirt as we approached the corner of the house.

“See! There it is. Look at the size of the thing!”

Pele chuckled at the hysteria in my voice. “It’s all right,” he soothed.

Calmly and confidently he walked toward the cassowary.

“Shoo! Go on, get out,” he said.

He made actions with his arms as if it were a pigeon on a window ledge. The response of the cassowary was the same as before: a big hiss and a step forward.

“Hmm,” said Pele and stopped, not so sure of himself. He tried again. “Go on.”

The cassowary then ran a few paces at us, hissing aggressively, so we quickly retreated around a corner of the house. Pele picked up a rock the size of his hand and threw it hard, hitting the bird squarely in the chest. It didn’t budge.

“What are we going to do?” I pleaded. This time, Pele picked up a cane chair.

“Stay behind and I’ll keep him back. When we get to the door, open it.”

Again I held on to the back of his shirt and we started towards the door. This greatly displeased the already annoyed cassowary. Charging at us he ripped at the chair with those lethal claws. Pele stopped to steady the chair – and possibly his resolve.

Pele threw the chair at the bird and slammed the door shut.

Ducking the flying cane, the bird ran straight at the glass wall, only to bounce off.

But it didn’t slow down at all. Pecking and scratching at the glass, it continued the

assault with a sickening ferocity. It was another 15 minutes before the bird weakened and slowed its attack. Thirty minutes later, we quietly opened the door and crept back to the main building.

(a) find a word in the passage that means the following:

(i) to walk leisurely

(ii) to be interested or stunned by something

(iii) a thicket of trees and bushes [3]

(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.

(i) What was Pele’s wife’s first mistake when she saw the bird? [2]

(ii) How did the bird react to the lady’s third mistake? [2]

(iii) What did she do after this reaction of the bird? [2]

(iv) Describe the Cassowary. [2]

(v) Why did Pele find the situation amusing at first? Why did he

change his attitude? [2]

(vi) Use the word ‘framed’ (line 2) in a sentence of your own such that

it has a meaning different from that used in the passage. [2]

Q3. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate answers (15)

1. Ria is very _________. Therefore all the teachers like her. (savvy, polite, pompous)
2. Viraj’s ________ behavior annoys the class teacher. (open minded, eager, silly)
3. “Raj is a ________ boy,” the teacher complained. (naughty, lenient, resourceful)
4. She will accept the new idea because she is _____________. (skeptical, brashly, open-minded)
5. John is very ______ so no one wants to be in his team. (bossy, charming, clever)
6. Charlie keeps losing his things. He is very ___________. (determined, careless, imaginative)
7. Sheela did not face any problems while moving to a new place and a new school because she is very __________. (adaptable, silly, analytical)
8. The new girl in class likes to stay ______ so she has not made many friends. (rigid, aloof, irresponsible)
9. Even though Rohit got a 95% in his exams, his mother is ___________. (Resourceful, unsatisfied, perceptive)
10. Monica is as __________ as a fox. (silly, cunning, miserly)
11. Mr. Ambani is a _________ businessman so he keeps good relations with all the politicians. (Sincere, enthusiastic, shrewd)
12. Tracy is _________ to come first in the competition so she practices very hard. (determined, enterprising, calculating)
13. He is such a ___________. He asks everyone to be truthful whereas he himself lied about his job. (hypocrite, outspoken, silly)
14. Jaya is so ___________ that she won’t get up to even get herself a glass of water when she is thirsty. (coward, impulsive, indolent)
15. Sunidhi Chauhan is a ________ singer. She can sing both, high scale and low scale. (adaptable, versatile, enterprising)

Q4 Bad Qualities (5)

Make sentences with the following bad qualities

1. Quarrelsome

2. eccentric

3. restless

4. indecisive

5. stubborn

Q5 Good Qualities (5)

Make sentences with the following good qualities:

1. inquisitive
2. eloquent
3. reliable
4. expressive
5. enthusiastic

Q7 Basic Vocabulary (25)

1. Fill in the blanks with ‘beautiful’ words

(fascinated, charming, spectacular, gripping, delightful)

1. The Taj Mahal looks absolutely ___________.
2. That lady in the red sari looks ____________.
3. I had a _________ time at the circus.
4. The height of the Eiffel Tower __________ me.
5. The story was very __________.

2. Fill in the blanks with ‘angry’ words

(outraged, infuriated, enraged, threatened, glared)

1. Father ______ at me when I came home late.
2. Rohan was ________ when I broke his toy.
3. Karan _________ the teacher by making so much noise.
4. “Don’t enter my room,” Rita ____________me.
5. Mother was _________ with my bad marks.

3. Fill in the blanks with ‘happy’ words

(ecstatic, cloud nine, merry-cricket, shrieked, high pitched whoop of joy)

1. Jay was as _________ as a _________ when he stood first.
2. The children let out a _________________ when school was over.
3. I was on __________________ when I got a new car
4. Priyank was ___________ on winning the competition
5. Dave _________ with joy when he found his phone.

4. Make sentences with:

1. grief stricken

2. stopped dead in my tracks

3. left speechless

4. could not believe my eyes

5. depressed

6. face went white

7. shaking from head to toe

8. taken aback

9. astonished

10. gloomy