English Medium कक्षा १० - CBSE Question Bank Solutions

                                     The Road to English
A . (Adapted from an article by Arishban Bagchi (Hindu college) [The Hindustan Times, 4October1996]

1. The great question, after you have failed to put yourself in an engineering or medical college in contemporary Indian society, is whether you'll ever find a job.

2. "Ohl He showed such promise during his early days," says the sister of the neighbour of your aunt in Timbuctoo. "Now look at my Bittoo,11 she goes on. "In spite of being so brilliant and all, he could only barely manage a grade A+ at MIT, and then he only just managed a well- paid job. How difficult gettingjobs must be."

3. The next line reads, "I wonder how your son will find a job, being a nonengineer, and that too in India."

4. Your father's friend, a prosperous doctor, decides to come visiting. Quite predictably, his first question on seeing you is the inevitable, "Why in heaven's name did you not qualify in the pre-medical test?' Followed by the equally inevitable, "Now what are you going to do?11

5. He raves on about his nephew who has just gone to the UK for his FRCS, and his daughter who has just completed her MBBS from AIIMS with top results, and what exciting prospects they have.

6. Your father into whose eyes you haven't dared to look for quite some time, speaks up. "I have lost all hope for him. However, educating him is my duty and I won't shirk from it."

7. Someone speaks up. "Let him go to college to study Physics or Chemistry." Everyone sits in silence. You cannot help feeling a little proud. At length, someone plucks up the courage: "It's quite impossible to educate him any further. Youngsters these days never seem to listen to what we have to say."

8. "I will study English Literature," you say, dropping a bombshell, fearless of the consequences. Amazingly, it works. The crowd hurries to disperse. You are so relieved to see their backs that you don't care. Thankfully, your parents voice no objection, remembering, perhaps, that you did manage to score highly in English in your Board exams.

9. So you finally take English literature as your subject of study.

B. Work in pairs and list the speakers in the passage you have just read.

i.____________________
ii.____________________
Ill.____________________
iv.____________________
v.____________________

 B .Still working in pairs, answer the following.

1. Did anyone actually say (or write) "Oh! He showed such promise during his early days?" (Yes/No) How can you tell? _____________

2. Is "Now look at my Bittoo", said by the same person as the extract in 1 above? (Yes/ No) How do you know? __________

3. In paragraph 4, who says "Now what are you going to do?" What words help you to know? ___________

4. i) In paragraph 5, who is the speaker?___________ Discuss and work out what must have been his exact words. Then write them below.______________

   ii) Underline the verb which tells you how the person must have said this.
     [Hint: Try to work out the meaning of this verb. ]

        ______________________

        ______________________

5. How many of the nine paragraphs in the passage are reporting what someone has said? ____________________

6. How many paragraphs include the exact words of the various speakers (direct speech)? ______________

7. How many paragraphs have reported them 'indirectly' (indirect speech)?

8. What is your conclusion about how writers report what someone says or has said in a newspaper article such as this?

____________________

An architect is speaking at a special meeting of the Town Council. She is presenting her proposals for improving one area of the town. Using the notes below, write down what she will say to the Town Council. You may start the report as given below.

"Firstly, the polluted slum settlements will be cleared and replaced with lowcost
housing ... "

Now                                                                                                  Future

slum settlement/ people                                                   build low cost housing

sleeping on streets                                                             

six cinemas/ no theatre                                                    turn one cinema into a theatre

open sewers                                                                      cover sewers

only one old primary                                                        setup/ establish two more

school (overcrowded)                                                      primary schools, and one

                                                                                          secondary school

no parks or open spaces                                                  create small parks between

                                                                                         low-cost housing blocks

Study the examples below:

Examples:

1. a) Mr. Akshay Pandey's car was damaged in an accident.

    b) A mechanic repaired the car.

Usually in such situations, type 'b' sentences are rather uncommon. Instead,
the same idea would be expressed as

Mr. Pandey got his car repaired.

This means that Mr. Pandey arranged for a mechanic to repair his car. He did
not repair it himself. It can also be written thus:

Mr.Pandey had his car repaired.

Use the words in brackets to complete the following sentences. Use the
structure: 'have/ get something done'.

1. My neighbours ____________________ (their garden/ relay) at the moment.
2. I lost my identity card. I'll have to ______________ another (another/ make)
3. __________________-{you/ milk/ deliver) to your house every day, or do your go out and buy it?
4. A: Can I see the photographs you took during our school day function?
B: I'm afraid_______________________(not/ the film/ develop) yet.
5. Your suit is a little tight. Why don't you------------(a new one/ make)?

Answer the following questions using 'to have something done'. The first one has been done as an example.

1. Why did you go to the garage?                                  To have my car serviced.
2. Why did you go to the doctor?                                    ___________________________
3. Why did you go to the bank?                                       ___________________________
4. Why did you go to the tailor?                                      ____________________________
5. Why did you go to the photo studio?                          ___________________________
6. Why did you go to the dentist's?                                  ___________________________

A reporting verb is used in both direct and indirect (reported) speech. The
reporting verb usually adds to the meaning of each sentence for instance,
it may show the speaker's MOOD (e.g. agreed), PURPOSE (e.g. asked),
MANNER OF SPEAKER (e.g. shouted). An example is: 

In this sentence, the reporting word 'complained' shows that the tourist was clearly unhappy about the arrangements.

Now work in groups of four. Read the following sentences carefully, and circle the reporting verbs. Then discuss and write the ways in which each reporting verb adds to the meaning of its arrangement.

1. "When I was in school, I used to skip a few classes, especially Moral Science because of the bookish manner in which it was treated," confessed the retired IAS Officer.

______________________________

2. Saurav's friends protested that he should have been included in the school badminton team, on the basis of his fine performance in the inter-house matches.

______________________________

3. "Make a circle, make a circle!" Mira shouted, firmly pulling and pushing the children till a kind of vague circle was formed.

________________________________

4. The music teacher warned the children against getting carried away and
getting out of tune.

________________________________

5. "Father, you must tell me what you meant exactly when you said that I was the same as every other teenager," Varun insisted.

_______________________________

6. "Oh God! She is coming again," the children whispered to each other, when they saw Mrs. Sharma striding towards their classroom for the third time that day.

_______________________________

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit – 
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
— Rabindranath Tagore

• Why does the poet say, ‘Where the mind is without fear’ ?
• What are the narrow domestic walls being referred to ?
• Why are they ‘narrow ’ ?
• How /when does the ‘clear stream of reason’ lose its way ?
• What is the poet’s appeal ?

Match the items from A and B to make meaningful sentences. There is sometimes more than one sensible combination.

Complete the following sentences appropriately by using the passive form of the given verbs.

1. There's somebody behind us. I think we _____________(follow)
2. A mystery is something that_____________(cannot/ explain}

3. We didn't play volleyball yesterday.The match _________(cancel)

4. The minaret ____________ (restore). The work is almost
finished.

5. Every time I travel by plane, my plane_____________--
(delay)

6. I left some papers on the desk last night and I can't find them now.

They_______________-(might/ throw) away.

7. Two people ______________report) to _____________(injure) in an explosion at a factory in Bengaluru early this morning.

 Rewrite the paragraph below by changing these sentences into the passive; include the agent only if necessary.

Last year Mckiney Company built two new apartment buildings in the city centre. Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The earthquake also destroyed the company offices in the other building. The owners of the apartments of the buildings will receive the insurance money to fix the damages. Nobody will lose the money paid for the apartments.

Two new apartment ___________Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The company offices in__________The insurance_______Money.

Look at the following newspaper article. It has two versions. Version 'A' is written in the active and version 'B' is written in the passive voice. For each piece of information, decide whether Version 'A' or Version 'B' is more appropriate. Then rewrite the passage using a combination of the two versions.

Version A
Thieves stole the famous NorY Koh emerald from the City Museum last night.
Police believe the thieves must have forced the locks on the windows and
disabled the alarms before the museum attendants had closed the museum for
the night. Police have arrested a man whom someone saw acting suspiciously
outside the museum.

Version B
The Famous Nor Y Koh emerald was stolen from the museum last night. It is
believed that the window-locks had been forced and the alarms disabled before
the museum was closed for the night. A man who was seen acting suspiciously
outside the museum has been arrested.

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

The exact words of the Prime Minister: "I shall lead this great country on the path of peace and prosperity. Not only that, but I assure you that I will lower truces and do everything in my power to reduce inflation."

[Situation: A newsreader reports the words of the Prime Minister on the radio.] "The new Prime Minister said that he would lead the country on the path of peace and prosperity. He also promised to lower taxes and reduce inflation."

Working in pairs, note the changes the newsreader made while reporting the PM's speech.

Fill in the table below.

Now do the same with this situation. The following is a conversation that took place between Neeta and Shobhna (in the presence of Shobhna's  mother) last week.

Neeta: Can I borrow Rs. 25? I have lost all my money on the bus this morning. Shobhna : But you asked me for a loan last week as well, you haven1t repaid that yet. Sorry, But I can't lend you any more.

Imagine, it is now nezt week. Shobhna's mother talks about it to her husband in her own words.

"Neeta came in last week and asked Shobhna if she could borrow twenty five rupees. She explained she had lost all her money on the bus that morning. Shobhna reminded Neeta that she had asked her for a loan the previous week as well, and still hadn't repaid it. So she decided she couldn't lend Neeta any more."

Read the exact words of Mrs. Bhattacharya, a resident of Park Street, Kolkata.

"Where do the two of you live? You shouldn't make such a noise in the street. If you do it again, I'll have to complain to the police. So, be careful."

• Now think of a situation in which Mrs. Bhattacharya has to report what she said to somebody but not exactly as she has said above (eg. to a neighbour.)

Situation ______________________

• Now report Mrs. Bhattacharya'& words. Remember: You can decide whether to use direct or indirect speech forms.

______________________________________

______________________________________

• Work with your partner. Read the following. Decide on a likely situation in which what was said has been repeated. Then use your imagination and recreate the original ("direct") speech.

Everyone at the hospital looked after me very well. As soon as I arrived, a nurse asked me how I felt. Then she asked me where I lived and whether she could contact my parents. I explained that you were out today, so she couldn't contact you. After that she asked me how that accident had happened and I said I didn't know.

Situation ______________________

Direct speach (in dialogue form) _____________

________________________

S : Strengths
W : Weaknesses
O : Opportunities
T : Threats

SWOT analysis is a tool used to develop effective strategies and plans for the progress and development of organizations, companies, institutions and even individuals. Working in groups, identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for our country. Present your group’s views to the class. Your brief presentation should conclue with a ‘vision statement’ for India-where you want our country to be, say ten years from now and what we should do to achieve it.

Shahin, a newspaper reporter, visited the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan. Suddenly he saw a stall in flames. He jotted down a few notes in his notepad. Using the cues and your own ideas, write a newspaper report in the space provided. Use Active or Passive, depending on what you wish to focus on.

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

Statements: Rewrite the following in reported speech:
a) Sheela to Rashmi: "You can come and stay at my place if you're ever in Delhi".
b) Anand to Renu: "I don't know what Gayathri is doing these days. She hasn't visited us for ages".
c) Teacher to Students: "We shall go on a field trip to study water pollution.

Questions in indirect speech.
Rewrite the following in indirect speech:

a) He said, "Who has moved into the neighbouring house?"

__________________________________

b) He said, "What have you bought for Deepawali?"

__________________________________
c) He said to me, "Why didn't you wear your new dress for the party?"

__________________________________
d) "Is anyone there?" he asked.

__________________________________
e) "Shall I wait for the doctor or come again tomorrow?" she asked the
receptionist.

__________________________________

Commands, requests and advice in indirect speech:
Rewrite the following in indirect speech :

a) The General said," Move the tanks to the battlefield immediately."

__________________
b) "Don't drive too fast", the instructor said to me.

___________________
c) "Iflwereyou, I'd buythatpropertyimmediately", theagentsaid toAnwar.

__________________
d) "Why don't you change into something more comfortable?" he said to his guest.

__________________

e) "Go on, taste it", said the cook to the guest.

 _______________

• You will notice that direct commands, requests and advice are usually
expressed by a suitable reporting verb in indirect speech (Refer Section B)

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following question by ticking the most appropriate option. Give reasons for your choice.

'Despite these disadvantages , He possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit '. The expression 'these disadvantages ' here refers to  

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following question by ticking the most appropriate option. Give reason for your choice.

Kalam's childhood was 

Change the following into indirect speech. Change tense and time expressions only when necessary. You may use a variety of reporting verbs from the box below.

1. "Human nature changes," sighed the old man.
______________________

2. "We'll win the match next week." said Vasu optimistically.

______________________

(reportingjust after he said it)

3. "I saw him with Akankshayesterday," she whispered.

______________________

4. Sanjay, I'm sorry we didn't visit you in Bombay last week," Arun said

_______________________

(reporting immediately after he said it)

5. "This rice tastes awful," he muttered.

______________________

6. "Would you like to come to the party with us tomorrow, Gopa?" Sushila asked.

______________________

(reporting later in the week.)

7. "Please, Ma, please," they begged. "We'll play on the veranda and porch. We
won't truce a step off the veranda."

______________________

(reporting immediately after)

8. Don't be a fool," Raghu said roughly, pushing him aside. Even Mira said,
"Stop howling, Ravi. If you want to play, you can stand at the end of the line,"
and she put him there very firmly.

________________________

________________________

(reporting immediately after)

Correct the errors in the following sentences. Write the correct sentence in the space provided.

1. The nurse enquired how I am.

_________________

2. He said he live in Connaught Circus.

________________

3. They asked when I have arrived.

__________________

4. The taxi driver asked where I want to go.

__________________

5. I warn Sanjay to be careful while crossing the road.

__________________

6. Rohit couldn't understand where all the children are gone.

__________________