SSC (English Medium) १० वीं कक्षा - Maharashtra State Board Question Bank Solutions

Think and answer on your own in a few sentences, in your notebook.

If you share this story with some friends in a junior class, how would they react in the end?

Think and answer on your own in a few sentences, in your notebook.

Who were the very first people to give Christmas gifts? What had inspired them to do so?

Think and answer on your own in a few sentences, in your notebook.

At the end of the story, O Henry remarks that of all who give gifts, Della and Jim were the wisest. Think and explain this paradoxical remark.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

Della was not too happy about bargaining for grocery etc.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

The flat was in a dilapidated condition.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

King Soloman would express his jealousy of Jim.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

Della spent a joyful time, for two hours.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

Della’s elated mood underwent a change as she opened her gift.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

The weekly income amount does not matter.

Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly implies the following :

Let us set aside our gifts and get ready for dinner.

Read the following and answer.

Say WHAT

______ troubled Della on Christmas Eve?

Read the following and answer.

Say WHAT

____________ was the current family income?

Find out minimum four-lettered words from the given word:

Conversation- ______, ______, ______, ______

Arrange the given words in the proper alphabetical order.

solution, security, sleep, suddenly

Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities:

B1. Arrange the following sentences according to their occurrences in the passage:    (02)

1. She went up the steps that led to the wings.
2. She listened to the unfolding ragas.
3. A daring thought came to her and she hurried home.
4. She sat beside her father in the gallery.

Suddenly a daring thought came to her and as she hurried home she said to herself. ‘Why not? There’s no harm in trying it.

‘It would be nice to go to the concert. I don’t know when we’ll get another opportunity to hear Pandit Ravi Shankar,’ she said to her mother later. And her father agreed to get the tickets.

The next day as Smita and her father were leaving for the concert, her brother smiled and said, ‘Enjoy yourself,’ though the words came out in painful gasps. ‘Lucky you!’

Sitting beside her father in the gallery. Smita heard as in a dream the thundering welcome the audience gave the great master. Then the first notes came over the air and Smita felt as if the gates of a land of enchantment and wonder were opening. Spellbound, she listened to the unfolding ragas, the slow plaintive notes, the fast twinkling ones, but all the while the plan she had decided on the evening before remained firmly in her mind.‘The chance of a lifetime.’She heard Anant’s voice in every beat of the tabla.

The concert came to an end, the audience gave the artists a standing ovation.

A large mustachioed having a long mustache man made a long boring speech. Then came the presentation of bouquets. Then more applause and the curtain came down. The people began to move towards the exits.

Now was the time. Smita wriggled her way through the crowds on the stage. Then she went up the steps that led to the wings, her heart beating loudly. In the wings a small crowd had gathered to talk about the evening concert, to help carry bouquets and teacups and instruments.

B2. Pick out two sentences which indicate Smita was enjoying the concert: (02)

1. ______
2. ______

B3. Match the columns to their correct meanings and rewrite it: (02)

B4. Do as directed: 

1. The concert came to an end; the audience gave the artists a standing ovation.
   (Begin the sentence with No sooner than)      (01)
2. In the wings a small crowd had gathered to talk about the evening concert
   (Pick out the determiners from the given sentence)     (01)

B5. Would you like to see a live concert or would you prefer to see it on Television? Why?  (02)

Read the following passage and do the activities.

A1. Complete the following statements with the help of the passage:

1. The heaviness of being successful was replaced ______.
2. The technology we developed at Next ______.

A2. The writer Steve Jobs gives the readers some advice for life, list at least two of the important advices given by him in the passage: 

1. ______
2. ______

A3. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words given below:

(devastating, renaissance, current, creative)

1. The invention of the internet has brought about a ______ in communication.
2. We should read the newspaper to keep ourselves updated on the ______ affairs.
3. The earthquake had a ______ effect on the life of the people.
4. The Art teacher is very ______, she always comes up with new ideas.

A4. Do as directed:

1. Pixar is the world’s most successful animation studio.
   (Rewrite the sentence in Positive degree)
2. Don’t lose faith.
   (Rewrite as an Assertive sentence)

A5. What does the second story of Jobs convey to you?

Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities:

B1. State True or False:     (02)

1. On the eighty-fifth day, the old man succeeds in hooking a salmon with his bait.
2. Mandolin was his apprentice.
3. The old man hardly had any experience in fishing.
4. During the First World War, the old man had worked with the Red Cross.

An old and experienced Cuban fisherman has a run of terrible bad luck and is unable to catch any fish for eighty-four days. His young and devoted apprentice, Manolin, has been forced by his parents to start working with another fisherman. The old man resolves to sail out farther than all the other fishermen and attempt to catch the really big fish. On the eighty-fifth day, he succeeds in hooking a marlin with his bait but the marlin is too strong for him and starts pulling the boat. ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is the story of the old man’s struggle with the marlin and his later battle against sharks.

Social/Historical context:

Hemingway’s novel is based on real events and it also draws heavily on his own life. He had the experience of fishing in the Cuban waters and like the old man he was also a fan of baseball. He worked for the Red Cross during the First World War and was injured by shrapnel when he was in Italy. Hemingway always talks about the need to struggle against defeat or death and how determination and endurance can help one to win this struggle The old man is at the end of the novel very near death, but we know that the story of his suffering and loss will live on in the memories of the people of his village. Ultimately his story becomes one of triumph because the tales of his life will on even after his death.

B2. Complete the following bubbles with the help of the passage: (02)

B3. Make meaningful sentences of your own using the below-given words or phrases: (02)

1. devoted
2. to be forced by.

B4. Do as directed: (02)

1. He is unable to catch any fish for eighty-four days.
   (Pick the infinitive in the sentence)
2. Hemingway always talks about the need to struggle against defeat or death.
   (Rewrite the sentence as a Negative sentence, without changing its meaning)

B5. Would you prefer to read a book or see a film based on the book? Give reasons for your answer: (02)

Read the following extract and do the given activities:

A1. State whether the following statement is true or false:

1. He read the second; grin grew broader
2. After the poet read the third line he heard a chuckling noise
3. The fifth he broke into a roar.
4. The poet handed the paper to his servant.

A2.

1. Which line suggests that the servant was totally out of control.    (01)
2. What did the poet decide after looking at the miserable condition of his servant?  (01)

A3. Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line.  (01)

Pick out one line from the poem where the poet has used the Figure of Speech “Tuatology”

Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:

You can use the following points while appreciating the given poem.

1. The title and the poet of the poem   (01)
2. Rhyme scheme   (01)
3. Figures of speech   (01)
4. Central Idea/Theme   (02)

Read the following extract and complete the given activities:

A1. From the following extract of the poem provide evidence that it set in a rural background:

Evidence: 

1. ______
2. ______

A2. How did the peasants console the poet’s mother? (02)

A3. Pick out an example of Antithesis from the extract: (01)