Mount Litera Zee School

Preboard II Examinations - 15.02.2024

Class: X Max Marks: 80
Subject: English Language and Literature (Sub Code-184) – SET - 1 Duration: 3 Hrs
General Instructions:
Read the instructions very carefully and strictly follow them:
This question pa per comprises 11 questions. All questions are compulsory . The question paper
contains THREE sections -
Section -A :Reading Skills
Section -B : Grammar and Creative Writing Skills
Section -C :Literature
);;; Attempt questions based on specific instructionsfor each part .

Section A - Reading Skills(20 marks)

1. Read the passage given below
1. In 1894, British psychologist C. Lloyd Morgan published what's called Morgan's canon, the
principle that suggestions of humanlike mental processes behind an animal's behaviour should
be rejected if a simpler explanation will do. Still, people seem to maintain certain expectations,
especially when it comes to birds and mammals. "We somehow want to prove they are as
'smart' as people," zoologist Sara Shettleworth says. We want a bird that masters a vexing
problem to be employing human-style insight.
2. New Caledonian crows face the high end of these expectations, as possibly the second-best
toolmakers on the planet. Their tools are hooked sticks or strips made from spike-edged leaves,
and they use them in the wild to winkle grubs out of crevices. Researcher Russell Gray first saw
the process on a cold morning in a mountain forest in New Caledonia, an island chain east of
Australia.
3. Over the course of days, he and crow researcher Gavin Hunt had got wild crows used to finding
meat titbits in holes in a log. Once the birds were checking the log reliably, the researchers
placed a spiky tropical pandanus plant beside the log and hid behind a blind. A crow arrived.
It hopped onto the pandanus plant, grabbed the spiked edge of one of thr.! long straplike leaves
and began a series of ripping motions. Instead of just tearing away one long strip, the bird
ripped and nipped in a sequence to create a slanting stair-step edge on a leaf segment with a
narrow point and a wide base. The process took only seconds. Then the bird dipped the narrow
end of its leaf strip into a hole in the log, fished up the meat with the leaf-edge spikes, swallowed
its prize and flew off .
4. "That was my 'oh wow' moment," Gray says, Af ter the crow had vanished, he picked up the
tool the bird had left behind. "I had a go, and I couldn't do it," he recalls. Fishing the meat out
was tricky. It turned out that Gray was moving the leaf shard too forcefully instead of gently
stroking the spines against the treat. The crow's deft physical manipulation was what inspired
Gray and Hunt's colleague Alex Taylor to test other wild crows to see if they employed the
seemingly insightf ul string-pulling solutions that some ravens, kea parrots and other brainiac
birds are known to employ. Three of four crows passed that test on the first try.
5. For one month af ter they lef t the nest, Alex led his four young ravens at least once and
sometimes several times a day on thirty-minute walks . During these walks, he wrote down
everything in their environment they pecked at. In the first sessions, he tried to be a teacher. He
touched specific objects- sticks, moss, rocks-and nothing that he touched remained
untouched by them. They came to investigate what he had investigated, leading him to assume
that young birds are aided in learning to identify food from the parents' example. They also,
however, contacted almost everything else that lay directly in their own paths.
6. They soon became more independent by taking their own routes near mine. Even while
walking along on their own, they pulled at leaves, grass stems, flowers, bark, pine needles,
seeds, cones, clods of earth, and other objects they encountered. "I wrote all this down,
converting it to numbers," recalls Alex. After they were thoroughly familiar with the
background objects in these woods and started to ignore them, he seeded the path they would
later walk together with objects they had never before encountered. Some of these were
 conspicuous food-items: raspberries, dead al worm beetles, and c09k.com kernels. Others were
conspicuous and inedible: pebbles, glass chips, red winterberries. Still others were such highly cryptic
foods as encased caddisfly larvae and moth cocoons. The results were dramatic.
7. The four young birds on our daily walks contacted all new objects preferentially. They picked them out
at a rate of up to tens of thousands of times greater than background or previously contacted objects.
The main initial criterion for pecking or picking anything up was its novelty. In subsequent trials, when
the previously novel items were edible, they became preferred and the inedible objects became
"background" items, just like the leaves, grass, and pebbles, e'\(.n if they were highly conspicuous. These
experiments showed that ravens' curiosity ensures exposure to all or almost all items in the
environment.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions that follow. 10M

i.What is the contradiction that is highlighted in the first paragraph 1

A. Other mammals and birds are not as smart as we had once imagined.
B. We believe in the fact that animals can be as smart as human beings.
C. Animals do not behave like us but we expect human-like intelligence. D.
Scientists try to find a simpler explanation for animal behaviour.
ii. The phrase -The New Caledonian crows face the high-end of the expectation is due to the fact that
1
A. They make excellent tools out of simple things.
B. They are the new species of crows with advanced intelligence.
C. They are readily found everywhere and extensively studied.
D. They are the only animals that make tools.
iii. What constitutes the diet of the New Caledonian crows?
1
A. winkle grubs B. pandanus leaves C. seeds
D. meat
iv. The New Caledonian crows proved to be smart. Inabout 40 words, explain how the scientists found it
out. 2
v. What prompted Alex Taylor to test the intelligence of few other wild crows? 1
A. The test crow used pandanus leaves to create a tool.
B. The test crow's deft physical manipulation.
C. It was a eureka moment for Gray when he trained the crow.
D. Other brainiac birds know the string-pulling solutions.
vi. How did Alex make the assumption that young birds learn from their parents? 1
vii. What does the phrase 'seeded the path' in para 6 mean? 1
· A. strategically placed things along the route. B. made sure the plants are seeded.
C. scattered things all along the path. D. introduced the things to the birds.
viii. Some of the 'inconspicuous' items that Alex used are 1
A. glass chips, pebbles and red berries
B. raspberries, dead meal worm beetles, and cooked com kernels
C. leaves, grass stems, pine needles
D. caddisfly larvae and moth cocoons
ix. One of the results of the ravens being curious on their walks was 1
A. They became bored of the novel things. B. They became choosy.
C. They became multi-taskers. D. They become good followers.
2. Read the passage given below:
1. The world now produces more than 380 million tonnes of plastic every year, which could end up as
pollutants entering a natural environment and ocean.
2. Of course, not all our plastics waste ends up in the ocean. Most end up in landfills. It's estimated
that the share of global plastic waste that enters the ocean is around 3%. In 2010 - the year for which
we have the latest estimates that was around 8 million tonnes.
3. Most of the plastic materials we produce are less dense than water and should therefore, float on the ocean surface. But our best
estimates of the amount of plastic afloat at sea are orders of magnitude lower than the amount of plastic that enters our ocean in a
single year. As we show in the visualization, its far lower than 8 million tons and instead in the order of 10s to 100s of thousands
of tonnes
 Global primary plastic production:
270 million tonnes per year

Global plastic waste

275 million tonnes per year
It can e•c.>.ed Ill"'""'! prO<luchon '"
O gi"'ten l'CfJJ SIOC It Ci'1n .flCQrpct.llC
P<oOM'°" from pre"ous 1e•rs

Coastal plastic waste:

99.5 million tonnes per
This IS !he tobl ol plasllc waste cncr,,cd
by a!popv<>t.OllS will"" 50 lolorre'!es of .;
coastltle herefore a r11: Cl' enter·r·g the ocen:.

Plastic in surface waters:

10,000s to 100,000s tonnes
Theie is a wide range of est•m>1es of th:l
qunhty o' p;at1ics <t'1 $.ll'fM. .e wate
It rema>OS oncle:ir here ine mafonty o!
plastit rnputs end •JP - a i.lll)e quMt::y
in1gt11 ocarnulate OI g<eoter depthS or on
the f1oo.:

.. ' .J

I
Globa!T Global plastic Coastal plastic Mismanaged Plastic I Plastic found in '
plastic waste waste coastal plastic I inputs to surface waters I
production
270 million 275 million 99.5 million
waste
31.9 million I the oceans
8 million 10,000 to
I
tonnes tonnes tonnes tonnes tonnes 100,000s tonne
Incorporate the Plastic waste Inadequately Total input Wide range of
production from generated by managed and into the estimate and
the previous I the population littered plastic ocean the date
years living within from the remains
SO kms of the coastal incomplete
I coastline population I I
4. Jf we currently pollute our ocean with millions of tons of plastic each year, we must have
released tens of millions of tonnes in recent decades. Why then do we find at least 100 times
less plastic in our surface waters? This discrepancy is often referred to as the 'missing plastic
problem'. There are several hypotheses to explain the 'missing plastic problem'.
5. One possibility is that it is due to imprecise measurement: we might either grossly
overestimate the amount of plastic waste we release into the ocean or underestimate the
amount of floating on the ocean surface. And then the popular hypothesis is that ultraviolet
light (UV) and mechanical wave forces break large pieces of plastic into smaller ones. These
smaller particles refer to as microplastics are much more easily mcorporated into sediments
or ingested by organisms.
6. A study with sample deep-sea sediments across several basins found that micro plastic was
up to four orders of magnitude more abundant per unit volume in deep-sea sediments from
the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean than in the plastic-polluted surface
waters.
7. But new research may suggest a third explanation: that plastics in the ocean break down
slower than previously thought, and that much of the missing plastic is washed up or buried
in our shorelines.
 Answer the following questions based on the passage above. lOM
i. Select the appropriate option to fill in the blanks 1
From paragraph 1 and 2, we can infer that _
A. We produce acceptable levels of plastic each year.
B. Most of the plastic produced end up in the ocean.
C. The global plastic production matches the ocean plastic waste.
D. Around 8 million tonnes constitute the 3% of global plastic waste.
ii. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 6. 1
defenestrate : eject : : : plentiful
iii. The third reason behind the missing plastic problem says that: 1
A. they are ingested by organisms.
B. mechanical wave forces break large pieces of plastic into smaller ones.
C. missing plastic is washed up or buried in the shorelines.
D. both (A) and (C)
iv. Describe the popular hypothesis about ultraviolet light (UV) and mechanical wave forces. 2
v. Fill in the blanks by selecting the correct option. 1
A study which sampled deep-sea sediments across several basins found that microplasti.c was in
_

A. reasonable amount B. copious amount

C. meagre quantity D. unfathomable quantity
vi. Substitute the word 'postulation' with ONE WORD similar inmeaning from paragraph 4, in
the following sentence: 1
The theoretical postulations reveal the data contradictory to what was expected.
vii. Who contribute towards the greatest risk for plastic entering the ocean? 1
A. People living within 50 kms of the coastline
B. Industries that produce tonnes of plastic each year.
C. Global researchers that calculate the amount of plastic used and wasted .
D. Tourists on the beaches.
viii. What was the global share of plastic waste that entered the ocean in 2010? 1
A. 380 million tonnes B. 270 million tonnes
C. 8 million tonnes D. 10,000 million tonnes
ix. State one reason why the global plastic waste exceeds the global plastic production in the given
figure. 1
Section B
Grammar And Creative Writing (20 marks)
2. Answer ANY TEN of the given questions, as directed tOM
i. Fill in the blank by using the correct form of the word inthe brackets, for the given portion of a
diary entry:
Today I saw the most beautiful sunrise over the ocean. I wish I could (painting ) it to truly
capture and preserve the beauty I witnessed .
ii. Read the conversation between Rohit and Amal and complete the n arration that follows:
Rohit: I am really lookingforward to the class picnic tomorrow.
Amal: Yes, after a long time we will be meeting all ourfriends and teache.rs.
When Rohit said that he was looking forward to their class picnic, Amal affirmed that .
iii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank for the given line to complete an online update.

During the college days, I beat them all in the race!

A. could B. should C. can D. might
iv. Fill in the blank by using the correct form of the word in the brackets:
Theforecast (mention) a quiet start to the day with a spell of rain to come later on in the
afternoon.
v. Complete the notice by filling in the blank with the correct option:
The swimming pool___________________ at 6 a.m daily.
A. Open B. is opening C. opened D.opens _
 vi. Report the dialogue between hvo frienqs, by completing the sentence:
Susan : Do you have any story books to read, Dorothy? Dorothy :I prefer
watching movies in my free time.
In response to the question about storybooks, Dorothy said that -----------
vii. Identify the error and supply the correction, for the following sentence in the given format:
E very trees has a s·m l, e wood!lf stem called a trunk Whl·Ch s upports a mass of branches carrying leaves.
Error Correction

viii. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option, to complete the sentence.
When I was young, I often play with my toy car.
A. will B. would C. should D. could be able to
ix. Select the correct option to complete the narration of the dialogue between a teacher and a student.
Biolog y Teacher: I instructed you to draw the diagram of bacteria. Why did you submit a blank sheet? Sameer: Sir, I had drawn the
diagram of bacteria, but you can't see it because it is not visible to the naked eye.
The biology teacher had instructed Sameer to draw the diagram of a bacterial cell and asked
him why he had submitted a blank sheet. Sameer respectfully answered that he had drawn the diagram, but _
A. he can't see it because it is not visible to the naked eye.
B. he couldn't see it because it was not visible to the naked eye.
C. he could see it because it is visible to the naked eye.
D. he could not be seen it because it is not visible to the naked eye.
x. Select the option that identifies the error and supplies the correction for the following line, from a self-help
book:
Goals provides direction to our behaviour and guide our actions and thoughts.

Option no Error Correction

A. provides provide
B. behaviour behaviours
c. to for
D. guide guides
xi. Select the correct option to fill in the blank for the given line:
Bread and butter my favourite breakfast.
A. is B. am C. are D. has been
4A. The given chart shows the division of household tasks by gender in India. Write an analytical paragraph describing
the chart in not more than 100-120 words. 5M
80

10

tiO

50

10

Care of own Maintenace

I Washing
Children odd jobs
and play … Ironing, sewing

49.5

21

[ OR ]
4B. The following table shows details about the different internet activities for six categories of people
according to different age groups. Study the table and write an analytical paragraph based upon it in about
100- 120 words. 5M

Internet Activities by Age Group

Activity%
Get News--
·-

SA. Today the ratio of car to house member is one is to one. This has led to parking issues in residential
areas. Cars are parked on the road which narrows road space leading to congestion. You have read about
incidents of short-tempered brawls and physical violence in residential areas because of parking space.
Write a letter to the editor of Times of India in about 100-120 words drawing attention to this problem and
what measures can be taken to resol ve the problem. You are Sharan/ Sunita from Maya Nagar, Modern
Road, Raipur. SM
[OR]
SB. You are Sarath, 34 Grand Road, Kochi. You are
preparing for Bank PO and some other
competitive exams. For this, you have enrolled in a
reputed coaching institute in Laxmi Nagar,
Trivandrum. Now, you need accommodation for
yourself in the nearby area. One of your friends
shared this newspaper cutting with you.

Write a letter to the Manager of Lotus paying guest, 15, Aditya Complex, Trivandrum enquiring about the rent
per month and other details as mentioned in the ad given above. SM

Section C Literature
(40 marks)
6. From the extracts given below attempt ANY ONE of the following:

A. Lomov: But you can see from the documents, honoured Natalya Stepanovna. Oxen Meadows, its
true were once the subject of dispute, but now everybody knows they are mine. There's nothing to argue
about. You see, my great grandmother gave the free use of these Meadows in perpetuity to the peasants
of your father's grandfather, in return for which they were to make bricks for her. The peasants had the free
use of the Meadows for forty years, and had got into the habit of regarding them as their own, when it
happened that ...
Natalya: No, it isn't at all like that! Both grandfather and great grandfather reckoned that their land extended
to Burnt Marsh -which means Oxen Meadows were ours. I don't see what there is to argue, its simply silly.
i. The subject of dispute was regarding 1
A. Free use of Oxen Meadows B. Making of bricks
C. Peasants using Oxen Meadows D. Ownership of Oxen Meadows
ii. Find the word from the extract which can replace the underlined word in the given sentence

The present life is so little worth that its continuance is not to be desired

A. Dispute B. Perpetuity C. Belonging D. reckoned .

 - · . ........·· · : ..:>- . ;......-- -,.•,,,,....... . .· -· ' . .· t .

Lomov’s aunt’s grandmother gave Oxen Meadows to Natalya' s father's grandfather in lieu of
_______________.

iv. According to Natalya why did Oxen Meadows belong to them? 2

[OR]
B. This, I was to learn, is a characteristic of otters; every drop of water must be, so to speak, extended
and spread about the place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it will not be overturned, be sat
in and sploshed in until it overflows. Water must be kept on the move and made to do things; when
static it is wasted and provoking. Two days later, Mijbil escaped from my bedroom as I entered it, and
I turned to see his tail disappearing round the bend of the corridor that led to the bathroom.
i. What does the author mean by 'water must be made to do things' according to Mijbil? 1
A. water is useful for bath and swim.
B. water is a resource and cannot be wasted.
C. Still water is too tempting to be lef t unattended.
D. No otter can live without an abundant supply of water.
ii. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option. 1
M ijbil's · _ comes through clearly when the author mentions his habit of constantl y keeping water on the move.
A. playfulness B. irritation C. patience D. creativity
iii. Based on the passage, what can you infer about the author's attitude towards Mijbil's tendency to splash
and overturn water? 2
iv. From the above extract what is the attitude of the author towards Mijbil and otters in general?

A. He was tolerant towards Mijbil B. He was fascinated by otters

C. He was experienced in otter behaviour. D. He was critical about Mijbil 1
7. Read the extracts given below and attempt ANY ONE of the following
A. Don't bite your nails, Amanda!
Don't hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight, Amanda!
i. What is the purpose of the speaker's words in the given extract? 1
A. informative B. entertainment C. abusive D. transformative
ii. Alliteration is a literary device used in the third line of the above extract. Which of the
following option DOES NOT include the example of alliteration? 1
A. The moon and the glittering stars watched over us.
B. With that charming chat, Catherine chose comfort.
C. Away ran the pathetic po pouting like a princess.
D. Dee Dee was driving down day after day.
iii. Select the option that fits with the following. 1
Slouching: straight : :___
A. transparent: translucent B. lazy: agile
C. forgetf ul: lively D. generous: liberal
iv. What do you think Amanda is feeling in the given extract? Answer in about 40 words. 2
[OR]
B. Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Weeck! Which was giggling for a mouse, Ink and M
ustard rudely asked his age,
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage. Suddenly,
suddenl y they heard a nasty sound,
And M ustard growled, and they all looked around .
i. What can you infer from the repetition 'suddenly, suddenly' in the above extract? 1
A. it emphasis that an unexpected noise is heard.
B. it is a warning to everyone to behave well with Custard.
C. it changes the opinion about Custard in the eyes of the others.
D. All of the above.
 ii. Custard is inclined to remain in a cage d.f pite what it symbolises because he viewed it as
(a) · i· 1
A. home B. refuge C. prison D. freedom
iii. A hyperbole is a poetic device where the poet/ speaker purposely exaggerates to an extreme.
Mention a line from the given extract where hyperbole is used as a poetic device. 1
iv. Which belief about dragons is in contrast to Custard's behaviour is the extract? 1
A. Dragons are brave and feared. B. Dragons can grant wishes.
C. Dragons can become invisible at will D. Dragons are soft-hearted and kind.
v. Using any two relevant adjectives explain the behaviour of the pets towards Custard in the
given extract?
1
8. Answer ANY FOUR of the following questions in about 40-50 words. 4 X 3M=12M

i. 'Family played a vital role in the first flight of the young seagull.' Give examples to
substantiate the above statement.
ii. 'Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days.' How does the author arrive at
this conclusion?
iii. What stopped Valli from going to the stall to have a drink? What do we learn about Valli
from this?
iv. 'A caged bird still sings because its heart is rested on hopes unseen.' Elaborate the quote with
reference to the poem A Tiger in the Zoo.
v. From the analysis of the poem Fire and lee what are the two ways in which the world will
come to an end? Why does the poet personally hold the conviction that the world will
primarily end in fire?
9. Answer ANY TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words. 2 X 3M = 6M
i. Dr. Herriot knew his patients as well as their owners really well. Discuss.
ii. State one likely reason the writer of The Midnight Visitor chose to characterise Ausable as
short and fat.
iii. Validate the importance of small, fun learning tasks towards successful careers, in the context
of Richard Ebright in The Making of a Scientist .
10. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 100-120 words. 1X 6M = 6M
A. God helps in mysterious ways. One has to be open-minded to receive His help with
gratitude and humility. Elaborate the given notion with reference to the lesson A Letter to
God . In your opinion did Lencho truly receive the 'help of God'?
[ORl
B. In today's world, where it is important for us to look good to feel good, how is the advice to
Anne Gregory by the poet relevant? What, according to you, was the main reason behind
the poet's advice to Anne Gregory?

11. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 100-120 words. 1X 6M = 6M
A. Two women played crucial roles in shaping Bholi as a person. Compare and contrast in 120
words both their roles inBholi's life.
[OR]
B. At the end of the play, one is told that five centuries later Noodle has acquired the position of
Think- Tank. Through your understanding of both the characters, pen down the account of
events that could have led to Think-Tank's replacement by Noodle.