In Online Education CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English Language and Literature Paper 1 are part of CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English. Here we have given CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English Language and Literature Paper 1.
Online Education CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English Language and Literature Paper 1
| Board | CBSE |
| Class | 10 |
| Subject | English Language and Literature |
| Sample Paper Set | Paper 1 |
| Category | CBSE Sample Papers |
Students who are going to appear for CBSE Class 10 Examinations are advised to practice the CBSE sample papers given here which is designed as per the latest Syllabus and marking scheme, as prescribed by the CBSE, is given here. Paper 1 of Solved CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English Language and Literature is given below with free PDF download Answers.
Time: 3 Hours
Maximum Marks: 80
General Instructions
- The paper consists of 3 sections: A, B, C.
- Attempt all the questions.
- Don’t write anything on the question paper.
- Read each question carefully and follow the given instructions.
- All the answers must be correctly numbered and written in the answer sheet provided to you.
- Strictly adhere to the word limit given in the question paper. Marks will be deducted for exceeding the word limit.
- Ensure that questions of each section are answered together.
SECTION A
(Reading – 20 Marks)
Question 1.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (8)
1. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. When areas in and around Leh began to experience water shortages, life didn’t grind to a halt. Why? Because Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer in the Jammu and Kashmir government came up with the idea of artificial glaciers.
2. Ladakh, a cold desert at an altitude of 3,000-3,500 meters above sea level, has a low average annual rainfall rate of 50mm. Glaciers have always been the only source of water. Agriculture is completely dependent on glacier melt unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India. But over the years with increasing effects of climate change, rainfall and snowfall patterns have been changing, resulting in severe shortage and drought situations. Given the severe winter conditions, the window for farming is usually limited to one harvest season.
3. It is located between the natural glacier above and the village below. The one closer to the village and lowest in altitude melts first, providing water during April/May, the crucial sowing season. Further layers of ice above melt with increasing temperature thus ensuring continuous supply to the fields. Thus, farmers have been able to manage two crops instead of one. It costs about Rs. 1,50,000 and above to create one.
4. Fondly called the “glacier man”, Mr. Norphel has designed over 15 artificial glaciers in and around Leh since 1987. In recognition of his pioneering effort, he was conferred the Padma Shri by President Pranab Mukherjee, in 2015.
5. There are few basic steps followed in creating the artificial glacier.
6. River or stream water at higher altitude is diverted to a shaded area of the hill, facing north, where the winter sun is blocked by a ridge or a mountain range. At the start of winter/November, the diverted water is made to flow onto sloping hill face through distribution channels. Stone embankments are built at regular intervals which impede the flow of water, making shallow pools and freeze, forming a cascade of ice along the slope. Ice formation continues for 3-4 months resulting in a large accumulation of ice which is referred to as an “artificial glacier”. (349 words)
1.1. Attempt any eight of the following questions on the basis of the passage you have read. (1 x 8 = 8)
(a) Who was Chewang Norphel?
(b) What kind of land form is Ladakh?
(c) Why have Glaciers been the only source of water for Ladakh?
(d) Why has the pattern of snowfall and rainfall changed?
(e) How are Glaciers significant for irrigation?
(f) How do farmers manage to grow two crops instead of one?
(g) In which year did President Pranab Mukherjee confer Padma Shri to Mr. Norphel?
(h) How many months does the ice formation continue for?
(i) Find the word in the paragraph 6 which means the same as ‘gathering’?
Question 2.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Have you ever failed at something so miserably that the thought of attempting to do it again was the last thing you wanted to do?
2. If your answer is yes, then you are “not a robot.” Unlike robots, we human beings have feelings, emotions, and dreams. We are all meant to grow and stretch despite our circumstances and our limitations. Flourishing and trying to make our dreams come true is great when life is going our way. But what happens when it’s not? What happens when you fail despite all of your hard work? Do you stay down and accept the defeat or do you get up again and again until you are satisfied? If you have a tendency to persevere and keep going then you have what experts call, grit.
3. Falling down or failing is one of the most agonizing, embarrassing, and scariest human experiences. But it is also one of the most educational, empowering, and essential parts of living a successful and fulfilling life. Did you know that perseverance (grit) is one of the seven qualities that have been described as the keys to personal success and betterment in society? The other six are curiosity, gratitude, optimism, self-control, social intelligence, and zest. Thomas Edison is a model for grit for trying 1,000 plus times to invent the light bulb. If you are reading this with the lights on in your room, you know well he succeeded. When asked why he kept going despite his hundreds of failures, he merely stated that what he had been not failures. They were hundreds of ways not to create a light bulb. This statement not only revealed his grit but also his optimism for looking at the bright side.
4. Grit can be learned to help you become more successful. One of the techniques that help is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that helps the individual stay at the moment by bringing awareness of his or her experience without judgment. This practice has been used to quiet
the noise of their fears and doubts. Through this simple practice of mindfulness, individuals have the ability to stop the self-sabotaging downward spiral of hopelessness, despair, and frustration.
5. What did you do to overcome the negative and self-sabotaging feelings of failure? Reflect on what you did, and try to use those same powerful resources to help you today.
2.1. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in about 30-40 words each. (2 x 4 = 8)
(a) According to the passage, what are the attributes of a human?
(b) What is perceived as grit?
(c) How is ‘failing’ an educational and empowering part of human life?
(d) In what ways can grit be developed?
(e) How does mindfulness help?
2.2. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following: (1 x 4 = 4)
(a) While inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison had failed …………
(i) 1000 times
(ii) 10000 plus times
(iii) 1000 plus times
(iv) 10000 times
(b) Failure is a part of …… life.
(i) normal
(ii) common
(iii) human
(iv) ordinary
(c) In paragraph 2, ……… means continue.
(i) robots
(ii) satisfied
(iii) persevere
(iv) flourishing
(d) In paragraph 3, the synonym of distressing is …………
(i) embarrassing
(ii) scariest
(iii) agonizing
(iv) failing
(e) ………….. helps in preventing individuals from going down the lines of despair.
(i) success
(ii) fear
(iii) doubt
(iv) mindfulness
SECTION B
(Writing & Grammar – 30 Marks)
Question 3.
You are Sujal/Sujata of Pragya Public School, Nangal, Punjab who had arranged a trip for fifty students of Nanital in summer vacations for ten days with ‘Mount Travels and Tourism’. The arrangements done by the travel agency were far below standard. The accommodation and food facilities were inferior in quality. Write a letter of complaint . to the director of the agency to stop duping tourists with false promises as it tarnishes the image of locals. (100-120 words) (8)
OR
India is a highly populated country. People lack in maintaining proper sanitation and hygiene, as a result, they suffer from various diseases. India has a serious sanitation challenge; around 60 percent of the world’s open defecation takes place in India. Poor sanitation causes health hazards including diarrhea, particularly in children under S years of age, malnutrition, and deficiencies in physical development and cognitive ability. You are Nitish/Nikita, head boy/girl of Anand Public School, Jaipur. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily, highlighting the problem and suggesting practical ways to ensure public sanitation and the right to dignity and privacy. (100-120 words) (8)
Question 4.
Develop a short story with the help of the given visual/starting line. Give a suitable title to your story. (150-200 words)
OR
It was an amazing day. Full of fun and frolic. We all stood aghast to see a strange flying object over our heads. We started guessing… (write in 150-200 words).
Question 5.
Fill in any four of the blanks choosing the most appropriate option from the ones given in the box. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. (1 x 4 = 4)
Butterflies are abundant (a) ……….. the Central African Republic. It (b) ………… home to nearly 600 identified species. Many butterflies are brilliantly colored and small (c) ……….. some are as big as saucers. Farmer Philippe (d) …………. solace in collecting butterfly wings from his fields and turning them into works of art. My favorite hobby, since my childhood, is (e) ………… butterflies.
(a) (i) in (ii) from (iii) for (iv) into
(b) (i) has (ii) is (iii) was (iv) are
(c) (i) if (ii) therefore (iii) so (iv) while
(d) (i) find (ii) to find (iii) finding (iv) finds
(e) (i) catch (ii) caught (iii) catching (iv) has been catching
Question 6.
In the following passage, one word has not been edited in each line. Write the incorrect word along with the correct word in the space provided. Do any four. (4)
Question 7.
Rearrange any four of the following groups of words or phrases to make meaningful sentences. (4)
(a) enters / millions tons / the / every year / of7ocean / plastic
(b) are / waters / sightings / junk-filled / of / common
(c) population / middle-class / increasing / is / coastlines/along
(d) trash / increase / has led / waste management / lack / of / in / to
(e) close / like / others / helping / my / friends
SECTION C
(Literature : Textbook & Long Reading Text – 30 Marks)
Question 8.
Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: (1 x 4 = 4)
The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping countryside.
(a) Who narrates the above lines?
(b) Which type of weather conditions is being discussed in the above lines?
(c) Explain the term ‘the sleeping countryside’?
(d) Why is the narrator happy?
OR
At about the age of twenty-five, the Prince, thereof shielded from the sufferings of the world, while hunting out glanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once became a beggar and went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
(a) Whose age has been referred here?
(b) What was the effect of those sights on the prince?
(c) How did witnesses sorrow change him?
(d) What does ‘glance’ imply in the given lines?
Question 9.
Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each: (2 x 4 = 8)
(a) Hari Singh is both a thief and a human being. Explain.
(b) How does the necklace change the course of the Loisel’s life?
(c) Explain the qualities of the post office employees?
(d) Why would you not agree with Lencho calling them ‘a bunch of crooks’?
(e) Bholi’s heart was overflowing with a ‘New hope and a new life’. What does the phrase ‘the new hope and the new life’ mean?
Question 10.
Attempt any one out of two long answer type questions in (100-120 words). (8)
People should always try to live within their means. Aspirations have no limits but one should never forget the ground realities. Elaborate on the basis of the chapter, “The Necklace”.
OR
Simple moment proves to be very significant and saves rest of the day of the poet from being wasted. Explain on the basis of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’.
Question 11.
Answer the following questions in about 200-250 words: (10)
Kitty plays a vital role in Anne’s life. Elucidate.
OR
In spite of the heartrending circumstances in which ‘The Diary’ was written, it was not an inspiring rather depressing book. Explore.
OR
How did Miss Anne Sullivan help Helen to communicate properly?
OR
Give a pen portrait of Helen Keller.
Answers
Answer 1.
1.1. (a) Chewang Norphel was a retired civil engineer.
(b) Ladakh is a cold desert.
(c) Because Ladakh is a cold desert at 300-3500 meters. The annual rainfall rate is just 50 mm.
(d) The pattern of snowfall and rainfall has changed because of climate change.
(e) Glaciers provide water in the months of April/May. It is crucial for irrigation.
(f) Glaciers and their layers close to the village melt with increasing temperature and provide the continuous supply of water to the fields.
(g) In 2015 president Pranab Mukherjee conferred Padma Shri to Mr. Norphel.
(h) The ice formation continues for 3-4 months.
(i) Accumulation.
Answer 2.
2.1. (a) According to the passage, grit, curiosity, gratitude, optimism, self-control, social intelligence and zest are the attributes of a human.
(b) If you have a tendency to persevere and keep going, we have what experts call grit.
(c) Failing teaches us how to be perseverant and keep going for one’s goals. Each failure makes one understand what to do and what not to do.
(d) We should not accept defeat. Instead, we should make efforts to overcome our limitations, and not to stay down. Thus, we can develop grit.
(e) Mindfulness is a practice that helps the individual stay in the moment by bringing awareness of his or her experience without judgment. This practice is a technique that many have used to quiet the noise of their fears and doubts.
2.2. (a) (iii) 1000 plus times
(b) (iii) human
(c) (iii) persevere
(d) (iii) agonizing
(e) (iv) mindfulness
Answer 3.
Pragya Public School
Nagal, Punjab
23rd November, 20xx
The Director
Mount Travels and Tourism
Nagal, Punjab.
Sub: Inferior quality of food and accommodation.
Dear Sir,
I am constrained to express my displeasure and resentment at inferior arrangements made during our tour to Nainital summer vacations. Our tour was for ten days and arrangement made by your agency was below standard when we came back home, most of the students fell ill and they are unable to attend classes. During our negotiation for the tour, following promises were made:
(a) Stay in good hotels
(b) Food at a good restaurant.
As above promises were fulfilled, we stayed in a lodge and were forced to eat local foods. Consequently, most of the students fell ill.
Certainly, we are cheated by our agency. You are requested that you should not dupe local people because it tarnishes our image.
Yours sincerely
Sujal/Sujata
OR
Anand Public School
Jaipur
23rd November, 20xx
The Editor
Rajasthan Patrika
Jaipur.
Sub: Need for public sanitation.
Sir,
Through the column of your esteemed daily, I want to highlight the serious problem of sanitation. Everybody knows that India is a highly populated country. The people have no proper sanitation and hygiene facilities. Around 60 percent of the world’s open defecation takes place in India. As a result, people suffer from various diseases. Diarrhea, among various health hazards, is very common among the children of below five years of age. Poor sanitation also causes deficiencies in physical development and cognitive ability among people.
The government and the concerned authorities must take steps in this regard. They should put the public sanitation facilities at important places of villages, towns, and cities. Besides, people should be made aware of diseases caused by open defecation. Sanitation should become our right to ensure dignity and privacy.
Yours faithfully
Nitish
Head Boy.
Answer 4.
A Brave and Courageous Sailor
Yesterday I went to the beach with my friends. We were quite happy. We arrived at the beach at around 10:30 am. We selected a sport by the sea and placed our packets on the benches. After reaching the beach, we decided to play some games on the sand. As we had brought two footballs and there were six children, we started jumping and exchanging the ball with one another. During our play, the ball slipped away near the date tree and I hurried towards the tree to bring back the ball. Fortunately, I watched a strange man near some bench. He was a tall man and wearing a long coat and hat. A big knife was fitted into his strong belt. As he had a different look and dress, I became interested in the man and watched him.
I went near the man who was calling someone and a hawk was flying near his leg. But the strange man was lame in his left leg and he was filled with courage and excitement. I thought him to be seaman and desired to meet him. Fortunately, his eyes caught my presence and he called me there and then.
I gathered courage and approached him. The man was pleased with me. I asked him several questions, and he politely answered them all. During our gossip, I came to know that he was John and a sailor by profession. He had brought up the hawk since he was of five years. He belonged to France and his father was also a sailor.
In the meantime, my friends arrived at the spot. They were also surprised at the sailor. Although he was lame, he often liked to visit the new places. Now he is in our country and would stay for two more days. Really he was the bold and courageous sailor.
OR
A Spy Camera
It was an amazing day, full of fun and frolic. We all stood aghast to see a strange flying object over to our heads. We started guessing about the object. My friend Deepak is very intelligent. He always gets high scores in science. I called him and wanted to take his help. He came to the place where I was standing and stared at the object. After some observation, he said, “I think the strange object may be a part of the plane and may have detached away from the plane body. Now it is flying in the air and may fall upon the ground anytime.”
As I was not satisfied with my friend’s observations, I decided to make my own observation because two strange objects was a curious thing for me. Certainly, I was filled with curiosity and wanted to know the object in detail. But Deepak wanted to go back home as it was getting dark. Certainly, I could not stay Deepak further on the spot so my friend left me and I remained on the spot.
When the evening set in there was faint dark everywhere. I was still standing watching the strange object or UFO. When the strange object was at the short distance over my head, I could clearly see it. I found that it was a very big box fitted with huge cameras. It was an act of some enemy country because it was a sky camera. I found the country was in danger. So, I immediately called the police. The camera was brought down on the ground with the help of the helicopter, and an extensive investigation was made. My information was correct. Hence, I helped the country.
Answer 5.
(a) (i) in
(b) (ii) is
(c) (iv) while
(d) (iv) finds
(e) (iii) catching
Answer 6.
Incorrect Correction
(a) a the
ib) or and
(c) has is
(d) irrigating irrigate
(e) requiring require
Answer 7.
(a) Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.
(b) Sightings of junk filled waters are common.
(c) The middle-class population is increasing along the coastline.
(d) Lack of waste management has led to increasing in trash.
(e) My close friends like helping others.
Answer 8.
(a) The pilot narrates the above lines.
(b) Weather was favorable, as the sky was clear.
(c) It means everything was going well.
(id) Because he is all above.
OR
(a) Gautam Buddha’s age has been referred here.
(b) All the sights moved the prince.
(c) He left his palace and went in search of enlightenment.
(d) ‘Looked at’.
Answer 9.
(a) No doubt Hari is a thief as well as good human being. Situations compel a person to become either beast or remain as a human being. Even goodness and nobility of a person change anyone’s heart and mind.
(b) Only because of the necklace and showing off, Loisel fell in a debt trap which forced her to live like an ordinary lower-middle-class housewife. She started doing all the household chores which a lady of her status normally does not do. Aspirations have no limits but one should never forget the ground realities.
(c) The post office employees were kind and helpful.
(d) Lencho was not at all justified in calling them ‘a bunch of crooks because they helped him by collecting money.
(e) It means, ‘To serve her parents in old age and to teach the students in the same school when she had learned too much’.
Answer 10.
Matilda was a pretty young woman. But she was a day-dreamer. Although she was born in a poor family, yet she dreams to have costly dresses and jewelry. She wanted to be honored ‘ and respected like rich. One day her husband showed her an invitation from a minister. She emotionally forced to buy a new and costly dress for the ball. After this, she borrowed a diamond necklace from her friend Forestier. She enjoyed the party heartily. She danced with enthusiasm. But she lost the necklace and in this way, their problems started. To replace the necklace her husband had to borrow amount on a very high rate of interest. To repay that amount, they lived in the rented house. She did all the household work herself. Mr. Loisel worked extra to earn small wages.
Thus, it is correctly said that we should always they to live within one means. Our aspirations have no limits. But we should never forget the ground realities. If Matilda had knowledge of this fact, her life would not have changed into realities.
OR
In this poem, Robert Frost praises and describes different positions of nature. Here he touches different aspects of natural sights. There are many things in nature that are not considered auspicious like—crow and hemlock. Crow is not considered a good bird. Similarly, hemlock tree is a poisonous tree and that is why it is the symbol of sadness. When the crow shakes off the dust of snow from the hemlock tree, it falls on the poet. Thus the poet’s mood changes due to this incident. Robert Frost, in this poem, represents the crow and hemlock tree as inauspicious. But when the crow shakes off the dust of snow from the hemlock tree, it falls on the poet. It changes his dejected mood and saves the day from being spoilt.
Answer 11.
Anne received a number of gifts from her parents and friends on her thirteenth birthday which was celebrated on 12th, June 1942. She received a diary, a bunch of roses, a decorative plant and some peonies (plants with showy flowers) from her parents. The first gift she opened was a diary which she liked the most. Other things she received from various friends were Camera Obscura, a party game, lots of sweets, chocolates, a puzzle game, an ornamental brooch. The books she received were “Tales and Legends of the Netherlands” by Joseph Cohen and “Daisy’s Mountain Holiday” which were terrific books. She also got some money with which she was able to buy “The Myths of Greece and Rome.” It was that diary which became her confidant in her hiding in Amsterdam. She named it “Kitty” and considered it her best friend and wrote all her experiences of the two years hideout in the Secret Annexe. Obviously, it became her proud possession.
OR
Though Anne had daring parents and a sister Margot Frank, thirty friends, relatives, uncles and aunts who cared for her a lot, a number of boyfriends who were anxious to become her close friends, but she still lacked something in her life. She could make fun and joke of them but would not disclose her inner feelings of a young girl turning into a woman.
There was a saying that “paper is more patient than men” which clicked in her mind one sad day. She found the diary to be her intimate friend she could trust completely. Undoubtedly she had waited so long for such a great thing. The main reason behind Anne’s writing a diary was that she had no such real friend. Moreover, she understood that it was only a diary that could listen to her patiently without any comments and complaints. She called it “Kitty”. She made her first entry in that diary on 14th June 1942. She knew that no one would be interested in knowing the secrets of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. She put all her deeply buried thoughts in this diary.
OR
The child who can hear learns the everyday expressions through constant repeating and imitation. The conversation he hears in his home stimulates his mind and he puts forward his own thoughts orally. This natural exchange of ideas is denied to the deaf child. Miss Sullivan overcame this deficiency of a deaf child (the narrator) by being determined to supply the kind of stimulus that the narrator lacked. She did it by repeating to her as far as possible, by spelling word by word on the hand, what she heard, and by showing her how she could take part in the conversation.
For a long time, the narrator was still. She was not thinking of the beads in her lap but was trying to find a meaning for the word ‘love’. At that time the sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had been brief showers, but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its southern splendor. She enquired from Miss Sullivan if what she saw was ‘love’. Miss Sullivan replied that love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out. She explained that one cannot touch the clouds, but one can feel the rain and know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. She said that one cannot touch love either, but one can feel the sweetness it pours into everything. She added that without love one would not be happy or want to play.
OR
Like Wordsworth, Helen learned to find solace in nature and its peaceful serenity. Her power of observation was commendable. How beautifully she has described the details of her observations! Even those with eyes and ears cannot describe as beautifully as she has done. Natural beauty was abundant around her house. The Keller homestead was quite near a rose- bower. Its old-fashioned garden was the paradise of her childhood. Before Miss Sullivan’s arrival, this garden was the place where Helen went to find comfort and hide her hot face in the cool leaves and grass. Helen felt extremely happy in that garden of flowers, wandering happily from spot to spot. She could recognize each vine and plant by touching them.
Helen was a prodigy child since her early childhood! However, the challenges she faced were quite arduous—as if Nature had planned a special obstacle course for her to help her bring her best out! After being rendered blind and disabled in hearing and speaking, Helen’s frustration to learn more and more about life mounted very high. Her hearing disability combined with a visual disability made the teaching and learning more challenging. Helen was a very industrious girl; she always did her best to learn. She had such a natural, innate passion for learning which always motivated her. Manual alphabet, reading, arithmetic, etc., all were formidable challenges for her initially, but Helen overcame them. The most arduous of all of them was learning to speak. Learning to speak is almost an impossible task for those who have a hearing disability. So Helen had to work very hard. She had to repeat each word and sentence many times for the right tone and pronunciation. She practiced untiringly. At times she became discouraged and weary too, but she never gave up. She faced all the difficulties courageously. Her courage and perseverance are the source of inspiration for all mankind!.
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