SECTION-A
Reading Comprehension (Seen)
1. Read the passage and answer the following questions:**
Sometimes, instead of giving him something to eat, the guest stoops down and strokes the cat, and says, "Poor pussy! Poor pussy!" The cat soon tires of that. He puts up his claw and quietly but firmly rakes the guest in the leg. "Ow!" says the guest, "The cat struck his claws into me!" The delighted family remarks, "Isn't it sweet of him? Isn't he intelligent? He wants you to give him something to eat." The guest dares not do what he would like to do-kick the cat out of the window. So, with tears of rage and pain in his eyes, he affects to be very much amused, and sorts out a bit of fish from his plate and hands it down. The cat gingerly receives it, with a look in his eyes that says, "Another time, my friend, you won't be so slow to understand." He purrs as he retires to a safe distance from the guest's boot before eating his food.
**A. Tick (✔) the correct alternatives to complete the sentences:**
(i) The cat is impatient about the guest's
(a) caress
(b) attention
(c) praise
(d) neglect
**Ans:** (a) caress
(ii) The cat receives the bit of fish
(a) carelessly
(b) sincerely
(c) gingerly
(d) seriously
**Ans:** (c) gingerly
B. Complete the following sentences with information from the text:**
(i) The guest dares not **to kick the cat out of the window.**
(ii) The cat retires to a safe distance from **the guest's boot before eating his food.**
**C. Answer the following questions:**
(i) Why does the guest suppress his feeling when the cat rakes him?
**Ans:** The guest suppresses his feeling because he does not want to offend the host family who are delighted by the cat's behavior and because he knows it would be inappropriate to express his anger.
(ii) How does the cat tire of?
**Ans:** The cat tires of being stroked and caressed by the guest instead of being given something to eat.
**2. Read the following poem carefully and answer the questions that follow:**
Give but his horns the slightest touch,
His self-collecting power is such,
He shrinks into his house with much
Displeasure.
Where'er he dwells, he dwells alone,
Except himself has chattels none,
Well satisfied to be his own
Whole treasure.
**A. Write the correct alternative to complete the sentences:**
(i) The snail is presented here as -
(a) selfish
(b) dissatisfied
(c) self-contented
(d) gloomy
**Ans:** (c) self-contented
(ii) In its house, the snail lives with -
(a) no one
(b) parents
(c) relatives
(d) friends
**Ans:** (a) no one
**B. Answer the following questions:**
(i) What makes the snail well satisfied?
**Ans:** The snail is well satisfied because he is content with his own company and possessions, having no need for anyone else or anything more.
(ii) How does the snail sense danger?
**Ans:** The snail senses danger by the slightest touch to his horns, which makes him retreat into his shell with displeasure.
## READING COMPREHENSION (UNSEEN)
**3. Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:**
Socrates was arrested and accused of denying the gods and of corrupting the young men of the city. This was not true, although it seemed so to ignorant people. Socrates worshipped the gods of Greece very scrupulously, offering sacrifices and performing rites as the priests commanded. But he also believed that the gods spoke directly to him by the inner voice, telling him what to do and what not to do. This claim offended the priests who wanted the people to believe that the gods would deal with men only through them. Then, too, Socrates had taught - there was no use believing a thing just because older people say so. You must test and examine and be able to give a reason for your belief. This the older people regarded as an attack on their traditions and their faith; so they accused him of corrupting the young. The great reformer was convicted by Athenian law and condemned to death.
**A. Tick (✔) the right answer:**
(i) Socrates was arrested for denying the -
(a) king
(b) priests
(c) gods
(d) law and order
**Ans:** (c) gods
(ii) Socrates worshipped the gods of -
(a) Rome
(b) Greece
(c) England
(d) Egypt
**Ans:** (b) Greece
**B. Each of the following statements is either True or False. Write 'T' for 'True' and 'F' for 'False' in the boxes on the right-hand side. Also pick out suitable lines(s) or phrase(s) from the passage in support of your answers:**
(i) Socrates was accused of manipulating the young men.
**Supporting Statement:** **"They accused him of corrupting the young."**
**Ans:** True
(ii) Socrates was forgiven at last.
**Supporting Statement:** **"The great reformer was convicted by Athenian law and condemned to death."**
**Ans:** False
**C. Answer the following questions in twenty-five words:**
(i) What was Socrates accused of?
**Ans:** Socrates was accused of denying the gods and corrupting the young men by encouraging them to question traditions and beliefs without proper reasoning.
(ii) How was Socrates punished?
**Ans:** Socrates was convicted by Athenian law and condemned to death for his alleged offenses.
## SECTION-B
### Grammar and Vocabulary
**4. Fill in the blanks with suitable articles and prepositions:**
Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar wished **to** set up **a** hospital in Pune in the memory of her father Dinnath Mangeshkar.
**5. Do as directed:**
(i) The man said to the sergeant, "You do me a good turn tonight and I am obliged to you." (Change the mode of the narration)
**Ans:** The man told the sergeant that he did him a good turn that night and he was obliged to him.
(The man told the sergeant that if he did him a good turn that night, he would be obliged to him.)
(ii) A lost moment is lost forever. (Make it a complex sentence)
**Ans:** A moment which is lost is lost forever.
If a moment is lost, it is lost forever.
(iii) Do you know me? (Change the voice)
**Ans:** Am I known to you?
(iv) None can endure such an insult. (Replace the underlined word with a suitable group verb: put up with/ put up)
**Ans:** None can put up with such an insult.
**6. Given below are the meanings of two words which you will find in Question No. 3. Find out the words and write them in the appropriate boxes on the right-hand side:**
(i) A person who makes changes to something in order to improve it: **reformer**
(ii) Lacking knowledge or awareness: **ignorant**
## SECTION-C
### Writing Skill
**7. Study the information below regarding a building collapse and write a newspaper report on it within 100 words.**
[Event: Collapse of a five-storeyed building; Place: Rajendra Road, Bhowanipur, Kolkata; Date: March 20; Time: Late at night. Casualties: 11 killed including a 75-year-old man, 17 injured (hospitalized); Probable causes: (i) Low quality building material, (ii) Serious defects in construction, (iii) Soil testing not done properly; Steps taken: The promoter and the building contractor arrested. An enquiry Committee set up by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.]
**Ans:**
Building Collapse at Rajendra Road, Bhowanipur
Kolkata, March 20: Late last night, a five-storeyed building on Rajendra Road, Bhowanipur, collapsed resulting in the tragic loss of 11 lives, including a 75-year-old man. Seventeen others were injured and have been hospitalized. Preliminary investigations suggest the use of low-quality building materials, serious construction defects, and improper soil testing as probable causes of the collapse. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has arrested the promoter and the building contractor. An enquiry committee has been set up to investigate the incident and prevent such tragedies in the future.
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