SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
GRADE 8
Maximum Marks: 20
Subject: English
Time: 1 hour
Instructions
● This sample paper has four sections.
● Section A has two questions of four marks and three marks
respectively.
● Section B has one question of four marks.
● Section C has one question of three marks.
● Section D has two questions of two marks and four marks
respectively.
● This sample paper contains 5 pages.
Section A - Reading
Q1. Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:
A Wonderful New Year
The year 2018 is just days old, but already there are indications it will be
a great 12 months. This is according to a poll conducted by the
international news service BBC. The service's top pollster asked
pertinent questions about whether people were optimistic or pessimistic
about the year ahead. A resounding 100 per cent of survey participants
responded positively. They all thought 2018 would be a wonderful year,
both in their personal lives and in terms of national and global issues. All
those who took part in the survey were of the opinion that 2018 would be
significantly better than the year 2017. A BBC spokesman said he was
heartened by the responses and wished everyone good fortune. The
survey questioned participants' views on their hopes for their own life, as
well as for the fate of the Earth. An overwhelming majority of people
were convinced they would carry out their New Year resolutions. In
particular, people were determined to get in shape, stop procrastinating,
save money, and improve their communication skills. Others said they
would use their smartphones less often, eat less fast food and chocolate,
and make sure their homes are always very, very tidy. Most participants
were positive about the world in 2018. They thought there would be
fewer wars, less pollution and an increase in goodwill shown to the less
fortunate. Everyone hoped for more peace, love, happiness and
prosperity.
a) Which of the following was not mentioned as a New Year
resolution in the passage? [1]
a) Saving money
b) Getting in shape
c) Learning to cook
d) Improving communication skills
b) Write the meaning of the word ‘pollster’. [1]
c) Why is the title ‘A Wonderful New Year’ justified for this passage?
[1]
d) Suggest another title for this passage. [1]
Q2. Read the given poem and answer the questions that follow:
The Cloud
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother’s breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.
I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night ’tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
Lightning my pilot sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits.
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea.
I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain, when with never a stain
The pavilion of heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams,
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.
1
a) Write the meanings of the words given in the box: [ 2 x 2]
Cenotaph, Genii
b) Where in the poem is the cloud compared to a painter? [1]
c) Write the figure of speech used in the line ‘As she dances about
the sun’. [1]
Section B - Grammar
Q3. Identify whether the following sentences/questions are in
Active or Passive Voice. Then change each sentence/question into
the opposite voice.
a) Why will they not vacate their house? [2]
b) They did not win the championship. [2]
Section C - Creative Writing
Q4. Frequent road accidents occur near your school because there
is no traffic signal or speed breaker. Write a letter to the editor
expressing your concern and suggesting measures for safety.
Section D - Literature
Q5. Answer the following Assertion - Reason questions:
a) Assertion: Vidura came back into the hall.
Reason: He had heard that Yudhisthira had lost everything. [1]
a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
b) Both A and R are true, however, R is not the correct
explanation of A.
c) A is true but R is false.
d) R is true but A is false.
b) Assertion: In the poem “The Darkling Thrush”, the land of the
coppice has been compared to the dead body of the 19th century.
Reason: This is an example of a metaphor. [1]
Q5. Answer the following questions in 40 - 50 words:
a) In the story “The Gambling Match”, Dhritarashtra, the father of the
Kauravas, is described as a “blind king.” Does this term refer only
to his physical blindness, or is it also used metaphorically?
Substantiate your answer with a suitable reason. [2]
b) In the poem “The Darkling Thrush”, the tone changes noticeably in
the final two stanzas. How does the poet create this change in the
tone? [2]