Sample Question Paper
Class VIII
Subject: English
Maximum Marks: 60
Time: 2 hours
General Instructions & Information:
1. This question paper contains four sections.
2. All sections are compulsory.
3. Section A has two reading tasks of total 12 marks.
4. Section B has two writing tasks of total 12 marks.
5. Section C has grammar questions totaling 16 marks.
6. Section D has literature questions of total 20 marks. It includes two RTCs
and seven short answer type questions.
7. There will be 15 minutes of reading time.
8. This question paper contains 6 pages.
Section A (Reading)
Q1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The old library stood at the edge of the town square, its tall windows coated with a
fine layer of dust. Inside, the scent of paper and ink lingered like a forgotten perfume.
Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, holding stories that had waited years to be
opened.
Mrs. D’Souza, the librarian, moved softly between the aisles. Her silver hair was
always tied in a neat bun, and her glasses rested lightly on her nose. She treated each
book as though it were alive, gently smoothing bent pages and whispering apologies
when a cover tore.
To her, books were not objects made of paper and glue. They were vessels of memory
— carrying laughter, grief, courage, and dreams. “Every book remembers who has
read it,” she would often say. “It keeps a part of you between its pages.”
Few visitors come these days. Most preferred glowing screens to printed words.
Outside, the town rushed forward with noise and colour. But inside the library, time
seemed to pause — as if waiting patiently for someone to listen.
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One evening, a young boy entered hesitantly. He picked up a worn novel and sat near
the window. As he turned its pages, his face slowly brightened. Mrs. D’Souza watched
quietly, knowing that another silent conversation had begun — between a reader and a
story.
1. What is the most symbolic meaning of library (1 mark)
a. A place of business
b. A sanctuary of memory and imagination
c. A storehouse of old objects
d. A reminder of modern technology
2. How is time personified in the passage (1 mark)
3. Which phrase suggests that Mrs. D’Souza treats books with deep respect? (1
mark)
4. How does the author contrast the outside world with the inside of the library?
(2 marks)
5. According to Mrs. D’Souza, what do books carry within them? (1 mark)
Q2. Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
The Banyan Tree
The banyan stands with patient grace,
Roots like fingers in earth’s embrace.
I played beneath its woven shade,
Where childhood’s careless vows were made.
Its branches whisper in the breeze,
Like secrets shared among the trees.
I’ve grown, my footsteps stray afar,
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Yet here it waits, just as you are.
Seasons turned and years flew by,
Clouds drifted through a changing sky.
But still it guards the dusty lane,
Through summer’s heat and monsoon rain.
It holds my laughter in its bark,
My timid dreams, my after-dark.
I do not climb it as before,
But stand and listen at its core.
The banyan stands, both old and wise,
A silent witness to passing skies.
1. What can we infer about the speaker’s stage in life? (1 mark)
2. What does the phrase “roots like fingers in earth’s embrace” suggest? (1 mark)
3. Identify one simile in the poem. What does it compare? (2 marks)
4. Has the banyan tree changed, or has the speaker changed? (1 mark)
5. What role does nature play in the poem? (1 mark)
Section B (Grammar)
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Q3. Change the following sentences into reported speech. (1x4=4 marks)
a. Riya said, “I am preparing for my exams.”
b. Mother said, “Switch off the lights.”
c. He said, “Where do you live?”
d. She said, “What a wonderful performance!”
Q4. Fill in the blanks with the correct tense form of the verbs given in brackets:
(1x4=4 marks)
a. She ______ (read) a novel when I entered the room.
b. They ______ (complete) the project yesterday.
c. We ______ (visit) the museum next week.
d. He ______ (live) here since 2019.
Q5. Fill in the blanks using correct subject-verb agreement: (1x8=8 marks)
a. Each of the players ______ ready.
b. The bouquet of roses ______ beautiful.
c. Neither the teacher nor the students ______ present.
d. A pair of shoes ______ missing.
e. The news ______ surprising.
f. Ten kilometers ______ a long distance.
g. The team ______ playing well.
h. One of the boys ______ absent.
Section C (Writing)
Q6. You are Vaishavi Sharma, a local correspondent for City Today. Write a report
about a fire accident in a crowded market for your newspaper in about 100-125 words.
Invent details wherever needed. (6 marks)
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Q7. You are Sara D’Souza, a resident of 18 Park Street, Kolkata. Public parks in your
city are poorly maintained. Write a letter to the Editor drawing attention to this issue
and suggesting improvements in about 100-125 words. (6 marks)
Section D (Literature)
Q8. Read the given extract from “I Am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg
and answer the questions that follow:
“I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world’s food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history.
The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns”
a. Who are “The Napoleons and the Lincolns” referred to in the stanza? Which
literary device has been used here? (1 mark )
b. Whom does “I” refer to? Whom does “I” represent? (1 mark)
c. What idea about the power of common people is conveyed in this stanza? (1
mark)
Q9. Read the following extract from “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare and
answer the questions that follow:
“To be, or not to be: that is the question.”
a. Who speaks these lines? (1 mark)
b. What dilemma is being expressed here? (1 mark)
c. What does this reveal about the speaker’s mental state? (1 mark)\
Q10. Answer the following question in 40-50 words. (2x7=14 marks)
a. How does the donkey use humour and irony to comment on political leadership
in The Donkey Writes to the Minister?
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b. What message is conveyed in the poem The Zoo by Harindranath
Chattopadhyaya?
c. How does ambition lead to tragedy in Macbeth by William Shakespeare?
d. What is the central theme of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare?
e. How would you justify the spirit of revenge in Frankenstein? State two points.
f. What picture of nature is presented in Under the Hazy, Blossom-Laden Sky by
Okamoto Jun?
g. What role does magic play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William
Shakespeare?
End of Question Paper