Class VIII Session 2025-26

Subject - English
Sample Question Paper - 1

Time Allowed: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:

Attempt all questions.

Reading (20 Marks)

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (1x5=5) [10]
Our ancestors had great difficulty in getting books. Now, our difficulty is what should we read. There are books
and books but our period of reading is very little. Therefore, the choice becomes essential. We should be very
careful about what we should read. There are books which poison our lives by suggesting and provoking for
doing evils.
We should keep them at arm’s length. We should read only those books which have stood the test of time. Such
books are our great classics like the Ramayana and the Gita. They contain the wisdom of our sages and saints.
They have appealed mankind from generation to generation. Reading of such books has an ennobling influence
on our mind and character. It gives us spiritual enjoyment. These books give us instruction with entertainment.
They represent our ancient culture. They set high ideals to be followed by us. They are our best friends, the best
guides and the best treasure.
i. We should be selective because -
a. there is a great number of books available to us
b. there is a scarcity of books
c. there are only bad books in the market
d. none of the above.
ii. We should avoid those books which -
a. cost high price
b. come in paperback
c. corrupt our lives by suggesting and provoking for doing evils
d. come in more than one volume.
iii. The books which have stood the test of time are called....
a. great books
b. rare books
c. biographies
d. classics.
iv. What is/are special quality/qualities of classics?
a. They affect our mind in a good way.
b. They teach us something great and also entertain us.

Page 1 of 8
 c. They help us in our spiritual growth.
d. All the above.
v. An expression in the passage which means ‘good effect’ is -
a. Spiritual enjoyment
b. Ennobling influence
c. High ideals
d. Very careful
2. Read the following poems carefully: (1x5=5) [10]
Fame is a food that dead men eat,
I have no stomach for such meat.
In little light and narrow room,
They eat in the silent tomb.
With no kind voice of comrade near
To bid the feaster be of cheer.
But friendship is a noble thing,
Of friendship, it is good to sing.
For truly when a man shall end,
He lives in the memory of his friend,
Who doth his better part recall,
And of his fault make the funeral.
i. By the expression ‘Fame is a food that dead men eat’ we mean
a. fame is enjoyed only after death
b. fame is enjoyed during the life-time
c. fame is something like a food
d. fame dies with one’s death.
ii. Friendship is a noble thing because
a. a man cannot live without friends
b. real friends are very helpful
c. a man always remembers the good qualities of his friend after his death
d. it enhances the dignity of mankind.
iii. Friendship is better than fame because in friendship
a. when a man dies he lives in the memory of his friend
b. a man always regards his friend
c. enmity never comes
d. a man is always happy in the company of his friend.
iv. In the last line of the above poem the poet wants to convey that
a. one should believe in friendship
b. the faults of a man are highlighted by his friend after his death
c. the faults of a man are forgotten by his friend after his death
d. one should not run after fame and friendship.
v. The word recall means

Page 2 of 8
 a. forget
b. come close
c. help
d. remember.
Writing (20 Marks)
3. Meenakshi Goel is the sports captain of Navodaya school. The sports day is to be held on September 21st which [5]
is just two weeks away. She has to inform the house captains that they have to submit the names of the
participants to her in a week’s time. A student cannot take part in more than three events excluding the relay.
Any delay or wrong information will lead to disqualification of the student.
Write the notice for Meenakshi using not more than 40 words.
4. Develop a story by using the given headings: [5]

Two friends when small were very closely attached to each other—one rich—one poor—after Class X—
separated. Meet after 10 years—poor as boss and rich as employee.

5. Write a paragraph in about 100-150 words on the topic A Visit to The Zoo. [5]
6. Write a letter to the editor of a leading newspaper expressing your concern about the image of cricket going [5]
down now-a-days. Assign yourself Sunil/Sarita.
Grammar (20 Marks)
7. The following passage has not been edited. There is a mistake in each line. Write the incorrect word as [5]
well as the correction in your answer sheet:

Incorrect Correct

When da Vinci became a young men, (a) ________ ________

he was one of the peoples, appointed (b) ________ ________

to make paintings for a churches. (c) ________ ________

Whenever he tried to draw a horse or a plants, (d) ________ ________

he had to know everythings about it. He made many drawings in his note-book. (e) ________ ________

8. Fill in the following blanks with correct tense (present perfect) of the verbs given in brackets: [5]
i. Asha ________ never ________ the Red Fort. (see)
ii. ________ you not ________ your bath as yet? (take)
iii. I ________ not ________ my lesson. (revise)
iv. We ________ not ________ from Rajni for the last four months. (hear)
v. She ________ in Delhi for eight years. (live)
9. Arrange the following groups of words into a sentence: [5]
a. queen / punished / boy / the / the
b. after / Tom / ran / Jerry
c. Indians / are / all / we
d. wall / dirty / you / made / have / the
e. a / king / Ram / good / was
10. Read the active given below and then complete the passive that follows. [5]

Page 3 of 8
 i. The boy caught the ball.
The ball ________ the boy.
ii. He kept me waiting.
I _______ waiting.
iii. Everyone loves him.
_______loved by everyone.
iv. We expect good news.
Good news _______ by us.
v. I have sold my bicycle.
My bicycle _______ sold by me.
Literature (20 Marks)
11. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions. (1x5 = 5) [3]
But tell me, dear cricket,
Did you lay nothing by
When the weather was warm?
Quoth the cricket, Not I!
My heart was so light/ That I sang day and night,
For all nature looked gay.
You sang, Sir, you say?
Go then, says the ant and dance the
winter away.
i. Why did the ant ask the cricket to dance the winter away?
ii. What were the consequences of cricket’s actions during the warm weathers?
iii. Explain the meaning of the phrase, lay nothing by.
iv. Who sang day and night?
a. The poet
b. The cricket
c. The Ant
d. The singer
v. What does the ant tell the cricket to do?
a. Dance
b. Sing
c. Die
d. Beg
12. Read the stanza carefully and answer the questions that follow: [3]
I love to rise in a summer morn,
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me.
O! what sweet company.
i. Who sings with the poet?
ii. What is the sweet company of the child?

Page 4 of 8
 iii. How does the poet greet the summer morn?
13. Answer any THREE of the following questions in 30-40 words each: [3]
(a) The boy was in which standard when the jalebi episode happened? [1]
(b) Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them? [1]
(c) Why did Velu find the huts strange? [1]
(d) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense. [1]
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her
gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed
him.
14. Answer any THREE of the following questions in 50-60 words each: [6]
(a) Name these people: [2]
i. The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
ii. The person who wanted to reform society.
iii. The person who recommended the introduction of English education in India.
iv. Two popular leaders led the revolt. (Choices may vary)
(b) And sure enough, I received a cheque in the mail. Complete each sentence below by using [2]
appropriate phrase from the ones given below.
sure enough, colourful enough, serious enough, kind enough, big enough, fair enough, brave
enough, foolish enough, anxious enough
i. I saw thick black clouds in the sky. And ________ ________ it soon started raining heavily.
ii. The blue umbrella was ________ ________ for the brother and sister.
iii. The butterflies are ________ ________ to get noticed.
iv. The lady was ________ ________ to chase the leopard.
v. The boy was ______ _______ to call out to his sister.
vi. The man was ________ ________ to offer help.
vii. The victim's injury was_______ _________ for him to get admitted in hospital.
viii. That person was ________ ________ to repeat the same mistake again.
ix. He told me he was sorry and he would compensate for the loss. I said ________ ________.
(c) Why does the school boy compare himself to a plant? [2]
(d) Then we will have to continue the fight, said the other in the story The Fight. [2]
i. What made him say that?
ii. Did the fight continue? If not, why not?
15. Answer any ONE of the following questions in 80-100 words each: [5]
(a) Describe the various metaphors employed in the story. Write your answer in the context of Jalebis. [5]
(b) The line, My own garden is my own garden gets transformed in the course of the story. Explain [5]
why?

Page 5 of 8
 Solution

Reading (20 Marks)

1. (i) - (a) there is a great number of books available to us
(ii) - (c) corrupt our lives by suggesting and provoking for doing evils
(iii) - (d) classics
(iv) - (d) All of the above.
(v) - (b) Ennobling influence
2. i. (a)
ii. (c)
iii. (a)
iv. (c)
v. (d)
Writing (20 Marks)
NAVODAYA SCHOOL
NOTICE
KIND ATTENTION; ALL HOUSE CAPTAINS
The Sports Day of the School is on September 21. Please submit the names of the participants of your houses to the undersigned
within a week. A student cannot take part in more than three events excluding the relay. Any delay or wrong information will
lead to disqualification.
26th August 2019
Meenakshi Goel
3. Sports Captain.
4. Hard Work Pays
There were two boys Baljeet and Kuldeep. They were best friends. Baljeet belonged to a rich family and could afford to buy
whatever he wanted to, but Kuldeep belonged to a poor family. When sometimes he was unable to pay his tuition fee Baljeet
would help him in that. They both loved each other and were ready to help each other. There was only one main difference that
Baljeet was not good at studies. Kuldeep used to help him in studies and always asked him to study hard as he himself was quite
good.
They studied together till grade X and after that Baljeet's parents sent him to Shimla for further studies. He completed his
management course but with average marks whereas Kuldeep stayed in the same city, completed his management course from
there itself but with flying colours. He got placement in Delhi in a big company as Senior Manager directly. When he joined the
company and was introduced to his subordinates, he was surprised to see Baljeet working as a junior manager under him. He was
happy and excited but controlled himself. Later they met each other, hugged and enjoyed.
In the office they were serious and after that their friendship continued.
5. A Visit to The Zoo
One day my friends and I went to see the zoo. We bought tickets and went in. First, we saw many water-birds, ducks and cranes in
a pond. On one side there were monkeys in different cages. In other cages, lions, tigers, wolves and bears were kept. The lion was
sleeping and the lioness was playing with her cubs. They looked very fearful. They roared at us and we moved on. Then we come
to the glasshouses. Birds of different kinds and colours were kept in them. They were chirping. The white parrot and the white
crow were new for us. Lastly, we enjoyed an elephant ride and returned home.
6. D-502
Madhu Vatika
Ahmed Nagar
Gujarat
19th August 2019
The Editor
The Times of India
New Delhi

Page 6 of 8
 Sir,
Subject: Cricket image going down
There was a time when cricket was the most popular and a gentleman's sport. But it is shocking that some players and cricket
board officials have brought a bad name to it. Match-fixing has disappointed the cricket lovers. This is not only about India, but
the international arena also.
Indian cricket has been particularly in news today, but for bad reasons. Inquiries, committees, court cases have become the talk of
the day.
It is hoped that the officials and cricket stars will abstain from greed and will come to senses. They must do sincere efforts to
restore the clean image of cricket.
Yours faithfully,
Sunil/Sarita.
Grammar (20 Marks)

7. Incorrect Correct

(a) men man

(b) peoples people

(c) churches church

(d) plants plant

(e) everythings everything

8. i. has, seen, ii. have, taken, iii. have, revised, iv. have, heard, v. has lived
9. a. The queen punished the boy.
b. Tom ran after Jerry.
c. We all are Indians.
d. You have made the wall dirty.
e. Ram was a good king.
10. i. was caught by
ii. was kept
iii. he is
iv. is expected
v. has been
Literature (20 Marks)
11. i. The ant was surprised when the cricket told her that during summer he only sang and did not collect food so the ant tells the
cricket to dance the winter away too and thus bear the consequences of his laziness.
ii. The cricket did not save food for himself during warm weather. The consequences of the cricket’s inability to save food were
that, during winter he had no food, no shelter, and he was starving.
iii. “Lay nothing by” means not to have saved nothing for future use. This is the question that the ant asked the cricket.
iv. The cricket sang day and night.
v. The ant asked the cricket to dance.
12. i. The skylark sings with the poet.
ii. The birds, the distant huntsman and the skylark is the sweet company of the child.
iii. The poet loves to rise in the summer morn.
13. Answer any THREE of the following questions in 30-40 words each:
(i) The boy was in the fifth standard at the government school in Kambelpur when the jalebi episode happened.
(ii) No, Tilly's mother was not alarmed by them.
(iii)Velu found the huts strange because in his village the houses are made of mud and palm leaves.
(iv)A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few
hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
14. Answer any THREE of the following questions in 50-60 words each:
(i) i. Tipu Sultan of Mysore.
ii. Raja Ram Mohan Roy of Bengal.
iii. Lord Macaulay.

Page 7 of 8
 iv. Nana Sahib Peshwa, Kunwar Singh, Begum Hazrat Mahal.
(ii) i. sure enough
ii. big enough
iii. colourful enough
iv. brave enough
v. anxious enough
vi. kind enough
vii. serious enough
viii. foolish enough
ix. fair enough
(iii)A small child is like a tender plant. If he is suppressed too much, he fails to grow to full size. A tender plant if crushed at
the bud-stage, won’t bear any flower or fruit in spring season.
(iv) i. Since Ranji did not submit to the boy and was adamant that he would not leave the pool, so the boy told him that
they would have to continue the fight the next day.
ii. Both, Ranji and the other boy had come to the pool to continue their fight but they ended up becoming friends as
they started noticing and recognizing each other's abilities.
15. Answer any ONE of the following questions in 80-100 words each:
(i) The story employs quite a few metaphors. The jalebis, hot and syrupy, stand as a metaphor for various temptations that
young children have and which they are unable to resist. The boy is lured by the prospect of buying jalebis with his fees
money and pay the fees money with his scholarship money. The four coins, are also metaphors in the story as they tempt
the boy in believing that he could give in to temptation now and make plans of paying with the money which he did not
have yet. The noises produced by the coins, their jingle and clamour, is representative of the mental conflict going on in
the boy’s mind. He was unable to control his temptation. Therefore, coins are referred to as the 'talking coins', on whom
he transfers the onus of his temptation.
(ii) The Giant was a selfish giant in the beginning of the story and that's why he says that his garden was only his garden.
During the course of the story the line, “My own garden is my own garden” gets transformed into “It is your garden
now, dear children.” because the giant realized that the spring was not arriving in his garden due to his selfishness. The
giant eventually understood that the real flowers to be found in the trees are the children. Therefore, through these lines,
the Giant welcomes back the children into his garden.

Page 8 of 8