SAMPLE PAPER-5

General Instructions:

Read the following instructions very carefully and strictly follow them:

1. This question paper has 12 questions. All questions are compulsory.

2. This question paper contains three sections: Section A: Reading Skills, Section B: Writing Skills Section

C: Grammar Section D: Literature Textbook

3. Attempt all questions based on specific instructions for each part. Write the correct question number and

part thereof in your answer sheet.

4. Separate instructions are given with each question/part, wherever necessary.

5. Adhere to the prescribed word limit while answering the questions

SECTION A : READING SKILLS (22 marks)

1. Read the text carefully and answer the questions: [12]
1. In the 1st century BCE, the Mediterranean Sea had a crime problem. Specifically, it had a pirate problem.
The rugged region of southern Anatolia known as Cilicia Trachea (Rough Cilicia) was notoriously
infested with seagoing bandits whose depredations terrified Romans.
2. In 75 BCE, a band of Cilician pirates in the Aegean Sea captured a 25-year-old Roman nobleman
named Julius Caesar, who had been on his way to study oratory in Rhodes. As the story is related in
Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, the capture was a minor inconvenience for Caesar but very bad luck for the
pirates.
3. From the start, Caesar simply refused to behave like a captive. When the pirates told him that they had set
his ransom at the sum of 20 talents, he laughed at them for not knowing who it was they had captured and
suggested that 50 talents would be a more appropriate amount. He then sent his entourage out to gather the
money and settled in for a period of captivity. The pirates must have been dumbfounded. It’s not every
day that a hostage negotiates his ransom up.
4. Caesar made himself at home among the pirates, bossing them around and shushing them when he
wanted to sleep. He made them listen to the speeches and poems that he was composing in his
unanticipated
downtime and berated them as illiterates if they weren’t sufficiently impressed. He would participate in the
pirates’ games and exercises. He would always address them as if he were the commander and they were
his subordinates. From time to time, he would threaten to have them all crucified. They took it as a joke
from their overconfident, slightly nutty captive.
5. It wasn’t a joke. After 38 days, the ransom was delivered and Caesar went free. Astonishingly, Caesar
managed to raise a naval force in Miletus - despite holding no public or military office - and he set out
in pursuit of the pirates. He found them still camped at the island where he had been held, and he
brought them back as his captives.
 (a) Complete the following sentence appropriately:
Romans were scared to travel through the Mediterranean Sea because .
(b) Why did the pirates capture Julius Caesar?

a) They wanted a ransom of 20 talents. b) They wanted to sail the Aegean Sea
with Julius.

c) They had developed enmity for Julius d) They intended to spend some time with
over the time. a competent commander.
(c) Caesar shushed the pirates when he wanted to sleep. In the light of the given statement, which
quality can be attributed to his character?

a) Dominating b) Competent

c) Risk-taking d) Aggressive
(d) He threatened the pirates to have them crucified because:

a) they defeated him in the games b) they did not act as his subordinates.
and other exercises.
c) he had promised the Romans to do so. d) he did not appreciate being held
captive.
(e) Identify an example of irony from paragraph 4. (a phrase/sentence)
(f) How can it be deduced that when Julius was held captive, he was not alone with the pirates?
(g) How did the pirates conclude that their captive was an overconfident and nutty man?
(h) Complete the following sentence appropriately:
It can be substantiated that Julius believed in revenge because .
(i) Find the synonym of the word extremely surprised as given in paragraph 2-3.
(j) Ultimately, the decision to capture Julius proved unfortunate for the pirates.

a) True b) False worki

2. Read the text carefully and answer the questions: g

1. Nowadays, companies demand an outstanding job performance by every single employee to be better than
that of their competitors because there is competition among enterprises. The employers make efforts to
motivate the employees and optimise performance.
2. There are numerous factors affecting job performance. These can be divided into external and internal
factors. The internal factors are team spirit, competent boss, respect from colleagues and job satisfaction.
The external factors are chance for personal development, job security, promotion prospects and
monetary incentives. The decisive determinant is that the employees remain highly motivated. One
possible method to increase motivation is the salary. Employees are willing to stay longer hours in the
office and perform better, when they have the chance to get financial rewards, for instance, a higher salary
or bonuses.
3. The bar graph (given below) shows the result of a survey conducted among workers in a company to
analyse their work performance across ten different factors that contribute to make their work environment
pleasant. The workers are grouped into two categories - those between the ages of 18-30 and those between
45-60. Interestingly, in six out of the ten factors surveyed, the 18-30 age group is shown to be more affected
than the 45-60 age group. Factors, besides the salary, which affect the work performance of the two
different age groups are interesting. These factors are the chance for personal development, relaxed
[10]
 environment, promotion prospects, job satisfaction and monetary incentives. Furthermore, two out of the
remaining four factors namely, team spirit and work environment have been equally influential among the
two groups. The 45-60 years workers are impacted a lot by ‘respect from colleagues’ whereas the prospect
of a promotion is an important reason that drives younger employees to work better.
4. Job performance of happy employees is 31% more productive and they show three times more creativity
than their unhappy counterparts. They are more resilient and more likely to stay in the same company for a
longer period. Consequently they drive the company towards long-term goals by being more productive
and efficient.

(a) Why do you think the companies demand exemplary performance from their employees?
Support your answer with reference to the passage.
(b) Select the option that displays the most likely reason for employees to perform better.

a) To drive the company towards b) If the company grows, their growth is

long- term goals assured
c) When there are chances to get financial d) Companies demand an outstanding
gratification performance
(c) Select two factors that display that work performance of both the categories of workers remains the same.
(d) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option. Loyalty as an attribute is there in
employees who are .

a) motivated b) healthy

c) happy d) senior
(e) Based on the reading of the passage, state a point to challenge the given statement.
Increase in salary is the only motivation for better job performance.
(f) Based on the bar graph, complete the following statement.
The 18-30 age group is shown to be more affected than the 45-60 age group in most factors. We can
say this because .
(g) Complete the sentence.
The internal factors affecting work performance are .
(h) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option.
The concluding sentence of the passage makes a clear case for by listing it as a core component
of steering the company towards long-term goals.

a) flexibility b) collaboration

c) happiness d) adaptability
SECTION B : WRITING SKILLS (22 marks)
3. You are Sonu/Seema of Class X of AVB School, Patparganj, New Delhi. You wish to participate in a [3]
Robotics Contest being organised by a Infocom Private Company. Write an e-mail to your Principal
requesting him to
nominate your name for the Class IX-X level, giving him the detail of the Robot that you want to display in
the contest.
4. Describe a photograph you have taken yourself. [4]
5. You are Aryan/Amrita of C/43, Hauz Khas, New Delhi. You have read a report in a magazine mentioning
[7]
that there are 12 million child workers in your country. It is a national problem. Write a letter to the editor
'The Indian Express', giving your views on why child labour exists and how it can be abolished.
OR
You had taken an Annual Maintenance Contract from M/s Extreme Service Agency, Sonipat, for maintenance of the
16 Samsung air conditioners installed in your office in Sector 17, Gurgaon. However, the service is irregular and
unsatisfactory. Write a complaint letter to the proprietor of the agency. Invent the necessary details. You are Mahesh
Verma, Ambala Coaching Institute, Sector 7, Chandigarh.
6. The construction sector is believed to be quite hazardous and has the maximum number of fatal work injuries [8]
because apart from other causes, stakeholders in this sector tend to ignore safety regulations.
As a columnist for an e-zine, draft an article, on the theme of the importance of worker safety in construction
zones. Explore possible reasons for the prevailing situation and include suggestions for addressing it.
Support your ideas with clues given below.
Clues
i. Construction workers: Risk of accident due to fatigue
ii. Construction workforce health challenges in extreme weather conditions
iii. Construction worker fatality buried under soil heap
iv. Are construction managers from Mars and workers from Venus?
v. Will Training programmes revamp the safety standards?
OR
Write an article titled Renovation of Heritage Sites.
SECTION C : GRAMMAR (10 marks)
7. Complete the tasks A-C , as directed. [10]
(a)
Fill in the blanks (a)-(c) with the appropriate option from those in the brackets. [3]
Rivers are considered holy (a) (in/on/at) India but they are hardly treated (b)
(with/at/of) respect. All kinds of dust and filth find (c) (their/his/its) way into the rivers.
(b)
In the following passage, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with [4]
the words before and after against the correct blank number:

Word Before Missing Word Word After

All living things to breathe (a)

to survive, each species has (b)

its peculiar way. Some (c)

breathe lungs while others through skin. (d)

(c) Do as directed.
i. Rearrange the following jumbled words/phrases in the given dialogue to create a meaningful [1]
 sentence.
The most remarkable feature of time is its preciousness. Every moment brings with it thousands
of golden opportunities. We must not allow such precious time to slip away. concrete
steps/must take/to utilise/we/time fruitfully
ii. Read the conversation given below. Based on your reading, fill in the blanks appropriately. [2]
Patient: Doctor, I have a terrible toothache.
Doctor: Well, sit down. I need to examine your teeth. Please open your mouth wide.
Patient: Is there any serious problem, doctor?
The patient told the doctor (a) . The doctor told him to sit down as (b) . He
also requested the patient to open his mouth wide. The patient then enquired if there was any
serious problem.
SECTION D : LITERATURE TEXTBOOK (26 marks)
8. Read the given excerpts and answer the questions briefly, for ANY TWO excerpts, of the three, given. [8]
(a)
Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: [4
]
But suddenly that part of him that was left behind convulsed in undignified haste.
Writhed like lightning, and was gone
Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front, At
which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination.
a. Why did the snake convulse?
b. How did it vanish?
c. Where did it go?
d. Why did the poet stare at the snake with fascination?
(b) Read the extract carefully and answer the questions:
Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, [4
]
than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?
a. Who is speaking these lines to whom?
b. What does rather mean here?
c. How did the speaker justify his action before this speech?
d. Who gave his speech after this speaker had finished?
(c)Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

He smiled uncomfortably, just plans, sir, he answered in a low voice.

[4
a. In the above line who is talking to whom? ]
b. What plans is the speaker referring to?
c. Give the antonym of smiled.
d. Why was the smile of the boy combined with a sign of discomfort?
9. Answer ANY FIVE of the following six questions in about 30- 40 words each [10]
(a) What did the traveller see in the desert? Answer to the context of the poem Ozymandias. [2]
(b) Ali’s patience was exhausted. Why? [2]
(c) John Hallock could never displease Jenkins. Why? [2]
(d) Why did Mullick turn down Patol Babu’s request for a rehearsal? [2]
(e) Which was the second game that Michael played? How did it seem real? [2]
(f) What reason does Amelia give for not getting another doctor to examine Mr. Merryweather? [2]
10. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in about 150 words. [8]
(a) What is the underlying theme of the play The Dear Departed? [8]
(b)
The story Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger revolves around big time shooting. Though hunting is banned
nowadays, animals are still being hunted. Write an article for Earth Today magazine titled Impact
of Killing Animals on Environment.

[8]