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AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION BOARD

SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE

CLASS X EXAMINATION

APRIL/ MAY 2017

English Compulsory Paper I

Time: 50 minutes Marks: 25

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INSTRUCTIONS
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1. Read each question carefully.

2. Answer the questions on the separate answer sheet provided. DO NOT write your answers on the
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question paper.
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3. There are 100 answer numbers on the answer sheet. Use answer numbers 1 to 25 only.
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4. In each question there are four choices A, B, C, D. Choose ONE. On the answer grid black out
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the circle for your choice with a pencil as shown below.

Candidate’s Signature

5. If you want to change your answer, ERASE the first answer completely with a rubber, before
blacking out a new circle.
6. DO NOT write anything in the answer grid. The computer only records what is in the circles.

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Listening Comprehension Section

In this section, you will hear two passages. Each one will be played two times.

Listen carefully to the first passage, and then read questions 1 to 6. You will have two minutes’
reading time.

The passage will then be played again. You can make notes on your question paper.

When the passage has finished, enter your answers on your separate answer sheet. You will have
three and a half minutes to pencil in your answers.

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Follow the instructions on the front page of Paper I to show which of the options, A, B, C or D, you

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have selected for each question.

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Listening Passage I

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The speaker describes the experiences of Zenith Irfan, who travelled to the Northern Areas of
Pakistan on a motorcycle. at
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Source: Adapted from Travelling Pakistan on a Bike by The Daily DAWN
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Mark your responses to these questions on your multiple choice answer sheet.

1. The speaker introduces Zenith Irfan by saying, ‘she never second guessed her 3200 km
journey’. This means that she

A. never doubted herself.

B. is young and self-confident.
C. never felt bad about herself.
D. is very attached to her family.

2. According to the speaker, the motivation behind Zenith’s 3200 km journey to Northern Areas

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of Pakistan is her

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A. personal interest.
B. mother’s insistence.

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C. love for natural beauty.

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D. father’s unfulfilled dream.

3.
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Based on the information of this passage, Zenith trained to ride for
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A. 2 years.
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B. 3 years.
C. 4 years.
D. 5 years.
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4. According to the information given in this passage, how many times has Zenith travelled to
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North and Kashmir?

A. Two times in a year

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B. Three times in a year

C. Four times in two years
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D. Three times in two years

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5. How does Zenith describe people she met on her journeys?

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A. They were calm.

B. They were amazing.
C. They were spiritual.
D. They were encouraging.

6. Zenith’s message to parents of teenagers can be summarised as

A. children should be allowed to have fun.

B. parents should travel with their children for safety.
C. parents should trust and allow their children to travel.
D. children should be allowed to travel whenever they want.

PLEASE DO NOT TURN OVER THE PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD
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Now we will play the second passage. It will also be played two times.

Listen carefully to the first passage and then read questions 7 to 12. You will have two minutes’
reading time.

The passage will then be played again. You can make notes on your question paper.

When the passage has finished, enter your answers on the separate answer sheet provided to you.
You will have three and a half minutes to pencil in your answers.

Listening Passage II

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In this passage, the speaker talks about left-handedness in human beings.

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Source: Adapted from It's Hard to be a Leftie in a Right-Handed World by The Telegraph

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Mark your responses to these questions on your multiple choice answer sheet.

7. At the beginning, the speaker has given examples of various activities. This is done in order to
emphasise that left-handers

A. prefer to take part in all sports activities.

B. prefer to use their left hand in most physical activities.
C. have different capabilities as compared to right-handers.
D. cherish their experiences more as compared to right-handers.

8. The speaker says, ‘…left-handers were stigmatised in many communities’. The evidence given
to support this claim is that left-handed

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A. people have not been involved in sports.

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B. children were left behind in many classrooms.
C. children were forced to write with their right hand.

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D. people were considered less talented than right-handed people.

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9. Left-handedness is more common in men than women. Which information is given
immediately after this? at
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A. Left-handed individuals usually gain more success.
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B. Many philosophers and thinkers have been left-handed.

C. Biological factors alone signify a preference for using left hand.
D. Genetic and environmental factors determine left-handedness.
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10. The brain of a left-handed person is different from that of a right-handed person because
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A. left-handers think and behave differently.

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B. the shape of brain structure is different in both.

C. left-handers are less creative and more energetic.
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D. the part of brain which controls movement is different in both.

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11. The speaker says that left-handed persons are usually famous for being
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A. lazy.
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B. musical.
C. aggressive.
D. ambitious.

12. The speaker says that she is not sure that left-handers have better skill-sets or brains because of
the lack of

A. evidence cited for this belief.

B. observation from real-life situations.
C. ability demonstrated by those individuals.
D. appreciation for the left-handed individuals.

PLEASE DO NOT TURN OVER THE PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD
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Reading Comprehension Section

You have 25 minutes for the reading comprehension section. This section has two passages, each
followed by multiple choice questions. You are advised to spend approximately 12 minutes on each
of the given passages.

Read the passage carefully and then answer the multiple choice questions which follow.

Reading Passage I

Two things changed my life: my mother and a white, plastic, daisy bike basket. I would be a
different person if my mother hadn’t turned a silly bicycle accessory into a life lesson I carry with

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me today.

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My mother and father were united in their parenting philosophy, but it mostly fell to my mother
5 to enforce it. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how she did it. If we complained about not

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having what other children did, we’d hear something like, “I don’t care what [so-and-so] got for

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his birthday, you are not getting a TV in your room.” We had to earn our allowance by doing
chores around the house. We didn’t have a housekeeper; together we were the housekeepers. I
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can still remember how long it took to rub brass polish into the legs of our coffee table and buff
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10 them shiny.
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And so we come full circle. It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to
get a tire fixed — and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated with
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daisies, the basket winked at me and I knew — I knew — I had to have it.

“It’s beautiful,” my mother said when I pointed it out to her, no doubt knowing where the
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15 conversation was heading. “What a neat basket.”

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I bet I tried to hold off at first. I’d like to think I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I
couldn’t stand it any longer: “Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as
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long as you say. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket. I love that basket. Please, Mom. Please?”
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I was desperate.
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20 “You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believed was the
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coolest thing ever, “If you save up you could buy this yourself.”

“By the time I make enough, it’ll be gone!”

“Maybe the shopkeeper here could hold it for you,” she smiled at the bike guy. “For that long?
He can’t hold it for that long, Mom. Someone else will buy it. Please, Mom, please?” “There
25 might be another option,” she said. And so our layaway plan unfolded. My mother bought the
beautiful basket and tucked it safely out of reach in some hiding place. Each week I eagerly did
extra work here and there (washing the car, helping my mother make dinner, running small
errands on my bike). And then, weeks later maybe, I counted, re-counted and jumped for joy. Oh,
happy day! I made it! I finally had the exact amount we had agreed upon.

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30 Days later the unthinkable happened. A neighbourhood girl I had played with millions of times
appeared with the exact same basket strapped to her shiny, new bike that already had all the bells
and whistles. My eight-year-old feet pedalled hard and fast home to tell my mother about this
calamity. This horrible turn of events.

And then came the lesson I have taken with me through my life: “Honey, your basket is extra-
35 special,” Mom said, gently wiping away my hot tears. “Your basket is special because you paid
for it yourself.”

Source: Adapted from The Bike Basket - A Mother’s Day Tale by Elizabeth Flock

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PLEASE TURN OVER THE PAGE

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Mark your responses to these questions on your multiple choice answer sheet.

13. The author begins her story by

A. introducing a problem.
B. giving others a lesson.
C. describing her mother’s personality.
D. declaring what influenced her most.

14. In the context of this passage, the phrase ‘parenting philosophy’ MOST CLOSELY means

A. how parents care for their children.

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B. how parents want their children to behave.
C. what instructions children take from parents.

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D. what rules parents follow to raise their children.

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15. The author’s mother’s style of parenting reveals a

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A. firm approach.
B.
C.
lenient approach.
conformist approach.
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D. destructive approach.
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16. By making children do household chores, the mother wanted to make children
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A. happy.
B. fearless.
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C. indebted.
D. responsible.
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17. Which sentence MOST CLOSELY shows the author’s intention of buying what she wanted?
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A. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket.

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B. By the time I make enough it’ll be gone.

C. I’d like to think I played it cool for a short while.
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D. I finally had the exact amount we had agreed upon.

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18. What is the message of this story?

A. You feel good when you get the things that you want.
B. You should let your parents buy things for you.
C. You should help your parents in daily chores.
D. You cherish what you work hard for.

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Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Reading Passage II

It’s always moving but it never goes anywhere. It can blast holes in solid stone and carve
through massive layers of rock. It moves huge boulders, trees and even houses. Much of the
surface of Earth has been shaped and sculpted by its movement.

What is the force that accomplishes these feats? The moving water of rivers and streams.
5 From the thundering majesty of Niagara Falls to the crashing, turbulent Indus River, we are

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drawn to the power and excitement of running water. But even a small neighbourhood creek
can be a fascinating place to explore. The never-ending flow of water captures our attention.

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Where did this water come from? How did it get here? Where is it going?

Whether it’s the mighty Nile or a trickling mountain brook, all rivers and streams consist of

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10 water that is not reabsorbed by the soil. Most channels of water cut across the Earth’s surface,

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seeking the path of least resistance, but some rivers and streams run underground for part of
their journey.
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Regardless, the water flows on, joining other streams and rivers on its way to the sea. The
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ocean is both the end and the beginning of water’s endless journey. Through the cycle of
15 evaporation and precipitation, water falls on land in the form of rain or snow and returns to
the ocean by way of mountain brooks, creeks, streams and rivers.
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We use many terms to describe bodies of running water, including arroyo, kill, run and reach.
Spring runs begin where water seeps from the ground, usually in a slow trickle. A river is a
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larger body of flowing water that usually receives several tributaries along its route.
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20 Because these terms lack precise meanings, scientists use a classification system to rank, or
order, streams according to the way their channels link up along the journey from the source
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to the ocean.
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Small streams that carry water from a source such as a spring don’t usually flow directly into
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the ocean. Instead, they flow into other streams which, in turn, combine to form larger
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25 streams. These larger streams unite to form rivers, which eventually lead to the ocean.

The chain or network of streams and rivers can be classified according to stream order. The
streams at the beginning of the system are called first-order streams. With no tributaries, first-
order streams receive water directly from a source such as a spring, a lake, melting snow,
rainwater or even a melting glacier. These streams include the narrow cascading waters of
30 steep mountain brooks and the cool, clear water of springs.

Source: Adapted from Rivers and Streams by Patricia A. Fink Martin

PLEASE TURN OVER THE PAGE

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Mark your responses to these questions on your multiple choice answer sheet.

19. The purpose of the first paragraph is to

A. establish how beneficial water is.
B. introduce how oceans are created.
C. discuss how oceans become turbulent and rough.
D. establish the majesty and strength of moving water.

20. The information is arranged in paragraph 2 to show

A. the effect of evaporation through examples.

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B. the comparison of different types of running water.
C. the benefits of water for people all over the world.

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D. the questions that may lead to analysis of stagnant water.

21. Brooks, streams and rivers would eventually fall in

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A. a spring.
B.
C.
an ocean.
a waterfall. at
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D. a mountain creek.
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22. Paragraph 4 mainly explains

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A. the formation of Niagara Falls.

B. the magnificence of flowing water.
C. the processes by which water circulates.
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D. the benefits of evaporation from streams.

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23. The words ‘seeps’ and ‘trickle’ in line 18 indicate

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A. different types of streams.

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B. similarity in flow of water-bodies.

C. people’s reaction to running water.
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D. different movements of running water.

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24. The word ‘tributaries’ in line 19 means

A. small branches.
B. small oceans.
C. a type of waterfall.
D. different types of springs.

25. In Northern Areas of Pakistan, snow falls on the top of mountains. Eventually, this snow melts
and the water flows to join a flowing stream. According to the information given in the last
paragraph, this would be called
A. a tributary.
B. a stream order.
C. a first-order stream.
D. a network of streams.
END OF PAPER
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