ENGLISH (HL)

SOLUTION : PRACTICE ACTIVITY SHEET 1

[Note : Some activities are open-ended. The answers given to such activities are just as a
model.]
Q. 1. (A)
A1. (1) finger – fine, fringe
(2) 
The king said, “I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three
questions.”
(3) Present participles – watching, questioning
(4) Interrogative sentence.
(5) Pereira, Peter, President, Professor
A2. (1) You will be taken by your father.
(2) The Dauphin will have given me all I need.
(3) universe – planets, stars, comets, satellites

Q. 1. (B) (1) Simple sentence; finite verb – heard

(2) (i) Few other honours in the world are as great as the Nobel Prize. (Positive)
(ii) Few other honours in the world are greater than the Nobel Prize.
 (Comparative)

Q. 2. (A)
A1. (1) Those considered by Kailash Satyarthi as his daughters : Malala, two Kayanats,
Shazia, the daughters from Africa and all over the world.
(2) The biggest challenge knocking on the doors of humankind : fear and intolerance.
A2. The progress made in the last couple of decades :
(i) The number of out-of-school children reduced by half.
(ii) The number of child labourers reduced by a third.
(iii) Child mortality and malnutrition reduced.
(iv) Millions of child deaths prevented.

A3. (1)   (i) culminate – rise to a peak

(ii) mortality – death
(2) antonyms :  (i) well-known × unknown
(ii) increased × reduced

A4. (a) No other challenge knocking on the doors of humankind is as big as fear and
intolerance.
(b) Fear and intolerance are bigger than any other challenge knocking on the doors
of humankind.

NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)] 1

 A5. Model answer : To improve literacy in India :
(i) Primary education must be free for all.
(ii) It should be mandatory for all parents to send their children to school.
(iii) Incentives like midday meals should be given to children.
(iv) Teachers should be motivated to go to backward areas for teaching.

Q. 2. (B)
B1. (i) The narrator had heard of Bach. – False
(ii) The narrator’s answer displeased Einstein.  – True
(iii) The upper room had a gramophone.  – True
(iv) The narrator liked the kind of music where he could follow the words.– False
B2.
Statement Who said To Whom Effect on the listener
(i) “I do not know The narrator Albert The listener looked
anything about Einstein surprised.
Bach.”
(ii) “I like songs that The narrator the old man/ The listener smiled,
have words.” Albert obviously pleased.
Einstein

B3.  (i) (1) a device used to play recorded music : gramophone

(2) one who is poor at deciphering musical notes : tone-deaf
(ii) (1) able : unable/disable (2) pleased : displeased
B4.  (i) I cannot do that.
(ii) have heard – present perfect tense
asked – simple past tense
B5. Model answer : From Einstein’s treatment of the young man, we learn how patient
and polite Einstein was. We come to know that he was a very good teacher, moving
step by step in attempting to teach the young man to appreciate classical music. Also,
by using a comparison from maths, and the question and answer method, Einstein
comes across as a true scientist.

Q. 3. (A)
A1.   (i) Knowledge is free – Education is given to all
 (ii) Dead habits – Dried up, infertile land of sands
(iii) The head is held high – Self respect and proud of possessing it
 (iv) Depth of truth – Sincerity of heart

A2. The qualities the poet wishes to inculcate in his countrymen are : dignity,
truthfulness, wisdom, sincerity of heart, hard work, broad outlook, clear thinking and
open-mindedness.

A3. Metaphor :
‘Clear stream of reason’. Here reason has been implicitly compared to a clear
stream.

2 NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)]

Q. 3. (B)

Appreciation :
   The poem ‘Animals’ has been penned by Walt Whitman.
   The poet has broken away from the conventional use of a rhyme scheme and
has written the poem in free verse.
   The chief figure of speech used in the poem is Repetition. Lines such as ‘They
do not sweat …’, ‘They do not lie awake …’, ‘They do not make me sick …’ make
a strong impact, expressing the qualities that humans should possess, but do not.
The other figures of speech are Alliteration, Tautology, Hyperbole, etc.
   The poet admires animals because they are placid and content. They do not
whine or grumble, and they are not crazy about possessions. They have simplicity
and innocence. The poet asserts that we human beings unmindfully discarded the
good qualities that we possessed somewhere along the line, but animals still retain
them. He concludes that animals today are better than humans.

Q. 4. (A)
A1.   (i) The report expresses that only laws could provide women with the
protection and the facilities they deserve.  – False
 (ii) The situation in our country was very grave during the last two
decades of the century.  – True
(iii) In India, the bias against the immunization of baby girls doesn’t exist. 
– False
(iv) International organisation states that one-fourth of women, who die in
the world today, are Indians.  – True
A2.
(i) insufficient nutrition

Children become victims of (ii) incomplete immunization

diarrhoea and other diseases
due to (iii) viral infections

(iv) improper treatment

A3.
2↓
1↓ A
L W
I A
B R
3→ R E P U T E D
R N
A E
T S
I S
O
4→ M E N T A L

NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)] 3

 A4.  (i) They do not grow to their full physical potential, do they?
(ii) They give birth to handicapped children.
A5. Model Answer : Four measures to combat malnutrition are :
(i) educating the parents about nutrition as soon as a baby is born
(ii) starting nurseries where children are provided free nutritious midday meals
(iii) organizing regular talks and awareness programmes through the media
(iv) subsidizing the cost of food items for those below the poverty line.

Q. 4. (B)

Summary :
Malnutrition and the Indian Woman
   According to a reputed international organisation, one-fourth of the women,
who die in the world today, are Indians. In spite of this, the media does not help
in spreading awareness. Very little media coverage was related to the issues faced
by women. Expectant mothers are undernourished and anaemic. They often give
birth to handicapped children, who become victims of various diseases due to
insufficient nutrition, incomplete immunization, viral infection and improper
treatment. They do not grow to their full mental and physical potential. This is
especially true for girl babies. In addition to laws, social awareness is needed to
help Indian women.

For Q. 5, Q. 6 & Q. 7...

About Self-assessment of Writing Skills Questions ...

While answering the writing skills questions, students are expected to write their thoughts in
their own words/language. Such answers are open-ended ones. Students may attempt these
questions on their own. Students may, however, study the answers given in the solution to the
Board’s Activity Sheet and consider the marking scheme given along with them. They can try
to self-assess their own answers. They can also get the guidance from their teacher, if necessary.
For more topics and study of writing skills questions, refer to
Navneet Writing Skills in English (HL) : Std. X.

4 NAVNEET PRACTICE PAPERS : STD. X [SOLUTION : ENGLISH (HL)]