Unseen Passages
C.B.S.E.
Class – 10
Previous Years’ CBSE Board Questions
1. Read the following passage carefully:
[CBSE Delhi/Outside Delhi, Set I/II/III, 2020]
1. Caged behind thick
glass, the most famous dancer in the world can easily be missed in the National
Museum, Delhi. The Dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro is that rare artefact that even
school children are familiar with. Our school textbooks also communicate the
wealth of our 5000 year heritage of art. You have to be alert to her existence
there, amid terracotta animals to rediscover this bronze image.
2.
Most of us have seen her only in photographs or sketches,
therefore, the impact of actually holding her is magnified a million times
over. One discovers that the dancing girl has no feet. She is small, a little
over 10 cm tall – the length of a human palm – but she surprises us with the
power of great art – the ability to communicate across centuries.
3.
A series of bangles – of shell or ivory or thin metal – clothe
her left upper arm all the way down to her fingers. A necklace with three
pendants bunched together and a few bangles above the elbow and wrist on the
right hand display an almost modern art.
4.
She speaks of the undaunted ever hopeful human spirit. She
reminds us that it is important to visit museums in our country to experience
the impact that a work of art leaves on our senses, to find among all the
riches one particular vision of beauty that speaks to us alone.
1.1
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer the following
questions: 1 × 8 =8
(a)
The dancing girl belongs to
(i)
Mohenjo-daro (ii) Greek culture (iii) Homosapiens (iv) Tibet
(b)
In the museum she's kept among
(i)
dancing figures (ii) bronze statues (iii) terracotta animals (iv) books
(c) Which information
is not given in the passage?
(i)
The girl is caged behind glass.
(ii)
She is a rare artefact.
(iii)
School books communicate the wealth of our heritage.
(iv)
She cannot be rediscovered as she's bronze.
(d)
'Great Art' has power because
(i)
it appeals to us despite the passage of time.
(ii)
it is small and can be understood.
(iii)
it's seen in pictures and sketches.
(iv)
it's magnified a million times.
(e)
The jewellery she wears:
(i)
consists of bangles of shell, ivory or thin metal.
(ii)
is a necklace with two pendants.
(iii)
both (i) and (ii) are correct.
(iv)
neither (i) nor (ii) is correct.
(f)
She reminds us
(i)
of the never say-die attitude of humans.
(ii)
why museums in our country are exciting.
(iii)
why she will make us come into money.
(iv)
of dancing figures.
(g)
The synonym of the word "among" in para 1 is
_________.
(h)
The size of the dancing girl is equal to the
length of human palm. (True/False)
Ans.
(a) (i) Mohenjo-daro
(b)
(iii) terracotta animals
(c)
(iv) She cannot be rediscovered as she's bronze
(d)
(i) it appeals to us despite the passage of time
(e)
(iv) neither (i) nor (ii) is correct
(f)
(ii) why museums in our country are exciting
(g)
amid
(h) True
Read the passage carefully:
[CBSE Delhi/Outside Delhi, Set I/II/III, 2020]
1. As the family
finally sets off from home after many arguments, there is a moment of lull as
the car takes off. "Alright, so where are we going for dinner now?"
asks the one at the driving wheel. What follows is a chaos, as multiple voices
makes as many suggestions.
2.
By the time, order is restored and a decision is arrived at,
tempers have risen, feelings injured and there is at least one person
grumbling.
3.
Twenty years ago, you would step out of home, decision of meal
and venue already made with no arguments or opposition and everybody looked
forward to the meal with equal enthusiasm. The decision was made by the head of
the family and the others fell in line. Today every member of the family has a
say in every decision which also promotes a sense of togetherness and bonding.
4.
We empower our kids to take their own decisions from a very
early age. We ask them the cuisine they prefer, the movie they want to see, the
holiday they wish to go on and the subjects they wish to study.
5.
It's a closely connected world out there, where children consult
and guide each other. A parent's well meaning advice can sound like nothing
more than unnecessary preaching. How then do we reach our children through all
the conflicting views and make the voice of reason be heard? Children today
question choices and prefer to go with the flow.
6.
What then is the best path to take? I would say the most
important thing one can do is to listen. Listen to your children and their silences.
Ensure that you keep some time aside for them, insist that they share their
stories with you. Step into their world. It is not as complicated as it sounds;
just a daily half an hour of the quality time would do the trick.
2.1
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following
questions in 30 – 40 words each: 2 × 4 = 8
(a)
Write one advantage and one disadvantage of allowing every
family member to be part of the decision making process.
(b)
In today's world, what are parents asking their kids ?
(c)
Which two pieces of advice does the writer give to the parents ?
(d)
The passage supports the parents. How far do you agree with the
author's views? Support your view with a reason ?
2.2 On the basis of your reading of the
above passage, answer the following: 1 × 2 = 2
(i) The synonym of
'hurt' as given in paragraph 2 is ________.
(ii)
The word which means the same as 'a style or method of cooking'
in paragraph 4 is:
(a)
cuisine (b) gourmet (c) gastric (d) science
(iii)
The antonym of 'agreeable' as given in paragraph 5 is ________.
(iv)
The antonym of 'simple' as given in paragraph 6 is
(a) difficult (b) complicated (c) easy (d) tricky
Ans:
2.1 (a) The
advantage of allowing every family member to be part of the decision making
process is that every member of the family has a say in every decision which
promotes a sense of togetherness and bonding.
The
disadvantage is that it creates a chaos, as multiple voices make as many
suggestions.
(b)
In today's world, parents are asking their kids, the cuisine
they prefer, the movie they want to see, the holiday they wish to go on and the
subjects they wish to study.
(c)
The writer advises the parents firstly to listen to their
children and their silences. Secondy he tells them to set aside some quality
time for their children and make them share their stories with them.
(d)
The writer is in favour of the freedom the parents nowadays are
giving to their children but he is also aware that a parent's well-meaning
advice may sound like an unnecessary preaching for the children. So he advises
them to spend more time with their children and listen to their stories.
This
is the only way of reaching to our children, hearing all the conflicting views
and making the voice of reason be heard.
2.2
(i) injured
(ii)
(a) cuisine
(iii)
conflicting
(iv) (b) complicated
Passage-3
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that
follow:
[CBSE
OD, Set I, 2019]
1. Keep your watch accurate.
For some people, moving up the time on their watch will help them get up
earlier. For others, they will remember that the time on the watch is wrong and
will disregard it altogether. It may be helpful to set your watch just two minutes
ahead instead of five or ten.
2. Keep a clock, phone,
computer or anything that displays time in each room of your house. One of the
easiest ways to run late is simply by not realising that the time is passing as
quickly as it is.
3. Set all your clocks and
watches to the same time. Don’t be an optimist. Things usually take longer than
what you’d expect, even without major delays. If you have a dinner appointment
at 7:30 p.m., don’t think you can work till 7 p.m., then take a bath, dress and
reach on time. Realistically, calculate the time you will take at each step and
then add 10 minutes more to allow for unexpected delays, or you cannot get to your
job in time.
4. Wake up when you are
supposed to wake up. Don’t hit the snooze button, keep on lying in bed, and
watch TV at the very start of your day. Maybe try even setting your clock 10
minutes earlier than you need. If you have difficulty with this, move your
alarm clock to somewhere away from your bed; that way, you have to get up to
turn it off. Commit yourself to being 15 minutes early for everything. If you
have to reach your place of work at 8:00, don’t even tell yourself this. Just
tell yourself (and everyone else who listens– but don’t annoy them or make them
think that they are late or early!) "I have to be at work at 7.45".
If you do this, you will be on time even with little unforeseen delays. You
will be on time even with a traffic jam.
(a) Complete the following
statements using words/phrases from the passage. Attempt any eight. [1 × 8 = 8]
1. Some people believe that
if.......it will help them be earlier.
2. Many others
know..........they disregard it altogether.
3. Keep........in each room.
4. One of the things that can
be done is.......of five or ten minutes.
5. Many a time we do not
realise that.........
6. Instead of pressing the
snooze button.......
7. If you have difficulty in
getting up.........
8. It is a good habit
to.......somewhere away from your bed.
9. It is good to commit
yourself........for every thing.
Ans. (a)
1. they move up the time on
their watch,
2. that the time on the watch
is wrong so
3. a clock, phone, computer or
anything that displays time
4. to set watch just two
minutes ahead instead
5. the time is passing as
quickly as it is
6. wake up when you are
supposed to wake up
7. early then try to set your
clock ten minutes earlier.
8. move your alarm clock to
9. to
being 15 minutes earlier
Passage-4
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that
follow:
[CBSE Delhi, Set I, 2019]
1. Few guessed that
this quiet, parentless girl growing up in New York City would one day become
the First Lady of the United States. Even fewer thought she would become an
author and lecturer and a woman much admired and loved by people throughout the
world.
2. Born Anna Eleanor
Roosevelt in 1884 to wealthy, but troubled parents who both died while she was
young, Roosevelt was cared for by her grandmother and sent to school in
England. In 1905, she married her distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
She and her husband had six children. Although they were wealthy, her life was
not easy and she suffered several personal tragedies. Her second son died when
he was a baby. In 1921, her strong athletic husband was stricken with polio, which
left him physically disabled for life.
3. Eleanor Roosevelt
was a remarkable woman who had great intelligence and tremendous strength of
character. She never let things get her down. She nursed her husband back to good
health and encouraged him to remain in politics. She then helped him to become Governor
of New York, and in 1933, President of the United States.
4. While her husband
was President, she took a great interest in all the affairs of the country. She
became her husband’s legs and eyes; she visited prisons and hospitals; she went
down into mines, up scaffoldings and into factories. Roosevelt was tireless and
daring. During the depression she travelled all over the country bringing
goodwill, reassurance and help to people without food and jobs. During World War
II she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world. The United States
had never known a First Lady like her.
5. Roosevelt also kept
in touch with the American people through a daily newspaper column called ‘My
Day’. She broadcast on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First
Lady.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer
the following questions: (any eight) [1 × 8 = 8]
1. How was Eleanor Roosevelt’s personality in contrast to what she
became?
2. Apart from being the First Lady what else did she have to her
credit?
3. What challenges did she face in her personal life but remained
unfazed?
4. Eleanor was a strong woman who helped her husband become the
President of America. How?
5. What does the statement: ‘she became her husband’s legs and eyes’
mean?
6. What was her special contribution during the depression?
7. How did she motivate soldiers during World War II?
8. What did she do for the first time for a First Lady?
9. What side of her personality is reflected in this passage?
Ans. (a)
1. Eleanor Roosevelt
was very quiet and parentless in her growing up years. Later, she became the
First Lady of the United States, an author, lecturer and a woman who was loved
and admired throughout the world.
2. Apart from being the
First Lady, she was an author, lecturer and a woman much admired by people. She
visited prisons and hospitals, went down into mines etc.
3. In her personal
life, she faced many challenges. Her second son died when he was a baby. Her husband
was affected by polio which left him physically disabled for life.
4. Roosevelt nursed her
husband back to good health and encouraged him to be in politics. She helped
him become the Governer of New York and then, the President of the United
States in 1933.
5. ‘She became her
husband’s legs and eyes’ means she visited prisons, hospitals, went into mines
and factories on his behalf to help him in his job. She also interacted with
people and brought feedback to her husband about the state of affairs.
6. During the
Depression she travelled all over the country bringing goodwill, reassurance
and help to people without food and jobs.
7. During World War II,
she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world and empathised with
them.
8. She kept in touch
with the American people through a daily newspaper column called ‘My Day’. She broadcast
on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First Lady.
9. Her intelligence and
tremendous strength of character is reflected in the passage.
Passage-5
Read the passage given below and answer
the questions that follow:
[CBSE Delhi, Set I, 2018]
1. Tourists to Jammu and Kashmir have another attraction — a
floating post office on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, the first in the country. ‘Floating
Post Office, Dal Lake’s— claimed to be the only one such post office in the
world is built on an intricately carved maroon houseboat, fastened on the
western edge of the Dal Lake.
2. This post office lets you avail of all the regular postal
services available in the country while being afloat. The seal used on
everything posted from Floating Post Office is unique — along with the date and
address, it bears the design of a boatman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake. The
special feature of this post office is that letters posted from here carry a
special design which has the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar city.
These pictures reach wherever these letters are posted to and hence promote
Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world.
3. This is actually a heritage post office that has existed since
British times. It was called Nehru Park Post Office before 2011. But then the
chief postmaster John Samuel renamed it as ‘Floating Post Office’
4. The post office’s houseboat has two small rooms—one serves as
the office and the other a small museum that traces the philatelic history of
the state postal department. It has a shop that sells postage stamps and other
products.
5. But for the locals, Floating Post Office is more than an object
of fascination. ‘ 1-2 crore is deposited per month in the Floating Post Office
by communities living in and around the Dal Lake. The lake has several islets
that are home to more than 50,000 people.
6. The greatest fear is the recurrence of 2014 like floods in which
the houseboat had gone for a toss uncontrollably pushed by the flood. Rescue
teams had to anchor it using special mechanism in a nearby highland. Then it
was brought back on the Dal after the water receded. The biggest boon is that
at no time of the year do you need a fan in this post-office.
(a) Attempt any eight of the following questions
on the basis of the passage you have read: [1 × 8 = 8]
1. What is the location of the Floating Post
Office in Srinagar ?
2. What is special about the seal used in the post
office ?
3. How is the post office helpful in promoting
toursim ?
4. Who renamed the post office as ‘Floating Post
Office’ ?
5. What are the two rooms of the post office used
for ?
6. How is the post office benefical to the locals
?
7. What is the greatest fear that the post office
has ?
8. How is the post office a big boon to the people
?
9. Find the word from the passage which means the
same as ‘attraction’. (para 5)
Ans. (a)
1. The Floating Post Office, one of the tourist attractions of
Jammu and Kashmir is built on an intricately carved maroon houseboat, which is fastened
on the western edge of the Dal Lake in Srinagar.
2. The seal used in the post office on everything posted from the
Floating Post Office is unique. It bears the design of a boatman rowing a
shikara on the Dal Lake along with the date and address.
3. The letters posted for the Floating Post Office in Srinagar
carries the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar as its special design.
Whichever address these letters are posted to, these pictures reach there hence,
promoting Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world.
4. The chief postmaster John Samuel renamed it as ‘Floating Post
Office’.
5. One of the rooms in the post office’s houseboat serves as the
office and the other as a small museum that traces the philatelic history of
the state postal department. It has a shop that sells postage stamps and other
products.
6. Communities living in and around the Dal Lake can deposite and
save their money in the Floating Post Office. It helps them as a bank.
7. The greatest fear that the post office face is the recurrence of
floods in the lake.
8. The post office is a boon to the people as it is a major source
of attraction as well as a source of income for the people.
9. Fascination.
Passage-6
Read the passage given below and answer
the questions that follow:
[CBSE OD, TERM II, SET I, 2017]
Then all the windows of the grey wooden house
(Miss Hilton used to live here. She expired last week), were thrown open, a thing
I had never seen before.
At the end of the day a sign was nailed on the
mango tree: FOR SALE.
Nobody in the street knew Miss Hilton. While she
lived, her front gate was always locked and no one ever saw her leave or saw
anybody go in. So, even if you wanted to, you couldn’t feel sorry and say that
you missed Miss Hilton.
When I think of her house I see just two colours.
Grey and green. The green of the mango tree, the grey of the house and the grey
of the high iron fence that prevented you from getting at the mangoes.
If your cricket ball fell in Miss Hilton’s courtyard
you never got it back. It wasn’t the mango season when Miss Hilton died. But we
got back about ten or twelve of our cricket balls. The house was sold and we
were repaired to dislike the new owners even before they came. I think we were
a little worried. Already we had one resident of the street who kept on
complaining about us to our parents. He complained that we played cricket on
the pavement; and if we were not playing cricket, he complained that we were
making too much noise anyway.
One afternoon when I came back from school Pal
said, “Is a man and a woman. She pretty pretty, but he ugly like hell.’‘ I didn’t
see much. The front gate was open, but the windows were shut again. I heard a
dog barking in an angry way.
One thing was settled pretty quickly. Whoever
these people were they would never be the sort of people to complain that we
were making noise and disturbing their sleep.
A lot of noise came from the house that night.
The radio was going at full volume until midnight when the radio station closed
down. The dog was barking and the man was shouting. I didn’t hear the woman.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the
above passage, complete the statements that follow: [1 × 8 = 8]
1. Nobody went into Miss Hilton’s house because
her front ___________
2. Her house had only two colours, (i) ______ ,
and (ii) ____.
3. The high iron fence did not let the boys get
______.
4. They never got it back if their _____ fell into
her courtyard.
5. The boys were already to dislike the _______.
6. One resident of the street always ________.
7. The new owners of Miss Hilton’s house were (i)
_____ , and (ii) _________.
8. The man was shouting, the dog was barking, only
_______.
Ans. (a)
1. gate was always locked
2. (i) grey (ii) green
3. at the mangoes
4. cricket ball
5. new owners even before they came
6. kept on complaining about us to our parents
7. (i) a man (ii) a woman
8. the woman was not heard/the woman was quiet.
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