DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL TAPI

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DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL TAPI CLASS VIII SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT 2 SUBJECT: ENGLISH DATE: 23/03/15 TOTAL MARKS: 80 DURATION: Reading 15 Mins. + Writing 3 Hrs 15 Mins. + Revision 15 Mins.

Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions: (5 Marks) One of the most frightening stories in all literature is Daniel Defoe s A Journal of the Plague Year, which was published in

1 DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL TAPI CLASS VIII SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT 2 SUBJECT: ENGLISH DATE: 23/03/15 TOTAL MARKS: 80 DURATION: Reading 15 Mins. + Writing 3 Hrs 15 Mins. + Revision 15 Mins. SECTION A: READING (20 Marks) 1. Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions: (5 Marks) One of the most frightening stories in all literature is Daniel Defoe s A Journal of the Plague Year, which was published in Although somewhat fictionised, it is extensively documented and is a realistic picture of the terror which can grip a city attacked by plague. All the world knew of the fury of small pox plagues. A Persian physicist distinguished small pox from measles in 900 AD and its ravages were recorded many centuries earlier. Asia and Africa had repeated bouts of small pox; Europe s population was decimated by the killer in 1614; and England s great epidemic, from 1666 to 1675, left a frightful toll in its wake. The New World did not escape - in fact, some historians feel that the small pox epidemics decimated the Indians and made them vulnerable to the white man s conquest. (138 words) 1.1. Complete the following sentences: (5 Marks) 1. A Journal of the Plague Year is important because 2. The New World did not Escape means 3. A Journal of the Plague Year was published in the year.. 4. The significance of the year 900 AD.. 5. A shortcoming of the book, A Journal of the Plague Year can be considered as 2. Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions: (5 Marks) A tradition is a practice, custom or story that is memorised and passed down from generations, originally without the need for a writing system. Tools to aid this process include poetic devices like rhyme and alliteration. The stories thus preserved are also referred to as tradition, or as part of an oral tradition. Traditions are presumed to be ancient, unalterable, and deeply important, though they may sometimes be much less natural than is presumed. Some traditions were deliberately invented for one reason or another, often to highlight or enhance the importance of a certain institution. Traditions may also be changed to suit the needs of the day, and the changes can become accepted as a part of the ancient tradition. A book on the subject is The Invention of Tradition, edited by Heric Hobsbawn and Terence Ranger. Some examples include the invention of tradition in Africa and other colonial holdings by the occupying forces. Requiring legitimacy, the colonial power invented a tradition which they used to legitimize their own position. (171 words) 1

2 2.1. Choos the correct option from the following: (5 Marks) 1. Traditions are presumed to be. a. contemporary, permanent and important b. ancient, changing and important c. very old, fixed and significant d. antient, unalterable and deeply unimportant 2. A tradition is a practice, custom or story that is. a. learnt by heart b. memorised and passed down from generations c. memorised by generations d. memorised and generated 3. Requiring legitimacy the colonial power invented a tradition which they a. used for legal purpose b. used to legitimize others position c. did not use to legitimize their position d. misused 4. Traditions may also be changed to suit a. the need of the day b. the day c. the needs d. the needs and the day 5. A book of the subject is a. The Invention and Tradition b. The Invention of Tradition c. The Tradition and Invention d. None of the above. 3. Read the following passage carefully: (10 Marks) As we walked back to the longhouse, Chabok, who was in front of me, suddenly stopped on the track and raised his blowpipe, quickly inserting a dart into the mouthpiece and packing the end with a small twist of raw cotton. To one side and above him, about twelve meters away, a squirrel was scampering on a branch. I wanted to see Chabok bring it down with a dart but at the same time I had an almost uncontrollable urge to cry out and frighten the animal away. It seemed such a small squirrel. Chabok aimed his blowpipe, and I felt myself holding my breath until he shot. 'Thip!' went the dart as it left the end of the tube, and I didn't see it go. The squirrel stayed on the branch unmoved, and I was sure that he had missed and called to him, "You've missed it! You've missed!" and he began to run forward shouting, "I haven't, Master! I haven't! I haven't!" And as he ran, the squirrel toppled over like a rag doll and hit the ground with a soft thud. It was still alive when Chabok picked it up - he poisoned splinter sticking right through its neck - but it was quite paralyzed and unable to move. It died some minutes later. On the way back to the longhouse Chabok sang happily for the first time since leaving the River Yai and in the evening, everyone had a small piece of squirrel meat. My own piece, no more than a mouthful, tasted like stringy rabbit. The Temiar blowpipe is normally some two meters long and made from one single length of bamboo. It has a slender inner tube inside the outer covering so that one length warps against the other and it always remains true. From it they shoot a small dart, a splinter of wood some twenty or twenty-five centimeters in length; a pith cone at one end, the other sharpened end tipped with poison. Most 2

3 aborigines are extremely accurate with a blowpipe up to a range of nine to ten meters, though for some reason they are more accurate if the target is moving vertically than if it moves horizontally. Several times I have put a cigarette on end in a tree and watched it be pinned to the bark by a blowpipe dart but a cigarette placed parallel to the ground is missed seven times out of ten. The poison with which the darts are smeared is a mixture of poisonous saps from jungle trees and creepers. The sap is tapped from the trees and creepers with knives and is collected in small bamboo cups. This is then stirred together and boiled. The darts are dipped in the boiled mixture and allowed to dry in the sun. Any surplus is left to cool and solidify and it can then be stored away for a considerable period - allegedly as long as two years. When next needed, it is soaked in fresh water and reboiled; but for some reason the water must be fresh and water which has been standing for several days in a bamboo container cannot be used. The strength of the poison can be varied according to the strength of the mixture. Usually the tips of the darts are one of three colors. The red - procured from a fully-grown poisonous tree in its prime - is the strongest and once in the bloodstream, is fatal after about six or seven minutes. The black - which is from an old poisonous tree - is effective after half an hour, and the white - from a young sapling tree - does not take effect until after a lapse of an hour or more. (622 words) 3.1. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. 1. Who do you think Chabok probably was? (1) 2. Why was the writer torn between wanting to see Chabok shoot the squirrel with his blowpipe and wanting to frighten it away? (1) 3. Why was Chabok singing happily all the way back to the longhouse? (1) 4. What does a Temiar blowpipe look like? (2) 5. What conclusion did the writer draw from his observation that a cigarette placed parallel to the ground is missed seven times out of ten? (2) 6. What was the tip of colour of the dart used by Chabok to kill the squirrel? (1) 7. According to the passage, how do the aborigines make poisonous darts? (2) SECTION B: WRITING & GRAMMAR (25 Marks) 3. On the basis of the value points given below, write a biographical sketch, in about 80 words. (5 Marks) Name Saina Nehwal Date of birth March 17, 1990 Place of birth Hisar, Haryana India Occupation Khel Ratna winning badminton player Ranking Women s singles Highest ranking 1 (2 December, 2010, 20 July 2013) Current Rank 2(29 January 2015) Badminton World Federation Achievement First Indian woman to reach the singles quarter finals at the Olympics, to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and gold in the Commonwealth Games. 3

4 4. Using the given hint, write a story in not more than 200 words: (10 Marks) as I was digging, I struck something hard. 5. Fill in the gaps below with one suitable word in each by choosing the correct option. (4 Marks) The United Nations is an international organisation that (a) to ease cooperation in international law, international security, economic (b), social progress, human rights, and achieving (c) peace. It was founded as a successor (d) the League of Nations, which (e) people thought had failed (f) an international governing body, since it had (g) prevented World War II. On April 25, 1945, the UN Conference on International Organisation (h) in San Fransisco. a. i. plan ii. Intends iii. Tries iv. Aims b. i. expansion ii. increase iii. development iv. improvement c. i. world ii. human iii. global iv. earth d. i. of ii. In iii. at iv. to e. i. several ii. many iii. various iv. all f. i. as ii. to iii. for iv. like g. i. yet ii. but iii. to iv. not h. i. commenced ii. began iii. starting iv. instigated 6. In the given paragraph, a word has been omitted. Write the omitted word against the correct blank. The first one has been done as an example. (4 Marks) Pirates have a scourge of seafarers E.g. have been a from the dawn sea travel. Once they (a).. captured Julius Caesar and held for (b).. what he considered very low ransom. (c).. Caesar considered it insult and told (d).. them that a higher ransom asked (e).. for his release their clutches. (f).. This may sound like joke to you (g).. But is a historical anecdote (h).. 7. Rewrite the given jumbled up sentences to make complete sense. (2 Marks) a. to management / it is very / and leadership / relevant b. your feelings and / language reveals / your own body / meanings to others 4

5 SECTION C: LITERATURE (25 Marks) 8. Read the given extract and answer the questions in the answer sheet in not more than 30 words: (3 3 = 9) a. Pa says it would be ungrateful to leave it to starve. (i) Name the speaker of the above line. (ii) Who is the second it referred to? (iii) Why would it starve? b..poor man, who is quite disabled now, though he is a worthy successor to Isaac Newton, whose Chair he has at the university. (i) Who is referred to as poor man? (ii) Which university is talked about in the extract? (iii) Why is he a worthy successor? c. What would bechance at Lyonnesse While I should sojourn there. i. Who is the poet? ii. Why does the speaker say so? (2 mark) 9. Answer the given questions in the answer sheet in not more than 60 words: (4 2 = 8) i. Is the kangaroo willing to take the duck on the ride? Why? ii. How has the author described the first day of monsoon? iii. Why did the poet visit Ernest? What qualities of Ernest did he see? iv. Before you, like a lantern whose walls are worn so thin you glimpse only the light inside, is the incandescence of a man. Explain. 10. Answer the given questions in the answer sheet in not more than words: (4 2 = 8) i. Why was Jody feeling sorry for the fawn? What did he tell his father? ii. Who was Gathergold? Why did the people feel that he would resemble the Great Stone face? SECTION D: OTBA (10 Marks) 11. Stephen s childhood was very similar to that of any normal child. Justify. (5 Marks) 12. What prevented him from completely becoming despondent? (5 Marks) ***************************** 5

BLOOM PUBLIC SCHOOL Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Class:-VIII Subject : English Syllabus ( )

BLOOM PUBLIC SCHOOL Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Class:-VIII Subject : English Syllabus (2018-2019) Month April May July CONTENT: (NCERT) 1. HONEY DEW( MAIN TEXT BOOK) 2. IT SO HAPPENED(SUPPLEMENTARY READER)