CBSE Class 10 English Term 2 Sample Paper
Class – X Exam 2021-22
English – Language and Literature (184)
Time Allowed: 120 minutes
(Maximum Marks: 40)
General Instructions:
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING & GRAMMAR and LITERATURE.
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. (10)
SECTION A- READING (10 Marks)
1. Read the passage given below.
1. Smoking is the major cause of mortality with bronchogenic carcinoma of the lungs and is one of the factors causing death due to malignancies of larynx, oral cavity, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach and uterine cervix and coronary heart diseases.
2. Nicotine is the major substance present in the smoke that causes physical dependence. The additives do producen damage to the body-for example, ammonia can result in a 100-fold increase in the ability of nicotine to enter into the smoke.
3. Levulinic acid, added to cigarettes to mask the harsh taste of the nicotine, can increase the binding of nicotine to brain receptors, which increases the ‘kick’ of nicotine.
4. Smoke from the burning end of a cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals and 40 carcinogens. it has long been known that tobacco smoke is carcinogenic or cancer-causing.
5. The lungs of smokers collect an annual deposit of 1 to 1 2 1 pounds of the gooey black material. Invisible gas phase of cigarette smoke contains nitrogen, oxygen and toxic gases like carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, acrolein, hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides. These gases are poisonous and in many cases interfere with the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
6. Like many carcinogenic compounds, they can act as tumour promoters or tumour initiators by acting directly on the genetic make-up of cells of the body leading to development of cancer.
7. During smoking within the first 8-10 seconds, nicotine is absorbed through the lungs and quickly ‘moved’ into the bloodstream and circulated throughout the brain. Nicotine can also enter the bloodstream through the mucos membranes that line the mouth (if tobacco is chewed) or nose (if snuff is used) and even through the skin. Our brain is made up of billions of nerve cells. They communicate with each other by chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.
8. Nicotine is one of the most powerful nerve poison and binds stereo-selectively to nicrotinic receptors located in the brain, authonomic ganglia, the medulla, neuro-muscular junctions. Located throughout the brain, they play a critical role in cognitive processes and memory.
9. The nicotine molecule is shaped like a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine which are involved in many functions including muscle movement, breathing, heart-rate, learning and memory. Nicotine, because of the similar structure with acetylcholine when it gets into the brain, attaches itself to acetylcholine sites and produces toxic effect.
10. Some experts say that smoking is linked to memory problems because it contributes to narrowed arteries that restrict blood-flow to the brain. One of -the causes of memory decline in relation to the brain function could be the nerve cell death or decreased density or interconnected neuronal network due to loss dendrites, the tiny filaments which connect one nerve cell to another. Abstinence from smoking is essential, not only to avoid this systemic effect but also the reduce the ill-effects on the environment.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below.
i. How is smoking the major cause of mortality?
ii. What in a cigarette makes the people addicted to it?
iii. What are neurotransmitters?
iv. How does nicotine produce toxic effect?
v. According to the experts, how is smoking linked to memory?
vi. Rewrite the following sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with a word that means the same from para 5.
One of the effects of the pandemic was to shine a light on millions of citizens who were in fact previously not perceptible by the eye to the government.
2. Read the case based factual passage given below. 1*5
1. Technological evolution is a certainty. Cyber-physical systems, Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been changing the infrastructure of our world. In the 2020s, these phenomena, which are still in their nascency, will rapidly accelerate due to the increasing digitization of key areas such as health, science, transport, communications and energy. The ubiquity of technology, and its increased ability to connect and communicate, has paved the way for this tipping point. Beneath the surface, we are moving towards an explosion of change.
2. Over 50% of our global population is now online, and the other half is following fast. To be precise, around 726 million people joined the web in the last three years. These new users will change the shape of the internet. Many of them will be lower income. They are choosing smart phones over laptops and tablets and are more likely to use voice commands.
3. Geodata and the IoT will create new markets and supply chains. The automation of manufacturing, services and mobility has already begun. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will reach what Gartner terms the ‘Plateau of Productivity’, in which the technology becomes both mainstream and viable. McKinsey estimates that 70% of companies may adopt at least one AI technology by 2030. It is unlikely they will all use it well, but those that do could manage to take us to a place where man and machine are indistinguishable.
4. Bioscience has the potential to be transformative in the 2020s. Gene editing (CRISPR) technology will likely soon be able to edit genomes to allow animal organs to be accepted into human bodies–transforming, and perhaps saving, the lives of people currently waiting for organ transplants. Similar technology can also be used to combat inherited diseases, and even cancer. Elsewhere, gene therapy experiments are using the body’s immune system to fight cancer through re-engineering our cells.
5. Technology has inarguably improved science, health, communications and transport. However, technology has not necessarily corresponded to increased economic productivity. Indeed, many of the most technologically advanced countries have seen productivity stagnate and stall, as discussed in growing inequality and opportunity.
6. In the 2020s many questions around technology will be resolved. The scaffolding is in place. This will be the decade in which AI, Geodata, the IoT, Bioscience, and Quantum Computing are given the opportunity to change our world Whether this change will be surface level or truly transformative remains to be seen. On the basis of your understanding of the
Passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below.
i. In the line “The ubiquity of technology, and its ……”, What does the word “ubiquity” refer?
ii. What does Mckinsey estimate about AI technology?
iii. According to the prediction made in the passage, we are going to reach, ‘Plateau of Productivity’ with respect
to digitization. What does it mean?
iv. According to the report, the number of 52% of US house-holds will become smart from 18%. How much time it will take?
v. Mention any two benefits of bioscience.
vi What can be concluded on the basis of this passage?
SECTION B- WRITING & GRAMMAR (10 Marks)
3. Attempt ANY ONE from i and ii. 5
i. Manisha is to write an analytical paragraph on ‘Smoking is a silent killer of life’. Using your own ideas and the outline given below, write this paragraph on her behalf in about 120 words. Smoking is actually a silent killer _____ nicotine is a poison _____ dangerous to various vital organs _____ smoking a cigarette shortens _____ causes a deadly disease _____ guide our smoking youth _____ ensure good health to all Indians.
ii. You are Dhanush/Divya of 126, A–block, Laxmi Nagar, New Delhi. You need an accommodation at a hotel in Nainital. Write a letter to the Manager of a hotel, enquiring about booking an accommodation.
4. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Identify the error and write its correction against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the correction. The first one has been done for you.
| Error | Correction | |
| A little political thinkers | E.g. A little | Some |
| thinks that liberty | (a) | |
| and equality couldn’t go together. | (b) | |
| They think that liberty implied the freedom | (c) | |
| to do what one may like to do. |
5. Read the following dialogue between Harry and Cobbler and complete the passage that follows.
| Harry : Can you polish my shoes? Cobbler : Yes sir. But I will take 10 for each shoe. Harry : I will not mind as long as it is done. |
Harry asked the cobbler (a) _____. The cobbler replied affirmatively but (b) _____. Harry said that he would
not mind as long as it was done.
SECTION C- LITERATURE (20 marks)
6. Answer ANY SIX questions in 30-40 words each. 2*6
i. What happened to the Chinese emperor in “Tea from Assam” who always boiled water before drinking it ?
ii. How does Buddha illustrate that death to mortals is inevitable ?
iii. What does Amanda long to do at the sea?
iv. Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.
v. Describe how Custard’s reaction was different from that of others, on seeing the pirate?
vi. Madam Loisel’s pretty dress was ready for the party but as the day of the ball approached, a fresh problem disturbed her. What was the problem?
vii. How did hack driver sketch the character of Lutkins?
7. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120 words each. 4*2
i. In modern era people are selfish and insensitive to the sufferings of their neighbours. But Valli is not one of them. She grieves over the accidental death of a young cow. Thus, Valli’s character brings forth some values. Discuss these values on the basis of ‘Madam Rides the Bus’.
ii. Imagine that you are Richard Ebright. Write a diary entry stating how your mother looked after you and encouraged you.
iii. What type of person is Natalya? Give two examples to show her quarrelsome nature.