SSC Public Examinations – July 2020
Model Paper
Third Language – English – Paper 1& II
Class: X (Max.Marks:100) Time: 3.15 Hrs.
Instructions:
1. This question paper has 35 questions in three sections (A, B and C).
2. Answer all the questions on a separate answer book supplied to you.
3. 15 minutes of time is allotted exclusively for reading the question paper and 3-00 hours for writing the
answers.
4. Answer all the questions of section – B (Grammar& Vocabulary) in the same order at one place in your
answer book.
5. Start answering the questions as you read them.
Section – A: Reading Comprehension
Questions (1 – 5): Read the following passage carefully.
Father was quiet for some time. He thoughtfully looked at the sun for a moment, and then his eyes
fell on the can of home-made wine that I was carrying. Wetting his lips with his tongue he said in a matter-
of-fact manner, 'I am thirsty'.
I gave him the can of wine. He poured himself a mug and handed me the can. He drank all of it at one
go. He then arranged the belt that was attached to the trunk carefully on his forehead. So, this was the
picture: my father carrying my luggage on his back and me following him with a tiny bag in my hand. We
were walking up a narrow hilly road, and neither of us uttered a word as if we were strangers who spoke
different languages. I did not know what was going on in his mind. From time to time it crossed my mind
that it was improper for me to let father carry the luggage. I wanted to tell him that I would like to carry the
trunk myself, but my guilt and shame did not allow me to do so. This self-consciousness had probably to do
with my education, the white-collar job that I had, or quite simply my pride.
(The Journey)
Now, answer the questions. 5x2=10
1. Whose eyes fell on the can of home-made wine?
2. Who was carrying the can of home-made wine?
3. He said ‘in a matter-of-fact’. It means ______________
A) Hesitatingly
B) Frankly
C) secretly
4. The narrator hesitated to tell his father that he would carry his luggage himself because ________
A) the luggage was too heavy to carry.
B) he was sick.
C) his education, white color job and his pride prevented him to tell.
5. Choose the correct statement among the following.
A) The two people mentioned in the paragraph were father and son.
B) They were strangers.
C) They were teacher and student.
Questions (6 – 8): Read the following stanza carefully.
But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake's bare fangs !
(Once upon a Time)
Choose the correct answers to the following questions. 3X2=6M
6. The father wishes for _______
A) being what he used to be
B) being born again
C) having new teeth
7. His laugh appears in the mirror like ______
A) a snake‘s bare fangs.
B) a snow bear
C) a white cloth
8. This stanza describes __________
A) the wish of the father to become a snake
B) the wish of the father to relearn how to laugh
C) the wish of the father not to laugh
Questions (9 – 10): Read the following stanza carefully.
In 1914, Thomas Edison, at age 67, lost his factory, which was worth a few million dollars, on
fire. It had very little insurance. No longer a young man, Edison watched his lifetime effort go up in
smoke and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burnt up. Thank God we can
start anew." In spite of the disaster, three weeks later, he invented the phonograph. What an attitude!
(Every Success Story is also a Story of Great Failures)
Now, answer the following questions. 2X2=4 M
9. What happened to Thomas Edison when he was 67?
(A) He won a few million dollars
(B) He lost his factory to fire
(C) He bought a new factory
10. We can say that Thomas Edison was a man with great attitude because ……..
(A) he fought for his insurance money.
(B) he could control the fire
(C) he was ready to achieve something new though he lost his factory
Questions (11 – 15): Read the following passage carefully.
He did not reply. He never shared his unhappiness or helplessness with anybody. He was an
introvert by nature. His heart was bleeding but he did not get angry with anybody.
The day came. His classmates were leaving for Madras (now Chennai). They were taking a
train from Mysore to Madras. They have shared good years in school and college together. He went
to the station to say goodbye and good luck to them for their future life. (I Will Do It)
Now, answer the following questions. 5X2=10M
11. Who is ‘he’ in this passage?
12. Whose classmates were leaving for Madras?
13. Why did he go to railway station?
(A) to go to Madras
(B) to see off his friends
(C) to buy a train ticket for his father.
14. Which action of Murthy says that he was an introvert?
(A) He never shared his unhappiness or helplessness with anybody
(B) He told his friends that he would not like to study in Madras.
(C) He went to station to say goodbye to his friends.
15. ‘His heart was bleeding’. This sentence says that ……………
(A) he was suffering from heart problem
(B) he got heart surgery
(C) He felt some kind of disappointment
Section – B: Grammar& Vocabulary
Note: Answer all the questions of Section – B (Grammar& Vocabulary) in the same order at one place
in your answer book.
16. Combine the following sentences using ‘who’. 2M
Abel thrusts his hand at Ben. Ben skips back smartly.
17. Change the following sentence into passive voice. 2M
They make the environment very beautiful.
18. Combine the following sentences using ‘as’. 2M
They waved at him. The train slowly left the platform.
19. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions given in the bracket. 2 x 1 =2M
(a) I finished my project work …………………. the instructions given by the teacher.
(in spite of/in accordance with/ instead of)
(b) Kanae was attracted ………….. Nick’s message. (by/to/on)
20. Fill in the blanks with suitable forms of the verbs given in brackets. 2x 1 = 2M
After I …………….. (finish) my project work, I ……………….. to my teacher. (submit).
21. Your friend has been wasting time on video games. You feel it is not good thing. Advise him not to do waste
time. 2M
22. Change the following into polite request. 2M
You to a friend: “Give me your mobile”.
23. What do the following sentences mean?
Choose the correct answer and write it in your answer book. 2 x 1 =2M
(i) He can sing for eight hours at a stretch.
(A) Prediction [ ]
(B) Ability [ ]
(C) Futurity [ ]
(D) Possibility [ ]
(ii) Shall I carry the luggage for you?
(A) Asking a question [ ]
(B) Making a request [ ]
(C) Seeking Permission [ ]
(D) Making a request [ ]
24. Read the following paragraph and write the synonyms of the underlined words choosing from the
words given in the box. 4X 1 = 4M
strong, ready, impolite, fat, weak, lean
When the curtain rises Mrs. Slater is seen laying the table. She is a vigorous (a),plump
(b),red-faced, vulgar (c) woman prepared (d) to do any amount of straight talking to get her own
way.
25. Read the paragraph and match the words under ‘A’ with their antonyms under ‘B’. 4X 1 = 4M
A large (a) crowd gathered (b) at our place the day I was to leave. People had come to wish
me luck (c). It was 10.20 when I left for Dirang. My father had already left. As I had to do a bit of
catching up, I walked fast. Three kilometres down the road I caught up with my father. Father said,
‘You are late (d). Would you like to rest for some time?’
A B
(a) large ( ) 1. Slow
(b) gathered ( ) 2. Ill-luck
(c) luck ( ) 3. scattered
(d) late ( ) 4. ugly
5. small
6. contempt
26. Fill in the blanks with the right form of the words given in brackets. 4X1 = 4M
These trees are very nice, they ________________ (a) (grow / growth/grown) tall, and they grow veryfast,
but as they grow they ________________ (b) (destroy / destruction/destruct) all the local ________________ (c)
(biological / biologically/biology) diversity. All the flora and fauna disappeared. So although we were getting
________________ (d) (commerce / commercial/commercially) timber for the growing timber industry, we also
destroyed our local flora and fauna.
27.Complete the following spellings with ‘ou, ee,oa, or ie’ 2X 1 = 2M
Alth _ _ gh I wanted to meet him right away, I didn’t want to go and see. It was a very qu _ _ t
friendship.
28. Complete the words with correct suffixes given in brackets. 2X 1 = 2M
(a) In the beginning it was difficult, but they soon gained confid ______ (ance/ence).
(b) They became very compe ______ (tant/tent).
29. Find the wrongly spelt word and write the correct spelling. 2X1=2M
a) leasurly, initially, quickly, suddenly
b) purpose, triumph, advercity, magazine
30. Read the following dictionary entry of the word ‘orthodox’ given below. 2X1=2M
lethargy
(leθəʳdʳi )
uncountable noun
Lethargy is the condition or state of being lethargic.
Symptoms include tiredness, paleness, and lethargy.
...the lethargy that plagued this project from its outset.
Synonyms: sluggishness, inertia, inaction, slowness
(a) What are the two synonyms of the word ‘lethargy’ as mentioned in the above entry?
(b) What is the part of speech of the word ‘lethargy’?
31. Arrange the following words under the correct heading. 8X ¼ =2M
Crisis, syllabus, thesis, fungus, datum, phenomenon, diagnosis, species
Latin words Greek words
32. Match the following one-word substitutes in Part-A with their meanings in Part-B. (Write only the
numbers and their corresponding letters in your answer book). 4X ½ =2M
Part –A Part- B
1) fallout ( ) A) A film that gives facts about something
2) publisher ( ) B) A person who brings out new books
3) trilogy ( ) C) A result of a situation or of an action
4) documentary ( ) D) An impressive entrance to a building
E) A person who is responsible for a problem or a crime
F) A group of three films that has the same characters or a
Subject
Section – C: Creative Expression
33.A)You have read the lesson, “My childhood”. In that lesson, you have read that when kalam wanted to go
Ramanathapuram for higher studies, Kalam’s mother was hesitant. Kalam’s father tried to console and comfort her.
Now, write a possible conversation between kalam’s mother and father in this context. 10M
(OR)
B) In the lesson “Environment” Wangari Maathai taught women to plant trees and earn their livelihood.
Imagine you are one of the women who were guided by Maathai.
Now write a diary entry expressing
- How you felt at first
- Transformation in your life
- How you feel now
- Your future plans
34. 10M
A) Four people with masks on their faces and guns in their hands robbed Royal bank, Mumbai in broad day
light. They threatened the people that they would shoot them if they did not obey them. They broke open
the lockers and looted all the money and gold in them. One man who tried to raise an alarm was knocked
down.
Now, write a letter to your brother-in-law, who is a bank manager about the bank robbery reported in “The
Hindusthan Times”.
(OR)
B) Write a biographical sketch of SundarPichai basing on the following hints.
Famous as CEO of Google company
Born 12 July 1972, chennai
Father RegunathaPichai
Mother Lakshmi Pichai
Children Two boys
Education IIT Kharagpur, Standford University
Character traits Hard working, independent, Intelligent
Hobbies Reading, Playing Guitar, Sketching and
badminton
35. (A) Read the following passage carefully focusing on the underlined parts. 10M
Savitri was awarded the title 'Mahanati' (the Supreme artiste). She also received the Presidential
award (A) for her performance in'ChivarakuMigiledi', the magnum opus of Savitri. She was the recipient of
‘Kalaimamanand' and ‘NadigayarTilakam' from Tamil film industry (B). Savitri had nearly 300 films to her
credit. Her career was nearly 30 yearlong (C). She was equally admired by Telugu and Tamil film lovers.
She also acted in a few Kannada and Hindi films. She had a lion's share of films when she was at the zenith
of her career (D). Her passion for films was so strong that she directed and produced a few films (E), in spite
of certain adversities.
Now, frame ‘WH’ questions to get the underlined parts in the passage as answers.
(B) Study the following tree diagram.
Now, write a paragraph describing the information depicted in the tree diagram above.
