SUCCESS KEY TEST SERIES

First Term Exam (Sample Paper)

Std: VIII (E.M) Subject: English(First Language) Time: 2Hrs
Date Unit -1 & 2 Max Marks: 50

Activity Sheet
SECTION I : LANGUAGE STUDY
Q.1 Do as Directed; 10
(1) (i) Presence x (ii) Profit x (Write the antonyms)
(2) (i) violence (ii) approve (Give Prefix)
(3) Produce
(Make two sentences of your own, using them as a noun in one and a verb in another)
(4) He jumped down after shouted a warning to those standing below.
(Spot the error and write the correct sentence)
(5) The hyper mart does not offer cheap sales. (Add a question tag)
(6) There is a bridge______ the river.
(Fill the blanks to make a meaningful sentence, choosing an appropriate preposition)
(7) around _____ _____ ______ ______ (Complete the Word chain)
(8) She would do well to practise a little more.
(Identify the auxiliary verb and state its functions)
(9) A nurse was nearby. He called to her.
(Combine each of the following pairs of simple sentences into one complex sentence containing an
adjective clause)
(10) Ask Doris for the recipe? (Write the kind of sentence)
SECTION II : Textual Passage
(Reading Skills, Vocabulary and Grammar)
Q.2 Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities: 10
1. Complete the flow chart: (2)

On the next day the Swallow flew down to the river. He watched the seamen working on the ships. „I
am going to Egypt!‟ he cried, but no one listened to him. When the moon came up, he flew back to
the Happy Prince. „I have come to say goodbye to you,‟ he said.
„Little bird, little bird,‟ said the prince, „please will you stay with me for one more night?‟
„It is winter,‟ answered the Swallow.‟ The snow will soon come. In Egypt the sun is warm and the
 trees are green. Dear prince, I must leave you; but I will never forget you.‟
„A little girl is standing there in the square below.
She is selling eggs. Her eggs have fallen on the ground and they are broken. She has no money to take home.
Her father will hit her. Take out my other eye and give it to her.‟
„I will stay with you for one more night,‟ said the
Swallow, „but I cannot take out your other eye. You will not be able to see!‟
„Do it!‟ said the prince.
So the Swallow took out the prince‟s other eye and flew down with it. He flew to the girl and put the jewel in
her hand.
„This is a beautiful piece of glass!‟ cried the little girl. She ran home, laughing. Then the Swallow flew back to
the prince. „You cannot see now,‟ he said,‟ so I will stay with you.‟
„No,‟ said the poor prince,‟ „you must go to Egypt.‟
„I will stay with you,‟ repeated the Swallow, and he slept at the prince‟s feet.
The next day he stayed with the prince. He told the prince stories about the strange lands that he knew.
„Dear little bird,‟ said the prince, „you are telling me about strange and wonderful things, but the suffering of
men and women is stranger than anything. Fly over my city, little bird. Tell me what you see there.‟
So the swallow flew over the great city. He saw the poor people sitting at the gate. He flew into the dark streets
and saw the white faces of hungry children with sad eyes. Under a bridge, two little boys were lying close
together to keep warm. „We are so hungry!‟ they said. „You cannot lie there!‟ shouted a guard. Then the
Swallow flew back and told the prince.
„I am covered with fine gold,‟ said the prince.
„Take it off, piece by piece, and give it to my poor people.‟
The Swallow pulled off the gold, until the Happy
Prince looked grey and ugly. The Swallow took the gold to the poor, and the children‟s faces became brighter.
„We have bread now!‟ they cried.

2. State who said the following words to whom. (2)

i. “But I cannot take out your other eye. You will not be able to see!‟
ii. “I am covered with fine gold,‟ ...„Take it off, piece by piece, and give it to my poor people.‟
iii. „You cannot see now,‟ ...‟ so I will stay with you.‟
iv. „You cannot lie there!‟

3. Identify four adjectives from the passage: (2)

4. 1. Convert the voice of the following sentence from active to passive. (1)
He watched the seamen working on the ships.
2. Rewrite the following sentence with “not only-but also”. (1)
The children‟s faces became brighter. „We have bread now!‟ they cried.

5. What are the ways in which we can help the poor? (2)

SECTION III : Poetry

Q.3 (A) Read the following poem carefully and complete the activities: 5
1. Complete the web diagram: (2)

„„To believe is to know that

every day is a new beginning.
 Is to trust that miracles happen,
and dreams really do come true.
To believe is to see angels
dancing among the clouds.
To know the wonder of a stardust sky
and the wisdom of the man in the moon.
To believe is to know the value of a nurturing heart,
The innocence of a child‟s eyes
and the beauty of an aging hand,
for it is through their teachings, we learn to love.

2. State whether the following statements are true or false. (2)

i. To believe it means to distrust.
ii. To believe it means to not see the beauty in an ageing hand.
iii. To believe is to disbelieve in angels.
iv. One must believe that dreams come true.

3. Pick out example of Alliteration from the extract: (1)

(B) Analyse the following poem and answer any five points from those given below: 5
A pilgrim, going a lone high way
Came at evening, cold and gray
To a chasm, deep and vast and wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim.
The chasm held no fear for him.
But he paused when he reached the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“Why waste your time in building here?
Your journey ends with the close of the day
You never again will pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide
Why build ye here at even tide ?”
The pilgrim raised his old gray head,
“My friend in the path I‟ve come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A fair hairded youth, who must pass this way.
The chasm which held no fears for me
To the fair haired youth, may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim.
My friend, I am building this bridge for him.”

1. Poem and Poet:

2. Tone:
3. Structure and Stanzas:
4. Rhyme and Rhythm:
5. Figures of Speech:
6. Theme:
7. Language and Imagery:
SECTION IV : Non-Textual Passage
Q.4 Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities: 10
1. Say whether the following statements are True or False: [2]
(1) Some of the patients could take the machine home.
(2) If the patients wanted, they could die at home.
 (3) The ventilators cost a lot of money.
(4) Grace liked to sit back and do nothing.

And then, this video had suddenly been sprung on them. It was all about the VAIs or ventilator-
assisted patients who couldn‟t go home even if they were dying because their lives depended on an
ugly beeping machine. „But can‟t they take those machines home?” demanded Ada Ong vehemently
on the way back to school. “Yes,” said Jacqueline Gwee, “Even if they have to die, at least they‟ll be
at home— with familiar things and known people around them instead of that cold scary hospital
ward!” She couldn‟t quite repress a shudder as she said this and one of their teachers, Alice Chia, put
an arm round her. “That would be an ideal solution for each of these patients,” she observed.
“However, ventilators are expensive machines and these ones belong to the hospital. So there is no
other option.”But can‟t we do something?” asked Zoe quietly. “I mean, we‟re young and strong
and…” “Yes, we should do something—help them somehow,” Geraldine nodded emphatically. “I
agree, “Grace Yeo chipped in. “Now that we know all this, we shouldn‟t sit back and do nothing!”
“All right,” Namit Sarbhai, their other teacher, smiled. “Let‟s discuss this at school and figure out if
there is some way in which you can help these patients.”
2. Complete the following table : [2]
Even if they have to die, at least they‟ll be at home”.
(1) Who said it? (2) To whom? (3) on what occasion?
3. Write four terms used for the equipment that the patients were dependent upon. [2]
4. (1) zoe one of the students wondered why they couldn‟t do something (Punctuate the sentence.) [2]
(2) That would be an ideal solution. (Add a question tag.)
5. What is your opinion about the way the students reacted to the sight of the patients ? [2]

SECTION V : Writing Skill

Q.5 Draft a speech on the following: 5
You are pained at the attitude of the students towards basic amenities like electricity and water.
Leaking taps, running fans, lights on in empty class rooms don‟t seem to affect the students. In your
speech, on the occasion of the Earth Day, highlight these issues and the need for conservation of the
resources.
Q.6 Story writing 5
Write a story with the following ending:
A Good Man is Hard to Find

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