HUDA TRUST PUBLIC SCHOOL, KUMARAPURAM
HALF – YEARLY EXAMINATION
ENGLISH
GRADE: IX
Max. Marks: 80
Time: 3 hrs
General Instructions
 15 – minutes prior reading time allotted for Q – paper reading.
 The question paper contains four sections – Reading, Grammar, Writing
& Literature.
 Attempt questions based on the specific instructions for each part.
Section A – Reading
1. Read the given passage and answer the following questions.
(5 x 1 = 5)
In a small village nestled in the hills, there was a traditional market that took place every
Saturday. This market was a lively and colorful event, drawing people from neighboring villages
and towns. Stalls were set up along the main street, each one brimming with fresh produce,
homemade goods, and handmade crafts.
The air was filled with the delightful aroma of baked bread and fresh fruits. Local farmers and
artisans proudly displayed their products, including juicy apples, ripe tomatoes, and fragrant
herbs. Handmade quilts, pottery, and wooden toys were also popular among the visitors.
Children ran around excitedly, their laughter blending with the chatter of vendors and customers.
One of the most popular spots in the market was the food stall, where visitors could enjoy
delicious local specialties. The stall was known for its savory pies and sweet pastries, which
were baked fresh each morning. People from all around would gather here to savor these treats
and enjoy a warm cup of tea or coffee.
As the sun began to set, the market started to wind down. Vendors packed up their remaining
goods, and the street slowly emptied, leaving behind traces of the day's activities. The market,
with its vibrant atmosphere and friendly exchanges, was a cherished tradition that brought the
community together every week.
1. What is the main event described in the passage?
a) A festival
b) A traditional market
c) A wedding
d) A school fair
2. What can you find at the stalls in the market?
a) Electronics and gadgets
b) Fresh produce and handmade crafts
c) Furniture and appliances
d) Books and magazines
3. What sensory details are provided in the passage to describe the market environment?
4. Explain the significance of the market being described as a 'cherished tradition.'
5. Based on the passage, why might people from neighboring villages visit the market?
2. Read the following excerpt from a Case Study - J.K. Rowling – A Journey.
The story of Joanne Kathleen Rowling’s near magical rise to fame is almost as well known as the
characters she creates.
Rowling was constantly writing and telling stories to her younger sister Dianne. “The first story I
ever wrote down was about a rabbit called Rabbit.” Rowling said in an interview. “He got the
measles and was visited by his friends including a giant bee called Miss Bee. And ever since
Rabbit and Miss Bee, I have always wanted to be a writer, though I rarely told anyone so.
However, my parents, both of whom come from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom
had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal
quirk that would never pay a mortgage or secure a pension.
A writer from the age of six, with two unpublished novels in the * drawer, she was stuck on a
train when Harry walked into her mind fully formed. She spent the next five years constructing
the plots of seven books, one for every year of his secondary school life.
Rowling says she started writing the first book, Harry’ Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in
Portugal, where she was teaching English.
At first nobody wanted to publish Harry Potter. She was told that plot was too complex.
Refusing to compromise, she found a publisher.
In 1997 Rowling received her first royalty cheque. By book three, she had sky rocketed to the
top of the publishing world. A row of zeroes appeared on the author’s bank balance and her life
was turned upside down. Day and night she had journalists knocking on the unanswered door of
her flat.
Rowling’s quality control has become legendary, as her obsession with accuracy. She’s thrilled
with Stephen Fry’s taped version of the books and outraged that an Italian dust jacket showed
Harry minus his glasses. “Don’t they understand that the glasses are the clue to his
vulnerability.”
Annual earnings of J.K. Rowling from 2010 to 2019
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions given
below.
(5 x 1 = 5)
(i) Explain J.K. Rowling’s ‘near magical rise to fame’.
(ii) What reason did the publishers give for rejecting Rowling’s book?
(iii) What was the drawback of achieving fame?
(iv) Find a word in the last para that means the same as ‘insecure’/ ’helpless’.
(v) According to the graph, how many years did it take Rowling to become very successful?
Section B – Grammar
1. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option
(3 x 1 = 3)
a. The pigeons are slowly ___________ (settle) in the tiny holes of the tower clock in the
Mayor’s Hall.
i. were settled down
ii. settling down
ii. settled of
iv. was settling in
b. The emperor came to see the spectacle and Androcles was __________ (lead) into middle
of the arena.
i. lied out
ii. lying out
iii. laid out
iv. led out
c. My father welcomed me with a softer set of words and _________ to see me again.
i. had not cared
ii. could not care
iii. did not care
iv. was not cared
2. Select the correct options to fill in the blanks for the given lines.
(2 x 1 = 2)
a. The advertisement read: ‘Your contribution of Rs. 5000/- _________ support a child’s
education for a year.
a. must
b. could
c. should
d. will
b. The advertisement read: ‘Come, join our B-schools! You _______ be one among the
future business tycoons.
a. should
b. can
c. could
d. may
3. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option, to complete the slogan on
‘WOMEN EMPOWERMENT’.
(1)
Why ___________ women too rule this world?
a. can’t
b. should
c. must
d. need
4. Identify the error in the given sentence, from a Newspaper report and supply the
correction.
(1 x 2 = 2)
Five passersby were killed and about ten seriously injured in the powerful bomb
explosion happens yesterday at the Lovely Market.
Use the given format for your response.
Error
Correction
5. Select the correct option that identifies the error and supplies the correction for the
following line, from a news report:
(1 x 2 = 2)
A massive blood donation drive will be organized next week by a Rajasthan – based
NGO, in cooperation of the health department.
Option No.
Error
Correction
(a)
A
the
(b)
will be
are being
(c)
by
from
(d)
of
with
Section C – Writing
1. A. Write a paragraph on our beloved Prime Minister in about 100 – 120 words based on the
given cues:
Narendra Damodardas Modi – honest, hardworking, humble – no desire of name, fame – service
to the nation – to take country to greater heights.
(5)
OR
B. Write a paragraph on ‘The Annual Day of Your School’/’The Prize Distribution’ in about 100
– 120 words based on the following cues:
Input: preparations – on the Annual Day – arrangements – who was chief guest – welcome of
guests – annual report by Principal – cultural programs – prize distribution – speech by chief
guest – a light refreshment – your feeling about the function.
2. A. Make an entry in your diary on your observation of a squirrel living on the big tree
opposite your balcony. You almost heard it (squirrel) speaking and could interpret the language.
(5)
OR
B. Complete the story based on the outline given below in about 100 – 120 words.
A merchant riding home from fair – always negative thinking – busy in earning money – sudden
rainfall – money got wet – cursed God- attacked by Robbers – threatened him – got fired at- but
due to wet gun powder not hit – saved life – thanked God for rain – whatever happens, happens
for the best.
Section D – Literature
1. Read the given extracts and answer the following questions.
(2 x 5 = 10)
A. “But it was for your b-b- birthday.’’ Down came the ruler on her little pink palms. Hours
later, when grandmother had wrapped her in a shawl and rocked her in the rocking chair,
the child clung to her soft body. What did god make fathers for? She sobbed.
1. The child clung to her grandmother’s body to get:
a. comfort and protection
b. warmth
c. a soft touch
d. affection
2. The word ‘clung’ means:
a. hung
b. leaned
c. embraced
3. Who is responding in the first line and before whom?
4. How did the father react?
5. Find a word from the passage that means ‘wept’.
d. lay very close
B. Toto was a pretty monkey. His bright eyes sparkled with mischief beneath deep – set
eyebrows, and his teeth, which were a pearly white, were very often displayed in a smile
that frightened the life out of elderly Anglo – Indian ladies. But his hands looked dried –
up as though they had been pickled in the sun for many years.
1. How did Toto look?
a. dangerous
b. Pretty
c. mischievous
d. both (b) and (c)
2. The word ‘sparkled’ in the passage can be replaced with__________
a. looked
b. twinkled
c. dried up
3. How were the hands of Toto?
d. frightened
4. In what sense was Toto pretty?
5. Toto’s display of his pearly white teeth was interpreted differently by the author and the
elderly Anglo – Indian ladies. Justify.
2. Read the given lines of the poems and answer the following questions.
(2 x 5 = 10)
A. When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage – chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!
1. The sound made by the falling drops of rain is ________________
a. melancholy
b. hover
c. patter
d. overhead
2. What does the poet do when it rains?
3. Which line shows that the poet is happy when it rains?
4. Why are the shadows humid?
5. ‘Humid shadows’ stand for __________
a. shadowy clouds
b. waterless clouds
c. water – laden clouds
d. relief features
B. And I shall have some peace there, for
peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning
to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and
noon a purple glow,
And evenings full of the linnet’s wings
1. The poet wants to have some _________ at Innisfree.
a. rest
b. enjoyment
c. peace
2. Why does the poet want to live there alone?
3. What does the poet experience in the morning?
d. quietness
4. What makes midnight a glimmer?
5. What is the meaning of the word ‘linnet’?
3. Answer ANY FOUR of the following five questions, in about 40 – 50 words.
(4 x 3 = 12)
1. How was the homeopath relieved from the hold of the cobra? Write your answer in the
context of the story ‘The Snake and the Mirror’.
2. Why does the world remember Albert Einstein as a ‘World Citizen’?
3. What was the condition of the child after being lost in the fair?
4. What is the message conveyed in the poem, ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’?
5. Write a brief character sketch of Toto.
4. Answer ANY TWO of the following three questions, in about 40 – 50 words.
(2 x 3 = 6)
1. How did the child react when there was no sign of his parents and found himself lost
in the fair?
2. Why did the grandfather decide to keep Toto’s presence a secret from the
grandmother?
3. How did the grandfather carry Toto to Saharanpur?
5. Answer ANY TWO of the following three questions, in about 100 – 120 words.
(2 x 6 = 12)
1. Describe in brief, the adventures of Toto, the monkey.
2. Difficult situations mark the development of certain qualities in us. Explain with
reference to the story, ‘The Lost Child’.
3. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this
happen?