DWARKA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
SECTOR-12, DWARKA, NEW DELHI
CLASS-VIII, ENGLISH
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT- II
(SAMPLE PAPER)
General Instructions
 The question paper is divided into three sections.
 All questions are compulsory.
 The marks have been assigned against each question.
 The handwriting should be neat and clear
Section A: Reading
Section B: Writing and Grammar
Section C: Literature
Section D: OTBA
M.M.90
Time- 3 ½ hrs
25 Marks
30 Marks
25 Marks
10 Marks
SECTION-A (READING)
Q.1. Read the given passage carefully:
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
(10)
The great wall is the world`s longest human made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400
kilometers from Shenanigan in the east to Lopnur in the west. The Great Wall of China has been
very important in China through history. It was remodeledthrough many historical dynasties of
China for several different reasons. It was constructed for protection from northern invaders. The
Great wall began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not
become the `Great wall` until the Qin dynasty. After the unification of China in 221 BC, the first
emperor of Qin dynasty linked the walls of the three states in the north and formed the first Great
Wall.The Great Wall that can still be seen today was built during the Ming dynasty.
The Great Wall of China is made of granite blocks, stone and sometimes brick. The width of the
wall could fit five horse riders or ten foot soldiers walking shoulder to shoulder. One of the
highest points of the Great Wall is 10.5 meters tall. Spaced at regular intervals are the
watchtowers that appear every 90-180 meters. It is a tribute to engineering skills of its builders
that all the stone in this gigantic structure were perfect squares.
A. On the basis of your reading of your passage, complete the following sentences. (6)
1. The Great Wall of China that can still be seen today was built by........................................
2. The purpose of the Great Wall was.....................................................................................
3. The Great Wall is made up of..............................................................................................
4. The Great Wall is called so probably because of.................................................................
5.The most likely purpose of the watch towers was..............................................................
6.The Great Wall of China is unique in the sense of.........................................................
B.Find words from the passage which means similar to the following:
i). huge in size
(ii)to extend
(2)
3.Give the antonym of “independent”
(1)
4.Name two things that make the Great Wall an engineering marvel .
(1)
Q.2. Read the passage carefully.
(10)
CAN'T YOU CONSERVE A BUCKET OF WATER
Water is being used as if it is a never ending source.Obviously,we cannotdecide how much rain
we will get,nor can we predict to a good degree of accuracy when rain would occur.The only
thing we can do to save ourselves from the dangerous situation of ‘lack of water to drink while
we are thirsty’ is to conserve water.
Let us ask ourselves how much water is wasted when we brush when we brush our teeth due to
the nonstop flow from the tap.Water is wasted while washing clothes, cleaningdishes and
flushing the toilet.
Most of us know about these things but realizing it and taking remedial steps is crucial.We can
impart the message of conservation to our children in school so that the younger generation
today will become responsible citizens of tomorrow.
All of us can conserve at least a bucket of bucket of water every day by using the scarce resource
prudently.Please remember ,a bucket of water saved by every individual everyday in our country
of billion plus means enormous.
We may become richer if we have a lot of gold reserves, but we will die if we don’t have water.
In India, where agriculture is the primary occupation for many people, water conservation is a
must.
A. On the basis of your reading of your passage, complete the following sentences.(5)
1.Peopleuse water as if…………………………………………………………………………
2.The hazardous situation we may face in future is that…………………………………………
3.It is difficult to forecast the …………………………and the…………………..of rainfall.
4…………………………….. is the only solution to the crisis of water.
5.Water conservation is even more important for India as…………………………………………
B.Answer the following?
(3)
1.According to the author who should conserve water?
2.”But realizing it……………..”(paragraph 2).What ’It’ means in the paragraph?
3.The expression “these things”(paragraph 2)refers to?
C. Find words from the passage which means similar to the following:
(2)
i).preservation
(ii)severe
Q.2. Read the given poem carefully.
AS I AWAKE
All of my senses are met by the morning
As I awake breathing in a new day
Here by the window I opened last evening,
How the world changed while I drifted away.
Darkness is gone, though it seemed it would never;
Sunlight is smiling and nature survives.
I can believe that we all live forever
When I observe how the morning arrives.
Birds sing their concert and children are playing;
Flowers have scented the air and it’s free;
Life is renewed and it seems to be saying
There is a place in its promise for me.
There are some times in our lives when we savour
Being a part of a much larger plan.
Life is a feast and we each add a flavour;
I’ll make it better, believing I can.
1.What does the line ‘How the world changed while I drifted away’ mean?
a)There is difference between evening world and morning world
(b)The world has undergone change since last evening
(c)The world changed as it is still dark
(d)While he slept the world transformed into a paradise
2.What does the line ‘Sunlight is smiling and nature survives’ mean?
(a)The darkness is no longer there (b) Sun is shining brightly and there is scorching heat
(c) It is a happy new day again
(d) Nature is thriving as it is rainy
3.How does the poet feel in the morning?
(a) Lost in his own feelings
(b) Burdened
(c) Rejuvenating
(d) Sad on the passing of the night
4.How does the poet hope to make his life better?
(a) By being the part of the larger plan
(b) By believing he can make it better
(c) By seeing children playing and birds singing (d) by seeing flowers blooming
5.Which word in the above poem means ‘take pleasure in’?
(a) Survive
(b) scented
(c) Savour
(d) feast
SECTION B (WRITING AND GRAMMAR)
Q.4 Write an article in about 100- 150 words for your school magazine on the topic ’Why I
needto Read Newspapers Daily’
OR
Your school has announced elections for the Junior Students House Council. You have filed
your nomination. Before the voting is done you are asked to give a speech in the morning
assembly giving reasons why you should be selected as the captain of the school. Write your
speech in not more than 150 words.
(5)
Q.5. Your School is organizing a seven-day excursion for classes VI, VII, and VIII to Shimla
during the summer vacation. As a Cultural Secretary of the School draft a notice inviting names
from the interested students and mention that they can submit their names to their respective
House Captains before a certain date.
OR
It is your final Science practical examination but you have forgotten your science practical
notebook at home.Write a message for your mother in about 50 words asking her to send the
notebook through the driver to the school reception. You need the notebook immediately after
recess.You should include the following points in your message.
Which notebook to send
Where it is lying
How to send
By what time
To whom to give
How urgent it is
(3)
Q.6. Imagine you an astronaut and you are travelling in a spaceship.Write a diary entry and
record all that you see in space, your experiences ,thoughts about your family, the view of earth
from space.
(4)
Q.7.Suppose you are Vineet,the Staff Correspondent of the Hindustan Times.You have been
asked to cover an accident in which a person was run over by a Metro train at the Kashmere Gate
Metro station.Write your report in 150 words.
In your report you should describei)Where and how the accident took place,
ii) which train was involved
ii)How the man died,
iv)when the police arrived on the scene
iii)If it was a case of suicide,
and what they did
v)Whether any grant and/or enquiry has been announced
OR
Suppose you are away on a school tour.Write an email to your mother /father describing
i)how your tour is going on
iii)whether you miss your parents
v)what shopping you ‘ve done
ii)what the next day’s programme is
iv)what you have seen /experienced
Q.8 Rearrange the words and phrases to form meaningful sentences.
1.is the healthiest/of all/swimming probably/general sports
2.lungs and muscles/it trains heart,/equal extent/to an
3.strain on/there is/and spine/bones,joints/very little
4.than in grief/and for longer periods/it's better/hectic bursts/toswim slowly
(4)
(4)
Q.9. Complete the following gaps with suitable connectors from the given options. (2)
Smita had very high temperature last night (a) _____________( but \ still \ while ) she responded to medicines and
recovered enough to sit for her examination this morning. (b) _____________(Though \ However \ Despite ) it is
doubtful if she will be able to attend the marriage of her friend Anita. (c) _________ (Yet \ Whereas\ In spite of )
all her friends will be expecting her.(d) ______________ ( As \ Although \ Since) her doctor advised her to rest,
Smita decided to spend a little time with Anita despite her exhaustion.
Q.10.The following passage is not edited.There is an error in each of the line against which
a blank is given. Write the incorrect word and the correct word.
(4)
Youth is not a time in life, it is
a)_______
A state for mind, it is not a matter by rosy cheeks
b)_______
red lips and supple knees, it is a matter of the
c)_______
of the will, of taking interest at the things of life
d) _______
Youth means the predominance of adventure on the
e)________
Love of case. This often exists into a man of
f) ________
Sixty more than at a boy of twenty.Nobody
g) ________
Grows old merely from a number of years.
h) ________
Q.11.Read the following conversations and then report what was said by completing the
following passage.
(4)
Reporter
Vikram
Reporter
Vikram
Reporter
: Congratulations!
:Thanks.Sir.
: You have made your school very proud.Can you tell me something about your
achievement?
: I was given a chance to play and I scored a century in the first match.
: That’s wonderful.
A reporter interviewed Vikram who was given a chance to play RanjiTrophy.The reporter (a)….
……………on his success.Vikram thanked him courteously. The reporter told him (b)…………
and asked (c)……………………… achievement.Vikram replied (d)…………………..a century
in the first match. The reporter called it a wonderful achievement.
SECTION C (LITERATURE)
Q.12. Read the extracts and attempt any two-
(3x2)
a. “Then Nick returned with his present and Mother sat back on her heels, staring
unbelievingly at the gift. Her face went pale with disappointed as she looked as she looked
at the new scrubbing pail with the wringer and fresh mop in it”
i)What was the mother’s first reaction on seeing her Mother’s Day gift?
ii)What do you think she would have preferred ?
iii)Name the chapter and the author?
b. “He quickly jumped out of bed and went into his mechanized dressing room.Two
minutes later,without needing the help of a valet, the machine deposited
him,washed,shaved,shod,dressed and buttoned from top to toe on the threshold of his
office.”
i) Who is‘he’ referred to?
ii)Name the chapter and the author?
iii)Give the meanings of i) shod
ii)threshold
c. “See’st not in our prisons our revered leaders, Our Samsons at the mills suffering
torments?”
i)Name the poem and the poet?
ii) What do you mean by ‘Samsons’?
iii)How does the poet describe the suffering of the leaders of the freedom struggle?
Q.13. Give the meanings of any four of the following words.
i)odour
ii) mace
iii)loony
iv) elude
Q.14.Give the meanings of any two of the following idioms\phrases :
(3 )
(2)
(i)Roll up your sleeves
ii)let bygones be bygones
iii)at snail’s pace
Q.15. Answer the following questions briefly.
(2x5)
1.Why did the narrator decide not to give his mother a gift?
2.How is advertising in this age different from what we have today?
3.How does the poet describe the suffering of the youth?
4. “Only six runs needed for victory. Ranji decided to do it in style……………….”.What does
this mean? Do you think this was the reason why the match could not be completed?
5.What are the different qualities of mercy that Portia talks about? Do they have any effect on
Shylock?
Q.16. Answer any one in about 100 words.
(4)
1.The writer describes many inventions in an imaginary future. Some of these may also have
their drawbacks. Can you identify one technological advancement of the present day which also
has a negative side?
OR
One regret that Gandhi felt in later years was that he neglected his handwriting .Can you identify
one regret that you have about something that you neglected in your earlier years? Is there
something you could still do about it?
SECTION D (OPEN TEXT BOOK ASSESSMENT)
1. I was in Hyderabad giving a lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I
asked her what her goal in life is: She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you
and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim: India is not an underdeveloped nation; it is highly developed nation.
2. Allow me to come back with vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? YOU say that our
government is inefficient. YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the municipality
does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that the phones don’t work, the railways are a joke, the
airline is the worst in the world and mails never reach their destination. YOU say that our
country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say.
3. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name-YOURS.
Give him a face-YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In
Singapore you don’t throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of
their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road
(equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5PM and 8PM.
4. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a
restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don’t say
anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn’t dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU
would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an
employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs. 650) a month to , “ see to it
that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.” YOU would dare to speed beyond 55
mph (88 kph) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, “Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do
you know who I am?). I am so and so’s son. Take your two bucks and get lost. “YOU wouldn’t
chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia
and New Zealand. Why don’t YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t YOU use
examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU.
5. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your
own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian
ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country why cannot you
be the same here in India? Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of
Bombay Mr. Tinaikar had a point to make. “Rich people’s dogs are walked on the streets to
leave their affluent droppings all over the place,” he said. “ And then the same people turn
around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do you
expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his
bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in
Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?” He’s right.
6. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back
wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our
contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to
stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of
paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not
going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the
best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This
applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to
burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud
drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? “It’s the whole
system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son’s right to a dowry.” So
who’s going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it
consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU.
7. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves
along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and
wait for a Mr Clean to come along and work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand.
Or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to
America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we
run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the
Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demanded to be rescued and brought home by the Indian
government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the
system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
8. Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and
pricks one’s conscience too…. I am echoing J.F. Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to
relate to Indians….
9. “ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO
MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE
TODAY”
10. Let’s do what India needs from us.
On the basis of your understanding, answer the following questions in detail. (2x5)
1. Our attitude towards elections and social issues cannot be considered praiseworthy. Comment
on the statement with reference to the passage.
2. India needs its citizens to change their mind-set. As a good citizen of India, how would you
change your mind-set and create awareness?