Vikas Bharati Public School
Summative Assessment-II (2015-2016)
Class: VIII (SAMPLE PAPER)
Subject: English
Time: 3 hrs
M.M. 70
 Instructions: Read the questions carefully.
 All the questions are compulsory.
 Answer the questions as per the given section.
_______________________________________________________________________
Section – A (Reading)
A1.Read the poem carefully.
(15)
(8)
GOING FOR WATER
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if it still it ran;
Not loth to have excuse to go,
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.
We ran as if to meet the moon
That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds , without the breeze.
But once within the wood, we paused
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.
Each laid on other a staying hand
To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard , we knew we heard the brook.
A note as from a single place ,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls , and now a silver blade.
Robert Frost
A.1 Answer the following questions:
1
1.Complete the following statement:(1)
The poet had to go looking for water because___________________________
2.Tick the correct option.(1)
‘With laughter when she found us soon.’In this line , ‘she’ refers to the
a.poet’s friend b.poet’s sister
c.moon
3. What was the sound they heard in the hush?(1)
4.Antonym of reluctant and bare from the poem would be____________________________(2)
5.Did the poet mind going to the brook? Why? (2)
A2. Read the following passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
(7)
Philip Pullman is a children’s author who is best known for ‘His Dark Materials’- a trilogy that
follows the adventures of a feisty young girl as she travels to various worlds. He is in the news
again; this time for having rewritten fifty of the most popular tales compiled by the Grimm
brothers. The original compilation includes two hundred and ten tales and Pullman’s edition
celebrates the bicentennial of the publication of the first volume of Children’s and Household
Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
The principle that guides Pullman’s retelling of these tales is “How would I tell the story myself
if I’d heard it told by someone else and wanted to pass it on?” With this in mind Pullman’s book
titled Fairy Tales from the Brother’s Grimm, contains the retelling of fifty of his own favourite
stories. These include well known and much loved stories like ‘ Cinderella’, ‘Rumpelstiltskin’,
‘Rapunzel’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’ ,beside some lesser known tales .What makes this collection
really charming in the personal commentary that Pullman gives his readers. This commentary
goes back to the source of the tales before tracing the journey they have taken to reach their
present form. Pullman also offers readers sudden twists in the tales ,providing a personalized
approach to these all –time favourites. Pullman’s experiences as a teacher helped prepare him for
his task . He literally lured his students back to the Greek myths that they were bored of , by
narrating them as stories.
Does that mean that the unwary reader will find himself reading tales that bear little resemblance
to the original stories? Not at all, for Pullman manages to achieve the difficult balance of
offering a new insight into the original stories even as he stays true to the stories of the Grimm
brothers.
A2.1 Answer the following questions:
Q1.Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm compiled ___________ stories___________ years back.
(1)
Q2. “How would I tell the story myself if I’d heard it told by someone else and wanted to pass it
on? “What does this tell you about Philip Pullman?
(2)
Q3. What kind of stories have been included in the collection?
(2)
Q4.Write the précis of the passage .
(2)
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Section – B (Writing)
(15)
B1. “When health is absent , wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot be manifested, strength
cannot be exerted , wealth is useless, and reason is powerless.” Getting inspired from the quote
you decided to write an article. Give a suitable title to your article. (100-120 words) (6)
OR
You went on a five day camping trip to Rishikesh with your school. These five days were packed
with activities like rock climbing, river crossing, rafting, trekking etc. You are the reporter of
your school paper/journal. Write a report in not more than 100 words.
(6)
B2. ‘Tigers face extinction’, Draft an attractive poster in not more than 50 words highlighting the
danger of complete extinction of tigers in future.
(4)
OR
Write a non-classified advertisement for the opening of ‘Game Zone’ in Citi Mall, Rohini
,Delhi.
(4)
B3.Look at the pictures given here and frame a story based on it.(sequence can be rearranged)
(5)
Section – C (Grammar)
C1.Do as directed.
(20)
(9)
1.The girl who is sitting on the last bench is my sister .(State the clause )
2.They said’ “Alas! We have lost our way in the forest!”.(Change into indirect speech )
3.Take medicines at regular timings.(Change the voice)
4.He ______ (read) for two hours. (Use present perfect continuous tense)
5.He has ________ knowledge on the subject.(little/a little /the little)
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6.He borrowed the compass _____________ he could complete the diagram.(Use conjunction)
7.He is _______ MP from Indore.(use appropriate article)
8.They ________________ have to be blamed.(use emphatic pronoun).
9.When Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in Olympics it was a(historical/historic) moment for
Indians.(choose the correct word from the bracket)
C1. Edit the following paragraph:
(4)
Dharamshala is the principal township set in the background of the
Dhauladhar mountains. Pine forests covers the hillsides and
numerous streams cut a path from them allowing for exciting
opportunities for fishing. Here is a hill resort who is
marvelously alive, yet so contemplative , when the Dalai Lama , the
leader of the Buddhist faith, had made it his residence.
Dharamshala has lately grown in the nature for a twin
Settlement –Lower Dharamshala or Upper Dharamshala.
It is still grow into a bigger city of Himachal Pradesh.
a_____________
b_____________
c_____________
d_____________
e_____________
f______________
g______________
h______________
C2. Rearrange the words and phrases into meaningful sentences:
(3)
(a) Six puppies /to/had/the friend’s/ given/birth/dog
(b) one white puppy / she said / the litter /Sita saw / as soon as /we / will take
(c) the/of / plight / Tanzanians/would /like/know/the /you/about/to
C3. Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions:
(4)
One of the i______important automobile inventions ii_____ the pneumatic tyre. In this tyre the
rim iii._______ ride on solid rubber, iv______ on a bed of air held v_____ the inner tube.This
tube is encased in the tyre and vi____ are mounted on a steel rim.This tyre gave the car a
smoother ride vii_______ even before , and the vehicle viii______ lift heavier loads.
Section D Literature (20)
D1.Answer the following questions in brief: (30-40 Words)
(2X2=4)
The boat has left a stormy land’
A stormy sea before her
In the above lines the word ‘stormy’ assumes different connotations. What are they?
1.
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2.Spider says , “But though you gain in some ways , in some other ways you lose; ” What does this
idiom mean?
D2.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow .
(5)
“By this the storm grew loud apace ,
The water –wraith was shrieking;
And in the scowl of heaven each face
Grew dark as they were speaking.”
1.Briefly explain the metaphor ‘water-wraith’.
(1)
2.Besides the above metaphor , which other literary device has been used in the stanza ?(2)
3.Who are ‘they’ in the stanza ?Why did their faces grow dark?
(2)
D3.Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
(3)
‘The Spider said good-morning , and pursued his way alone ,
And as he went he murmured , in a thoughtful undertone:
‘I’m a happy little Spider , and I’m very glad indeed,
That I was born an octoped and not a centipede!’
1 On the basis of your reading this stanza what can you say about the Spider ?
2 Write the rhyming scheme of the above stanza.
(2)
(1)
D4.What type of man was Hughie Erskin? Why did he fear an adverse reaction from
Baron?
(3)
D5.According to you in this world what ultimately wins – the value system that Laura’s
father believes or the cordial qualities that Hughie possesses?
(5)
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