DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL PATIALA

Holiday Home Work

ENGLISH
CLASS-X Work Sheet -1

Q1. Read the passages carefully:

500-YEAR HISTORY OF NET'S SPECIAL SIGN
1. The Ubiquitous symbol of the Internet era communications, the @sign used in e-mail addresses, is
actually a 500-year-old invention of Italian merchants, an Italian academic has revealed.
2. Giorgio Stabile, a professor of the history of science at La Sapienza University, Rome, claims to have
stumbled on the earliest known example of the symbol's use, as an indication of a measure of weight
or volume. He said the @ sign represented an amphora, a measure of capacity based on the
terracotta jars used to transport grain and liquid in the ancient Mediterranean world.
3. The first known instance of its use, he said, occurred in a letter written by a Florentine merchant on
May 4, 1536. Sent from Seville to Rome by a trader called Francesco Lapi, the document describes the
arrival in Spain of three ships bearing treasure from Latin America. "There, an amphora of wine,
which is 1/13th of a barrel, is worth 70 or 80 ducats, "Lapi said, representing the amphora with the
now familiar symbol of an "@"wraped in its own tail.
4. The Spanish word for the @ sign, arroba, also indicates a weight or measure, which was equivalent,
at the end of the 16th century, to 11.3kg(25 pounds) or 27.2 liters (six gallons).
5. "Until now no one knew that the @ sign was derived from this symbol, which was developed by
Italian traders in a mercantile script they created between the middle ages and the renaissane,
"ProfStabile said. "The loop around the '@' is typical of that merchant script."
6. The professor unearthed the ancient symbol in the course of research for a visual history of the 20 th
century, to be published by the Treccani Encyclopedia. He said the sign, known to modern Italian
cybernauts as la chicciola (the snail) because of its queer shape, had made its way along trade routes
to northern Europe where it took on its contemporary accountancy meaning: "at the price of".
7. Having hopped on to English typewriter keyboards in the early 20th century, it was selected as a rarely
used symbol to separate user names from domain addresses by the American internet engineer Ray
Tomlinson.
8. Prof Stabile believes that Italian banks may possess even earlier documents bearing the symbol lying
forgotten in their achieves. "The oldest example could be of great value. It could be used for publicity
purpose and to enhance the prestige of the institution that owned it, "he said.
9. Internet6 users of various tongues have adopted metaphors (special descriptive expressions) ranging
from elephant's trunk to a monkey's tail and even a cinnamon roll to describe the now ubiquitous
squiggle.

a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any eight of the following questions.
b) Who discovered that sign '@' is actually a 500-year-old Italian invention? How?
c) Who was the first known user of the sign '@'? what did he use it for?
d) What did 'amphora' and 'arroba' represent?
e) Why do you think Italian'cybernauts' have nicknamed the symbol '@' as 'la chicciola'?
f) Where did the symbol '@' take on its accounting meaning?
g) For what purpose did Ray Tomlinson use the sign '@'? for what purpose did Ray Tomlinson use the
sign '@'?
h) How could discovering the oldest example of the sign '@' be of great value to an institution?
i) List any two metaphors that are used in various tongues for the '@' sign.
j) Which word in Paragraphs 1-2 of the passage conveys the meaning "present or found everywhere"?

2. Read the following passage carefully.

HAVE YOUR LUXURIES, BUT SPARE A THOUGHT FOR TH ENVIRONMENT
 1. Let us admit it. We love extravagance. Unless we have religious reasons to stay away from
something or the other, we just have to have everything. Let us just admit it; we are not the
Mahatma. That requires an extraordinary strength of mind, and more than a little madness in the
blood. How many of us can boast of these characteristics?
2. But we all would like to see a green world, a clean world, one where you see natural beauty
everywhere you turn, where breathing is healthy and pleasing thing to do, rather than a necessity
you would avoid if you could!
3. So how do we achieve both? By being aware, of course! You want to buy that incredibly swanky car
that people will stare at every time you take it out? Go ahead, then, but it. But also include walking
in your routine. Sure, If you want to zip on the highway, that care makes perfect sense. Sure, if you
want to show off to your gym buddies, take it there. But not to the grocery store, please! Why don't
you walk instead? In fact, why don't you chart a mental map? Walk to all those places that are 10-
15 minute walk from your house. When you go shopping, try parking your car five minutes away
from the mall and walk. Saves that much petrol, and stoops that much pollution. Five minutes can't
kill you.
4. Tool cool to carry your own cloth bag to the grocery store? Ok, don't. But you can at least make
sure they put everything in one or two bags rather than using too many bags, can't you? I am sure
that is not much of a sacrifice. But it saves that much of plastic.
5. Can't be bothered to turn off all lights and fans (sorry, air conditioner) when you are not using
them? All right, don't. can you turn one light off? By turning off that one light, you save that much
energy. Just a pinch, maybe, but saving that pinch is better than wasting that pinch, don't you think
so?
6. Oh yes, go ahead and spend all the money you have on al the luxuries you can buy. Just make sure
that you save where ever you can. That is all you need to do. So stop feeling guilty about all the
harm you are causing society, and get involved in some planet-saving activity. The smallest gesture
makes a difference and the word is 'awareness'.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in about
30-40 words each.
a. What Characteristics' does the author refer to in the first paragraph? Why does he believe most of
'us' do not have these qualities?
b. "so how do we achieve both?" (Paragraph 3). What does the word 'both' here refer to?
c. What advice does the author give on the use of car?
d. How can people become responsible shopers and consumers of electricity?
e. How do most people feel about the harm they are causing to society? What would the author like
them to do instead?
2.2 Complete any two of the following statements briefly.
Except for religious reasons, people generally …………………
a. "That is all you need to do " (paragraph 6). Here 'that' refer to …………….
b. According to the last paragraph, the key factor in any environment protection activity is …….

2.3 Find words in the passage that mean the same as the following. Attempt any two.
a. excessive or wasteful spending (Paragraph 1)
b. expensive and showy/stylish (Paragraph 3)
c. move at high speed (Paragraph 3)

SECTION B-WRITING & GRAMMAR

3. Write a short story in about 200-250 words with any one set of the cues given in the boxes below
give a suitable title to the story.
Jasmine, Ali and two other friends decided to go on a picnic to a beach. They packed their bags and
were quite excited. They reached the picnic spot and came across a small child who was crying…….
 Or
On October 3, we all were decorating our house to celebrate the most long awaited festival, Diwali.
My heart was filled with excitement to meet my father after a long gap of six years. But a call from
the army head quarter left us stunned………….

5. Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks with one word each.

(a) ............... Ladakh Festival is a major event organised (b) ................. year by the J & K Tourism
Department in collaboration (c) .................. the local communities and the district administration of
Leh (d) ..................... Kargil. For the tourists, the festivals is (e) ..................... unique opportunity to
witness the lifestyle and culture of people, (f) ...............jave lived for ages on the crossroads (g)
.................. the Asian subcontinent. The festival (h) ................ started in 1983 is a two-week state-
level event.

6. The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each of the line agaisnt which a
blank is given. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the correct
blank number.
India has the highest rate on (a) ..............................................
death cause by chronic respiratory (b) ..............................................
diseases everywhere in the world. (c) ..............................................
The study have found that 99.5% (d) ..............................................
of India 1.2 billion people are (e) ..............................................
breathing on pollution levels (f) ..............................................
above the safety norms prescribe (g) ..............................................
by an World Health Organisation (h) ..............................................

7. Rearrange any four of the following words clusters to make meaningful sentences.

(a) rain water/flooding/helps/harvesting/in/chances of/reducing

(b) storm/helps/also/better/water/it/water management/in
(c) plant growth/in/storing/rain water/can/help/improving
(d) is/form/stored/natural and/pollutants/rain water/ free/man-made
(e) out/the/street/earthquake/another/on/people/came/fearing
 Worksheet II

1. Read the following passage carefully

1. Legends will tell you that flamingos are no ordinary visitors to Kutch. They were the honoured
guests of King Lakho and he had forbidden the hunting of flamingos, which came to Kutch from
various parts of the world every year to breed. For centuries, the region had been a haven for
the migratory bird. Today Flamingo City, an island in the middle of the Rann of Kutch, known
the world over as one of the biggest breeding grounds of the Greater Flamingo, is strewn with
bodies of hundreds of flamingo chicks. The parents of these chicks have fled the island due to
lack of food. Zooplanktons, algae and the small fish that these birds survive on, are dying due
to a sudden increase in the salinity of the Rann waters. One can even see the dead fish
floating.
2. Flamingos need salt-encrusted, damp mud to build nests. The place where they build their
nests has to predatory cats and birds. It should also have sufficient food. The right mix of sweet
and brackish water in the Rann is crucial for the proliferation of planktons and algae that the
flamingos feed on. Faced with starvation, flamingos have fled the island leaving their chicks to
fend for themselves. Till date be inaccessible to around a thousand flamingos have died.
3. Maharaja Kumarshi Himmat Singhji, a member of the royal family of Kutch and an expert on
the birds of kutch, traces the problem of increased salinity in the Rann waters to the
construction of dams on rivers that flow into the region. He emphasizes that an effort should be
made to ensure that at least some water flows into the Rann. In fact over the years, the
number of flamingo coming to the island has decreased because of the change in salinity of
the Rann water. In 1945, Salim Ali, the late ornithologist, had found 5 lakh birds on the island.
Since then, the number has not gone above 2.2 lakh. However, the studies carried that it is
simply not possible to visit the place every year. Says Himmat Singhji, 'The ringing of flamingos
is mandatory to conduct accurate and long-term studies on the bird: Unfortunately, ever since
Flamingo is mandatory to conduct accurate and long-term studies on the bird.' Unfortunately,
ever since Flamingo city was discovered in 1893, not a single bird has been ringed. No wander
questions like from where these birds migrate every year, remain only partially answered.

On the basis of your reading, answer the questions briefly.

a) Why is Kutch referred to as a haven for the flamingos?
b) Where is the Flamingo City?
c) Give one necessary condition for the flamingos to build their nests
d) What is the reason for the death of the flora and fauna in the Rann waters?
e) Why has the salinity in the Rann waters increased?
f) Why do ornithologists find it difficult to conduct regular studies
g) What is mandatory to conduct long-term studies on the bird?
h) When was the Flamingo City discovered?

2. Read the following passage carefully.

Dad's Blessings

1. A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months, he had
admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well
afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young
man awaited thinking that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his
graduation, his father called him into his private study. The young man was confused and
 curious. He went to his father's study. He was sitting there quietly, waiting for him. His
father looked at him. He was looking pleased and satisfied, The son was feeling ecstatic as
he was expecting his father to gift him the sports car on his Graduation Day.
2. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he
loved him, He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box, Curious, but somewhat
disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with
the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said,
'With all your money, you give me a Bible?' and stormed out of the house, leaving the
Bible. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business He had a
beautiful home and a wonderful family. He also realised his father was very old, and
thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since the Graduation Day,
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram informing him that his father
had passed away and had willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come
home immediately and take care of things.
3. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and reverence filled his heart. He
began to search through his father's important papers and saw the same Bible, still new,
just as he had left it years ago, with tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the
pages. And as he did, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible, It had a tag with the
dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired, On the tag was the
date of his graduation, and the words 'PAID IN FULL'.
4. How many times do we miss Spirit's blessing and answers to our prayers because they do
not arrive exactly as we have expected?

Answer these questions on the basis of your reading of the passage.

a. What did the young man want from his father?
b. Why did his father call the young man in his private study?
c. What was the reaction of the young man after seeing the present?
d. What did the young man realise after many years?

I. Pick out words or phrases from the passage which mean the same as the following
words.
a. very happy (para 1) ………………………
b. raised design (para 2)………………………
c. great respect or admiration (para 3) ……………………….

3. Fill in the blanks choosing the most appropriate words from the given options
Water is essential for our survival. Drinking enough water during the day (a)……………………. one
to stay healthy. It is advisable to drink clean water through the day to keep illnesses at bay. Many
people (b)……………... this and often (c)…………………problems. Its scarcity (d)…………….. the
body adversely.
a. i. helped ii. help iii. helps iv. has helped
b. i. know ii. do not know iii. knows iv. does not know
c i. has ii. had iii. have iv. will have had
d. i. affected ii. affects iii. affect iv. has been affected
4. In the given passage, one word has been omitted in each line, write the missing word along
with the words before and after against the correct blank number.
5. Most of us are familiar with it Before Word After
that silk derived from the cocoons of a) …………. ………….. ………
mulberry silkworms. However, insects b) …………… ………….. ………
 like spiders, beetles and fleas produce silk. c) ………….. ………….. ………
Silk is mass produced by silkworms are d) …………… ………….. ………
reared to produce white silk

6. Rearrange the following words/phrases to form meaningful sentences

7. a. to carry/are/cheap and/polythene bags/easy
8. b. seen throwing/the polythene bags/the people are/away/on streets.
9. c. the polythene bags/lead to/of diseases/the poor/the spread/disposal of.
10.

11.
d. each year/thousands of/swallowing discarded/street animals/die after
7. Read any good book and write a critical appreciation of the same.
8. Make a list of ten good things you have done during the holidays.