Beaconhouse School System 11

2nd Assessment – November 2021

NAME:

CLASS/
SECTION: DATE:

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English Language 1123 Time: 40 mins
Max. Marks: 25

Reading for Meaning

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your name, class/section and date in the spaces at the top of this page.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.

You may lose marks if you do not show your working or if you do not use appropriate units.
At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

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This document consists of 06 printed pages

Beaconhouse School System

[Turn over]
English Language 1123

Reading for meaning-The Lottery

Read the passage and answer all the questions below.

The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the
flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village
began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some
towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 2th
but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less
than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow
the villagers to get home for noon dinner.
7

The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling
of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before
they broke into boisterous play and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books
and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys
soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones
and Dickie Delacroix-- the villagers pronounced this name "Dellacroy"--eventually made a great
pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. The
girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at rolled in the dust or
clung to the hands of their older brothers or sisters.
16

Soon the men began to gather surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors
and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were
quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and
sweaters, came shortly after their men folk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of
gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to
call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times.
Bobby Martin ducked under his mother's grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of
stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his
father and his oldest brother.
25

The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by
Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial
man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him because he had no children and
his wife was a scold. When he arrived in the square, carrying the black wooden box, there was a
murmur of conversation among the villagers, and he waved and called. "Little late today, folks."
The postmaster, Mr. Graves, pursued him, carrying a three- legged stool, and the stool was put in
the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their
distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool and when Mr. Summers said, "Some
of you fellows want to give me a hand?" there was a hesitation before two men. Mr. Martin and his
oldest son, Baxter. came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up
the papers inside it.
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English Language 1123

The original equipment for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the
stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr.
Summers spoke recurrently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset
even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. There was a story that the present
box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been
constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here. Every year, after the lottery,
Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to
fade off without anything's being done.
44

From Paragraph 1

1. (a) How is the morning described by the author?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..[1]

(b) Why did the lottery take lesser time in village as compared to other towns?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….[1]
From Paragraph 2

2. (a) ‘The children assembled first of course.’ What were children tempted to do?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….[1]

(b) Pick out and write down three words phrase from the passage which shows that the
girls were unlike boys in the square.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..[1]

From Paragraph 3

3. (a) What does author mean by ‘surveying their own children’?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………….......[1]

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English Language 1123

(b) Which line in the paragraph reinforces the idea that the people gathered in the square
were typical villagers?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….[1]

(c) Describe any two programs held in the lottery. What was the purpose?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….[2]

From Paragraph 4

4. (a) What phrase indicated that Mr. Summers caught everybody’s attention when he arrived
in the square?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….[1]

(b) Why were villagers sorry for Mr. Summers?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..[1]

(c) In your view, why did the villagers maintain the distance between themselves and the
stool?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………….................[2]

From Paragraph 5

5. (a) Give two reasons stating the importance of the black box.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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English Language 1123

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….[2]

(b) In your opinion, tell about the villagers’ emotional attachment with the black box.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………[2]

From the whole passage

For each of the words or phrases below, circle the letter (A, B, C or D) which has the same
meaning that the word phrase has in the passage. [5]

1. profusely (line 2)

a. satisfactorily b. abundantly c. handsomely d. liberally

2. boisterous (line 10)

a. noisy b. vulgar c. harsh d. rowdy

3. reluctantly (line 22)

a. carefully b. cautiously c. hesitantly d. safely

4. Perused (line 31)

a. followed b. enforced c. took up d. responded

5. recurrently (line 39)

a. usually b. frequently c. generally d. unchangingly

Re-read passage, which contain phrases that tell us about the behaviour or feelings of the
villagers towards the lottery.

Explain:
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English Language 1123

● the meaning of the phrases as they are used in the passage

● the effect of the phrases as they are used in the passage

(a) “School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of
them,” (line 8)

Meaning:……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Effect:………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….[2]

(b) “they smiled rather than laughed” (line 19)

Meaning:………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Effect:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………[2]

Total Marks: 25

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