EICHER SCHOOL FARIDABAD

MIDTERM EXAMINATION [2021-22]

CLASS- VIII TIME – 11/2 hours
SUBJECT - English M.M – 40

General Instructions:
1. All questions are compulsory.
2. The question paper consists of twelve questions divided into sections A and B.
3. There is no overall choice in this question paper. However, internal choices may be there.
4. The answers must be written in legible handwriting, neatly scanned and shared as one single
file on ERP.
5. The file must be named as: name of the student/class and section/roll no.

SECTION-A
1 Read the following passage carefully.
When siblings Julian, Dick and Anne cannot go for their usual summer holiday to Polzeath,
they are invited to spend the summer with their Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin at their home
Kirrin Cottage, in the coastal village of Kirrin. They also meet their cousin Georgina, a surly,
difficult girl, who tries hard to live like a boy and only answers to the name George. Despite an
uncomfortable start, the cousins become firm friends and George introduces them to her
beloved dog Timothy (Timmy), who secretly lives with the fisher boy, Alf, in the village as
George's parents will not allow her to keep Timmy.
On their way to Kirrin Island,
George shows her cousins a
shipwreck, explaining it was her
great-great-great grandfather's ship.
He had been transporting gold when
the ship was wrecked in a storm, but
despite divers investigating the
wreck, the gold was never found.
After visiting the wreck, the five
arrive on the island and are
exploring the ruined castle when a
huge storm blows up, making it too
dangerous for them to return to the
mainland. While they take shelter on
the island, the sea throws up the old shipwreck, grounding it on the rocks surrounding the
island. Excited by these developments, they decide to come back at dawn the next day to
investigate the wreck before it is discovered.
The following day, the five visit the wreck and discover the captain's cabin, where they find
some objects belonging to George's great-great-great-grandfather, including an old box which
they take back to Kirrin Cottage. The box proves difficult to open, so they throw it from the
highest window of the house. The box breaks open, but the noise disturbs Uncle Quentin who
confiscates the box. Not willing to give up their quest, Julian sneaks into Uncle Quentin's study
and takes the box, which contains an old map of Kirrin Castle.
Based on your reading of the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the correct
options:
a. Which of the characteristics can be best used to describe George? 1
1. stubborn
2. dainty
3. unfriendly and rude
4. daring
5. beautiful
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 i. 1 and 3
ii. 2 and 5
iii. 2 and 4
iv. 3 and 5
b. Timothy cannot stay with George because of her parents ______________ towards animals. 1
i. repulsion iii. weird behaviour
ii. close affinity iv. inclination
c. Pick out the incorrect statement from the following: 1
i. The ship had been carrying gold when it was wrecked in the storm.
ii. The divers investigating the wreck tried their best to find the gold but in vain.
iii. The five had just finished exploring the ruined castle when the storm blew up.
iv. The children decided to return next day early morning to investigate the wreck.
d. Julian enters Uncle Quentin’s study very quietly to take the box because __________. 1
i. he loves collecting old boxes
ii. he wants to show that he is not scared of anything
iii. it contains the map of Kirrin Castle
iv. he doesn’t want others to enter the study
e. Which of the following is a synonym for ‘confiscates’? 1
i. yields
ii. seizes
iii. surrenders
iv. relinquishes

2 Read the poem carefully.

I SAID A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY
I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard--
I felt the answer in my heart
Although he spoke no word!

I didn’t ask for wealth or fame

(I knew you wouldn’t mind)--
I asked him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind!

I asked that He’d be near you

At the start of each new day
To grant you health, happiness
And friends to share your way!

I asked for blessings for you

In all things great and small—
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all!

Choose the correct option.

a. What does the poet pray for in the above poem? 1
i. luxuries of life
ii. materialistic things
iii. health and blessings
iv. treasures and wealth
b. Why does the poet not ask for wealth or fame? 1
i. He doesn’t like to be famous or wealthy.
ii. He doesn’t ask because God never spoke a word.

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 iii. He is extremely rich and famous already.
iv. He thinks these things are not important.
c. What do you understand by ‘treasures of a far more lasting kind’? 1
i. lot of money in the bank account
ii. palatial bungalow and an expensive car
iii. designer dresses and foreign trips
iv. happiness and family support
d. Identify the figure of speech used in the 11th line of the poem. 1
i. Personification
ii. Simile
iii. Metaphor
iv. Alliteration
e. What is the rhyme scheme of the above poem? 1
i. abcb ii. aabb iii. abba iv. abab

3 Choose the correct options to complete the given sentences.

a. _______ a few minutes, the firemen managed to prevent the fire______ developing into
a major disaster. 1
i. By………...in ii. Within………...from
iii. From………. but iv. Till……… to
b. The _____ and the foremost rule of self-study is to devote as _____ time as possible to
the study of text books. 1
i. one…….. more ii. first…… much
iii. another……..few iv. most……little
c. I ___________letters since morning today and ______ very tired now. 1
i. have written……. are ii. will write …… feel
iii. have been writing…….am iv. has been writing…...is

4 Identify the word which has been wrongly used in the given sentences:
a. Tests and examination are not confined to school alone. 1
i. and ii. examination iii. confined iv. to
b. The chocolate melted although the freezer was not working. 1
i. melted ii. although iii. was iv. working

5 Read the extract and answer the following questions:

‘There seemed an inevitability
About what on ground had looked haphazard,
Unplanned and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky.’
a. Who is the poet of the poem “Geography Lesson”? 1
i. Zulfikar Ghose
ii. Zulfikar Sengupta
iii. Ruskin Bond
iv. Roald Dahl
b. “There seemed an inevitability about what on ground had looked haphazard”. What do
you mean by the word “haphazard”? 1
i. that cannot be avoided
ii. that can be avoided
iii. without plan or order
iv. with plan or order

6 Read the extract and answer the following questions:

‘Bepin Babu slammed the receiver down and gripped his head with his hands. He felt his head
swimming. A chill seemed to spread over his body. There were sandwiches in his tiffin box, but
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 he didn’t eat them. He had lost his appetite.’
a. Bepin Babu’s telephone to Mr Mukerji ______ . 1
i. added to his worries
ii. comforted him
iii. made him angry
iv. made him change his opinion about Mr Mukerji
b. Bepin Babu returned early from his office because _______ . 1
i. he had fallen ill
ii. Mukerji’s conversation had disturbed him
iii. he had gone mad
iv. he had a guest at home
c. Chuni Lal came to visit Bepin Babu again and again because ______ . 1
i. he was his old friend
ii. it was his custom
iii. he wanted to borrow some money
iv. he wanted him to help him get a job

SECTION-B
7 Attempt any one of the following:
a. Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper complaining about the bad condition of roads
in your society. You are Anuj Sharma / Anuja Sharma living in B-10, Pamposh
Enclave, New Delhi. (Clues: people face problems—riding two-wheelers very risky---
pot holes----water gets collected---breeding place for mosquitoes---leads to accidents—
very dangerous to walk in the night) 5
b. You had been asked to create individual folders with your name and upload all
assignments in the link shared. You completed the entire work and submitted. However,
next day you came to know that your folder had been deleted by one of your classmates.
You are feeling very upset due to this. Create a dialogue in FOUR SETS between you
and your mother as you try to explain to her the reason of not submitting the work in
time. 5
You : Mom, I need to share something with you regarding my assignments.
Mother: Yes dear, I hope you are studying properly and there are no complaints.

8 Rearrange the following words to make meaningful sentences:

a. have / school days / I / my / beautiful / of / memories / in Lucknow / some 1
b. now and / touch / most of / I am / them / in / with / my / friends even / talk / to / often 1

9 Refer to the clues and fill in the blanks with the vocabulary words or phrases done in the class:
a. I could have lied to my mom but my ______ (moral sense of right and wrong) did not
allow me to do so. 1
b. The police hope that the _____________ will lead them to the mastermind of the crime.
(partner in crime) 1
c. The school building is _______________ to the shopping complex, so it is easy for the
children to buy gifts. (next to) 1

10 Read the extract and answer the following questions:

“How selfish I have been!” he said, “now I know why the spring would not come there. I will
put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my
garden shall be the children’s playground for ever and ever.”
a. Who said these words and to whom? 1
b. Why does the speaker call himself selfish? 1
c. Find words in the extract which mean the same as ‘break’. 1

11 Answer any two of the following questions in 30-40 words:

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 a. What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again? 2
b. What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behaviour? 2
c. What message does the poem ‘Geography Lesson’ convey? 2
d. What did the dogs in Galle do? 2

12 Answer any one of the following questions in 60-80 words:

a. Bepin Babu did not help his childhood friend Chuni and avoided meeting him. Do you
think Chuni did the right thing by playing a prank on Bepin Babu and teaching him a 3
lesson? Comment.
b. Princess September puts the bird in a golden cage and provides it all the comfort and
luxuries of life. Still the bird is unhappy. What do you understand by this? Express in your 3
own words.

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