CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 1

Sample Paper 11
Class X Exam 2023-24
English-Language and Literature (184)
Time Allowed : 3 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 80
General Instructions:
1. 15-minute prior reading time allotted for Q-paper reading.
2. The Question Paper contains THREE sections READING, GRAMMAR & WRITING and LITERATURE.
3. Attempt question based on specific instructions for each part.

SECTION A- READING SKILLS 20

I. Read the passage given below. 10

1. Located about 60 miles south of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, the ancient city of Babylon served for
nearly two millennia as a centre of Mesopotamian civilization.
2. One of its early rulers, Hammurabi, created a harsh system of laws, while in later times, the Babylonian
language would be used across the Middle East as a way of communicating across borders. Another
great accomplishment, if the ancient stories are true, is the construction of the Hanging Gardens, a
wonder of the ancient world, which some believe was built by the biblical king Nebuchadnezzar II.
3. The ancient scientists who lived in the city made important discoveries in mathematics, physics and
astronomy. Among their many accomplishments, they developed trigonometry, used mathematical
models to track the planet Jupiter and developed methods of tracking time that is still used today. Ancient
Babylonian records are still used by modern-day astronomers to study how the rotation of the Earth has
changed.
4. Archaeologically, little is known about the early history of Babylon. Ancient records suggest that more
than 4,000 years ago, at a time when the city of Ur was the centre of an empire, Babylon appears to have
been a provincial administration centre. “Babylon had not been an independent city,” writes researcher
Gwendolyn Leick in her book “The Babylonians”.
5. She notes that in 1894 B.C. after the Ur-based empire had collapsed, the city was conquered by a man
named Samu-abum. He was an Amorite, a Semitic-speaking people from the area around modern-day
Syria. He proceeded to turn Babylon into a petty kingdom made up of the city and a small amount of
nearby territory. Babylon would remain this way until, six kings later, a man named Hammurabi (1792-
1750 B.C.) ascended the throne. He was the ruler who would go on to turn this once small kingdom into
a great empire.
6. While the Law Code of Hammurabi (now in the Louvre) is well known for its “eye for an eye” style of
lawmaking, it also sets out the nature of the relationship between Hammurabi, the gods and the people
he ruled. Ultimately, Hammurabi’s empire was not to last, falling into decline after his., death. In 1595
B.C., the Hittite ruler Mursili I captured Babylon, bringing the rule of Hammurabi’s successors to a
close.

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Page 2 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
i. Choose the option that best captures the central idea of the passage from the given quotes.
(a) “Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.” — Mark Twain
(b) “The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was greatest before there was any
civilization.” — Sigmund Freud
(c) “The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is
spiritual”. — Muir
(d) “Each civilization dies from indifference to the unique values which created it.” — Davila

ii. Select the option that corresponds to the following relation below:
He was the ruler who would go on to turn this once small kingdom into a great empire.
(a) The government assisted in transforming micro scale industries into large scale industries.
(b) Some people think that it’s better to eat less than the appetite.
(c) The vase had a very small neck, and spread out at the top like a bowl.
(d) The little girl has a miniature garden in her house.

iii. Read the following sentences :

1. Hammurabi, created a harsh system of laws.
2. The Babylonian language would be used across the Middle East as a way of communicating across
borders.
3. The collapse of the Ur-based empire.
4. Babylon becomes a petty kingdom made up of the city and a small amount of nearby territory.
Which of the following options presents the correct order of the events?
(a) 1, 2, 3, 4 (b) 3, 1, 4, 2
(c) 3, 4, 1, 2 (d) 3, 2, 4, 1

iv. Complete the following with a phrase or an idiom from Paragraph 6 .

Opinion Reason
_______________ Someone should be harmed as they harmed someone else

v. The writer uses two contrasting words in the line- Ancient Babylonian records are still used by modern-
day astronomers to study how the rotation of the Earth has changed.
State one point of difference between ancient and modern.

vi. Based on your reading of the text, list 2 reasons why the writer says that: “The ancient scientists who lived
in the city made important discoveries”.
1. __________
2. __________

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 3

vii. The writer says, “ Babylon would remain this way until, six kings later, a man named Hammurabi (1792-
1750 B.C.) ascended the throne”.
Select the reason of change of Babylon after the throne was ascended by Hammurabi.
(a) He transformed a small kingdom into a great empire.
(b) He was a ruthless leader.
(c) He transformed a great empire into a small kingdom.
(d) He was a fighter.
viii. The writer says, “Samu-abum proceeded to turn Babylon into a petty kingdom...”
Why the writer said so?
ix. Supply 1 point to justify the following:
One of its early rulers, Hammurabi, created a harsh system of laws.
x. Choose the option that correctly states the two meanings of ‘close’, as used in the passage.
1. adjacent
2. imminent
3. near-at-hand
4. approaching
5. across the street
(a) 1 and 4 (b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 5 (d) 4 and 5
II. Read the passage given below. 10
1. Elephant babies like coconut oil. This discovery has saved the life of hundreds of orphaned, unweaned
elephants, left behind when their mothers were killed, victims of the ivory wars that have catastrophically
reduced elephants populations across Africa.
2. The discovery came after two decades of efforts by the renowned conservationist Daphne Sheldrick, who has
died aged 83. She devoted most of her life rescuing young elephants and releasing them back in to the wild.
3. When she first made attempts to keep the orphaned babies alive, often at one or two years old, with other
milk sources, they remained malnourished and faded into death. It was only after trying every combination
she could find that she hit on one baby milk formula from Europe, which contained coconut oil that seemed
to work. She and the elephants never looked back, and now more than 230 elephants in kenya, and many
others in Asia and other parts of Africa, are alive, and mostly in the wild, thanks to her hand-rearing.

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Page 4 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

4. Her work grew from her care of orphaned elephants foujd by her husband, David Sheldrick, chief warden
at the Tsavo National Park in Kenya in the 1960s. By the time her sanctuary was well-established, in
the late 70s and 80s, each elephant had its own stal, as otherwise they would disturb one another, was
bottle- fed every three hours, and was given blankets, raincoats and sunscreen as needed. A keeper slept
with each animal under a year old, alternating lest the babies grow too dependent.
5. Often, the elephants arrived traumatized, having experienced the lethal violence and cruelty of
poaching. It was crucial, in her view, to recognize their grief and help them to overcome it. “They
are emotionally human animals, she told journalists. “You have to think in human terms. How does a
child feel when it has lost its whole family and is suddenly in the hands of the enemy?
6. Throughout her life, Sheldrick championed the ability of elephants to communicate and their capacity
for feeling. Once, she recounted, a wrenched the tusks from a newly killed bull elephant and threw them
into the jungle, before the eyes of the poachers.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
i. Infer one reason for the following, based on information in Paragraph 4.
Each elephant had its own stall.

ii. Select the appropriate option to fill in the blank.

While referring to the emotional side of the elephants, Sheldrick said that _____.
(a) they are babies
(b) they are weak
(c) they are like human beings
(d) they are like women

iii. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from Paragraph 2:
critical : crucial :: _____ : eminent

iv. Which of the following oil is linked by elephant babies?

(a) Coconut oil (b) Palm oil
(c) Almond oil (d) Olive oil

v. Select the chart that appropriately represents the workload of the conservationist Daphne Sheldrick
through the given years, as per Paragraph 4.

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 5

(a) Option 1 (b) Option 2

(c) Option 3 (d) Option 4

vi. How was Daphne Sheldrick able to save the lives of the orphaned elephants?
(a) By giving them a shelter
(b) By giving them food
(c) By giving them formula milk
(d) By giving them medicines

vii. Substitute the word ‘trying’ with ONE WORD similar in meaning, in the following, sentence from
Paragraph 3:
It was only after trying every combination she could find that she hit on one baby milk formula from
Europe, which contained coconut oil that seemed to work.

viii. Based on your reading of the text, list any 2 attempts made by Daphne Sheldrick to keep the orphaned
elephant babies alive.
1. __________
2. __________

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Page 6 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

ix. List one reason why Daphne Sheldrick told journalists that “You have to think in human terms”.

x. Select the option that titles paragraphs 4-6 appropriately, with reference to information in the text.
(a) (1) National park and sanctuary, (2) Cruelty of poaching (3) Deep sympathy
(b) (1) Zoological park, (2) Poaching as an art, (3) Deep sympathy
(c) (1) National park and sanctuary, (2) Concern for tigers, (3) Love for animals
(d) (1) National park, (2) Passionate towards hunting, (3) Bird sanctuaries

III. SECTION B- GRAMMAR 10

Attempt ANY TEN of the following questions. 10
i. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option to complete the magazine article.
The status of women in India _____ a gradual change.
(a) undergo (c) is undergoing
(b) undergoes (d) has undergone

ii. Read the conversation between a child and a balloon man. Complete the passage in the reported speech.
Child : I want a balloon, which I can release into the air.
Balloon man : Which colour do you want?
Child : Which colour will take me up with it?
A child told a balloon man that he wanted a balloon to which the balloon man asked _____. And the
child then asked _____.

iii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank for the given narrative.
If you are nervous, _____ I speak to her?
(a) shall (b) would
(c) can (d) could

iv. Select the option that identifies the error and supplies the correction for the following line, from a news
report:
Ten labourers are killed and four injured when the van in which they are travelling rammed into a truck
parked at Rampura crossing.
Option No. Error Correction
(a) are were
(b) into at
(c) when where
(d) at by

v. Complete the given sentence by filling in the blank with the correct option.
Joshua, with his members, _____ really well.
(a) sing (b) singing
(c) have sung (d) sings

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 7

vi. Fill in the blank by using the correct form of the word in the bracket, for the given portion of a letter:
Subject : Increase of air pollution in East Hyderabad
Respected Sir/Ma’am,
I am writing to you _____ (bring) to your notice the increasing effect of air pollution in our neighbourhood
and in the surrounding area.

vii. Report the dialogue between a policeman and a driver by completing the sentence:
Policeman : Why were you driving at such a high speed?
Driver : Sorry sir! The engine is not working properly.
Policeman : Come to the police station and bring your car.
The policeman asked the driver the reason for his high speed to which he replied _____.

viii. Identify the error in the given sentence from a book review and supply the correction.
Money is certainly necessary to survive. But is money the more important part of life?
Use the given format for your response:
Error Correction

ix. Sushila shared some information with Uma about a visit to a zoo. Report Uma’s question.
Did you see the Royal Bengal Tiger?

x. Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option, to complete the sentencce.
You _____ disturb him during his work.
(a) could not (b) don’t have to
(c) must not (d) should not

xi. Select the correct option to complete the narration of the dialogue between a mother and son:
Mother : What career do you want to choose in life?
Son : I want to become a doctor and serve my fellow beings.
The mother asked her son what career he wanted to choose in life, to which the son replied _____.
(a) that he wanted to become a doctor and serve his fellow beings.
(b) that he wants to become a doctor and serve his fellow beings.
(c) that he wants to be a doctor
(d) that I want to become a doctor and serve my fellow beings.

xii. Identify the error in the given sentence and supply the correction.
My writing is better than those of my friend.

Use the given format for your response.

Error Correction

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Page 8 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

IV. SECTION B- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS 10

All the names and addresses used in the questions are fictitious. Resemblance, if any, is purely coincidental.

1. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5

A. You are Amit Kapoor, resident of 43/9, Shyam Enclave, Delhi. You visited Manali with your family
during the summer vacation. You had two double suites at Lake View resort. Your stay at the hotel
fell far short of the description in the brochure. Write a letter of complaint to the Customer Service
Department to refund for your hotel stay.

O

B. Your music academy is planning to organise musical shows next month on the occasion of Janmashtmi.
You are Minakshi/Pavan, the band leader of Sargam Music Academy, 55, Dwarka, Ahmedabad. You
require some musical instruments for the smooth running of the events. Write a letter to the Store Manager,
M/s. Sangeet Instruments, Daya Nagar, Ahmedabad placing an order for the specific instruments required
by you.

2. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5

A. A line graph is given below. The graph shows the number of persons of different age groups killed in
accidents. Analyse the given data in an analytical paragraph of 100-120 words.

O
B. Read the following excerpt from a speech by Malala Yousafzai in her address to the United Nations, July
2013.
The wise saying, “A pen is mightier than a sword” was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens.
The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women.
Write a paragraph to analyse the given argument.
You could think about what alternative explanations might weaken the given conclusion and include
rationale/evidence that would strengthen/counter the given argument.

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 9

SECTION C- LITERATURE 40
V. Reference to the Context. 10
1. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 5
1.A This, I was to learn, is a characteristic of otters; every drop of water must be, so to speak, extended and
spread about the place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it will not be overturned, be sat in and
sploshed in until it overflows. Water must be kept on the move and made to do things; when static it is
wasted and provoking.
Two days later, Mijbil escaped from my bedroom as I entered it, and I turned to see his tail disappearing
round the bend of the corridor that led to the bathroom.
(Mijbil the Otter)
i. Why was Mijbil adamant on not keeping water static?
(a) He disliked water and thus keep on disturbing it.
(b) It is a characteristic of otters.
(c) He saved water by splashing it.
(d) It is not made clear in the story.

ii. What does the author mean by saying that water must be made to do things according to Mijbil?

iii. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD only.

Mijbil’s _____ comes through clearly when the author mentions his habit of constantly keeping water
on the move.


Ans : playfulness

iv. How according to the author does Mijbil react to a bowl of water?
(a) sitting and bathing in it
(b) splashing and refilling it
(c) throwing and running away from it
(d) overturning or sitting in it

v. Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word ‘round’ as used in the extract.
(a) Gautam lives round the corner of our school neighbourhood with his parents.
(b) The best quality pearls are the ones that are lustrous and perfectly round in shape.
(c) We were lost for an hour on the road and just driving round and round on the expressway.
(d) The kids were insistent on riding a merry go round in the amusement park.

O
1.B What do they teach children nowadays? Well, you know, the invasion never really happened, because a
single book stopped it. What was the book, you ask? A noble encyclopedia? A tome about rockets and
missiles?
(The Book that Saved the Earth)

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Page 10 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

i. As per the play, what are the children taught in the era in which the plot has been set?
(a) Books
(b) A book that saved the earth from Martian invasion
(c) Encyclopedia
(d) A play book

ii. Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the text.
invitation : invasion :: started : _____.
(Clue : Just like invitation is opposite of invasion, similarly started is opposite of ...)

iii. What does the historian do to prove her point about Martian History?
(a) She opens out the pages of the encyclopedia.
(b) She begins to tell the story of the episode.
(c) She says rockets and missiles will prove her point.
(d) She takes the help of a projector like device.

iv. What does ‘tome’ mean?

(a) It is a book.
(b) Knowledge.
(c) A voluminous book written in a scholarly manner.
(d) Encyclopedia.

v. According to your reading of this play, name the book that the narrator of the extract is talking about.
2. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 5
2.A He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up.
(The Ball Poem)
i. Complete the sentence appropriately.
It is clear that Metaphor is the poetic device used in ‘how to stand up....’ because _____.
(Clue : explain how metaphor applies here)

ii. The poet has used a message in the given lines. What mood does he wish to create by its use?
... every man must one day know
... how to stand up ...
(a) thrilling (b) sinister
(c) thoughtful (d) grim

iii. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE:

The extract uses epistemology to convey the feeling of triumph over failure.

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 11

iv. Select the appropriate option to complete the sentence, according to the extract.
The idea of behind the boy learning ‘well behind his desperate eyes’ is that :
(a) he is mourning for the loss but slowly coming to terms with it.
(b) he is still hopefully waiting for things to correct themselves.
(c) he is crying for the loss and desperately waiting for his ball to come back.
(d) he is very desperate for everything to become normal.

v. How does the use of the concept of ‘loss’ impact this extract?
(a) The boy experiences the loss of his favourite ball.
(b) The concept of loss is something that shouldn’t be discussed too much.
(c) It is because of the loss that the boy feels pain and the tone becomes serious.
(d) Loss is secondary but the primary focus of the poem is on the ball.

O
2.B Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes, Amanda!
(I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
(Amanda!)

i. What is the speaker’s tone in the first stanza of the extract?

1. elated
2. frustrated
3. nagging
4. gentle
5. loving
Select the appropriate option:
(a) 2, 4 (b) 3, 5
(c) 2, 3 (d) 1, 2

ii. What does Amanda imagines herself to be an ‘orphan’, according to the extract?


Ans : Amanda is tired of her over-controlling parents and wishes for the freedom of an orphan, who,
according to her, has the freedom to do anything.

iii. Identify the reason for the poet to put Amanda’s lines in parentheses, as per the extract.
(a) It serves as an internal dialogue for the thoughts she cannot openly say.
(b) It is the argument for every task that is being burdened on her shoulders.
(c) Her imagination is wild and unrealistic which makes sense only in parentheses.
(d) Her lines lack any poetic devices and breaks the flow of the poem.

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Page 12 Sample Paper 11 CBSE English X

iv. Complete the analogy using a word given in the extract.

lawless : order :: captive : _____
(Clue : Just like, to be lawless is to lack order, similarly to be captive is to lack...)

v. Select the sentence in which the word ‘pattern’ is used in the similar manner as line 6 of the extract.
(a) It is hard to notice a pattern when the events are unpredictable and unknown.
(b) Sima drew a traditional pattern on her door for festival decorations.
(c) He was arrested in a similar pattern as the police had predicted before catching him.
(d) She had set a pattern for subsequent research studies in the laboratory.
VI Answer ANY FOUR of the following in about 40-50 words each. 4 # 3 = 12

i. What saddened Valli on her first journey by bus? How did it affect her?
(Madam Rides the Bus)

ii. Explain the symbols used in the poem “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost.

iii. “You seem to have done your homework before coming,”. Who has done the homework and why is it so
impressive?
(Glimpses of India)

iv. Describe the pirate who comes through the window? What do all of them do when the pirate comes?
(The Tale of Custard the Dragon)

v. ‘Sympathy and kindness are human virtues’. Write a character sketch of the postmaster with reference
to these human virtues.
(A Letter to God)

VII Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 40-50 words each. 2#3 = 6

i. Why is Horace described as good and respectable, but not completely honest?
(A Question of Trust)

ii. Why was the entire staff of Mrs. Pumphrey at work while Tricki was being taken to the hospital?
(A Triumph of Surgery)

iii. Describe the internal conflict in Hari Singh’s mind before the theft.
(The Thief ’s Story)

VIII Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 words. 6

i. Nelson Mandela and Carl Sandburg both described the arrival of things that were inevitable to stop
democracy and fog, respectively. Assume that they both discuss their viewpoints.
Write this conversation as per your understanding of Nelson Mandela and Fog. You may begin like this:
Mandela : I could feel the change in weather of South Africa’s political environment when our voice
became united against apartheid.
Sandburg : And I could sense the literal change in weather with the arrival of fog. Some things have way
of announcing their coming.

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CBSE English X Sample Paper 11 Page 13

O

ii. “I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient child.”
Analysing the message of newfound hope in the given quote by the pilot (The Black Aeroplane), how
can we say the feeling was mutual regarding the poet’s upliftment of the mood (Dust of Snow)?
Also, evaluate how both situations were similar or different.

IX Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 words. 6

i. Give the character-sketch of Matilda.
(The Necklace)

O

ii. “A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change everything.” Discuss this with
reference to Bholi.


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