CBSE Board Class 10th English Language and Literature Sample Paper 2020

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has started the board exam for class 10^th and 12^th with the first paper conducted on February 15, 2020. Meanwhile, class 10th English paper is scheduled for February 26, 2020, and just a few days before the exam, the board has released the class 10 sample papers to make students aware of the new pattern according to which question papers will be prepared for the Board Exam 2020. Board has also published the marking schemes of all sample question papers which explains the step-wise marking that will be followed while evaluating answer sheets of board exams. The marking scheme also includes the key concepts and suggested answers to all questions given in the CBSE sample paper.

CBSE Board Class 10th English Language Sample Paper 2020

We are providing here the CBSE Class 10 English (Language and Literature) Sample Paper 2020 along with its marking scheme. This latest class 10 English sample paper is quite helpful to get yourself familiarised with the question paper pattern, answer requirements, nature, and types of tricky questions to be asked in the exam. All the students are advised to practice as many sample papers as possible to score well in the examination. Practice the given below sample paper to score exceptional marks.

Structure of CBSE Class 10 English – Language and Literature sample paper is as follows:

• The question paper consists of a total of 11 questions divided into three sections:

• All questions are compulsory.

Note: Pattern followed in this latest CBSE English sample paper is almost similar to the previous year except a few changes made in the format of questions. Most of the passage-based questions in Section A are of objective type which includes multiple-choice type questions, fill in the blank type questions or true/false type questions. Other sections also include a number of objective type questions as compared to the previous years.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

• DURATION: 3 Hrs.
• M: 80 marks
• The question paper is divided into three sections:

1. SECTION A: READING
   2. SECTION B: WRITING SKILLS & GRAMMAR
   3. SECTION C: LITERATURE

• All the questions are compulsory
• All answers should be numbered accurately
• The question paper consists of 11 questions.

SECTION A: READING (20 MARKS)

Q 1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (8 Marks)
As the Indian middle class is getting more affluent the number of celebration parties is growing and so is the guest list. We have functions for birth celebrations, for birthday celebrations, promotions, sixteenth birthday celebrations, engagements, marriage celebrations, marriage jubilees, and even retirement policies. Just inviting people to such celebrations is not a problem. Because if a person eats at one place, he/she would save the food he would have eaten elsewhere. The problem is that there is no RSVP (Reply, if you please) culture in India. We send invites, but we don’t ask people if they plan to attend or not. The host does not get feedback and has a vague idea of how many people will show up. Certainly, if more people turned up unexpectedly and had no food to eat it would be embarrassing. So they just end up making enough for a large number of people. The result is wastage of food, cooking gas and manpower. And because electricity is costly and food storage equipment is not easily available a huge amount of food goes waste.

Then we have people offering food and oil to Gods, while so many people go hungry, we are bathing our gods in honey, milk or oil. We throw rice on couples at marriages. There is a lot of wastage on how we get our food. The last end of our food supply chain is food vendors, who lack the infrastructure to reduce food wastage.
Our best software engineers are writing software for banks in the US and companies in Europe. Can’t we launch a website that makes it possible for people to reply to invitations using an easy online or mobile application? Yes, we need this one change in our culture- replying to invites and confirming whether we can make it to the celebration or not? Best of the best MBAs are launching marketing campaigns worldwide to increase the market share of consumer products worldwide. Can we launch a culture change company?
We make choices and every choice has a consequence. Sadly, when faced with the consequences of our choices, we externalize the blame. We find someone else at fault. We imagine only of the evil outside. We, pious, people would continue living our pristine and perfect lives. If we stop wasting all this food, it would make extra food available thereby reducing food demand and ultimately reducing food prices.

1. On the basis of your reading answer the following questions by choosing the correct option:
   a. What is the meaning of the word “affluent”? ( 1 mk.)

• strong
• powerful
• Conceited
• Wealthy

1. Why are the Indian invites unique? ( 1 mk.)

• They are grand
• They are elaborate
• They do not seek an affirmation
• They do not give details of the event

1. How are the Indian Gods appeased? ( 1mk.)

• By chanting prayers
• By doing yoga
• By offering milk and honey
• by offering flowers

1. The host of celebrations try to avoid embarrassment by __________________ ( 1 mk.)
2. Why is there an unreasonable amount of food wastage during celebrations? (2 mk.)
3. What according to the author would a culture change entail? (1 mk.)
4. Identify the usage of satire in the passage ( 1 mk.)

Q 2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (12 mks. )
Modern Town planning has overlooked the role of waterways in shaping urban development. As road transport developed and motorcar became civilization’s poster boy, inland water transport suffered economic undesirability and declined gradually. Waterways, whether natural or manmade were neglected. They often turned into open sewers. The banks became sites for ugly slums.
Environmental degradation of cities and frequent waterlogging of streets have taken our attention back to the rivers and waterways. Water authorities in many countries, including India are now taking up de-sanitation projects. But the larger role of rivers and waterbodies is still not recognized. Rivers and waterways can have a place in the transport plan of the city or a metropolitan area. They should primarily be used for goods transport. The essentially slow nature of water transport means such transport is unlikely to serve the needs of the eternally hurried city worker, except when it cuts considerable distances short- a ferry crossing, for example- or when it combines reasonably high speed with special comfort- a river journey on a motorboat can be an alternative to a grueling road journey.

To be a viable alternative to road transport, waterways must be planned as a network. The network must effectively connect with origins and destinations of goods traffic. In the past, rivers were used to transport agricultural and forest products, minerals, iron ore and sometimes construction materials. Many in the business of such goods are water transport attractive- and more affordable than road transport- even today. But for that to happen the various depots and godowns, wholesale markets and brick kilns, the ports, railway stations, and truck terminals have to be linked with water transport facilities.

Containerization- use of containers that can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances and transferred from one mode of transferred to another- is widely used to transport freight over oceans. But inland water transport is not yet equipped to handle this. Its modernization requires the construction of jetties and crafts equipped to carry containerized freight.

But before all that, we need depths of water. Waterways have to be supplied with water at all times of the year when levels are low. That means that waterways have to be a part of the city ecosystem consisting of lakes and ponds. Small water bodies will be useful in regulating the flows of the larger waterways. Untreated water should not be let into waterways. Strong statutory support is necessary, otherwise, all that I have said will be found only in planning documents projected great “vision” of the future.

2 A. Answer the following questions briefly (5*2=10 mks.)

• Which mode of transport does the author consider effective? Why?
• How have neglecting waterways affected us?
• How can waterways be made an effective alternative to road transport?
• What is containerization and why are our country’s inland water transport systems unable to use it?
• What recommendation does the author make for waterways to be useful throughout the year?

2B. Find words and phrases in the passage that mean the same as the words given below. (Any two) (1*2=2 mks)

• A representative or symbol of(paragraph 1)
• Very difficult and tiring (paragraph 3)
• Practically possible (paragraph 4)

SECTION B: WRITING AND GRAMMAR (30 MARKS)

Q.3. You are Archana/ Arun Singh the Cultural secretary of the student’s council of your school. Write a letter to the editor of The Times of India expressing your concern about the atmospheric hazards that we have faced in recent times. Write about the views that your friends have on this issue. (8 mks.)
OR
You are Asha/ Akshay Singh of 10, street 40, MG Nagar, Ahmedabad. Write a letter to your landlord expressing your distress over the construction defects of your house. Seek immediate assistance and repair work from him. (10 mks.)

Q.4. Complete the following story (150 words)
a) The ring fell on the floor with a loud clatter. Everyone in the room stared at the ring as it.
OR
b) The silence was deafening. He stood transfixed

Q.5. Rearrange the following sets of words and phrases to form meaningful sentences (1*4=4mks.)
a. of/ the world’s /sugar cane / in Asia / over 40 percent / is produced
b. can be /used as fuel / ethyl alcohol / for cars / extracted / sugar cane / from
c. not the /only thing / can power/automobiles / gasoline is / that
d. can be / alternative /energy source / an / hydrogen/also

6. 6. Read the passage given below and fill in the blanks with appropriate words by choosing from the options given below (1*4=4 mks.)

I have ____________(a) to learn Latin for the last three years. But I haven’t ____________(b) yet. My teacher is very patient with me and he ___________(c) me every time I fail. I definitely __________(d) next time.

• trying ii. tried iii. Will try iv. Try
• Will succeed ii. Succeeding iii. Succeeded iv. Had succeeded
• had encouraged ii. Encouraged iii. Encourages iv. Has encourages
• Will succeed ii. Succeeding iii. Succeeded iv. Had succeeded

Q.7. The following passage has not been edited there is an error in each line. Identify the error and write it down with the correction. (1*4=4 mks.)

Error Correction

1. a) Boys who have never fight a) _________ _______
   b) each other in the class is today b) __________ ________
   c) bitterly annoyed or fearful c) ________ _________
2. d) Even during a Holi Festival d) _________ _________
   e) the school has been peaceful e) _________ _________

SECTION C: LITERATURE (30 MARKS)

Q.8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct option. (1*4=4 mks)

1. “He should be lurking in shadow,
   Sliding
   through long grass
   Near the water hole
   Where plump deer pass.”
2. The poem, “A Tiger in the Zoo” is written by
   (i) Leslie Norris
   (ii) William Blake
   (iii) Peter Niblett
   (iv) Robert Frost
3. The tiger would be lurking in the shadow

(i) for his prey
(ii) for taking rest
(iii) for leisure
(iv) for scaring others

1. The deer frequents the water hole to ________________________
2. The phrase ‘lurking in the shadow’ here means ________________

OR
II. “I agreed that it was pretty disrespectful treatment. We did, however, search the house. Since it was only one storey high, Bill went around it, peering in at all the windows. We examined the barn and stable.”

1. Who does ‘I’ refer to-
   (i) Sinclair Lewis
   (ii) Carol Lewis
   (iii) Oliver Lutkins
   (iv) Leslie Norris
2. What was Bill’s profession?

(i) Lawyer
(ii) hack driver
(iii) guide
(iv) drama artist

1. The disrespectful treatment faced by the speaker was ________
2. The phrase ‘peering in at all windows’ here means ___________

Q.9. Answer any five of the following questions in 30 to 40 words each. (2*5=10 mks)

1. What did courage mean to Mandela?
   b. Discuss the Indian legend related to the habit of drinking tea?
   c. Where do you think the second plane had flown off to?
   d. Why was Lencho suspicious of the workers at the post office?
   e. How does the forest depart from the house? Do you agree that the forest needs to be displaced?
   f. Anne Frank is an idol for all teenagers. Discuss.

Q.10.a. Imagine you are Wanda. Describe your emotions in a diary entry when you get a letter from Peggy and Maddie expressing their congratulations at your success and their regret at their behavior with you. (8 mks.)
OR
Describe briefly the panoramic beauty of Coorg. Discuss the legends associated with this picturesque district of Karnataka.
Q.11. a) The narrator strikes us as a romantic idealist, Do you agree? Support your answer from the text. (The Hack Driver) (8 mks.)
OR
c) Education is the first step that leads to the emancipation of women. Discuss (Bholi)