NIOS Previous English Question Paper

National Institute of Open Schooling
(An Autonomous Institute under Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India)

Secondary:
Date: April 2015

1) This Question Paper has four sections viz. Section A, B, C and D.
(2) All questions are compulsory except where an internal choice is given.
(3) All the answers have to be written in the answer script provided

SECTION – A (Reading)

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow : A greenhouse is a covered and enclosed area which provides required level of heat, light and humidity for plants to grow in it. Sometimes crops can be grown throughout the year in a greenhouse inspite of seasonal changes outside. The enclosure is made of opaque glass or green plastic sheets which let in controlled quantity of sunlight and the warmth is retained by the wall and the roof.

Compared to an open land, greenhouses have control over the growing conditions for plants. An open land has short growing seasons with change in heat, light and humidity.
In a greenhouse, light, heat and humidity are artificially maintained and the growing season is lengthened.
Greenhouses are normally used for growing flowers, vegetables and plants for transplanting. Many plants are grown in the warm environment of greenhouses in winter and transplanted outside as the weather warms up. Even pollination takes place artificially in a greenhouse and bumble-bees are used as pollinators.

The concept of the modern greenhouse developed in the Netherlands and England in the 17th century. Today Netherlands have the largest number of greenhouses to tide over the short season of warm climate. They have built greenhouses in wasteland areas to produce fruits and vegetables. The French botanist, Charles Bonaparte grew tropical medicinal plants in greenhouses.
Heating and ventilation are two main activities in a successful greenhouse. There has to be regular supply of fresh air for plant respiration. All these are artificially done and account for considerable cost of operating a greenhouse.
Answer the following questions on the basis of your understanding of the passage.
Choose the best options wherever given.

(i) Why is it possible to grow plants in a greenhouse inspite of seasonal changes outside ? 1
(A) There is controlled growing condition in a greenhouse.
(B) A greenhouse does not allow sunlight to enter it.
(C) A greenhouse protects plants from insects.
(D) A greenhouse keeps the plants green.

(ii) When are the transplants grown in a greenhouse ? 1
(A) in summer
(B) in late winter
(C) throughout the year
(D) in early summer

(iii) The French botanist grew tropical medicinal plants _________. 1
(iv) Pick out the words from the passage which mean similar to : 2
(a) idea
(b) not transparent
(v) What are the disadvantages of growing plants in an open land ? 2
(vi) What two factors make the operation of greenhouses considerably expensive ? 1

2. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. 7
The Valley of Flowers is a Himalayan meadow in Uttaranchal at an altitude of 3000 meters above the sea level. Being enclosed by snowy mountains and not being easily accessible, the place had remained unknown to mankind for centuries. In 1931 Frank S. Smith, a British mountaineer lost his way, while returning from an expedition to Mt.Kamet, came across this valley which was full of flowers in full bloom. He was stunned by the beauty of the site and named it the ‘Valley of Flowers. He later authored a book by the same name and the valley attracted the attention of naturalists and botanists. Getting to the valley requires a trek of 17 km. There is no provision for night stay in the valley and the nearest place for night haltage is Gobindoghat, 14 km from the valley.
The valley is open to visitors only during summer, when the valley is splashed with hundreds of kinds of flowers. The valley has remained unspoilt because no settlement is permitted in the valley. Even cattle grazing in the area has been banned since 1983.
In 2004, the Valley of Flowers was nominated to be a World Heritage Site by the Govt. of India. To the recognized as a World Heritage Site has to fulfill three conditions viz. (1) to be of exceptional natural beauty, (2) has population of rare high altitude flora and fauna, (3) has effective system of conservation and management. The valley fulfilled all the conditions and the valley was declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO on 14-7-2005. The credit for this recognition goes largely to Sri Chandra Prakash Kala, a member of the Indian Institute of Forest Management.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions.
Choose the best option wherever given.
(i) Why did the Valley of Flowers remain unknown to mankind ? 1
(A) It is at a height of 3000 meters.
(B) It is surrounded by mountains.
(C) It is on the Himalayas.
(D) None had visited it before Frank S. Smith

ii) How did it get the name ‘Valley of Flowers’ ? 1
(A) A wide variety of flowers grow there.
(B) It is enclosed by mountains.
(C) Frank S. Smith named it as ‘Valley of Flowers’.
(D) It is a flowering meadow.

(iii) Find the word in the passage which means : Surprised
(iv) On 14-7-2005 the Valley of Flowers was declared as _________ 1
(v) How did the people come to know about the Valley of Flowers ? 2
(vi) How has the Valley of Flowers remained unspoilt ? 1

SECTION – B (Writing)

3. Read the following telephone conversation between Rajiv and Rohit’s father. 4
Rajiv : Hello ! This is Rajiv. Can I talk to Rohit ?
Rohit’s father : Sorry, Rohit is not at home. I am his father. Can I do anything for you ?
Rajiv : Uncle, I am reaching Delhi by Rajdhani Express from Bhopal at 5 pm tomorrow. Could you please ask him to receive me at the station ?
Rohits father : I will give the message to Rohit.
Rajiv : Thank you, uncle. Thank you indeed.
Rohits father will not be at home when Rohit returns. Write a brief message to be left by him for Rohit.

4. Imagine you are Prakash, a news reporter. You were in a Delhi Metro train going to Gurgaon. There was a sudden failure of electricity. The train stopped midway.
Passengers panicked. They were asked to remain calm. The train started after the electricity supply was restored.
Write a report about the incident in about 100 words for publication in your newspaper.
Mention date; place and give a title.

5. You are Mohan Rai, Secretary of the Residents Association of Mayur Vihar. You find that every Sunday the main road is occupied by the weekly market. Write a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, East Delhi requesting him to shift the market to a better place. You can highlight the following points :
(a) congestion on the road
(b) littering by waste material 7
6. Given below are three situations. Choose any one of them and write a paragraph on it in about 100 words.
(a) You reached home late in the night. You found the main gate of the house open and everybody was sleeping. A burglar could be inside the house. Narrate your experience.
(b) You were in a local cinema hall. Suddenly it was announced that there could be a bomb inside the hall and the people were asked to vacate the hall. Narrate your experience.
(c) There was an open borewell in the park near your house. A child fell into it. A rescue team arrived and pulled the child out. Narrate the incident

SECTION – C (Grammar)

1. (a) Read the following paragraph : 3
A speeding car hit an old man. A young man took him to the hospital. A policeman stopped the car and arrested the driver.
Rewrite the paragraph by filling in the blank spaces. The first sentence of the paragraph has been done for you as an example.
An old man was hit by a speeding car. He (i) ________ to the hospital by a young man. The car (ii) _______ by a policeman and the driver (iii) _________.
(b) Rewrite the following pairs of sentences as one. Use the appropriate words from the ones given in the box.
(Note : There are more words than you may require)
(before, after, as soon as, no sooner, because)
Example:
(a) Raja is poor.
(b) He is honest.
Though Raja is poor, he is honest.
(i) (a) We stepped out of the house.
(b) It started raining.
(ii) (a) I was late.
(b) I missed the bus.
(iii) (a) I reached the station.
(b) The train had already arrived.

8. Read the following passage. There are some numbered blanks in it. For each blank four options have been provided. Choose the correct ones to fill in the blanks. The first sentence has been done as an example. 6 Holidays bring a change in (A) in our daily routine. (i) ________ of the holidays are on account of (ii) ________ festivals or events. (iii) ________ most people like to idle (iv) ________ their holidays, some use them to finish (v) ________ pending work. A few engage (vi) ________ in creative work.
Eg. (A) in (B) on (C) at (D) for
(i) (A) Some (B) Most (C) A (D) The
(ii) (A) some (B) one (C) any (D) few
(iii) (A) Even (B) While (C) Though (D) If
(iv) (A) away (B) out (C) in (D) for
(v) (A) their (B) his (C) her (D) theirs
(vi) (A) him (B) himself (C) them (D) themselves

9. Complete the following dialogue by filling in the blanks : The passenger : I want to go to Pune.
(i) _______ you issue me a ticket for the next bus ?
The booking clerk : I can. But the next bus will start in the evening.
(ii) _______ like to wait so long ?
The passenger : I have no choice.
Where (iii) _______ I wait for the bus ?
The booking clerk : You can sit in the passengers lounge.

10. Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks using the correct form of verbs given in brackets. 6
Last evening I (i) _________ (go) to the market. I (ii) _________ (want) to buy some fruits. There (iii) _________ (be) plenty of mangoes for sale. They (iv) _________ (sell) mangoes at rupees fifty per kg. I (v) _________ (think) that I (vi) _________ (shall) buy two kgs. of mangoes

11. Complete the following dialogue by filling in the blanks with suitable words. The first one has been done for you as an example. 3
Student : Sir, may I leave the class a little early ?
Teacher : Why (i) ________ you leave early ?
Student : I (ii) ________ take my mother to the hospital.
Teacher : What is wrong with her ?
Student : I do not know. Only the doctor (iii) _________ tell.
Teacher : You can, if it is so urgent.

12. You heard the following dialogue between Rahul and the School Football Coach.
Complete the report by filling in the blank.
The Coach : Rahul, what are you doing during the summer vacation ?
Rahul : I may join the summer camp in some sports.
The Coach : Why don’t you join the summer camp in Football ?
Rahul : I would like to.
The Coach : Have you ever played Football ?
Rahul : I am in the football team of the local youth club.
Complete the report as follows by filling in the blanks :
The Coach asked Rahul what (i) _________ doing during the summer vacation. Rahul (ii) _________ that he might join the summer camp in some sports. The Coach asked why (iii) _________ join the summer camp in Football Rahul said that he
(iv) _________ like to. The Coach asked (v) _________ had ever played Football.
Rahul informed him that he (vi) _________ in the Football team of the local youth club till late.

SECTION – D (Literature)

13. Read the stanza given below and answer the questions that follow : With their feet in the earth And their heads in the sky The tall trees watch
The clouds go by. (The Tall Trees)
(a) Which part of the tree is called its head ?
(b) State the human behaviour that the trees show/intending to go up and scale the height.
(c) What shows that the trees are tall ?
(d) What is meant by the expression ‘go by’ ?
14. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each : 2 × 2 = 4
(a) What is the relationship between the new-born and the timing of weaving the baby’s clothes ? (Indian Weavers)
(b) What have ‘words’ been compared with in the poem ‘The Truth’ ?
15. Complete the following statements by choosing the most appropriate options. 1 × 2 = 2
(i) ‘Think of taming the winds’ means _________ (My Only Cry)
(A) Check the storms which cause damage.
(B) Subdue and control natural calamities.
(C) Use wind for generating energy.
(D) Make constructive use of natural resources.
(ii) ‘Now they shake hands without their hearty’ means _________ (Once Upon a Time)
(A) They shake their hands, not their hearts.
(B) They shake hands without any purpose.
(C) They greet each-other mechanically.
(D) They do not touch each-other’s hearts.

16. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow : 1 × 4 = 4 She attracts young people to her like bees to honey. Her school, appropriately enough called Anand Bharati, has attracted many young professionals in an unprecedented way to lend their time and effort to this venture. A computer professional helps with the accounts, a linguistic professor teaches Hindi, another professor teaches English and another science. (Caring for Others) (a) Who is ‘she’ referred to here ?
(b) Who are those young people who get attracted to her ?
(c) In what ways do the young people lend their time and effort to her venture ?
(d) Give the meaning of the word ‘unprecedented’.

17. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow : 1 ×4 = 4 Late evening I tried to catch a bee and it sting me on my finger. I felt a sharp pain. I ran to grandmother and told her that I had been bitten and wanted her to do something to stop the pain. Grandmother thought that I had been bitten by a snake. She called out to Grandfather, ‘come and see what had happened to Raja’.
(a) Who is ‘I’ in this extract ?
(b) What had happened to him ?
(c) Why did he rush to his grandmother ?
(d) What did grandmother think it to be ?

18. Complete the following statements by choosing the correct options given below : 1 × 3 = 3
(i) Common people become heroic ________ (Birthday Letter)
(A) when they are ready to struggle.
(B) when a great leader inspires them.
(C) when they lose their freedom.
(D) when they go without food.

(ii) Most Aluminium is recycled these days because _________ (New Good Things from Rubbish)
(A) it pays to recycle Aluminium waste.
(B) it is easy to recycle Aluminium waste.
(C) fresh Aluminium is difficult to get.
(D) it does not need electricity.

(iii) Many households keep parrots or parakeets because _________. (The Parrot who would not talk)
(A) these birds are easily available
(B) children like these birds
(C) these birds learn to talk or even recite ‘mantras’
(D) these birds can be kept in cages

19. Answer any two of the following questions in about 30 to 40 words each : 2 × 2 = 4 (a) Why did the monkey get annoyed with the squirrel ? (How the Squirrel Got Stripes).
(b) What did the West German doctor find out about the effects of noise on a person even when he would be sleeping ? (Noise – How it Affects Our Lives)
(c) Why did Jijabai order to raise the pay and the rations of the soldiers and to sent gifts to their families ? (Return of the Lion)

20. Answer any one of the following questions in about 100 words : 5
(a) Why did Gopal decide to leave home for Agra ? Was he right in his decision ? Give reasons for your answer. (The Last Stone Mason)
(b) It was only Kondiba who went down into the well to rescue Arvind. Mention the character qualities in him, which set him apart from others. (Kondiba – The Hero)