STEPPING STONE MODEL SCHOOL

FINAL EXAMS 2020/21

ENGLISH- 1, CLASS XI

Time- 3 hours Full marks: 80

Q.1. Write a composition (in approx. 400-450 words) on any one of the following topics. (You are
reminded that you will be rewarded for orderly and coherent presentation of material, use of
appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar). [20]
(a) Grandparents are a source of joy to us. Narrate the most memorable experience you have had
with your grandparents.
(b) Rains which bring the much needed relief from the sweltering heat, can also cause havoc in our
lives. Describe how two days of incessant rain caused unlimited problems for the people in your
town/city.
(c) “Academics and extra-curricular activities must be given equal importance in school”. Write for or
against this proposition.
(d) Photography.
(e) Write an original story beginning with the following words: ‘The news came as a pleasant
surprise……’

Q.2. (a) The Resident Welfare Association of your colony organized a Blood Donation Camp at the
Community Centre in your colony. As a reporter of a local newspaper, write a report in not more
than 300 words. Base your report on the details given below:
Date, time, place – inauguration by a celebrity – blood donation by residents of the area -
arrangements - renowned doctor highlighted the need for blood donation and cleared the myths
associated with it – vote of thanks by the President of the RWA. [15]
(You may also include other relevant details.)
(b)Write a proposal in not more than 150 words to the Municipal Corporation to build a park for the
residents of the society. [10]

Q.3. Answer section (a), (b) and (c):

(a) In each of the following items, sentence A is complete, while sentence B is not. Complete
sentence B, making it as similar as possible to sentence A. Write down sentence B in each case. [5]
(1) (A) If he does not run fast, he will lose the race.
(B) Unless……………………………………………………….
(2) (A) Nobody knew much about his plans for the future.
(B) Little……………………………………………………………………
(3) (A) It is too cold for me to step out without a shawl.
(B) It is so………………………………………………………………..
(4) (A) I play both tennis and squash.
(B) Not only………………………………….
(5) (A) Charles Dickens is the most interesting writer.
(B) No other……………………………………………………….

(b) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. (Do not copy the sentence): [5]
1. Do you want to take____ every single object from the box?
2. The plane must take____ before dark.
3. The children spoke_____ a whisper as they were scared.
4. We must not speak ill about a person_____ his back.
5. He disliked the play so much that he walked____ in the middle of the first act.
6. Walking barefoot_____ the grass is very god for health.
7. This rule does not apply_____ you as you are less than eighteen years old.
8. You must apply____ the job immediately.
9. They have been living in Delhi_____ ten years.
10. Mr. Kapoor has been living in Chennai_____ 2000.

(c) Fill in each blank with the appropriate form of the verbs given in the brackets: [5]
Two carpenters___ (1) (work) on Mr. Sharma’s roof. When they____ (2) (stop) work at 6 p.m.,
they____ (3) (leave) their ladder__ (4) (lean) against the house. At 7 p.m., Raju, a thief, passed by the
house and____ (5) (see) the ladder. The house___ (6) (be) now empty as Mr. and Mrs. Sharma_____
(7) (go) to the market. Raju___ (8) (climb) up the ladder, _____ (9) (get) in through a first-floor
window, and ______ (10) (go) straight to the main bedroom where he stole of Mrs. Sharma’s
jewelry.

Q.4. Read carefully the passage given below and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c):
(1) To be encumbered with a corpse is to be in a difficult position. True, any doctor, even one just
out of medical school, would have been able to diagnose the cause of death. The man had died of
heart failure or what the doctors call cardiac arrest. The cause of his heart having stopped pumping
blood was that someone had slid a sharp silver of steel between his ribs just far enough to penetrate
the great muscle of the heart and to cause a serious and irreversible leakage of blood so that it
stopped beating. Cardiac arrest, as I said.
(2) I wasn’t too anxious to find a doctor because the knife was mine and the hilt had been in my
hand when he died. I stood on the open road with the body at my feet and I was scared, so scared
that the nausea rose in my throat to choke me. This particular body had been a stranger- I had never
seen him before in my life.
(3) I was unarmed, if you expect the ‘sgian dubh’ – the black knife – which I always carry. The ‘sgian
dubh’ is a much underrated weapon. Mine is at least a hundred and fifty years old. The ebony
handle is ribbed on one side to give a good grip, but smooth on the other side so it draws clear
without catching; the blade is less than four inches long; the stone set in the handle balances the
knife so that it makes a superlative throwing weapon. I carry it in a flat sheath in my left sock.
(4) This is how it had happened.
(5) A little after I had driven out of the city, I saw a car ahead, pulled off the road, and a man waving
the universally recognized distress signal of the stranded motorist. It turned out, quite naturally, that
there was something wrong with his car and he couldn’t get it to move. I got out, walked over to his
car and peered at the exposed engine.
(6) He didn’t use the gun straight away. He first tried to take a swipe at me with a well-designed little
club. I turned my head and saw his upraised arm and dodged sideways. If the club had connected
with my skull it would have jarred my brain loose; instead it hit my shoulder and my whole arm went
numb.
(7) I hopped back and groped for the ‘sgian dubh’ as I went. Fortunately, it’s a left- handed weapon
which was just as well because my right arm wasn’t going to be of any use.
(8) He came for me again but when he saw the knife he hesitated. He dropped the club and dipped
his hand beneath his jacket and it was my turn to hesitate. But his club has a leather wrist loop and
the dangling weapon spoilt his draw and I jumped him just as the pistol came out.
(9) I didn’t stab him. He swung around and ran straight into the blade. He sagged against me with a
look of surprise on his face. Then he went down at my feet and the knife came free.
(10) So there I was on a lonely road with a newly created corpse at my feet and a knife in my hand, a
bad taste in my mouth and a frozen brain.
(11) From the time I had got out of my car to the moment of death had been less than two minutes.
(a) (i) Given below are three words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the
passage: [3]
1. Burdened
2. Enter
3. Most effective

(ii) For each of the words given below write a sentence of at least ten words, using the same word
in unchanged form, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage: [3]
1. Arrest
2. Draw
3. Set

(b) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words:
1. How did the stranger die? [2]
2. Why was the narrator scared? [2]
3. Why did the narrator stop his car and get out? [2]

(c) Describe the incident of the killing of the stranger in not more than 100 words (paragraph 5 to 9).
Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalized. [8]