Question
Bank Cycle Test – 4 (2016-17)
Std:
VIII
Subject:
English
I.
Read the following passage carefully.
Easter
originated as a Pagan tradition, celebrated by the Anglo-Saxons in honour of
their goddess of birth and springtime—Eastre (also known as Oestre or Ostara).
During
the second century, when Christian missionaries were attempting to convert the
population to Christianity, many Pagans who converted to Christianity still
refused to give up their traditional religious celebrations. “Easter” began to
be celebrated as a Christian holiday, in order to allow former Pagans to
celebrate Eastre without being offensive. It became a hybrid celebration of
both the Pagan Eastre and the Christian observance of the Resurrection of
Christ.
Most
Easter traditions originated from the Pagan festival of Eastre. For example the
fertility goddess Eastre was associated with a sacred earth animal—the rabbit.
The tradition of the Easter Bunny may have started in Germany where the goddess
Eastre was known as Ostara. As one story goes, Ostara arrived late one Spring,
and many animals had been frozen by the snow. She saved a small bird whose
wings had been frozen, and she transformed him into a white snow- hare so that
he could run fast and survive the
winters. However, she allowed the bird the ability to lay eggs one day a year.
And every year during the Eastre or Ostara Festival the snow hare would lay
colourful eggs and give them out to the children.
Eggs
have been longtime symbols of rebirth and fertility, even as far back as
ancient Greece and Rome. During the Festival of Eastre it was customary to
exchange coloured eggs with one’s neighbours. Coloured and decorated eggs were
given as a token of good fortune and wishes for a prosperous year. According to
some, the tradition of Easter egg hunts began during the rise of Christianity
in Europe. Since egg-giving was a Pagan tradition, some people were persecuted
because of it. So
people
began hiding eggs instead of giving them as gifts, and soon it became a game
for children to hunt for the hidden eggs.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the
following questions:
1.
What
is Eastre?
2. When
did the Pagans refuse to give up their traditional religious celebrations?
3.
How
was Easter celebrated?
4.
From
where did most Easter traditions originate?
5. Which
animal was goddess Eastre associated with?
6.
Narrate
one story about Ostara.
7. What do
eggs symbolize?
8.
Give
the meaning of the word ‘survive’.
II.
It is easy to make a delicious-looking hamburger at home. But
would this hamburger still look delicious after it sat on your kitchen table
under very bright lights for six or seven hours? If someone took a picture or
made a video of this hamburger after the seventh hour, would anyone want to eat
it? More importantly, do you think you could get millions of people to pay
money for this hamburger?
These
are the questions that fast food companies worry about when they produce
commercials or print ads for their products. Video and photo shoots often last
many hours. The lights that the photographers use can be extremely hot. These
conditions can cause the food to look quite unappealing to potential consumers.
Because of this, the menu items that you see in fast food commercials are
probably not actually edible.
Let’s
use the hamburger as an example. The first step towards building the perfect
commercial hamburger is the bun. The food stylist—a person employed by the
company to make sure the products look perfect— sorts through hundreds of buns
until he or she finds one with no wrinkles. Next, the stylist carefully
rearranges the sesame seeds on the bun using glue and tweezers for maximum
visual appeal. The bun is then sprayed with a waterproofing solution so that it
will not get soggy from contact with other ingredients, the lights, or the
humidity in the room.
Next,
the food stylist shapes a meat patty into a perfect circle. Only the outside of
the meat gets cooked—the inside is left raw so that the meat remains moist. The
food stylist then paints the outside of the meat patty with a mixture of oil,
molasses, and brown food coloring. Grill marks are
Finally,
the food stylist searches through dozens of tomatoes and heads of lettuce to
find the best-looking produce. One leaf of the crispest lettuce and one center
slice of the reddest tomato are selected and then sprayed with glycerin to keep
them looking fresh.
So the
next time you see a delectable hamburger in a fast food commercial, remember:
you’reactually looking at glue, paint, raw meat, and glycerin! Are you still
hungry?
Answer
the following questions briefly:
a.What
worries the fast food companies the most when they plan commercials?
b.What is the job of a food stylist?
Explain.
c.
Explain how would you react the next time you see a delectable hamburger in a
fast food commercial?
Choose the most appropriate meanings of the given words from
the options provided:
1.
delicious
( line 2)
a.
bad
b. appetizing
c.
bland
d. dull
2.
potential
( line 13)
a.
possible
b. lacking
c.
helpless
d. unlikely
3.
commercial
( line 16)
a. n a t u
r a l b.cultural
c. financial
d.Noneof the above
5.
‘
soggy’ belongs to which words group?
a. arid
b. soft
c.
dry
d. hard
Writing
You are
the sports Captain of your school. You find that students almost have no
interest in sports and games. They prefer sitting before TV, computer or enjoy
playing video games. You decide to deliver a speech in the morning assembly of
your school emphasizing the importance of sports in life. Using these ideas,
together with your own ideas, write this speech.
2.
Report Writing:
Write
your own report, using your imagination and vocabulary based on the headline
given below. Remember to follow the format of a newspaper report.
A
new 500 bed capacity hospital opened, for cancer patients in a village near
Chennai.
3.
Data Interpretation:
A
survey was conducted in a school to find out the causes of poor eyesight in
children at a very early age. Study the data and write a paragraph in about 80
words.
4.
Story writing:
Create a story based on the given
outline. Remember to include all the components of a good story.
A
double storey house on fire – smokes and flames billowing out- people at
window- shouting- a child stuck alone- mother unconscious- firemen rescue child
with the help of ladder- firemen- hosepipes- spraying- water-
5.
Formal Letter:
Imagine
you are the Principal of Tagore International School, Jaipur. Write a letter to
the traffic commissioner of your city to post traffic policemen outside your
school to maintain traffic discipline. Follow the format of a formal letter.
III.
Grammar
1.
Direct and Indirect Speech
Change the following sentences into
indirect speech.
a.
Sarla
said, “My father has a roaring business in Mumbai. “
b.
He
said to me, “I am feeling unwell today.”
c.
She
said to them, “Who teaches you English? “
d.
You
said to her, “Show me your frock.”
e.
Amit
said, “What a beautiful day it is!”
2.
Active/Passive Voice
Change the Voice of the sentences
given below,
1. The boy killed the spider
2. The loud noise frightened the
cows.
3. The cat drunk all the milk
4. She opened the door
5. A stone stuck me on the head
6. I have just posted the letter.
3.
Punctuation
Rewrite
the following paragraph punctuating it, and using the capital letters wherever
necessary.
my
heart leapt up when I behold a rainbow in the skywrote William wordsworth the
famous poet and most of us share his feelings when we are lucky enough to see a
rainbow there is an old saying that a pot of gold is buried at the end of the
rainbow but have you ever tried to reach
a rainbow
end of course it is impossible because a rainbow is really just the result of
raindrops refracting and reflecting light from our sun there are seven colours
in the rainbow red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet
4.
Words often confused
Choose the correct word from the
option, and fill in the blank.
a. Camels travel well on the ______
(desert, dessert).
c.
We
signal our dog to stay______ (quite, quiet) by touching her collar.
d. The inspector knew _______(whose, who’s)
keys they were.
e.
Did
you walk _______(to, too, two) school today?
5.
Preposition
Fill
in the blanks in each of the following sentences using the most appropriate preposition.
a.
The
shopkeeper cannot part ________his wealth.
b.
The
access ___________ this house is blocked.
c.
It
has rained continuously _________two days.
d.
I
apologize __________ what I have done.
e.
He
went to Faridkot ___________ train.
6.
Adverbs
Fill
in the blanks with the correct adverbs from those given in the brackets.
1. He knew he had _________ (well, good) chance of winning
the election.
2. Radhika ________ (quick, quickly)
ate her lunch.
3. Sakshi seemed more ____________ (uncomfortable,
uncomfortably) than relaxed.
4. The young girl sings ___________ (amazing, amazingly) well
for someone her age.
5. I have __________( just, always)
seen a ghost.
7.
Conjunctions
Join the two sentences using suitable
conjunctions. .
1.
I
was tired. I managed to finish my homework late at night.
2.
The
novel in English class was long. It was very interesting.
3.
Chitra
didn't study for the test. She made a bad grade.
4.
The
way of progress was not swift. It was not easy.
5.
I
would like cake. I would like ice cream.
8.
Transformation
Of sentences
Follow the instructions given in the
brackets and rewrite the sentences without changing their meanings.
1. While I
was walking along the street, I saw a dead cobra. ( begin with ‘walking’ )
3.
This
room is too small to play music in. ( use so…that)
4.
As
soon as I reached the station the train arrived. ( use ‘no sooner’ )
5.
He
is so tired that he cannot walk. ( use ‘too….to’ )
Literature
IV. 1. Read
the extract and answer the questions that follow.
“Come
in, “he said, “and warm yourself a bit. I’m sure you must be cold.”
a.
Who
is saying this to whom?
b.
How
did Martin look after the visitor??
c.
Give
a synonym of the word ‘warm’.
Read
the extract and answer the questions that follow.
2.
“Leaves on the ivy vine. When the
last one falls I must go, too.”
a.
Who
said it to whom?
b.
What
happened to the speaker?
c.
Who
ultimately saved the life of the speaker?
3.
Read the extract and answer the
questions that follow.
“I forgot to look at the newspaper
today. Look and see whether the list of drawings is there?
a. Who is the speaker?
a.
What
is being talked about in these lines?
b.
Use
the word ‘forgot’ in a sentence.
4.
Read the extract and answer the
questions that follow.
“Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You’d
treat if met where any bar is, or help to half-a-crown.”
a. Name the poem and the poet of the
given extract.
b. Explain the phrase “or help to half a
crown”
c.
Give
another rhyming word for the word ‘curious’
5.
Read the extract and answer the
questions that follow.
I shot him dead because-because he
was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was
a.
How
would you describe a soldier’s life?
b.
Explain
the meaning of the phrase, “That’s clear enough although”
c.
Mention
the rhyme scheme given in this stanza.
V.
Answer the following questions in 30
to 40 words each.
Where Love is God Is
a.
Why
apple woman was angry with the boy?
b.
What
did the voice tell Martin? How did he behave after that?
c.
Why
did Martin stop believing in God?
d.
Why
was the woman with the baby so thankful of Martin’s gesture?
e.
Why
was Martin considered a reliable worker?
The Last Leaf
a.
Describe
the little district of West Washington Square.
b.
Where
did Sue and Johnsy meet?
c.
What
was Johnsy’s state of mind when she was sick?
d.
How
would you describe Behrman’s masterpiece?
e.
Do
you think ‘The Last Leaf’ is a suitable title for the story?
The
Man He Killed
a.
What
is the setting of the poem?
b.
Do
you think that narrator is regretting his action? Justify your answer.
c.
Is
war unnecessary? Justify.
d.
Do
you think that the man killed was really the narrator’s enemy?
e. What
are the two things the speaker would have done for the man had they not been at
the war?
The Lottery Ticket
a.
Why
was emphasis given to ‘power capital’ by Ivan?
b.
How
would you describe the feelings of Martha towards Ivan?
c.
How
does Ivan wish to spend his leisure time at the villa?
d. This
story is a satire. How would you describe the irony at the end of the story?
e. What
would you do if you won large amount of money? Write in two three lines.
VI. Answer
the following questions in about 60 -80 words.
(The
Lost World)
1.
Explain
the scene at Lake Gladys from the point of view of the narrator.
3.
How
would you describe Mr Melone at the end of the story?
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