Periodic Test 3

Class-IX
English (language & Literature)
M. M. 80
Time: 3 hours

General Instructions : The question paper has been divided into three sections :

Sections A: Reading 20 marks,

Sections B : Writing & Grammar 30 marks,

Section C : Literature 30 marks

SECTION ‘A’ : READING (20 MARKS)

1.Read the given passage below and answer the questions that follow: (8
Marks)

Answers to the current crisis of water may lie in the lack of reliance on our own
traditions by our communities. Indians, over centuries; developed a range of
techniques to harvest every possible form of water, from rainwater, stream and river
water as well as flood water.
They have tapped water from hill streams or springs known as kuhls carrying a
discharge of 15-100 litres per seconds. In Meghalaya, a 200-yearold system of
tapping stream and spring water for irrigating plants by using bamboos still exists.
Credit must go to the people of the villages of Rajasthan and particularly Jodhpur,
here old water system still exists and where the traditional system was maintained
even after the advent of piped water. Villages which neglected their traditional
system was maintained even after the advent of piped water. Villages which
neglected their traditional system and relied solely on piped water sources faced
 scarcity under drought conditions. An Ironic contrast of water management is that
between Jaisalmer and Cherrapunji which get 100 mm and 15,000 mm of rainfall
respectively, Jaisalmer had enough water for itself until recent years, while
Cherrapunji the wettest place on the earth, faced a drinking water shortage. Alwar
district, also in Rajasthan, has been successful in harvesting water thereby bringing
prosperity to its villages. In India, during the season of summer, our taps go on
without water and we feel the scarcity of water. It is because we are much careless
about the use of water and waste it extravagantly.
Questions :

1. Why is crisis of water an acute problem?

2.Name two techniques by which Indians harvest water.
3.(How do people tap water in Meghalaya?
4.In which state of India old system of water still exists?
5.In which season we feel scarcity of water?
6.Which district of Rajasthan has been prospering due to harvesting of water?
7.Which is the wettest place on the earth.
8.The word in the passage which means 'deficiency' is...................

2.Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow : (12
Marks)

Since ancient times, the pearl has been a symbol of unblemished perfection. It is the
oldest gem and for centuries it was considered the most beautiful. The Latin word for
pearl literally means 'unique', stating that no two pearls are identical. Pearls have
been considered as ideal wedding gifts because they symbolize purity and
innocence. Most gems like sapphire, topaz, ruby, diamond etc are minerals that are
mined from beneath the earth, but pearl is formed inside the shell of an oyster.

Mineral gems are hard but pearl soft other gems need to be coated and polished to
bring out their beauty but pearl looks beautiful even in its original form in the form it is
extracted from the oyster from the sea or from the mussel from the river.
 How are pearls formed? The formation of pearl is an interesting phenomenon
Oysters and other molluscs live in water. They have two shells, joined together with
a hinge. These sells keep opening and closing, allowing water to pass in and out of
them so that the oyster inside can eat and breathe. Sometimes a foreign particle like
a sand grain or a tiny parasite or a bit of broken shell enters the oyster's shell and
lodges itself in the soft body, causing it irritation. When the oyster is unable to get, rid
of this irritant, it secretes a substance called nacre, which forms a coating over the
foreign particle to make it less dangerous to the soft tissues of the oyster. Gradually
successive layers of nacre are deposited over the foreign particle until it
is fully enclosed in the substance, thus forming the pearl. It is the quality of the lustre
and the colour of the nacre that decides the value of the pearl because the pearl also
has the same lustre and colour as the lining of the shell of the mollusc. Rare and
valuable pearls come from some species of oysters and other molluscs that live in
the sea.

Thousands of oysters have to be collected to produce a handful of pearls. This is the

reason natural pearls are extraordinary expensive.
Until the 1940s pearl oysters were mainly found int he Persian Gulf near the Island of
Bahrain. Some of the natural pearl oyster beds were located in the South Pacific
Ocean. Must of the pearls used in jewellery are cultured pearls and not natural
pearls. A cultured pearl is a biological product of the pearl oyster as the natural pearl
in women all over the
world are fond of pearl jewellery.

1.Answer the following questions : (2x4=8)

1.How are pearls different form gems and why are pearls considered as the ideal
wedding gift?
2.What decides the value of pearls?
3.Why are natural pearls expensive?
4.When does the oyster secrete nacre? How is nacre useful for the oyster?

2.Read the questions given below and tick (ü) the option you consider the most
appropriate. (1x4=4)
 i)The Latin word for pearl literally means unique shaking that ......
a)no two pearls are alike
b)two pearls are alike
c)all pearls are identical
d)no three pearls are identical
ii)Gems are .................
a)soft
b)beautiful in their original form
c)mined from beneath the earth
d)formed inside the shell of an oyster

iii)Pick out a word which means the same as 'spotless' (Para 1) iv) Pick out a word
which means the same as "shine" (Para 3)

Section-B (Writing & Grammar) 30 marks

3. Plastic bags pose a serious threat to the environment. Steps were

taken many times to ban plastic bags completely but every time the ban
failed.

In about 120 words write an article stressing the need for total ban on
plastic bags. Suggest methods how it could be done. (8 Marks)
4. Write out a story making use of the given outlines :

A house near Ganges – father goes to another village – son in charge of the house –
the river in flood – water, water everywhere – mother and sister in danger – a boat
near the house – the boy saves the family. (10)

5.Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate option from the
clues given below : (1x4=4)

Fortune smiles only (i) those who are hard-working. It never comes (ii) the aid of
idlers. A person who (iii) nothing himself loses claim (iv)God's blessings.
i)a) of b) on c) at d) an
ii)a) on b) of c) to d) for
 iii)a) do b) did c) does d) done
(iv) a) to b) of c) for d) with

6.The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the
individual lines. Write in your answer sheet the incorrect word and the
correction as given below against the correct blank number. (1x4=4)

Even though Indian has a long history e.g. has have

behind them, they has a poor (a) .............. .............

knowledge at maintaining homes, toilets, draperies and fridges (b)........ ..........

Modern detergents and soaps is very common on (c)............ .............

shelves, but people does not use them regularly. (d)........... .............

7.Rearrange the words and phrases given below to form meaningful sentences.
The first one has been done as an example. (1x4=4)

a) best form / self study / is the / of / study

b) oneself / it is / best way / the / to educate
c) true lovers / can / make us / of / knowledge / self study
d) develops / of / investigation /self-study / the habit

Section-C (Literature ) 30 marks

8.Read the extract given below and answer the following questions :(1x4=4) 
I rather pride myself on my packing. Packing is one of those many things that I feel I

know more about than any other person living. (It surprises me myself, sometimes, how
many such things there are). I impressed the fact upon George and Harris and told them

that they had better leave the whole matter entirely to me. They fell in to the suggestion

with a readiness that had something uncanny about it. George put on a pipe and spread

himself over the easy chair, and Harris cocked his legs on the table and lit a cigar.

1. The writer offered to …?.

2. “The author’s friends fell in to the suggestion ….” Here “fell in” means ?

3. The word uncanny means ?

4. The author here is ?

Or

In spits of having travelled all over the world – Khansaab as he is fondly called is
exceedingly fond of Banaras and Dumraon and they remain for him the most
wonderful places of the world.
a) Name the lesson from which the above passage is taken?
b) Who is fondly called Khansaab?
c) What does he think of about Banaras and Dumraon?
d) Use in sentence of your own 'fond of'.

9.Answer the following questions in 30-40 words. (Any 4) (2x4=8)

I) What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine

or the willingness to live?
ii)What difference did Kezia find between Mr. McDonald and her own father?

iii)The doctor says, "But my mind was very active". Give two examples to show that
his mind was really active.
iv)When the Prince was alive, he did not know what tears were. Why?

v) What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it

bleed?

10.Answer any one of the following questions in about 100-150 words. (1x8=8)

How does the poem” No Men Are Foreign “ justify that people in all countries of
the world are essentially the same?
Or
 “If I chose a correct and a rational path, the others around
me had to change, not me”, said Santosh Yadav. How does
her life justify her words?

11.Answer any one of the following questions in about 100-120 words (10)

Describe the destruction caused by the super cyclone as
narrated in the story *Weathering the Storm in Ersama’.

Or

Teachers can either ‘make’ or ‘break’ their students’ lives.

Cite two incidents from “My Childhood” to prove the truth of
this statement.