KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA ALONG

PERIODIC TEST I 2024-25

CLASS: X
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
MM: 40
Time: 1hr 30 m
General Instructions:
Section A – Reading Skills (10 marks)
Section B - Writing Skills & Grammar (10 marks)
Section C - Literature (20 marks)
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SECTION A: READING (10 MARKS)

Q.1. Read the following passage carefully:
1. Britain’s first taste of tea was belated – the Chinese had been drinking it for 2,000
years. The English diarist, Samuel Pepys, mentions tea in his diary entry from
September 25, 1600. “Tcha,” wrote Pepys, the “excellent and by all Physicians
approved, China drink,” was sold in England from 1635, for prices as high as £6 to £10
per pound of the herb (£600 to £1,000, today). In 1662, when King Charles II married
the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, her dowry constituted a chest of tea,
and the island of Bombay for an annual lease of £10, equivalent then to the cost of a
pound of tea in England. Catherine, who was used to drinking tea in the Portuguese
court, had her first sip of the beverage in England in May 1662 – the month of her
wedding – at Portsmouth.

2. In the 18th century, Dutch firm J.J. Voute & Sons ruthlessly exploited the incapacity of
the English East India Company to supply tea to Britain’s thriving domestic elites and
coffee houses, smuggling about eight million pounds of tea, annually. Yet, Dutch tea
soon became a “name for all teas that are bad in quality and unfit for use.” Meanwhile,
the English company began strengthening its commercial ties with China, as Bombay
turned into the seed of British India’s commerce, escalating all other European –
especially Portuguese and Dutch – operations.

3. However, with resources depleted due to the Anglo-Dutch wars, by the 18th century,
the English were unable to afford the silver that China demanded for continuing trade
with Britain. To counter smuggled tea, on the one hand, and the increasing Chinese
demand for silver on the other, the British responded by growing opium in India –
largely in Bengal, Patna, Benares and the Malwa plateau – and smuggling it into China,
in exchange for their beloved beverage.

4. Still, British tea cultivators were extremely anxious to have Chinese tea and
techniques brought to India. In 1788, The Royal Society of Arts began deliberating on
the idea of transplanting saplings from China. Then, in 1824, tea saplings were
discovered in Assam by Robert Bruce and Maniram Dewan. Tea plantations later
expanded across Assam and Darjeeling. In a 19th century lecture to the Royal Society, it
was noted that around this time, carpenters and shoemakers from Chinese settlements
in Calcutta were being sent up to Darjeeling or Assam, “presumably on the belief that
every Chinaman must be an expert in tea cultivation and manufacture,” although many
of them had never even seen a tea sapling.
 On the basis of your reading and understanding of the above passage,
answer the following :

1. Samuel Pepys refers to tea as __________ in his diary.

2. The cost of a pound of tea in England in 1662 was 10
pounds (True/False)?
3. Who took advantage of England’s inability to grow tea in the 18th
century?
4. England smuggled __________ to China to get tea.
5. Catherine had her first sip of tea in May 1662 at
A. Portuguese court B. Bombay C. China D.
Portsmouth
6. Which tea soon became synonymous with ‘teas that are bad in quality
and unfit for use’?
A. Assamese B. Portuguese C. Dutch D. English
7. England couldn’t buy tea from China in the 18th century because
A. it had lost much wealth in the Anglo-Dutch war.
B. China sold tea at an unaffordable rate.
C. it had lost in the Anglo-Dutch war.
D. it had started growing opium in India.
8. Though China had been drinking tea for 2000 years, many of them
A. had not tasted tea in the 19th century.
B. had not seen a tea sapling in the 19th century.
C. didn’t like the taste of tea.
D. many of them didn’t know how to grow tea.
9. The most suitable title for the passage is
A. British Tea B. Chinese Tea C. Portuguese Tea D. Indian Tea
10. The word ‘deliberating’ in paragraph 4 means
A. thinking carefully about something B. talking about a problem
C. delivering parcels D. transporting something

SECTION B: GRAMMAR AND WRITING SKILLS (10 MARKS)

Q.2. Read the following story and choose the correct option. Attempt any five of the six. (1x5=5)

Once upon (i)……….. time, there lived (ii)…………man named Mahesh Das. He was well known for (iii)
………..intelligent and witty answers. Many people (iv)……….. from far away areas to (v)………… advice on
(vi) …………..variety of matters.

i) a) the b) an c) a d) all

ii) a) the b) a c) an d) any

iii) a) the b) an c) a d) his

iv) a) come b) had come c) will come d) came

v) a) asked b) had asked c) ask d) will ask

vi) a) the b) a c) an d) any

Q. 3. You are Bupendra/Dolly, a resident of Saraswati Nagar, Guwahati. Write a letter in about 120
words to the S.P. Traffic Police complaining about the increasing number of road crash and accidents in
your city due to rash driving. (5)

Or

You are Minakshi/Minaketan, reading in class X at Minerva Model High School, New Delhi. Write a letter
to the Principal of your school requesting him to arrange extra classes in Mathematics and Science
during winter vacation. Give proper reason for your request and commitment to attend the classes
regularly.

SECTION D: LITERATURE (20 MARKS)

Q.4. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: (1x4=4)

He stalks in his vivid stripes

The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.

He should be lurking in shadow,

Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.

i. What difference do you notice between the two stanzas about the tiger?
ii. In the first stanza the tiger is
A. quiet B. angry C. both A and B D. happy
iii. The tiger is lurking in shadow in order to
A. drink water B. to make friend with the deer C. to hunt the deer D. to help the deer.
iv. The poetic device used in the line “ In his quiet rage” is
A. Onomatopoeia B. Oxymoron C. Simile D. Metaphor
Q.5. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: (Attempt any one of the
two extracts.)
That was twenty-four hours ago. Since then nobody had come near him. The day before, all day long, he
had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight,
teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish.
i. Why did had his parents not come near him for twenty-four hours? (1)
ii. The parents did not love him so he was left alone on the ledge. (State TRUE or FALSE) (1)
iii. What did his brothers and sisters learn the day before? (2)
Or
We, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the
nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all our distinguished international guests for having
come to take possession with the people for our country of what is, after all, a common victory for
justice, for peace, for human dignity.
i. Why did the speaker describe themselves as outlaws not so long ago? (1)
ii. Here ‘our own soil’ refers to (1)
A. South America B. South Africa C. Brazil D. the Earth
iii. Why was the speaker thankful to the distinguished international guests? (2)

Q.6. Answer any three of the following questions in about 40 words. (2x3=6)
i. Why were two national anthems sung that day?
ii. What does courage mean to Mandela?
iii. The young seagull felt that his wings would not support him. Was he right to think so? Justify your
answer.
iv. “I should go back to Anil, I told myself” Who is the speaker? Why did he decide to go back to Anil?

Q. 7. Answer any one of the following questions in 120 words. (6)

A. ‘In life, every man has twin obligations…’ What are the twin obligations in every man’s life as stated
by Nelson Mandela? Describe how a man of his birth and colour in South Africa is not able to fulfill both
these obligations.
B. Imagine that you are Hari Singh. Describe your opinion about what kind of person Anil is and how
your meeting with him has brought a change in you.
C. How did the young learn to fly? How did his family react when he had learnt to fly?