1
Summative Assessment – I
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
CLASS X
English ‐ Communicative
Maximum marks: 80
Time‐3 hours
The question paper is divided into three sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension
20 marks
Section B: Writing
20 marks
Section C: Grammar
20 marks
Section D: Literature
20 marks
SECTION‐ A
(Reading ‐20 Marks)
Q 1 Read the following passage carefully:
(5 Marks)
We are in a rush. We are making haste. A compression of time characterises our
lives. As time‐use researchers look around, they see a rushing and scurrying
everywhere.
Instant services rule, pollsters use electronic devices during political speeches to
measure opinions before they have been fully formed; fast food restaurants add
express lanes. Even reading to children is under pressure. The volume “One Minute
Bedtime Stories” consists of traditional stories that can be read by a busy parent in
only one minute.
Time is a gentle deity, said Sophocles. Perhaps it was, for him. These days it cracks
the whip. We humans have chosen speed and we thrive on it – more than we
generally admit. Our ability to work fast and play fast gives us power. It thrills us. And
if haste is the accelerator, multitasking is the overdrive.
2
A sense of well being comes with this saturation of parallel pathways in the brain.
We choose mania over boredom every time. “Humans have never opted for slower,”
points out the historian Stephen Kern. We catch the fever –and cramming our life
feels good.
There are definite ways to save time, but what does this concept really mean? Does
time saving mean getting more done? If so, does talking on a cellular phone at