B.S.

RAI EDUCATION TRUST

MAA DURGA ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL
SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION 2O24-2025
SUBJECT:ENGLISH
Std:8th
Marks:50

Q.1.(A)Do as directed.
(10 Marks)

(1)The writer of these man of genius. Manuscripts was a

(Rewrite using ‘who’)

Ans. The writer who had written these manuscripts was a man of genius.

(2)After lunch, he loped off for a game of real tennis. (Use a question tag)

Ans. After lunch, he loped off for a game of real tennis, didn’t he?

1) Heseemed to have listened with a patient smile. (Rewrite using a

subordinator)

Ans. He seemed to have listened with a smile that was patient.

(3)Hardy did not forget that he was in the presence of a genius.

(Rewrite as Affirmative)

Ans. Hardy always remembered that he was in the presence of a genius.

(4)Their association touching. Was strangely

(Rewrite as an Interrogative sentence)

Ans. Wasn’t their association a strangely touching one?

(5)Analyse the sentence and say whether simple complex or compound

Babies smile when they see their mother

Ans. Babies smile Main clause when they see their mother – Subordinate
clause when – Subordinator – Complex sentence

(6)Let us send for Tenali Raman.

(Change the voice)

Ans. Let Tenali Raman be sent for by us.

 (7)Complete the word chain with adjectives. The last letter of the previous
word, must begin the new word.
(a) Scholarly,

Ans. Scholarly, young, gentle, elegant, terrible.

(8)Let us debate on the virtues of scripture.

(Use the correct modal auxiliary.)

We should debate on the virtues of scripture.

(9)All of you be seated. (Use the future tense.)

Now all of you will sit down.

(10) Frame your own sentence using the adverb given.

 Loudly

My dog Bubbles barked loudly at the in- truder.

SECTION II : TEXTUAL PASSAGE

Q.2. (A) Read the extract carefully and do the activities.

Al. Simple Factual Questions

(1)Answer the questions in a word or two.

1M
(a) In what did Ramanujan not believe much?

Ans. Theological doctrine.

(b)What kind of association was there between Hardy and

Ramanujan? 1M

Ans. Strangely touching.

© For which goddess did Ramanujan’s mother have the highest respect.
1M

Ans. Goddess of Namakkal.

(c) What type of person was Ramanujan according to Hardy’s report.

1M

Ans. Amiable and good natured.

Ramanujan turned out to be a poor clerk in Madras (Chennai), living with his
wife on twenty pounds a year. He was usually strict about his religious
observances, with a mother who was even stricter. It seemed impossible that
he could break the ban and cross the water. Fortunately his mother had the
highest respect for the goddess of Namakkal. One morning Ramanujan’s
mother made a startling announcement. She had a dream the previous
night, in which she saw her son seated in a big hall among a group of
Europeans and the goddess of Namakkal had commanded her not to stand in
the way of her son fulfilling his life’s purpose. This, say Ramanujan’s Indian
biographers, was a very agreeable surprise to all concerned.

Once1914, Ramanujan arrived in England. So far as Hardy could detect

(though in this respect I should not trust his insight far) Ramanujan, despite
the difficulties of breaking the caste laws, did not believe much in theological
doctrine, except for a vague pantheistic benelolence, any more than Hardy
did himself. But he did certainly believe in ritual. When Trinity put him up in
college within four years he became a fellow. There was no "Alan St. Aubyn"
self indulgence for him at all. Hardy used to find him ritually changed into his
pyjamas, cooking vegetables rather miserably in a frying pan in his own
room.

Their association was strangely touching one. Hardy did not forget that he
was in the presence of a genius, but genius that was, even in mathematics,
almost untrained. Ramanujan had not been able to enter Madras (Chennai)
University because he could not matriculate in English. According to Hardy’s
report, he was always amiable and good – natured, but no doubt he
sometimes found Hardy’s conversation outside mathematics more than a
little baffling. He seems to have listened with a patient smile on his good,
friendly, homely face. Even inside mathematics they had to come to terms
with the difference in their education. Ramanujan was self-taught he knew
nothing of the modern rigour, in a sense he didn’t know what a proof was. In
an uncharacteristically sentimental moment, Hardy once wrote that if he had
been better educated, he would have been less ’Ramanujan’. Coming back
to his ironic senses, Hardy later corrected himself and said that the
statement was nonsense. If Ramanujan had been better educated, he would
have been even more wonderful than he was. In fact, Hardy was obliged to
teach him some formal mathematics as though Ramanujan had been a
scholarship candidate at Winchester. Hardy said that this was the most
singular experience of his life . What did modern mathematics look like to
someone who had the deepest insight, but who had literally never heard of
most of it?
 (1)Say whether true of false and correct the false statements.
2M
(a) Within five years ‘Ramanujan became a Fellow of Trinity.
(b)Ramanujan turned out to be a poor clerk in Madras.
(c) ) Ramanujan was self taught.
(d)(d) Ramanujan was not strict about his religious observances.

Ans.

(a) False : Within four years Ramanujan became a Fellow of Trinity.

(b) True

© True

(e) False : He was usually strict about his religious observances.

(B) Pick out words from the extract that mean the following.
2M

(i) Travel across the sea

(ii) surprising

(iii) pleasant and friendly

(iv) full of emotions

Ans.

(i) Cross the water

(ii) startling

(iii) amiable

(iv) sentimental

SECTION III : POETRY

Q.3 (A) Fill in the gaps, choosing words from the brackets to make appropriat
comparisons.

2M

(tall/quiet/humble/merry/busy/slippery /fast/sly / slow / big)

(1)As……… as a lark
(2)As……… as a snail
 (3)As………. as a giraffe
(4)As………… as a bee

Ans. (1) as merry as a lark

(2)As slow as a snail

(3)As tall as a giraffe
(4)As busy as a bee

(B) Read the extract carefully and do the activities.

A1. Simple Factual Questions

(1)Complete the following choosing appropriate options.

1M
(i) The ……..nectar. Bees make honey from
(a) Officers
(b)Civilian citizens

© magistrates

Ans. Civilian citizens

(ii) The soldier – bees carry home.

1M
(a) Velvet buds
(b)Nectar looted from flowers

© their weapons

Ans. (b) nectar looted from flowers

(iii) Human beings can learn from honey bees……..

1M
(a) How to make food
(b)How to live joyfully

© how to lead an organised nation.

Ans. © how to lead an organised nation.

(iv) The drone is given a death sentence because he……

1M
(a) Attacked the emperor
(b)Killed the bees

© does not do any work.

 Ans. © does not do any work.

So work the honey- bees, creatures that by a rule in nature teach

The art of order to a peopled kingdom, They have a king and officers of sorts;
Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; Others, like merchants,
venture trade abroad; Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings; Make boot
upon the summer’s velvet buds; Which pillage they with merry march bring
home To the tent royal of their emperor; Who, busied in his magesty,
surveys, The singing masons building roofs of gold, The civil citizens
kneading up the honey, The poor mechanic porters crowding in Their heavy
burdens at his narrowgate, The sad eyed Justice, with his surly hum,
Delivering over to executors pale The lazy yawning drone

1) What do honey bees teach us?

1M

Ans. Honey bees teach us to work according to rules. Each one of us has a
different job to do and we must do it well. They teach us to live an organised
life.

Critical Appreciation of the Poem :

5M

(B) Read the poem. Write an appreciation of the poem in about 12 to 15

sentences with the help of the following points.

Points:

Title

Poet

Theme / Central idea

Rhyme scheme

Figures of speech

Special features

Favourite lines

Why I like / dislike the poem.

Paragraph Format

This poem is named as The Bees.

The poet is none other than the great William Shakespeare.

The poet wants to remind us that Honey- bees live an organized life. All of us
humans must be like them. They have among them a king, magistrates,
merchant bees, soldier bees, mason bees, civilian bees, porter bees and
judge bees. All these have their own jobs to do and they do it very well..

The poem does not have a rhyme scheme. Such verses are called ‘Free
Verse’

The poet has used figures of speech such as Alliteration and Onomatopoeia.

Eg.

(a) With his surly hum – Onomatopoeia

(b)Which pillage they with merry march bring home – Alliteration

The poet has used imagery to show us how the bees do their jobs
according to what they are.

Eg.

(a) The mason building roofs of gold.

(b)Soldiers armed in their stings.

© Lazy yawning drone.

The poem is full of attractive lines. The lines, I like the most are:

(a) ‘So work the honey-bees, creatures that by a rule in nature teach.
(b)The art of order to a peopled kingdom

I like the poem because the great poet William Shakespeare, has chosen
the busy bee to teach man how to go about his work and not shirk his
duty. Man must have an organized life like the bees.

SECTION IV : TEXTUAL PASSAGE

Q.4.(A) Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities
given below.

Al. Simple Factual Questions

(A)Fill in the web with what people are busy doing daily.
2M

Changes after the author’s promotion

Ans
 . (a) ugly become beautiful

(c) Wicked become good

© proud become humble

(d)Miserly become generous

C) Match the following :

2M

Column ‘A’ Column ‘B’

Man Rejoining
Glasses Haughty arrogant
Z.N. Kazusor Rose coloured
Promotion and increase in salary Terrifying person

(1)-(b), (2) – (c), (3) – (d), (4) – (a).

On becoming cashier I suddenly felt as if I were wearing rose-coloured

glasses. I was rejoicing over the promotion and the slight increase in salary,
nothing more. All at once people appeared to have changed. Everyone
seemed to have improved! The ugly became beautiful, the wicked became
good, the proud became humble and the miserly became generous. It was as
if my eyes had been opened and beheld all men wonderful. I have been
stupid not to have perceived these qualities before. How charming everyone
is!.

On the day of my appointment, even Z.N. Kazusov changed. He was a

member of the board of directors, a haughty, arrogant man who always
ignored the unimportant people. He approached me and smiling
affectionately, he clapped me on my back. “You are too young to be so proud
my boy. It’s unforgivable!” he said. “Why don’t you ever drop in on us? It’s
shameful of you; the young people generally gather at our house, and it’s
always gay there. My daughters are forever asking me. Why don’t you

Invite Gregory Kuzmich, Papa? He’s so nice! But is it possible to get him to
come? Well in any case, I’ll try, I told them. I’ll ask him. Now, don’t give
yourself airs, my boy, do come,” he said.

Amazing! What had happened to him? Had he gone out of his mind? He had
always been a terrifying person, and now look at him!

(A2) Answer the following in just a word or a phrase.

(a)What changes people’s towards a person? Attitude.
1M

Ans. Power and money.

(c) Who changed on the day of the author’s appointment?

1M

Ans. Z.N. Kazusov.

©What was the writer working as?

1M

Ans. Cashier.

(d)What made the writer happy on his promotion?

1M

Ans. Increase in salary.

(A3) Give the antonyms of :

2M

(i) Ugly
(ii) Proud
(iii) Increase
(iv) Generous

Ans.

(i) Beautiful
(ii) Humble
(iii) Decrease
(iv) Miserly

Written skills.
5M

(A4) Read the passage carefully and write the summary of the passage. Add
a suitable title.

Man is the architect of his own fate. If he makes proper division of his time
and does his dukes accordingly, he is sure to improve and prosper in ife, but
if he does otherwise, he is sure to repent, when it is too late and he will have
to drag a miserable existence from day to day. To kill time is as culpable as to
commit suicide. For our life is nothing but the sum total of hours, days and
years. Youth is the seed time of life. In youth, the mind is pliable and soft and
can be moulded in any form we like. If we lose the morning hours of life, we
shall have to repent afterwards.

Ans. Summary:

Title: Time and Tide wait for no man

Man is sure to become successful in life if he uses his time well and performs
his duties as he should. If he does not do so, he is not going to succeed and
will line to repent. He will be living a miserable life because he has failed to
use his time well. The time we must begin our hard work and do our duties,
is the time of youth. This is the stage of life that is pliable and can be
moulded. Time will not wait for us.

(A5) Read the following extract and write a letter of congratulations to your
friend.

Inter State Singing Competition won by a local girl. Mumbai: 4 th March, 2018.
Rachel Rodrigues of St. Paul’s High School, Parel won the Inter State Singing
Competition conducted by the All India Singing Club.

Rose Villa

Byculla

Mumbai 400027

4th March, 2018

Dear Rachel,

Congratulations !!! I was glancing through the Mid Day news paper, when I
read about your outstanding achievement. My friend, you have really
reached the top. All at home must be highly thrilled. Congratulations and
three cheers!! Hip Hip Hurrah!

You are great. You bagged the first place for the Inter School-State Singing
Competition. Do you recall, that all of us used to tell you what a sweet voice
you have? I am certain, you practised a great deal and changed your sweet
voice to powerful and melodious voice.

Dear friend, I am sure, your family, your school and your friends are all
basking in your glory. I am sure everyone has praises for you. Just imagine!
Inter State Singing Competition !!

We must meet soon. I shall visit you as soon as we finish our semester.
Once more congratulations!! May you achieve many more successes in life.

Love to all at home.

Your loving friend,

Sarah

(A6) Develop a dialogue between you and your teacher discussing the
project that you have to submit. You have no information about it, since you
were sick and on leave when the announcement was made.
5M

Ans.

Self: Good day Ma’am. Can you spare me some time?

Teacher: Good morning. Yes of course, What is it?

Self: Ma’am I was absent for a week due to viral fever and I missed the
announcement regarding the project to be submitted. My friends told me
about it, but I decided to consult you.

Teacher: Yes, that project is very essential. The project is on ‘Importance of

Science Today’.

Self: Ma’am can we do it with pictures and drawings.

Teacher: No no! The entire project must be

Written on full scape sheets of paper. This is like a long long long essay. It
must contain at least 1000 words to 1250 words. You will have to go on Net
to get the details.

Self: The hand written pages should not be decorated ma’am?

Teacher: No. Keep it neat and simple. The writing must be neat and legible.
Stick to the topic. Give examples and quotations. See that you maintain a
neat margin. See that everything is clear.

Self : Ma’am can the sheets be put in a decorated cover?

Teacher: Yes the cover can be decorated but not overdone. Just a picture and
the title of your topic in bold letters.

Self: Thank you Ma’am, I will hand over my project tomorrow.

Teacher: Fine. Now go home and start with it.

(A7) Interview questions.
5M

Saina Nehwal is your chief guest for your Annual School Meet. Prepare 10
questions that you are going to ask her. Hello Miss. We are so happy and
honoured to have you here as our chief guest. Miss may I ask you a few
questions?

Ma’am you are such a famous personality when was it that you discovered
your potential?

Everyone has his or her strong points ma’am what is your strong point in
your game?

Did you get all the support from your family members when you took your
decision. Who supported you the most?

◆Which player in this game of tennis was your greatest inspiration ma’am?

You must be facing a lot of competition. Who is your biggest and strongest
competitor in the field?

At what age did you start your training to play tennis ma’am?

◆For how many hours do you train specially before a tournament?

What do you think about the ratings that you get? How do you rate yourself
ma’am?

What is your dream about your game? What ambitions do you have now?

All our sports students are waiting for you to speak to them. Ma’am will you
please give them some message?

Thank you ma’am.

Information transfer 162.

Ans. The diagram shows us about the different types of oils. It is very
essential to know about the commodities that we use in everyday life.

There are three main types of oil according to the information given in the
tree diagram.

(1)Groundnut oil
 (2)Vegetable oil and
(3)Mineral Oil

Groundnut oil is got from groundnuts and is very essential, since it is used for
cooking. Vegetable oil is extracted from flowers and vegetables. Vegetable oil
is used to make soaps, medicines and scents. Some vegetable oil is also
used for cooking eg. Sunflower oil.

Mineral oil is got from the crust of the earth. It is used in industries, as petrol
in vehicles and also as fuel (kerosene). Oils are of great importance to us, in
some way or the other.

CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS.

5M

How true this adage is. Most of us love to keep ourselves and our
surroundings clean but unfortunately there are some among us who take
pleasure in littering the place and not bothering to keep ourselves and our
homes clean.

Cleanliness of mind, body and soul is very important and necessary too since
this brings us closer to our maker and creator, that is God Almighty. Hence it
is very essential and important to start the day with a bath.

The presence of God Almighty can be felt in the environment when our souls
are free from evil thoughts.

Cleaning ourselves physically does not pose any problems, but it is cleaning
ourselves from within that is really very important in our lives. Those with
clean minds and thoughts are the ones who are aware of God and his
goodness. Such people think positive and know how to be optimistic in life.
Such people find peace wherever they go and strive to spread peace and
goodwill everywhere.

In an untidy or dirty environment, we cannot function well because of the dirt

around us. This makes our performance weak and we end up by getting
frustrated and angry with everyone around us.

A dirty atmospheree and a dirty surrounding tend to make our thoughts dirty,
hence we must have cleanliness around us. If we are not responsible to see
that there is cleanliness around us, we are failures.