Instructions
- Time: 3 Hours | Maximum Marks: 100
- Answer all questions in Section A and B; choose from Section C.
- Write neatly. Begin each section on a new page.
Section A — Reading Comprehension (10 Marks)
Read the following passage and answer the questions:
The bee is one of the most remarkable creatures on Earth. A honeybee colony functions as a single organism — each bee has a role. The queen lays eggs; worker bees collect nectar, build honeycomb, and guard the hive; drones exist solely to mate with a new queen. A single hive can contain up to 60,000 bees in summer. Bees communicate through a "waggle dance" — a precise movement that tells other bees the direction and distance of food sources. Without bees, nearly one-third of all human food would be at risk, as they are responsible for pollinating crops globally.
1. What is the role of the queen bee? (1) 2. How do bees communicate the location of food? (2) 3. Why are bees important to human food supply? (2) 4. List three roles of worker bees. (3) 5. Find a word from the passage that means "to fertilise plants." (1) [Answer: pollinating] 6. Give the opposite of "remarkable" from the passage. (1)
Section B — Vocabulary (10 Marks)
B1. Choose the correct synonym (1 mark each): 1. Remarkable — (a) ordinary (b) outstanding (c) quiet (d) slow [b] 2. Precise — (a) vague (b) exact (c) rough (d) large [b]
B2. Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the box: (patience, foreign, triumph, angler, vanity)
1. The _______ sat quietly by the river for three hours. [angler] 2. Her excessive _______ meant she spent hours before the mirror. [vanity] 3. With great _______ and practice, she mastered the piano. [patience]
B3. Match the literary device with the example:
| Example | Device |
|---|---|
| "Long-cramped boughs shuffle" | Personification |
| "The road less travelled" | Metaphor |
| "If you can, if you can, if you can…" | Anaphora |
Section C — Grammar (20 Marks)
C1. Rewrite in passive voice (2 marks each): 1. The teacher explained the lesson. 2. The committee has approved the plan. 3. Children love chocolates.
C2. Change to indirect speech (2 marks each): 1. Riya said, "I am going to the library." 2. The teacher said, "Open your books." 3. He asked, "Are you ready for the exam?"
C3. Fill blanks with correct tense (1 mark each): 1. She _______ (study) for two hours before dinner. 2. By the time we arrived, the movie _______ (already / start). 3. He _______ (go) to Chennai every summer.
Section D — Literature (30 Marks)
D1. One-mark questions (1 × 5 = 5): 1. Who wrote "The Fun They Had"? 2. What instrument does Evelyn Glennie play? 3. What does the fork in the road symbolise in "The Road Not Taken"? 4. Who is Tricki's owner? 5. What award did Bismillah Khan receive?
D2. Short answer — 3 marks each (choose 3 of 4): 1. How does Margie's school differ from schools of the past? 2. Explain the irony in the title "A Triumph of Surgery." 3. What is the message of "No Men Are Foreign"? 4. How does Mrs Slater show greed in "The Dear Departed"?
D3. Long answer — 5 marks each (choose 2 of 3): 1. Describe the qualities of a true hero as presented in the prose "A True Hero." 2. Explain how Kipling describes the ideal qualities of a man in "If." 3. Compare Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bismillah Khan — what quality do they share?
Section E — Writing (20 Marks)
E1. Write a formal letter (10 marks): Write a letter to the Headmaster of your school requesting permission to organise a science exhibition.
E2. Write a paragraph of 100 words (10 marks): Describe an ideal school environment. What would you change about your current school?
Section F — Poetry (10 Marks)
F1. Explain the following stanza (5 marks):
"I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference."
F2. Short answer (5 marks): What is the central message of "The Trees" by Adrienne Rich? How does the poet use the movement of trees as a symbol?
End of Model Paper 1