Q.1 (A) A1. Do as Directed (any four):

1. (i) Punctuate the following sentence: what a lot of noise you all make

Answer:- What a lot of noise you all make!

(ii) Identify the subject and predicate in the following sentence: I do not know anything about Bach.

Answer: Subject: I; Predicate : do not know anything about Bach

(iii) Arrange the following words in the alphabetical order: invention, indisputable, interaction, inequity.

Answer :- indisputable, inequity, interaction, invention

(iv) Fill in the blank with the proper form of the verb given in the bracket and rewrite the sentence…

That news _______ published today. (is/are).

Answer :- That news is published today.

(v) Write two past participles of any verb where the last letters are doubled.

Answer :- stopped, rubbed

Q1(A) A2. Do as directed (any two): 4 Marks

(i) Make two separate sentences using the following homophones in each: deer, dear

Answer :- (a) The little boy ran behind the pretty deer.
(b) The dear girl made dinner for the entire family.

(ii) Rewrite the following sentence in Indirect narration:

“I’m so sorry, Dr. Einstein,” she said.

Answer :- She apologised to Dr Einstein, saying that she was very sorry.

(iii) Name and identify the clauses:

When the king arrived, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut.

Answer :- Main Clause – the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut.
Subordinate Clause – When the king arrived.
Adverb Clause of Time

(B) Do as directed (any one):2

(1) Change the degree of comparison into positive and comparative:

The IAF is one of the most potent air forces in the world.

ANSWER :- (a) Very few air forces in the world are as potent as the IAF. (positive).
(b) The IAF is more potent than most other air forces in the world.(comparative)

(ii) Use the given two words into one meaningful sentence: duty, discipline

Answer :- It was the duty of the class monitor to maintain discipline in the class.

Section II: Textual Passage

Q.2 (A) Read the following passage and do the activities:

A1. Write true/false within the boxes provided after each sentence:

(i) We have a rose plant in our garden.

Answer :- False

(ii) As evening approaches, the flower withers completely.

Answer:- TRUE

(iii) We went to a rocky beach.

Answer :- TRUE

(iv) Our problems are not colossal.

Answer :- False

. We have a hibiscus plant in our garden. Every fortnight a flower blooms on it-big, bright and tender. Through the day it smiles with the sun and dances with the wind, but as evening approaches, it starts wilting. The morning after, it withers completely and by evening it falls and becomes one with the earth again. The flower comes to life only for a day, yet it does so in full splendour. What if we too lived our life, however short. to its fullest?
We went to a rocky beach and saw the spread of the majestic ocean and the rocks alongside, carved, sculpted and shaped by the water. Water is so gentle, rock so hard, yet, as the water flows over it every day, for years, the rock gives in. It takes the shape that the water commands. Our problems are so colossal and we are so small, yet if we persist……….We saw small bits of grass peeping through the small crack in a concrete pavement. It left us thinking: however impossible things may look, there is always an opening……….

A2. How should we deal with difficulties and problems?

Answer :- When we come across difficulties and problems, we should not complain. We should be determined and persist till we have overcome the difficulties. However impossible things may look at that moment, there is always hope and we must pursue that hope with a positive attitude.

A3.Vocabulary : Complete the table :

Noun → Verb Adjective. Adverb. brightness → brighten → bright→ brightly

persistence → persist → persistent → persistently

A4. Grammar:

(i) Underline the verb in the sentence below and say whether it is transitive or intransitive. It withers completely.

Answer :- It withers completely. – Intransitive verb

(ii) Add a question tag and rewrite the sentence. It left us thinking.

ANSWER :- It left us thinking, didn’t it?

A5. Which things in nature attract you the most and how do you get motivated by constantly observing them?

Answer :- Watching a seed grow into a plant, slowly but surely, motivates me.I like to watch how the shoots develop and then the little green leaves, fighting adverse conditions, if any. I am amazed and thrilled when the little seed finally grows into a big plant, giving flowers and fruit. This motivates me tremendously and makes me feel that all is well with the world, and I too can grow and develop well.

(B) Read the following passage and do the activities:

B1. Complete the web from passage:

Parts of body :

Answer :- elbows, throat, eyes, lips

One morning in a small apartment in Bombay a girl of about sixteen looked up from the newspaper and said excitedly, ‘Pandit Ravi Shankar’s playing tomorrow at the Shanmukhananda auditorium’.
‘Sh-sh,’ said her mother pointing to the figure sleeping on the bed. “You’ll wake him up. You know he needs all the sleep and rest he can get.
‘But the boy on the bed was not asleep. ‘Pandit Ravi Shankar!” he said. ‘Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro? He raised himself up on his elbows for one second, then fell back. But his eyes were shining. ‘We mustn’t miss the chance,’ he said. “I’ve I’ve always wanted to hear him and see him…….’
‘Lie down son, lie down. His mother sprang to his side. ‘He actually raised himself up without help, she murmured with a catch in her throat and her eyes turned to the idols on a corner shelf. The prayer, which she uttered endlessly, came unbidden to her lips.

B2. Find the reasons for each of the sentence given below from the passage:

(i) The mother ‘sh-sh’-ed her…..

Answer :- because she did not want her son, who was sleeping on the bed, to wake up.

(ii)The boy’s eyes were shining…..

Answer :- because he wanted to go to the concert, since he had always wanted to see and hear Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro.

B3. Vocabulary:

(i) Find out two onomatopoeic words from the passage.

ANSWER :- (i) sh-sh (ii) murmured

(ii) Complete the cross puzzle in the given ladders in capital letters. (The words should be from the passage only).

B4. Grammar:

(i) THe raised himself up on his elbows for one second, then fell back.(Make it simple)

Answer :- After raising himself on his elbows for one second, he fell back.

(ii) The boy on the bed was not asleep.(Make it affirmative)

Answer : (2) The boy on the bed was awake.

B5. Why do you think the boy’s mother’s eyes turned towards the idols kept in the corner?

Answer :- The boy’s mother knew that her son was suffering from an incurable and fatal illness, and that the doctors had given up hope. She knew that the only option left to her was to pray and ask the gods for a miracle. Therefore, at every possible moment, she turned towards the idols to pray for her son’s health. They were her only hope and support.

Section III: Poetry

Q.3 (A) Read the following extract and do the given activities:

A1. Complete the sentences with words from the extract:

(i) The villagers prayed that the misfortunes of mother’s…. should decrease.

Answer :– 1) The villagers prayed that the misfortunes of mother’s next birth should decrease.

(ii) Mother twisted through and through……

Answer :- (2) Mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat.

(iii) My father was sceptic and a ……

Answer :- (3) My father was a sceptic and a rationalist.

(iv) The poet watched the…… feeding on his mother.

Answer :- 4) The poet watched the flame feeding on his mother.

May he sit still, they said May the sins of your previous birth be burned away tonight, they said.

May your suffering decrease the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.

May the sum of all evil balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good become diminished by your pain.

May the poison purify your flesh of desire, and your spirit of ambition, they said, and they sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre, the peace of understanding on each face.

More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours, more insects, and the endless rain.

My mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat.

My father, sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessings, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.

He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.I watched the flame feeding on my mother.I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation.After twenty hoursit lost its sting.My mother only said Thank God the scorpion picked on me. And spared my children.

A2. Why do you think mother thanked God that the scorpion picked her, not her children?

Answer :- The mother went through a lot of pain and agony due to the bite. She had also to endure painful treatment. She was a loving mother and did not want her children ever to suffer such agony. She knew that they would not be able to bear it and hence thanked God that the scorpion had picked her and not her children.

A3. Poetic device:Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line:

My mother twisted through and through, groaning on the mat.

Onomatopoeia : the word ‘groaning’ indicates sound.

B) Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:

To be continued……. Click Here

ENGLISH KUMARBHARATI – JULY 2025 Question Paper