CBSE Class 10 English Pre-Board Sample Paper 2024: Download in PDF

CBSE Class 10 English Pre-Board Sample Paper 2024

1. Read the passage given below.(10 Marks)

While we all may not possess the ability to paint the Mona Lisa, compose like Mozart, cook like Julia Child, or write like Hemingway, every human being is born with a special talent. Some people are able to find and learn to express their talents early on while others might discover them later in life. We are all creative beings, and creative beings need to create as much as we need to eat, breathe and sleep. Creativity has different meaning for different people and unfortunately, due to many factors (one’s upbringing, religion, busy schedule, et cetera), that creativity is often stifled. Its importance is not valued as much as it should be, which can have a powerful effect on one’s overall ability to achieve true happiness and success in life. If we stifle our creativity or discount its importance, we create blockages in other aspects of life, which can hinder our ability to move forward in different areas like health, work and personal relationships.

No matter how busy one’s schedule is, it is very important to schedule time for self-care, specifically for expressing creativity. Trying out different hobbies is a great way to explore one’s creativity because it can be very enjoyable. Some people find one hobby and fall in love with it so much that it becomes their passion. For example, I love to play with natural ingredients and blend essential oils. Making all-natural, organic skin care products and teaching the recipes in my community workshops is one of my passions. Some people prefer to try different hobbies for shorter periods of time, or change them up each season to stay interested and keep trying different things.

One great thing about hobbies is that there are no set of rules. Each person gets to decide how often they want to do it and whether they want to stick with it for a long time or move on to something else after trying it for a few weeks or months. Another valuable aspect of hobbies is that one can enjoy them quietly when enjoying some downtime alone, or as a way to become involved with a community. Book clubs, art or cooking classes, writers’ workshops, knitting circles, gardening clubs – nearly every type of hobby presents an opportunity to meet with other likeminded individuals and build relationships. This could be beneficial on both personal and professional level. In any business, especially the salon and spa business, teamwork is vital to success. Hobbies can be a great way to create a community among co-workers either in or outside of the spa. Sometimes if co-workers are not getting along, having them participate in a seemingly non-work related hobby, where all participants are novices, can be great for creating common ground. Often, the simple act of providing an opportunity for a person to find and express his or her own inherent creative talents produces significant positive changes. When people experience something as simple and profound as creating something beautiful from seemingly nothing, they begin to view the world – and daily environments – in a fresh, new way

On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer any ten from the twelve that follow. (1×10=10)

(i)The examples of Mozart, Julia Child and Hemingway are used here to mark their:

(a) talents (b) cooking skill (c) creative expertise (d) none of the above.

(ii) The criteria which DOES NOT stifle one’s creativity

(a)Upbringing (b) health (c) busy schedule. (d) religion

(iii) According to the passage, what DOES NOT receive its deserved importance?

(a)skills (b)creativity (c)relationships (d)beauty

(iv) Choose the option in which the meaning of ‘stifle’ is NOT the same as it is in the passage.

(a) She stifled a giggle.

(b) Those in the streets were stifled by the fumes.

(c) High taxes were stifling private enterprise

(d) The children tried to stifle their laughter during class

(v) What do we achieve from creativity?

(a) happiness (b) success in life (c) both (a) and (b) (d) none of these

(vi) Which is false about creativity?

(a) Creativity has different meaning to different people.

(b) When people create something beautiful, they begin to view the world differently.

(c)Expressing his or her own inherent creative talents produces significant negative changes.

(d) Creative minds have lots of opportunities to meet the likeminded people.

(vii) How can one explore one’s creativity?

(a) By trying out different hobbies. (b) by creating a set of rules

(c) meeting other likeminded people (d) all of the above

(viii) The word in para 4 which means ‘deep and intense’ is

(a) novice (b) profound (c) inherent (d) significant

(ix) What can later become one’s passion?

(a) hobby (b) education (c) profession (d) religion

(x) Choose the option which is NOT a correct statement about hobbies.

(a) They do not have any set of rules.

(b) People have every freedom to decide how and when to continue with their hobby.

(c) Hobbies are a great way to maintain personal relationships.

(d) We can stick to a hobby for a long time but can’t switch to another.

2. Read the passage given below: (10 Marks)

India is a country of many languages. The constitution recognises 22 languages officially, but over 121 unique languages have been identified in the country.

To preserve and encourage the literary function of language, the government introduced ‘classical languages’ in 2004. According to the Ministry of Culture, a classical language is one that is at least 1,500 years old and has ancient, valuable literature recorded in it. Further, such a language is original and not derived from another language. Based on these guidelines, six languages have been classified as classical languages: Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.

The following graph shows the percentage of Indian people whose mother tongue is a classical language. This is as per data collected by the census of 2011. The census was not conducted in 2021 due to the pandemic.

According to the graph, around 6.7% of the Indian population are native speakers of Telugu, whereas Sanskrit has been identified as a mother tongue by only 0.002% of the population, which is around 24,821 people. Malayalam has the second lowest number of native speakers, making up about 2.9% of Indians.

The 2011 census data also noted that a majority of the native speakers reside in the area that their mother tongue originated from. For example, 93% of Kannada speakers live in Karnataka. Similarly, 93% of Malayalam speakers live in Kerala.

Balancing preservation of culture and inclusivity is a delicate equation for a heterogeneous country like India. With growing awareness, concepts like ‘classical languages’ may help us achieve harmony.

Glossary: census – a survey that is conducted every ten years to collect information about the population of the country

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above

i. Which of these pieces of information can be confirmed by reading the passage?

(I) the number of people in India who speak Tamil

(II) where the majority of native Sanskrit speakers live

(III) the reason Malayalam is considered a classical language

(IV) when the idea of classical languages was introduced in India

(a) Only (I)

(b) Only (IV)

(c) Only (I) and (II)

(d) Only (III) and (IV)

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