FIRST PERIODICAL
RE-TEST-AUGUST 2017
CLASS: VIII SUB: ENGLISH Max. Marks: 40 TIME: 90 Minutes
SECTION-
A :
READING (10 MARKS)
1. Read the passage given
below and answer the questions that follow: (10 marks)
1. One of the Nature’s
most gorgeous creations is the orchid – a flower that fills one’s mind with
wonder and aura. Orchids are exotic and are unquestionably part of the
aristocracy in the plant kingdom. The number of present day orchids includes up
to 35,000 species. Orchids grow all over the world with the exception of North
and South Poles. The majority of orchids are native to Asia, which is
considered to be their original house.
2. There are four main categories of orchid plants that have been
recognized on their growth habits and preferred habitats – Terrestrial orchids,
Epiphytes, Saprophytes and Lithophytes.
3. The flowers of the orchid plant are available in an amazing range
of shapes, colours, patterns, structures, sizes and scent. These peculiarities
have assured orchids a unique position among ornaments. The structure, the
fragrance and the colour are all evolved to one purpose: propagation by insects
such as bees, butterflies, wasps etc.
4. Most commercially cultivated orchids are complex hybrids.
Commercial orchids are cultivated in greenhouses with or without temperature
control. In the native environments, nearly all orchids are exposed to constant
breezes. Moving air is very beneficial to the overall health of orchids. It
helps cut down on disease problems, and also helps prevent cold or hot spots
that can form on the leaves under adverse temperature conditions. The tropical
orchids require warm, humid climate conditions with frequent watering during
summer.
5. In ancient India, orchids were described as medicinal and
ornamental plants. They were associated with folk songs and festive dances. Due
to the presence of alkaloids and flavonoids, they have been used for
therapeutic purposes too. Indigenous people of Eastern Himalayas used certain
varieties of orchid flowers to cure eye ailments.
6. Different parts of the orchid plant are also used as food in
different countries. Vanilla-the world’s favourite flavor-is extracted from the
green pods of orchid plant.
7. Orchids produce long lasting flowers which can remain fresh for
1-4 weeks even as a cut flower. Thus, they are suitable for commercial
floriculture. In Thailand, the national airline presents every passenger with
an orchid. No wonder orchid growing is a profitable business worldwide.
8. While steps are being taken to create new varieties, encroachment
of orchid habitats and over-exploitation of wild species for medicinal, ornamental
and scientific purposes have resulted in depletion of orchid flora.
9. Orchids can be conserved in their natural habitats through the
creation of National Parks, Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves, etc. The need
to conserve Orchids is being realized globally. The North of England Orchid
Society is believed to be the oldest orchid society in the world (established
1897). In India, too, the awareness about the need to conserve orchids and to
cultivate them commercially is growing. The Orchid Society of India
(Chandigarh, 1964) works to bring together all those interested in orchids. The
Orchid Society of Arunachal Pradesh organizes orchid festivals in the State to
highlight the potential of orchids in international trade. This is surely a
welcome trend that will definitely augur well for orchid biodiversity in the
days to come.
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the
following sentences: (8 marks)
(a)The structure, the fragrance and colour of orchid flower are so
evolved…………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….(1)
(b)Moving air is beneficial to the growth of orchids as: (2)
(i)…………………………………………………………………………………………..
(ii)…………………………………………………………………………………………..
(c) The orchids have been used for therapeutic purposes because
…………………………. (1)
(d)Orchid flowers are suitable for commercial floriculture as
…………………………………… (1)
(e)The reason for depletion of orchid flora are: (2)
(i)
……………………………………………………………………………….
(ii)
………………………………………………………………………………
(f) The Orchid Society of Arunachal Pradesh highlights the potential
of orchids in international trade by ……………………………………………. (1)
1.2. Pick out the words from the passage which means the same as: (2
marks)
(i) being the only
kind of its kind (para 3) –
(ii) used for
decorative purposes (para 5) –
SECTION
B (WRITING AND GRAMMAR) - 13 MARKS
2. Develop the hints given
below into a meaningful story. Give a suitable title and moral to the story: (4
marks)
Outline: a woodcutter –chopped down woods – on the bank of the river
–axe fell into river- couldn’t swim-unhappy at his misfortune-God of forests
appeared-promised to get back his axe – dived- cme out with an axe of gold-“not
mine” –dived again-came out with silver axe—“not mine”-said the
woodcutter-dived again-came out with the woodcutter’s axe- accepted it-proved to be honest-rewarded
all axes to the woodcutter.
3. The following newspaper
report has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the
incorrect word and the correction in the answer sheet. (1x3=3 marks)
Error
Correction
A three year old girl has rescued by the police eg.
has
was
last Tuesday. She was kidnap by a neighbour (a)…………………. ………………
due ransom. The mother
(b)………………….
………………..
inform the police about the missing girl. (c)…………………. ………………….
4. Rearrange the words and
phrases given below into meaningful sentences: (1x3=3)
(a) the watermelon/thirst quenchers/in summer/is/one of the best
(b) around/it is/96 countries/cultivated in/the world
(c) in Africa/about 5000 years/grown/ago/it was/ first
5. Do as directed: (1x3=3)
(a) Identify the verbs in the given sentence and arrange it in two
columns, Past and Earlier Past.
(i)When I reached the station, the train had left.
(b)Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun:
Noun- elephant, face
Adjectives: circular, chubby, round, large, enormous, wild.
(C) Fill in with suitable form of verb given in brackets:
(i) We heard with ………………. that the lion had been recaptured. (Relieve)
SECTION –C (LITERATURE) –17 marks
6. Read the following extract
and answer the following questions: (2x3=6marks)
A. “Not a crumb to be
found
On the snow-covered ground,
Not a flower could he see,
Not a leaf on a tree.
Oh! What will become”,
says the cricket, “of me?”
(a) Name the poem.
(b) What does the phrase
‘snow-covered’ indicate?
(c) Give the equivalent
word that means, ’a piece of bread’.
Or
“But it was difficult to
understand
that the men on earth found
causes to hate each other,
to build
walls across cities and to
kill.
From that height, it was
not clear why.
(a) Name the poem and poet.
(b) What does the poet find it
difficult to understand?
(c) Find the word that is the
antonym of ‘love’.
B. The family took refuge
in the third floor of the hotel. The building withstood the surge of three
tsunami waves. If they had stayed on the beach, they would not have been alive.
(a) Name the lesson.
(b) Whose family took
refuge in the third floor of the hotel?
(c) Find the equivalent
word that means, ‘endured’.
7. Answer the following questions briefly: (2x3=6)
(a)What is Connie’s
Christmas present? Why is it ‘the best Christmas present in the world?
(b)How are Alma and
Meghna’s stories similar?
(c) What tasks, do you
think, were assigned to the dog and the ox?
8. Answer the following question in about 100-120 words: (5marks)
Imagine that you are Jim.
You have returned to your town after the war. In your diary record how you feel
about the changes you see and the events that occur in your town.
Or
What message do you infer
from the poem, ‘The Ant and the Cricket’.
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