Read the passage given below:

My peers always thought of me as a dull boy when I was in school and my teachers never thought differently. That was because I was indeed a dull boy. I was a backbencher, after all.

I could never have been a front bencher for obvious reasons. I had a persistent paranoia of being under the watchful eye of the teacher. It used to make me self-conscious and I hated being under supervision right from childhood. I wanted to be my own boss.

I have no regrets about having been a backbencher. It is true that I used to occupy one of the seats in the last row of the class but that does not mean that I did not listen to the teacher or that I cheated on homework.

In England, there used to be a dunce's corner for students who were slow learners. A student in the dunce's 'corner was supposed to be the rough equivalent of a backbencher in our country. Some eminent personalities from whom teachers didn't have very high expectations early on in life included the inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, as well as entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. ,I feel honoured to be in their company!

There are others, of course, who prefer to make funny sounds, complete pending homework and throw chalks at other students - all sitting on those 'privileged seats'.

Believe me, it feels great! Because you not only learn whatever is taught but also get a back-eye-view of everything that happens in the class.

(a) The paragraph describes __

(i) the simple joys of the frontbenchers

(ii) the simple joys of the backbenchers

(iii) the regrets of the author

(iv) the achievements of the author

(b) The backbencher is considered a____

(i) popular student

(ii) bright student

(iii) dull student

(iv) teacher's favourite

(c) The backbencher feels great because he/she ______,

(i) can complete pending homework

(ii) can make funny sounds

(iii) can have a back-eye-view of everything that happens in the class

(iv) gets opportunity to eat snacks in between

(d) The expression, 'privileged seats' refers to _____;

(i) seats reserved for teachers' favourite students

(ii) the last seats meant for the dull students

(iii) seats for eminent persons like Bill Gates and Edison

(iv) frontbenchers

(e) The author preferred to sit in the last row because ___

(i) he was afraid of his teachers

(ii) he always cheated on his homework

(iii) he wanted to listen carefully what was being taught in the class

(iv) he hated to be under the watchful eye of the teacher

Read the poem given below and choose the most appropriate answer to complete each sentence out of the options that follow:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action -

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

(Rabindranath Tagore)

(a) The poem talks about a place where____

(i) there is peace and harmony

(ii) people live in fear

(iii) people fight with one another

(iv) there is no freedom

(b) 'Knowledge is free' means _

(i) education for all

(ii) education free of cost

(iii) education for the rich

(iv) education for the poor

(c) The phrase, 'narrow domestic walls' refers to ____

(i) houses with narrow walls

(ii) divisions of the world

(iii) country divided on the lines of caste and religion

(iv) thin walls of a house

(d) The people of this country should be guided by _

(i) logic

(ii) traditions

(iii) habits

(iv) customs

(e) Who is being addressed in this poem?

(i) People

(ii) Poet

(iii) God

(iv) Country

Read the passage given below:

One day a rich father took his young son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to .show him how .poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, ''How was the trip ?" ''Very good, Dad!". "Did you see how poor people can be? The father asked. ''Yeah!" "And what did you learn”?

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!" Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humour and a positive attitude towards life, you've got everything!

You can't buy any of these things. You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

Complete the following sentences based on your reading of the passage above in your own words.

(a) In the eyes of the boy ……… were poor.

(b) The author's purpose in the passage is to show that …………..

(c) The father took his son on a trip to the country because ……………

(d) The boy's father was speechless because…………..

(e) The word in the passage which means the same as 'a short journey' is …………………

You are Hardik or Hina, staying at 101, Green Park, Hisar, Haryana.

Write a letter in about 100 words, to your grandfather greeting him on his birthday mentioning at least two of his qualities or principles which you have learnt from his life and that you feel proud of having such a noble grandpa.

You are Akash or Akanksha, resident of Sector 13-A/231, Dwarka, N.Delhi. Write a letter in about 100 words to the Health Officer, Najafgarh Zone, N.Delhi, requesting- biro to open a new dispensary in your locality. Give at least two reasons for the same, using the hints given below.

(Hints: newly developed sector, rising population, no dispensary, private clinics expensive)