DEHRADUN PUBLIC SCHOOL

ASSIGNMENT (2017-18)
SUBJECT- ENGLISH
CLASS- X
Writing Section
A. Article
1. Each year witnesses soaring cut-offs for university admissions. Many a deserving student
is left without a seat causing frustration. Write an article for a local daily in about 120
words highlighting the plight of students and suggest measures that the Government could
take to provide enough avenues for the youth. You are Amit/Anita.
2. Incidents of picking pockets and petty thefts have been on the rise in public transport
systems. As a concerned citizen, write an article in about 120 words to make people aware
of this phenomenon, advise exercise of caution and suggest measures that police and
citizens could take to curb this menace. Give your article a suitable title. You are
Amit/Anita.
B. Story Writing
3. Write a short story in 150 – 200 words on the basis of the hints provided :
The doorbell rang. Sunil opened the door. At first he could not recognise the tall and well-
dressed man who stood before him. Then the man spoke and all of a sudden ……….
4. Write a short story in 150 – 200 words on the basis of the hints provided :
Arvind was distracted. He couldn’t concentrate in the class. The incident which had
happened that morning had shattered him ……….
C. Letter to Editor
5. You were one among a group of students who represented your state in a national youth
exchange programme. It was an eye-opener which made you realise the spirit of unity in
diversity. Taking ideas from the MCB unit on National Integration along with your own
ideas, write a letter to the editor of a newspaper in 100 – 120 words on the importance of
National Integration. You are Maya/Mohan, 4 Rampur Road, Bareilly.
6. You had visited Antarctica and had an opportunity to see the polar ice caps melting and
realised that the threat of global warming is very real. Taking ideas from the MCB unit on
Environment along with your own ideas, write a letter to the editor of a newspaper
expressing your views what we can do to preserve the environment. You are Rama/Ram.
D. Formal letter of Enquiry
7. You are Ashwin/Meena of C-23, Chitra Park, Jaipur. Write a letter to M/S Saraswati
House (Pvt) LTD., Daryaganj, New Delhi asking for the catalogue of books, terms and
conditions of supply and mode of payment etc.
8. You are John/Urmila, the Tour Incharge of Grant Public School, Agra. During the summer
break, you are planning to organize a tour to a place of historical importance. Write a letter
to The National Travel agency, Agra enquiring about the charges, facilities and all the other
necessary details.

Page 1 of 8
E. Formal letter of Placing order
9. You are Apoorva, Hostel warden of Wisdom Public school, New Delhi. Write a letter to
the Sales Manager of Bharat Electronics Limited, New Delhi placing an order for a few fans,
microwave ovens and geysers that you wish to purchase for the hostel specifying details.
Also ask for the discount permissible on the purchase.
10. You are Apoorva, Librarian of Wisdom Public school, New Delhi. Write a letter to the
Sales Manager of Bharat Publications Limited, New Delhi placing an order for the books
that you wish to purchase for your school library. Also ask for the discount permissible on
the purchase.
F. Formal letter of Complaint
11. Write a letter to L.G. Electronics, Delhi, requesting for repair or replacement of the L.G.
T.V. set which you had bought from them only 2 months ago as it has developed certain
defects. You are Pawan / Priya of Daryaganj, Delhi.
12. Write a letter to the Standard Book Co., Cannanore, complaining about the poor quality
of books supplied to your library. You are Mohan/Mohini, Librarian of Lajpat Rai
Secondary School, Mumbai.

Literature
Fiction 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona
Short Answer Questions.
1. How can you say that the two boys were willing workers?
2. Why were the boys in deserted squre at night? What character traits do they exhibit?
3. Do you think the boys looked after Lucia willingly? Give reasons for your answer.
Long Answer Question.
1. Appearances are deceptive. Discuss with reference to the two boys.
Value Based question.
1. Give pen-portraits of two brothers, Nicola and Jacopo highlighting their main traits and
virtues in your own words. How does their selfless sacrifice and devotion to their cause
give a new hope to humanity?

Fiction 2 Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger

Short Answer Questions.
1. Why did Mrs. Packletide want to kill a tiger?
2. Why does Mrs. Packletide decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton’s honour?
3. What did the villagers to help Mrs. Packletide realize her ambition to kill a tiger?
Long Answer Question.
1. ‘The incidental expenses are so heavy’, she confides to inquiring friends. Why?
Value Based question.
1. Mrs. Packletide lived a life of false pride. Pride always has a fall. Elaborate.

Fiction 3 The Letter

Short Answer Questions.
1. How did the post office people behave with Ali?
2. Ali exhausted the patience but not his faith. Explain.
3. What were Ali’s old ways and when did his life take anew turn?

Page 2 of 8
Long Answer Question.
1. As he waits endlessly for the news of his daughter and knows that his end is approaching
near, Ali reflects on the journey of his life and his apprehensions. Describe Ali’s feelings in
your words.
Value Based question.
1. Do you agree that a person is able to feel others’ pain and agony when he herself has to
pass through painful times as only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. Explain.

Fiction 4 A Shady Plot

Short Answer Questions.
1. Why did John’s wife get angry with him? What did she decide to do?
2. What made the writer believe that he was good at writing
ghost stories?
3. Why did the ghost of Helen come to see John Hallock?
Long Answer Question.
1. How does Helen’s appearance in the party make Lavinia get rid of
her superstitious belief in Ouija Boards?
Value Based question.
1. Describe Lavinia and other manipulators of the Ouija board and their party. How did the
Ouija board party affect the domestic life of John and Lavinia?

Fiction 5 Patol Babu, Film Star

Short Answer Questions.
1. How did Patol Babu lose his job in Calcutta?
2. What was the role offered to Patol Babu?
3. Why does Patol Babu’s wife tell him that he is counting his ‘chickens before they’re
hatched’?
Long Answer Question.
1. Patience and hard work go a long way in achieving your goals. How does Patol Babu win
the admiration of the director through a very small role? Write in 80 – 100 words.
Value Based question.
1. Who was Mr. Pakrashi and how did he instill the value of being true to one’s work in
Patol Babu?

Fiction 6 Virtually True

Short Answer Questions.
1. Why couldn’t Michael help Sebastian the first time?
2. How did Sebastian Shultz request Michael to help him?
3. Why was Michael shocked when he read the name Sebastian
Shultz in a newspaper?
Long Answer Question.
1. Describe the sequence of events that led to Sebastian Shultz’s miraculous recovery. How
did Sebastian enter Michael’s game?
Value Based question.
1. Imagine you are Michael. Write a diary entry describing your spirit of fellow feeling with
which you finally rescued Sebastian.
Page 3 of 8
Poetry 1 The Frog and the Nightingale
Extract Based Questions.
1. Next night when the nightingale
Shook her head and twitched her tail,
Closed an eye and puffed a wing.
She was startled by a croak.
i) How did the audience react to her song the previous night?
ii) The line II and III tell us that the nightingale_____________________.
iii) Why did the frog startle the nightingale by a croak?

2. And the crass cacophony

Blared out from the sumac tree
At whose foot the frog each night
Minstrelled on till morning light.
i) ‘Crass Cacophony’ refers to_________________.
ii) What was the response of the bog creatures to the singing of the frog?
iii) ‘Minstrelled’ means______________.
Short Answer Questions.
1. What message does the poet wish to give in the poem “The Frog and theNightingale”?
2. Why does the nightingale call the frog a ‘Mozart in disguise’?
3. What advice did the frog give to the nightingale?
Long Answer Question.
1. Do you think that the nightingale was a stupid bird? Why/Why not? Explain with
instances from th poem.
Value Based question.
1. The frog who was not at all talented ruled in the end and the nightingale who possessed
the fineness and versatility of voice died. Explain the irony of the statement, highlighting
the values the frog should have possessed.

Poetry 2 Mirror
Extract Based Questions.
1. I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel only truthful.
i) Why does the mirror say ‘I am silver and exact’?
ii) What is meant by ‘preconceptions’?
iii) Why does the mirror say ‘I am not cruel’?

2. I think it is a part of my heart.

But it flickers
Faces and darkness separate us
Over and over
i) ‘I’ and ‘it’ are________________.
ii) What does the poet mean by ‘a part of my heart’.
Page 4 of 8
iii) What does the poet mean by ‘but it flickers’?
Short Answer Questions.
1. How is the mirror exact?
2. Why does the woman turn to the liars like the candles and the moon?
3. Why has the mirror been called the ‘The eye of a little god’?
Long Answer Question.
1. Describe the theme of the poem ‘Mirror’.

Value Based question.

1. Like the mirror that only shows the truth and nothing but the truth we humans also try
and cultivate this quality and try to speak the truth. Do you think it is possible for you to
practice being truthful in all circumstances?

Poetry 3 Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments

Extract Based Questions.
1. When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broil root out the work of masonary.
i) Why has the war been called wasteful?
ii) What does the word ‘broil’ mean here?
iii) Work of masonary means__________________________.

2. Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
i) What would be the result of war?
ii) What does the line ‘The living record of your memory’ mean?
Short Answer Questions.
1. What message does the poem give?
2. What does the poet mean by ‘ending doom’?
3. Why is the time called ‘sluttish’ in the poem?
Long Answer Question.
1. Bring out the sum and substance of the poem.
Value Based question.
1. Describe a sonnet and how does Shakespeare develop the theme of his friend’s praise as
a living record of his memory in the sonnet using various poetic devices? Poetry and art
outlive wars, tumults and ravages of time. Do you agree with the statement?

Poetry 4 Ozymandias
Extract Based Questions.
1. And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
i) What does the expression ‘wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command’ tell?
ii) What passions still survive?
iii) Whose hand mocked them?

Page 5 of 8
2. Nothing beside remains rund the decay
Of wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, boundless and bare
The lone and level stands stretch far away.
i) What does the expression ‘wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command’ mean?
ii) ‘boundless and bare’. What is the poetic device used in this phrase?
iii) Who is the speaker of these lines?
Short Answer Questions.
1. What message does the poem, ‘Ozymandias’ convey?
2. What words were written on the pedestal of the broken statue? What did they show?
3. Who does the ‘shattered visage’ in the poem, ‘Ozymandias’ belong to and why is it ‘half
sunk’?
4. How can we say that the sculptor was a master artist? (Ozymandias)
Long Answer Question.
1. What is the setting of the poem ‘Ozymandias’?
Value Based question.
1. Bring out the irony in the words, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, Look on my
works, ye mighty, and despair!” as inscribed on the pedestal of the statue. What lesson does
this irony teach us?

Poetry 5 The Rime of Ancient Mariner

Extract Based Questions.
1. He holds him with his skinny hand,
‘‘There was a ship,’’ quoth he.
(i) Who does ‘He’ refer to in the above extract?
(ii) What do we know about the speaker’s feelings?
(iii) Why is his hand called ‘skinny’?

2. In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,

It perched for vespers nine.
i) Who ‘perched for vespers nine’? What does it mean?
ii) Which poetic device is used here?
Short Answer Questions.
1. Why was the Albatross considered as a ‘Christian Soul’?
2. Why did the mariners blame the ancient mariner for their plight?
3. Why did the mariners hang the dead albatross around the ancient mariner’s neck?
Long Answer Question.
1. Give some examples of the use of supernatural in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Value Based question.
1. You are one of the crew. After the mariner kills the albatross, you have to suffer and
there is no hope of survival. Write a diary entry of your feelings of regret and remorse.

Poetry 6 Snake
Extract Based Questions.
1. And immediately I regretted it.
I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!
I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education.
Page 6 of 8
(a) What was the mean act ?
(b) Why did the poet despise himself?
(c) What does the word ‘accursed’ mean in the above context?

2. Was it humility, to feel so honoured?

I felt so honoured.
And yet those voices:
(a) Why did the poet feel honoured?
(b) Which ‘voices’ are referred to in these lines?
(c) What does ‘humility’ in the first line mean?
Short Answer Questions.
1. Why did the poet throw the log at the snake?
2. Why did the narrator allow the snake to quench his thirst first?
3. What is the poet’s dual attitude towards the snake?
Long Answer Question.
1. Whenever we act against the voice of our conscience, the result is suffering. Explain with
reference to the poet’s action against the snake and its consequences.
Value Based question.
1. Keeping in mind the poem,’Snake’, write out a speech for the morning assembly on the
topic ‘Snake- a beautiful creation of God, an object of our love, not hatred’.

Drama 1 The Dear Departed

Extract Based Questions.
1. Yes, but he did not go into the town. He met Mr. Tattersall down that street, and the went
off.
i) Why did the grandfather need to go to the town?
ii) Why did the grandfather not go to the town?
iii) Where did the grandfather actually go?

2. Well we’ll think about it after tea and then we’ll look through his bits of things and make
a list of them. There’s all the furniture in his room.
i) What would they think about after tea?
ii) Why do they want to make a ’list of things’?
iii) What do these lines reflect about the speakers’ character?
Short Answer Questions.
1. What do you come to know about the character of Mr. Slater in the play?
2. What reason does Amelia give for not getting another doctor to examine Mr.
Merryweather?
3. What purpose does the bureau serve in the play?
Long Answer Question.
1. Do you think the title ’Dear Departed’ is apt for the play?
Value Based question.
1. The play ‘ The Dear Departed’ brings out the negative qualities of human such as greed
and avarice. These are qualities that we as humans need to shun. Do you agree? If yes, how
do you think we can ensure that we do not become victims to such qualities?
Drama 2 Julius Caesar
Page 7 of 8
Extract Based Questions.
1. Good countrymen, let me depart alone,
And, for my sake, stay here with Antony :
(i) Identify the speaker of the above lines.
(ii) When and where were the above lines spoken ?
(iii) Bring out the irony in the above extract.

2. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

That I am meek and gentle with these butchers !
(a) By whom have the above lines been spoken?
(b) Why is the speaker meek with the butchers?
(c) Write the antonym of the word, ‘gentle’.
Short Answer Questions.
1. How did Decius Brutus interpret Calpurnia’s dream?
2. How did nature foretell Caesar’s death?
3. Why did Julius Caesar deny the repeal of banishment of Publius Cimber?
4. Describe the superstitions which scared Calpurnia?
Long Answer Question.
1. Caesar’s murder is rightly avenged by Antony. Comment.
Value Based question.
1. Mark Antony, with the help of his oratory, succeeded in winning the mob over to his side.
This led to the downfall of the conspirators. Write in 80 – 100 words, how with the power
of words he could effect a change in his listeners.

Novel
1. What were Helen’s memories of Radcliffe?
2. How important was the presence of Miss Anne Sullivan in Helen’s life?
3. Attempt a character sketch of Mr. Gilman as a teacher.
4. It was her determination that helped Helen Keller get admission to Radcliffe College.
Comment.
5. Describe the progress made by Helen Keller during the two years she spent at Wright-
Humason School for the Deaf in New York City.
6. How important was the presence of Miss Anne Sullivan in Helen’s life?
7. Helen’s contact with Dr. Bell raised her perception and
understanding of the world. Comment.
8. Helen did not confine herself to acquiring knowledge, but also enjoyed herself by taking
part in outdoor activities. Elaborate.
9. Which traits of Helen’s character appeal to you most? Give a reasoned answer.
10. Draw a pen portrait of Martha Washington.

NOTE- Also practice the exercises of Editing, Omission, Sentence Reordering, Gap
filling and Sentence Transformation.

Page 8 of 8