DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL BANGALORE NORTH

HALF YEARLY REVISION WORKSHEET (2024-25)

SUBJECT - ENGLISH
CLASS - X

DAY - 4

TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

I. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.

Everything was going well — it was an easy flight. Paris was about 150 kilometres
behind me when I saw the clouds. Storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like
black mountains standing in front of me across the sky. I knew I could not fly up and
over them, and I did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. “I
ought to go back to Paris,” I thought, but I wanted to get home. I wanted that
breakfast. ‘I’ll take the risk,’ I thought, and flew that old Dakota straight into the
storm.
i How would you describe the “risk” the narrator took?
a) calculated
b) impetuous
c) unavoidable
d) navigable

ii In what way might the reference to the Dakota as “old” be relevant?

a) Its antique value made it expensive and precious to the narrator.
b) It is employed by the narrator as a term of endearment.
c) It did not have enough fuel to fly around the storm clouds.
d) Its ability to negotiate the storm clouds might have been suspect.

iii Select the correct option to fill in the blanks below:

risk: risky :: ______ : _______
a) danger: dangerously
b) hazard : hazardous
c) peril : imperilled
d) caution : precaution

iv Why did the author call the flight ‘easy’?

v. What was the author yearning for?
II. The day before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers
and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and
how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his older brother catch his first herring
and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising a proud
cackle. And all the morning the whole family had walked about on the big plateau
midway down the opposite cliff taunting him with his cowardice.

i Imagine that the young gull attended a workshop on inspiration and confidence building and
received a couple of pieces of advice.
Choose the option that reflects these pieces of advice, most relevant to his situation.

a) (i) and (ii)

b) (ii) and (iii)
c) (iii) and (iv)
d) (i) and (iv)

ii Which of the following feelings did the young gull, NOT feel according to
the given context?
“…all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers
and sister…”
(i) sad (ii) incompetent (iii) excluded (iv) ungrateful
(v) inspired (vi) jealous (vii) anxious
a) i, iii, vi
b) ii, v, vii
c) ii, iii, vii
d) iv, v, vi

iii Select the most appropriate option for the following:

devour : guzzle: : nibble : _______
a) chew
b) savour
c) peck
d) gulp
iv. Why did the young seagull’s family taunt him?
v. Find a word from the extract which means the same as ‘polishing’.
III. Answer the following questions in 40-50 words:
1. The young seagull “failed to muster up courage to take that plunge”. In
what way can the reference to the ‘plunge’ here be both literal and metaphorical?
 2. The ‘fight or flight response’, that is, to stay and face a situation or run from it- is an
automatic reaction to an event perceived as stressful or harmful. How would you
evaluate the young gull’s response on finding himself off the ledge?

3. The pilot of Dakota DS 088 is truly a family man. Do you agree? Give reasons in
support of your view.

4. What did the pilot ask the woman at the control center and why? How did this woman
react?

IV. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words.

1. What is the message that Liam O′ Flaherty wants to give to the readers through the
lesson ‘His first Flight’?

2. The narrator knew that he could not fly up due to storm and lack of fuel but still, he
continued. What kind of person was he? Was it not in his nature to accept defeat?
Discuss the values one should possess to accept failures to be able to move ahead in life
in 100-120 words.

HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS

THE BALL POEM
I. Read the extracts and answer the following questions:
A. Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodile you always may
Tell from the Hyena thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they’re Crocodiles

a) Who is a novice? What can make a novice ‘nonplussed’?

b) How does a crocodile stand in sharp contrast to a hyena?

c) Choose the option that DOES NOT describe a ‘novice’

(i) Lakshman has played cricket for the first time today.
(ii) Samiksha has been teaching for last ten years.
(iii) Srishti went for her first French class yesterday.
(iv) Gautam baked a second cake to improve his skills.

d) What, according to the extract, would cause bewilderment?

(i) Discovering the similarity between different preys of beasts.
(ii) Analysing habits of beasts that prey on hyenas.
(iii) Knowing the difference between several beasts of prey.
(iv) Drawing the similarities between crocodiles and hyenas.
 B. Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over — there it is in the water!
No use to say ‘O there are other balls’:
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down
All his young days into the harbour where
His ball went. I would not intrude on him;
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now
He senses first responsibility

(a) The poet uses the ball as a symbol of the boy's

(i) sense of adventure
(ii) carefree childhood days
(iii) ability to bounce back
(iv) extended family

(b) The poet feels that there is no point consoling the boy as

(i) it would give him false hope

(ii) he might demand for a new ball
(iii) it might distress him further
(iv) whatever he has lost is irretrievable

(c) The word 'harbour' DOES NOT have a meaning similar to

(i) port
(iii) dock
(ii) pier
(iv) cargo

(d) 'Merrily over-there it is in the water!' The dash here is meant to convey
(i) some familiar experience
(ii) a feeling of excitement
(iii) a sense of unexpected interruption
(iv) some thoughtful moments

(e) Why does the poet think it will be useless to offer the boy another ball?

II. Answer the following questions in 40-50 words:

i. How does the poet describe the behaviour of a bear?
ii. How does the poem “How to Tell Wild Animals” shows insight of the poet into the
wild life?
iii. What epistemology of loss does the poem contain?
iv. How did the poet feel on seeing the ball rolling into water?
III. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:
 i. The poem shows how wild beasts could cause danger to the lives of those who go
near them. Will you recommend that animals should be kept in zoos? Why/Why not?
ii. “Sometimes seemingly insignificant events have a deep and far-reaching
significance.” Discuss in relation to the poem “Dust of Snow” and “The Bal

AMANDA!
I. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
Don't bite your nails, Amanda!
Don't hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight, Amanda!
(There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me-
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
i. Complete the sentence appropriately.
It is clear that Metaphor is the poetic device used for 'where the sole inhabitant is me-a
mermaid, drifting blissfully...' because (Clue: explain how Metaphor applies here)
ii. What does the repetition of "Amanda!" at the end of each line reflect?
a) It describes who the speaker is talking to.
b) It represents the absent-mindedness of the listener.
c) It shows the frustration of the speaker.
d) It helps create a rhyme scheme.
iii. Alliteration is a literary device used in the extract. Which of the following options DOES
NOT include examples of this literary device?
a) The moon and the shimmering stars watched over us
b) With that charming chat, Catherine chose comfort
c) Away ran the pathetic pooch pouting like a princess
d) Dee Dee was driving down day after day
iv. This is Calvin, a character from a comic strip created by Bill Watterson. Do you think this
might be something Amanda would say? Why/ why not? Give reasons.
II. Answer the following questions in 40-50 words :
1.Would you call Amanda a disrespectful child ? Provide two reasons to justify your
opinion.
2. How would you characterise the speaker in the poem ‘Amanda!’? List any two qualities,
supporting the reason of your choice, with evidence from the poem.

III. Answer the following question in 100-120 words:

1. Amanda feels unhappy with her mother's nagging. She wants to leave everything and go to
her own world. Imagine one day she meets Anne Frank and the latter tries to tell her how
parents are always worried about their children's behaviour. Prepare a set of dialogues
between Amanda and Anne based on the poem, 'Amanda' and the lesson, 'From the Diary of
Anne Frank'. You may begin like this:
Amanda: I hate everyone at home. How can they pester a child so much?
Anne: Amanda, how can you even think like that..

From the Diary of Anne Frank

I. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
I finished my poem, and it was beautiful! It was about a mother duck and a father swan with
three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the father because they quacked too much.
Luckily, Mr Keesing took the joke the right way. He read the poem to the class, adding his
own comments, and to several other classes as well. Since then I've been allowed to talk and
haven't been assigned any extra homework. On the contrary , Mr. Keesing always making
jokes these days.
1.The poem penned by the narrator had a story line. Such a poem is called a/an
a) sonnet
b) lyric
c) narrative poem
d) limerick
2. Which of the following DID NOT HAPPEN as a consequence of the narrator's poem?
(a) The narrator was able to justify her habit of talking in the class.
(b) Mr. Keesing understood the joke and did not mind it.
(c) Mr. Keesing began to joke in his classes.
(d) The narrator stopped talking and started getting more homework.
3. Mention two qualities of Mr. Keesing as evident from the extract.
4. ‘The baby ducklings’ in the narrator’s poem represent children who_________________.
5.What did Anne Frank intend to convey to Mr. Keesing through her poem? What values do
you learn from Anne’s character through this?

II. Answer the following questions in 40-50 words :

1.‘ Anne was an exemplary writer and wrote essays convincingly when punished.’ Elaborate
2. Anne says " teachers are the most unpredictable " why?

III. Answer the following question in 100-120 words:

1. How does Mr. Keesing's ability to turn Anne's weakness into a strength illustrate the
vital role teachers play in transforming students' challenges into opportunities for
growth?