SHABA MIDDLE SECONDARY SCHOOL, PARO MID-TERM EXAMINATION 2014 English Paper II Writing Time: 2 Hours Class VII Total marks: 100 READ THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY: 1. Do not read for the first fifteen minutes. This time is to be spent reading the questions. After having read the questions, you will be given two hours to answer all questions. 2. Answers to all the questions must be written neatly in the answer sheets provided by the school. 3. In this paper there are three sections: A, B and C. Each section has two sets of questions- Set I and Set II. Set I comprises of Question nos. 1a and 1b and Set II corresponds to Question no. 2 across all sections. You must attempt one set of questions from each section. 4. You must attempt three sets of questions in all. Your choice must include one Set II question (Question no.2) from any section. 5. Do not attempt questions from two different sets. Your choice is strictly between the two sets of questions provided for each section. 6. Read the directions to each question carefully and write all your answers in your answer sheets. 7. Remember to number your answer correctly in your answer sheets. Write quickly but neatly, and do not leave the examination hall before you have made sure that you have answered all the questions. * Do not forget to write your name, class, roll no. and school in your answer sheets. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 1 of 11
SECTION A SHORT STORY- 35 MARKS Direction: From the two sets of questions under this genre, choose ONE SET and write your responses in your answer sheet. The questions are based on the story One Day a Stranger Came by Naomi Wakan. Question 1a. Set I (15 Marks) Direction: Each question below is followed by four responses. Choose the correct response and write it in your answer sheet 1. The names of the three best friends in the story were A John, Sally and Giovanni B Ivan, Mark and Rosi C John, Ivan and Giovanni D Susan, Tom and John 2. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about the three friends farm? A Their lands had been worked by their families for many generations. B Each farm had a farm house, a barn, and a chicken run. C The water to their fields came down from the mountains in a winding brook. D Each of their farms was in the same country 3. One day, an important-looking stranger rode up on a horse when the men were A partying on Thanksgiving. B harvesting their crops. C having lunch down by the duck pond. D planting potatoes in their fields. 4. The three friends had completely forgotten that each of their farms was in a different country because A their children played with each other. B they had been friends for so long. C there was no fence around their farms. D they planted and harvested their crops at the same time. 5. Which of the following phrases best describes the stranger in the story? A greedy and ill-mannered. B compassionate and helpful. C pompous and severe. D polite and tricky 6. Ivan felt very when his old friends came to pay him for the water. A ashamed B proud C happy D sad CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 2 of 11
7. climbed up into the apple tree and shouted, Stop it! Stop fighting like that! A Rosi B Susan C Alberto D Sonya 8. Ivan wrote a letter to the authorities saying that A they wouldn t be paying any money in future B they would like to dismantle the fences around thie farms. C their children should go to the same school. D they would make a fountain at the bottom of the cliffs. 9. Which of the following is the stranger s first imposition to the three friends? A telling the men to let their children study in their own houses in winter. B asking John and Giovanni to pay money to Ivan for using his water C telling them to build fences around their farms to mark the boundaries. D telling them to plant their crops at different times. 10. Ivan said that the water came down from the mountains to all of them as a A wealth. B treasure. C gift. D blessing. 11. All of the following statements are true about the three friends and their family EXCEPT A The families helped each other a lot. B They met only on Thanksgiving dinner. C The wives sowed the vegetable and herb gardens near their farm houses. D Any event on the farms turned into a party for the families. 12. Rosi showed the children how to make A pottery. B wool. C baskets and hats. D fences. 13. The families harvested A tomatoes, beans and radishes. B chillies, rice and wheat. C strawberries, maize and millet. D potatoes, carrots and onions. 14. This story is about A greed and jealousy. B sorrow and death. C love and friendship. D sharing and giving. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 3 of 11
15. The families all enjoyed in preparing A corn roasts. B apple pies. C chicken soup. D dinner. Question 1b. (20 Marks) Direction: Answer the following questions briefly in in your own words. Write the number of the question on your answer sheet and beside it your answer. 1. What did the three friends share in this story? (2) 2. What did the children do during the summer? Write three things they did. (3) 3. How did the stranger separate the children? (5) 4. How did the three best friends react to the new rules? (5) 5. How did the families relationship change after the stranger imposed the new rules?(5) Question 2. Set II (35 Marks) Direction: Answer the following questions in your own words. Write the number of the question on your answer sheet and beside it your answer. 1. If you were a member of one of the families within the story, explain how you would react upon the arrival of the stranger? (7) 2. What lessons does this story teach you? (7) 3. Which character was your favourite? Why? (7) 4. Why do you think the stranger imposes such rules? (7) 5. Do you think our Bhutanese families also enjoy a similar kind of relationship within family friends or their neighbours? Explain. (7) Section B Essay- 35 Marks Direction: Read the essay given below carefully. From the two sets of questions on this text, choose one set and write your responses in your answer sheets. 1. The centre of Tokyo is like a concrete jungle: all around are high buildings, the streets are paved, and there is not even a patch of bare earth to be seen. The traffic is noisy; everyone seems to be in a hurry- rushing to catch a train or subway, hurriedly eating in a fast-food restaurant, with no time to sit and chat over a meal. It is very different from Thimphu, where we have time to relax and plenty of space around us- room for a garage, a place to play archery on holidays, a view of the valley and the surrounding mountains. 2. Every room in a standard hotel in Tokyo has a television set. Guests can see and hear news from all over the world, and keep up with the latest events. In one way it is good to know the news and be aware of what is happening in the world, but at the same time it disturbs one s peace of mind: most of the news is bad news, of wars and conflicts. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 4 of 11
3. People in Tokyo are very conscious of time. Their days are strictly timetabled. If you want to see someone, you must make an appointment, and you must arrive at the exact time agreed: it is insulting to keep a person waiting. Even to visit your own mother, you must telephone in advance and make an appointment. In this way life is different from Bhutan, where we can call and visit our friends whenever we like, and welcome people whenever they visit us. But when you visit a Japanese home, and escape from the rush and bustle of the streets and public places, you find that people are just the same as us: friendly, relaxed and hospitable. 4. I visited Japan four times between 1982 and 1986, and each time I found people dressing in a different style. Fashions in dress seem to change with every season, and many people dress in startling ways, as if to draw attention to themselves. When I see this, I think that it is not a good thing to be carried away so easily by new influences and that the same thing may happen in Bhutan if we are not careful. 5. In many ways, life is better here in Bhutan. We are more relaxed, and we do not suffer from the mental tensions of life in a big, crowded, noisy city. But there is one way in which we have to learn a lot from the Japanese. They have a very strong sense of duty and commitment to their jobs and their work. Everyone knows his own work, and will carry on with it even if his boss is not there. Here in Bhutan, I feel that many people have come to think more of their own personal benefit than of their responsibility. The government provides us with free education and with a salary and living accommodation when we work in government service. For this we should serve our country well, thinking more of what we can give than of what we can take. Even people doing the simplest jobs in a Japanese organization seem to carry out their duty with a sense of responsibility. Question 1a. Set I (15 Marks) Direction: Each question below is followed by four responses. Choose the correct response that best fits the given question and write it in your answer sheet. 1. The writer says that life in Tokyo is A quite similar to Thimphu. B very different from Thimphu. C very strict. D quite slow. 2. People in Tokyo are A very clean. B very honest. C very conscious of time. D always hospitable. 3. The essay was written by someone who has been to Tokyo A several times. B two times. C once. D not even once. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 5 of 11
4. The writer is of the opinion that life in Bhutan is better as we are A underdeveloped. B ignorant. C satisfied. D more relaxed. 5. The Japanese have a very strong sense of duty and commitment to their A jobs and their work. B family. C country. D own self. 6. For the Japanese, it is insulting to A visit other s houses. B keep a person waiting. C laugh at someone. D make appointments. 7. Tokyo is the capital of A Japan. B Egypt. C Malaysia. D China. 8. The Japanese did their work A only when he wasn t busy. B even if the traffic was noisy. C even in the absence of his boss. D only in the presence of his boss. 9. Japan s changing fashions and styles is described in A Paragraph 2 B Paragraph 5 C Paragraph 1 D Paragraph 4 10. Which paragraph tells about Tokyo s busy movement of the people? A Paragraph 3 B Paragraph 1 C Paragraph 2 D Paragraph 5 11. Every room in a standard hotel in Tokyo has a television set for the guests to A watch movie. B watch sports. C see and hear news. D play video games. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 6 of 11
12. The traffic in Tokyo is A silent. B dirty. C jammed. D noisy. 13. According to the writer, people in Bhutan are A hard-working. B self-centered. C duty-conscious. D influential. 14. The synonym of the word startling in italics in paragraph 4 is A extremely beautiful. B careful. C surprisingly unusual. D well-dressed. 15. In paragraph 5, the writer says that we should serve our country to the best of our ability, thinking more of A what we can share B what we can give. C what we can take. D what we can have. Question 1b. (20 Marks) Direction: Answer the following questions briefly in your own words. Write the number of the question on your answer sheet and beside it your answer. 1. Write one advantage and one disadvantage of listening to the news as expressed by the writer. (2) 2. How is Thimphu different from Tokyo according to the writer? List three differences. (3) 3. Explain the term escape from the rush and bustle of the streets and public places in Paragraph 3 in your own words. (5) 4.If you were to choose and learn one thing from the Japanese, what would it be? Explain why? (5) 5. Mention any one thing that you liked about what the writer has said about our Bhutanese way of life. Explain why you liked it. (5) Question 2. Set II (35 Marks) Direction: Answer the following questions in your own words. Write the number of the question on your answer sheet and beside it your answer. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 7 of 11
1. When we go abroad, we can see our own country in a different way. We can see that in some ways life is better there, and in other ways our country is a better place to live. What comparisons and contrasts does the writer of the essay make of the two countries? (7) 2. Do you think the writer would be happy to settle down and live in Tokyo? Why? (7) 3. If you were to be sent on a 6-month training course in Tokyo, leaving in three weeks time, how would you feel? Nervous? Excited? Apprehensive? How would you prepare yourself for the trip? Make six sentences each beginning I would.. (7) 4. In paragraph 5, the writer says that many people in Bhutan think more of their own personal benefit than of their responsibility. Do you agree with him? Why or why not? (7 5. Imagine you are the writer of the essay. You have been in Tokyo now for 2 months, and you want to write to your sister. Write a letter, aiming to affect her in ONE of the ways: to make her feel happy to make her feel worried to make her feel sad to surprise or shock her to make her laugh. (No marks will be deducted for format.) (7) SECTION C POETRY- 30 MARKS Direction: Read the poem given below carefully. From the two sets of questions on this text, choose one set and write your responses in your answer sheets. The Ballad of Barbara Allen All in the merry month of May When green buds all were swelling, Sweet William on his death bed lay For love of Barbara Allen. He sent his servants to the town A place where she did dwell in, Said master dear, has sent me here If your name be Barbara Allen. Then slowly, slowly she got up And slowly she went to him, And all she said, when there she came Young man I think you re dying. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 8 of 11
Question 1a. Don t you remember the other night And death was in him welling, You drank a toast to the ladies there And slighted Barbara Allen. He turned his face unto the wall He turned his back upon her, Adieu, adieu, to all my friends And be kind, be kind, to Barbara Allen. As she was wandering by the fields She heard the death bells melling And every note did seem to say Hard hearted Barbara Allen. The more it tolled the more she grieved She bursted out a crying, Oh pick me up and carry me home I feel that I am dying. They buried Willy in the old churchyard And Barbara in the new one, And from Willy s grave, there grew a rose Out of Barbara Allen s a briar. They grew and grew in the old Churchyard till they could grow no higher And there they tied in a true lover s knot The red rose and the briar. Set I (10 Marks) -Anonymous Direction: Each question below is followed by four responses. Choose the correct Response and write it in your answer sheet. 1. Each stanza in the poem consists of A five lines. B four lines. C seven lines. D three lines. 2. This ballad was set in the month of A June. B September. C May. D April. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 9 of 11
3. What season is indicated in the second line of the first stanza? A Spring season. B Summer season. C Autumn season. D Winter season. 4. William asked his friends to A remember him. B be kind to Barbara Allen. C bury him near a church. D look after Barbara Allen. 5. The word adieu in the 5 th stanza is A Be well B All the best C Sweet dreams D Good bye 6. What grew from Willy s grave? A a rose. B a briar. C a lily. D a primrose. 7. Barbara Allen was buried in the A field. B new churchyard. C valley. D old churchyard. 8. Barbara Allen lived A with William. B in the village. C in the town. D with the ladies. 9. The poem consists of A seven stanzas. B eight stanzas. C ten stanzas. D nine stanzas. 10. The main theme of the poem is A responsibility. B unity. C compassion. D love. CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 10 of 11
Question 1b. (20 Marks) Direction: Answer the following questions briefly in your own words. Write the number of the question on your answer sheet and beside it your answer. 1. Who was in his deathbed for love of Barbara Allen? What was the first sentence she spoke to him when she saw him? (3) 2. What did every note of the bell seem to say? (2) 3. How did Barbara Allen die? Explain in your own words. (5) 4. Who could be Barbara Allen to William? What makes you think so? Write four reasons. (5) 5. What does the red rose and the briar in the poem symbolize? What shape did they form when they grew together? (5) Question 2. Set II (30 Marks) Direction: Read the following questions carefully and write your answers in the answer sheet. 1. Does the poet bring up ideas you d like to ask him/her about? Ideas you ve ever thought about yourself or of what you ve seen in others? (6) 2. Why do you think Barbara Allen feels that she is hard hearted? (6) 3. Summarize the poem in the form of a story in your own words. (6) 4. On what note does the poem end? Does it end optimistically or pessimistically? Explain your reasons. (6) 5. Express your opinion on people dying for the sake of love as shown in the poem. Do you believe in it? Why or why not? (6) CL/VII/ENG-II/MIDTERM/2014 Page 11 of 11