CBSE Class 8 English Worksheet Set B

 

 

What time ............. you ..................................... the windows?

By 5 o'clock, I hope.

 

When ............ Samantha ................................................... the book?

She'll give it back to you in two weeks' time, she promissed.

 

How many projects ............... you ................................................... when you finish this one?

This is only my second project.

 

When .............. Susan ............................................... the portrait?

Before the end of the day, I would say.

 

............ you ................................................. the oil before we collect our car?

Yes, I will. I'll have done it by one o'clock.

 

............ the show ................................................ if we come in two hours?

I'm afraid it will start in an hour.

 

............ Angie ................................................ her CV by the time she goes to the interview?

She's already done it.

 

When ............ you ........................................................... all the topics?

When I finish my lectures.

 

............ we .................................................. the top of the mountain before the sun sets?

 

Don't worry. It's just two hours' walk.

 

............ my hair ............................................ grey in a ten years' time?

Who knows?

 

 

1. The story of Robinson Crusoe, few people know, is based on a real life incident. The son of a cobbler, Alexander Selkirk was a wayward young man, with little respect for authority. Abject conditions at sea and the cruelty of the captains made the sailors miserable in those days. It was not surprising that Alexander became rebellious and malevolent when he became a sailor.

 

2. In 1704, he was a Sailing Master on a ship when it anchored for repairs near the desolate island of Juan Fernandez about 650 kilometers west of Chile. They were looking for gold, which they often got by plundering other ships. In the days that followed, Alexander hatched a conspiracy. He instigated the other sailors to leave the ship and remain on the island. They would declare a mutiny. Perhaps, Alexander reasoned, that the captain would accept their demands if he believed that his men would refuse to sail otherwise. Unfortunately for Alexander, the crew played the Judas. The captain, getting to know Alexander‟s part in the planned mutiny, left him behind on the island as he was a bad influence on the men. He was provided with a few necessities, among them, a copy of the Bible.

 

3. Alexander marooned on an island, populated only by wild cats and goats became adept at hunting and his food soon comprised fish, turtles and meat. He also made clothes with goatskin. Although a cobbler‟s son, he could not make shoes. Running barefoot after goats had hardened the soles of his feet. He read the Bible again and again and slowly took to reading it aloud. He spoke and sang to the cats and learnt to milk goats.

 

4. Once, during his stay in the island, a Spanish ship anchored near the island and the crew rowed in. Alexander was petrified and hid in the thick foliage. In those days, Spain and England were at daggers drawn. Fortunately, the Spaniards left after a brief rest. In February, 1709, two English ships sailed in to collect fresh water and shoot goats. Alexander rushed to them for succor. He looked strange with his unkempt hair, beard and goatskin clothes. His rescuers understood him with great difficulty. His speech had changed a great deal. His vocabulary had shrunk and he had to grope for words. They did, however, manage to understand his story finally.

 

5. Alexander took a job as sailor in one of the ships and reached London in 1711. He returned home with a large fortune. However, he ran out of his fortune in two years and had to return to sea. Alexander‟s adventure became well known. Eight years later, Daniel Defoe gave the story a new shape with many twists, calling it „The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe‟. It was now the story of a man who was shipwrecked on an island and lived alone for an unbelievable twenty-eight years.

 

(A) Complete the following statements on the basis of your reading of the passage.

 

(i) When Alexander became a sailor, he turned ________________________________

 

(ii) The captain left Alexander behind on the island because ___________________________

 

(iii) Alexander was petrified when he found a Spanish ship anchored near the island because______________

 

(iv) In spite of being a son of the cobbler, Alexander could not _______________________

 

(B) Answer the following questions briefly.

 

(i) Why did Alexander become rebellious and malevolent when he became a sailor?

 

(ii) Why did Alexander return to sea once more, after being rescued from the island?

 

(C) Find words from the passage, which mean the opposite of:

 

(i) Benevolent (Para 1)

 

(ii) Unskilled (Para 3)

 

 

 

 

Upon this barren land,

Once stood a great tree

In the once brown rich sand

For mortal eyes to relish and see.

Its leaves were emeralds,

Its fruits were rubies, bright and fair.

Squirrels leaped about as heralds

For the spring that was in the air.

Spring passed and autumn came to dwell.

The tree‟s leaves blushed and fell,

Fluttering in the wind like a ship‟s sail.

But the tree bowed not to the gale.

Winter came and did its worst,

Coated the tree with a shower of snow.

But the tree did not freeze and burst,

It stood to offer perch to the homeless sparrow.

The tree survived Nature‟s ravages,

To bloom again in summer.

But came along man the savage;

Hacked it down and called it lumber.

Is it so that man, a creation

Turn upon the Creator and others?

We cut down trees, calling it deforestation

And take trees from Nature – their mother and ours.

 

 

(a) _________________________                        Squirrels leaped about

 

Autumn                                                               (b) ____________________

 

Winter                                                                 (c) ____________________

 

(d) __________________________                       Tree bloomed again

 

(a) When it was spring the tree was _________________

 

(b) The tree did not _________________ but _________________

 

(c) Neither autumn nor winter could harm the beautiful tree but the savage

 

(d) We should not _________________ as _________________

 

Q3. A burglary took place at the residence of Mr Sahil Bakshi, a middle aged gentleman living at

 

 

Camact Street in Kolkata. No arrests have been made so far as the Police is yet to identify the gang responsible for the crime. Write a newspaper report within 150 words on the same. You are AkhilSen/ Ashima Sen.

 

                                          OR

 

When Anupama reaches her hostel after a weekend spent at home, she realises that she has forgotten at home the costumes for the play she has to act in, the key of her suitcase and two books. She sends home a letter requesting her to

send her these items as soon as possible. Write the letter on her behalf.

 

Q4. Write a letter to the Director of the Zoological Park of your city expressing your concerns about the unhygienic conditions in the enclosures for the animals. Give some suggestions for improvements and the ways in which the visitors can help the authorities in maintaining cleanliness. Write an article on the topic „Role of computers in a student‟s life‟.