CBSE Class 9 English Sample Paper Set N

SECTION - A

READING

Q1. Read the following passage carefully:

School used to be all about writing, whether it was the exercise books we wrote in or the notes we passed around. But not anymore. Now it’s all about typing. Learning your QWERTY is almost as important as learning your ABC. So, when my daughter came home last year with cursive handwriting homework, I was nonplussed. Cursive writing was originally developed to make it easier for children to write with a quill. By joining up the letters, it kept the quill on the parchment and minimised ink blots. But my daughter writes with a laptop. I explained as much to her teacher at the next parents’ day. But the teacher explained that research suggests that the process of writing information down on paper, by hand, has a more direct effect on the formation of memories in the learning process than typing. Taking notes in class is still the most effective way to learn. It’s a better way to store the skills for written language in a child’s brain than pressing keys. She went on to say, “But that doesn’t mean that one should ditch computers. Children should be taught to touch‐type early on. She just feels that learning is  aided by the physical act of writing. Authors often write their first draft by hand. Whether it’s to do with the pace of thought, or some kind of stimulation the physical act has, we don’t know.

But it’s a fact.”

The French would doubtless agree. They love their handwriting. Teachers in France believe that fluency with a pen ‘unlocks the mind’ and they spend more time on writing than reading between the ages of three and eight. We teach children the formation of letters and the appropriate joining strokes. But after a few years, we leave them on their own devices, just as the written workload starts to increase. That’s when the bad habits set in. 

But as proper writing becomes rarer, spending some time improving your handwriting is a good investment. In the future, sending a handwritten letter will be a display of affluence and class, which is why the sale of fountain pens is reviving.

I. Complete the following sentences based on your reading of the text: [6]

1. Cursive writing was originally developed to _________________________________________________.

2. The advantage of writing information down on paper is that it has a more direct effect _________________________________________________.

3. Although children are taught to write at an early age, they do not have legible handwriting when they grow older _________________________________________________.

4. Learning your QWERTY means _________________________________________________.

5. When his daughter came home with cursive handwriting book, the author felt _________________________________________________.

6. Writing was given more importance in school once upon a time as_________________________________________________.

II. Fill in the blanks with ONE word only: [2]

According to the author, the importance of the computer cannot be (a) _________, but learning other skills is (b) _________ important

Q2 Read the following passage carefully: [12]

“Mum!” I shouted. “Are you okay?” I saw her little tent shuddering in the gale and listened closely for her response. Her voice was almost casual, “Oh, yes, I’m fine” That’s my mother. It was the first night of our cycling trip through the interior of Iceland – a region so remote and inhospitable that for centuries, according to legend, it was abandoned. The weather was decidedly hurricane‐like, but Mum wasn’t concerned. Months ago, I told her about my plan to pedal across Iceland. “It will be really difficult,” I said. “The roads are unpaved and often washed out, and the wind is blowing constantly—sometimes so hard that it pushes you off the road.” There was silence for a moment. Then she asked, “Can I come?” “Sure,” I replied. “But like the rest of us, you have to train to do two 160 kilometres a day back‐to‐back,” “Wow,” she said, “I could never do that,” I had more faith in my mother’s physical abilities than she did. 

I’d seen her raise six children and put in long hours doing physical labour on our small farm. “Sure you can,” I told her, “Start tomorrow.” What really concerned me was what I perceived to be her frustrating humility: I thought her too self‐deprecating about her attractiveness just because she had not completed college. I felt she underestimated her attractiveness just because she was not the type to wear make‐up or fancy clothes. As I had grown into adulthood, the life I’d chosen seemed light years away from Mum’s quiet existence, still caring for her children and her children’s children. Sometimes, on a visit home, I’d describe some recent trip I’d taken, and her blue eyes would shine with interest. So, I couldn’t help thinking this trek might revitalise Mum, who had started to slow down in her 50s. It might spice up what I saw as her humdrum life. And it might be a boost to her tentative and retiring persona. Mum trained furiously, months in advance. As the trip roster was pared down to Mum, my good friend Allen and me, she stood as the most dedicated. Soon she was riding 80–100 kilometres per day, and was as strong a rider as Allen or I.

Q1. Based on your reading of the passage, complete the following sentences. [8]

i. It would be difficult to pedal across Iceland as _____________.

ii. The narrator thought that his mother was stronger than me as _____________.

iii. The preparation for the cycling trip included _____________.

iv. As a grown up, the narrator realised that his life was _____________.

Q2. Find words from the passage that mean the same as the following: [4]

i. recognise

ii. breath a new life into

iii. dull

IV. to lowere value

SECTION B

Writing & Grammar

Q3. You spent a day at an orphanage as part of your school project. You met children from all age groups and learnt about their life in that institution. Write a diary entry in about 100 words about your visit. [5]

Q4. Write a short story in about 150–200 words with the help of the outline below. [10]

Master sent slave to market– slave came back frightened – said he saw a woman in the market – the woman was Death herself – she made threatening gesture at him – slave feared for his life – asked master to lend him his horse – he wanted to escape death – master obliged and lent him his horse – slave rode the horse to Bagdad – master went to the market to investigate – found Death there – he asked her why she threatened his slave – she said she didn’t threaten – she was surprised to see him there – she had an appointment with him in Bagdad in the evening.

Q5. Complete the passage by choosing the correct option from those given in brackets:[3]

Psychological disorders (a)________ problems that (b) ________ the mental health of a person.

These problems (c) ________ the behavioural pattern of the person.

Q6. The following passage has not been edited. There is ONE error in each of the first nine lines. Write the incorrect word and the correction as given in the example against the correct blank number in your answer sheets. Also underline the correct word you have supplied. [4]

Incorrect Correct

The NGOs for the city have decided to a. ___________ ___________

organising a one‐day free camp b. ___________ ___________

to creates awareness among people c. ___________ ___________

regard climate change . d. ___________ ___________

Q7. Rearrange the following words and phrases to make meaningful sentences. The first one has been done as an example. [3]

E.g. feared by / snakes are / in our / worshipped / and / many / country

Ans. Snakes are worshipped and feared by many in our country.

a) for serving / the fast food joint / sticking out of the bun / with an iron nail / came under fire / a stale burger

b) made a fool / by making / of himself / the party leader / incinerating statements

c) cease asking / if my answers / you should / scary questions / frighten you

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