Please refer to Sample Paper Class 10 English Term 2 Set A with solutions provided below. We have provided CBSE Sample Papers for Class 10 English as per the latest paper pattern and examination guidelines for Standard 10 English issued by CBSE for the current academic year. The below provided Sample Guess paper will help you to practice and understand what type of questions can be expected in the Class 10 English exam.

CBSE Sample Paper Class 10 English for Term 2 Set A

Section A
Reading 

1. Read the following passage carefully:
The choices we make on a daily basis—wearing a seat belt, lifting heavy objects correctly or purposely staying out of any dangerous situation—can either ensure our safety or bring about potentially harmful circumstances.
You and I need to make a decision that we are going to get our lives in order. Exercising self-control, self-discipline and establishing boundaries and borders in our lives are some of the most important things we can do. A life without discipline is one that’s filled with carelessness.
We can think it’s kind of exciting to live life on the edge. We like the image of “Yeah! That’s me! Living on the edge! Woo-hoo!” It’s become a popular way to look at life. But if you see, even highways have lines, which provide margins for our safety while we’re driving. If we go over one side, we’ll go into the ditch. If we cross over the line in the middle, we could get killed. And we like those lines because they help to keep us safe. Sometimes we don’t even realize how lines help to keep us safe.
I’m not proud of this, but for the first 20 years of my life at work, I ignored my limits. I felt horrible, physically, most of the time. I used to tell myself “I know I have limits and that I’ve reached them, but I’m going to ignore them and see if or how long I can get by with it.” I ran to doctors, trying to make myself feel better through pills, vitamins, natural stuff and anything I could get my hands on.Some of the doctors would tell me, “It’s just stress.” That just made me mad. I thought stress meant you don’t like what you do or can’t handle life, and I love what I do. But I kept pushing myself, travelling, doing speaking engagements and so on— simply exhausting myself.
Finally, I understood I was living an unsustainable life and needed to make some changes in my outlook and lifestyle. You and I don’t have to be like everyone else or keep up with anyone else. Each of us needs to be exactly the way we are, and we don’t have to apologize for it. We’re not all alike and we need to find a comfort zone in which we can enjoy our lives instead of making ourselves sick with an overload of stress and pressure.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below. 

(i) Why has ‘living on the edge’ become popular?
Ans. Living on the edge has become popular due to the constant need for something new or different. One thinks that it is exciting to live life on the edge.

(ii) What things are important for a disciplined life?
Ans. Exercising self control, self-discipline and establishing boundaries and borders in our lives are  important for a safe and disciplined life.

(iii) Explain the phrase ‘potentially harmful circumstances’.
Ans. The phrase ‘potentially harmful circumstances’ refers to circumstances that can be possibly dangerous. Such circumstances occur when we avoid little choices such as wearing a seat belt.

(iv) What is the message conveyed in the last paragraph of the passage?
Ans. The message conveyed in the last paragraph is that of ‘Be yourself ’. Each one of us needs to be exactly the way we are and we don’t have to apologize for it.

(v) Find the word from the passage which means the same as ‘temporary’?
Ans. ‘Unsustainable’.

(vi) Find two colloquial words used in the passage.
Ans. The two colloquial words used in the passage are ‘yeah’ and ‘Woo-hoo’.

2. Read the following excerpt from a case study titled ‘Sustainable Tourism’.
The UN’s 2017 International Year tells that sustainable tourism is an important tool for development, most importantly in poor communities and countries. Today sustainability – environmental, social, and economic – is increasingly recognised as the benchmark for all tourism business. As noted by the UN World Tourism Organisation, 57% of international tourist arrivals will be in emerging economies, by 2030. The various ‘Tourism Terms’ are defined as follows: 

Based on data collected by a survey by Travel Bureau, the following market profile of an ecotourist was constructed:
Age: 35 – 54 years old, although age varied with activity and other factors such as cost.
Gender: 50% female and 50% male, although clear differences based on activity were found.
Education: 82% were college graduates, a shift in interest in eco-tourism from those who have high levels of education to those with less education was also found, indicating an expansion into mainstream markets.
Household composition: No major differences were found between general tourists and experienced eco-tourists**
Party composition: A majority (60%) of experienced eco-tourism respondents stated they prefer to travel as a couple, with only 15% stating they preferred to travel with their families, and 13% preferring to travel alone. (**experienced eco-tourists = Tourists that had been on at least one “ecotourism” oriented trip.)
Trip duration: The largest group of experienced eco-tourists- (50%) preferred trips lasting 8-14 days.
Expenditure: Experienced eco-tourists were willing to spend more than general tourists, the largest group (26%).
Important elements of trip: Experienced eco-tourists top three responses were: (a) wilderness setting, (b) wildlife viewing, (c) hiking/trekking.
Motivations for taking next trip: Experienced eco-tourists top two responses were (a) enjoy scenery/ nature, (b) new experiences/places.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below. 

(i) What did the World Tourism Organisation of the UN, in an observation, share?
Ans. The World Tourism Organisation of the UN, in an observation, shared that countries with upcoming economies shall see maximum tourist footfall from all over the world in the next decade.

(ii) List any one of the elements that is important to eco-tourists on trip?
Ans. One of the elements that is important to eco-tourists on trip is wild and untouched surroundings.

(iii) List the inherent qualities of geo tourism.
Ans. The inherent qualities of geo tourism are to promote landscape appreciations and include being  environmentally responsible.

(iv) What did the market profile of the eco-tourist reveal about the education aspect?
Ans. The market profile of the eco-tourist revealed was no more limited to the small group of highly  educated travellers.

(v) What did the survey clearly depict about the age range of eco-tourists?
Ans. If clearly showed that the age range of eco-tourists changed with the monetary requirements for the trips.

(vi) Who isn’t an experienced eco-tourist?
Ans. A person who is yet to travel even once as an eco-tourist isn’t an experiment eco-tourist

Section B
Writing and Grammar

3. Attempt any one from (i) and (ii).
(i) You have lost your original certificates of class X and XII. You want to get their duplicates issued but you do not know the procedure. Write a letter to the Chairman, CBSE, Preet Vihar, enquiring about the fee to be deposited, mode of payment, time taken by the board for issuing duplicate certificates and any other formalities. You are Tarun / Taruna, 7/9, Kunj Apartments, Shimla (100- 120 words).
(ii) The graph below proves that even in the 21st century the status of women is not equal to that of men when it comes to occupying high positions in various occupations. Read the graph carefully and write its interpretation in about 120 words.   

Ans. (i) 7/9, Kunj Apartments
Shimla
3 April 20××
The Chairman
CBSE
Preet Vihar
Delhi
Subject: Query about issuing the Duplicate Certificates
Respected Sir
Through this letter of mine, I wish to inform you that while travelling in a bus, I left my bag in a bus. The bag contained my original certificates of X and XII. Now I have to apply for a job in a government department.
Please let me know the procedure of issuing the duplicate certificates, time taken by the Board and the fees to be deposited. My registration no. is 4567/897/HP and I have filed an FIR regarding the loss of my bag.
Please do the needful as early as possible as it is a question of my career.
Thank you in anticipation
Yours sincerely
Tarun Kumar
(ii)

Women in National Parliament

While more women than men are being elected to Parliament around the world, equality is still a long way off, and the current progress is far too slow. The bar graph clearly illustrates that even in the 21st century the status of women is not equal to that of men when it comes to occupying high positions in various occupations. The lowest number of women in National Parliament can be seen in Arab States where it is only 3.6%. The percentage is a bit better in Sub Saharan Africa where it is 11% though it is again very low. The number of women in National Parliament is not very encouraging in the World and Pacific where it is 13.8% and 13.5% respectively. While the percentage in America, Asia and Europe (excluding western countries) is 15.3, 15.3 and 14.1 respectively. It is only the western countries where the graph shows a picture of 38.1% women in the Parliament. Overall, the status of women does not come at par anywhere when it comes to occupying high positions in various occupations. 

4. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Identify the error and write its correction against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the correction

People of diverse cultures lives 
together in India. There is many 
people who exhibit unity on diversity. 
Ans. Error   Correction
   (a) lives      live
   (b) is          are
   (c) on          in

5. Read the given conversation below and complete the passage that follows.   

I saw supandi standing in the field. When I …..(a)….. doing there, he …..(b)….. he was trying to win a Nobel prize. I was confused and enquired how standing in the rice field would help him do so.
Ans. (a) asked him what he was 
(b) replied that

Section C
Literature

6. Answer ANY SIX questions in 30-40 words each. 

(i) Pranjol buried his head in his detective book while Rajvir was eager to look at the beautiful scenery during the train journey. Why was there a difference in their attitude?
Ans. Pranjol belonged to Assam. He was used to the scenic beauty of Assam since his childhood where as Rajvir was amazed to see huge fields full of green plantations. He was enjoying such natural beauty for the first time as he lived in Delhi.

(ii) ‘Amanda is alone but not lonely in the world she envisions.’ Justify the statement with reference to any one image she pictures in her mind.
Ans. Amanda feels that she is being constantly pressurised in being a well-behaved girl as per her mother’s demand. She wants to be alone and enjoy being herself. She wants to roam around in the streets alone and pattern the dust with her bare feet. She finds silence ‘golden’ and freedom sweet. Hence, she is not lonely in her own company.

(iii) How did Sinclair Lewis suffer during the training period?
Ans. During his training period, Sinclair Lewis was sent to dirty and shadowy corners of the city to server summons. Sometimes he was beaten up by the larger and more confident ones, whom he would go to seek out.

(iv) Why does the poet want to “turn and live” with animals?
Ans. Animals are satisfied and self-contained. They have better values than those of the humans. The poet finds animals more comfortable than humans

(v) What legends are associated with the origin of tea?
Ans. A Chinese legend is that once a few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell into the water and gave a delicious flavour. It is said that they were tea leaves. According to the Indian legend, Bodhi dharma cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during meditation. Ten tea plants which grew out of the eyelids, when boiled in water and drunk, banished his sleep.

(vi) Why was Madame Loisel shocked at the end of the story?
Ans. Madame Loisel, who had borrowed a necklace from Madame Forestier to wear at the minister’s ball, had lost it by the time she was back home. Both her husband and she herself could not find it and decided to replace it with a new one. This cost them thirty six thousand francs and ten years of toil and suffering. At the end of the story, she was shocked to know from Madame Forestier that her necklace (diamond one) was fake and did not cost over five hundred francs.

(vii) Richard’s mother was his companion and spent a lot of time with him. A parent should try to be a companion to a child. Justify.
Ans. Yes, Richard’s mother was his true friend who helped him in all steps of life to become the world’s greatest scientist. It is necessary to be a friend to a child than be parents. As a friend, we can understand his problems better that he is facing because we have also gone through all this in our teenage years.

7. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120 words each. 

(i) “The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain ………. .” With this statement of the Buddha, find out the moral value that Kisa Gotami learnt after the death of her child.
Ans. When Kisa’s only son had died, she went to Buddha. Being plunged into deep grief, first she went to every neighbour, asking for medicine for her dead son. She had lost all her senses and forgot that no medicine could bring back the dead. Then she went to Buddha for making her son alive. Buddha asked her to bring some mustard seeds from a house where no death had occurred. But she couldn’t find such a house. Buddha made her realise that death is common to all. One must accept the truth and should have farsightedness. Weeping and grieving over the death of near and dear ones cannot bring peace of mind. Blessed is the person who overcomes sorrow. She learnt that a person who remains composed after the death of his kinsmen obtains peace of mind.

(ii) What really hurt the feelings of the narrator in the story, “The Hack Driver”?
Ans. The narrator was really fed up of his job. As he hated his work, he thought about running away to his own hometown and become a lawyer right away. He was always under the impression that the country people were honest, simple and helpful. Such impression made him gullible because he was easily befooled by the hack driver who was himself Oliver Lutkins. He took him around the village chasing himself. He not only charged him money for the ‘service’ but also subjected him to immense ridicule of his village folk and his mother. He felt like a fool who was easily coaxed into believing that Lutkins was someone else; whereas Lutkins was with him the whole day.
He felt really shameful of his act and realised that he should have done his homework more carefully about finding out the details of Oliver Lutkins before hand.

(iii) Custard though mocked for his cowardice, displayed courage and was the one who saved the day in the end.
Pick a character from any of the units (lessons/poems) in First Flight, who displayed similar characteristics, like Custard and overcame a troubling issue?
What similarities and differences do you find between the character and Custard?
Ans. Custard, the dragon is portrayed as a timid dragon. He is also a humble dragon, pure in character. He never boasted about his bravery. Courage can be measured at the time of serious situation. And custard proved that he was the most courageous among all by not running away from the danger.
According to me, the similar characteristics, like Custard can be seen in Bholi. She was sent to the village school by chance but it turned out to be transformational for her. The school 
education and her interaction with her teacher transformed her into a self sufficient girl. Her teacher’s encouragement and affection gave her a new hope and new life. She became a  sharp, outspoken and fearless girl who knew how to stand for her rights. Hence, both Custard and Bholi overcame troubling issues courageously.