English Language — Suggested Paper 2
120 minutes80 marks Questions from 2020–2026
A suggested paper: every question is a real ICSE board question, chosen from different years and arranged in the current pattern. Start the timed test to have your written answers marked.
Paper (80 marks)
Attempt all five questions.
1. Write a composition (300-350 words) on any one of the following. (Do not spend more than 30 minutes on this question.)
1(i). Write an original short story entitled 'A Strange Visitor'.
[20 marks]1(ii). Narrate an incident from your experience in which your parents had entrusted you with a difficult task. Give details of the task, how you carried it out and your feelings at the end.
[20 marks]1(iii). Describe how you spend your time on a holiday afternoon. Why do you think it is necessary to have these times of quietness and solitude?
[20 marks]1(iv). Express your views either for or against the statement 'Junk food should be banned'.
[20 marks]1(v). Study the picture given below. Write a story or a description or an account of what it suggests to you. Your composition may be about the subject of the picture, or you may take suggestions from it; however, there must be a clear connection between the picture and your composition.
[20 marks]
2. Select any one of the following. (Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)
2(a). You have changed your school recently. Write a letter to your friend of your old school telling him / her what you like about your new school but also what you miss about your old school.
[10 marks]2(b). Some taps in your locality are left open all day resulting in a tremendous waste of water. Write a letter to the Municipal Commissioner of your town / city, complaining about the problem. Suggest ways in which this waste of water can be prevented.
[10 marks]3(i). Your school is organising an Inter House Non-Flame Cooking Competition. Write a notice informing the students about the event.
[5 marks]3(ii). Write an email to a famous chef, inviting him/her to judge the event.
[5 marks]4(i). For each word given below choose the correct meaning (as used in the passage) from the options provided:
4(i). Ashamanja Babu lived in a small flat in Bhowanipore. A clerk in the registry department of Lajpat Rai Post Office, Ashamanja Babu was fortunate as he could walk to his office in seven minutes flat without having to fight his way into the buses and trains of Calcutta. He lived a rather carefree life as he was not the kind of person to sit and brood about what might have been had fate been kinder to him. On the whole, he was quite content with his lot. Two Hindi films and fish twice a week — these were enough to keep him happy. The only thing that perturbed him at times was his lack of companionship. A bachelor with few friends and relatives, he often wished he had a dog to keep him company. It need not be a huge Alsatian like the one owned by the Talukdars, who lived two houses down the lane; it could be any ordinary little dog which would follow him. On a cloudy day marked by a steady drizzle, Ashamanja Babu went to the market in Hashimara to buy some oranges. At one end of the market, beside a stunted kul tree, sat a man. As their eyes met, the man smiled. Was he a beggar? His clothes made him look like one. Ashamanja Babu noticed at least five sewn-on patches on his trousers and jacket. But the man didn’t have a begging bowl. Instead, by his side was a shoe-box with a little pup sticking its head out of it. ‘Good morning!’ said the man in English. Ashamanja Babu was obliged to return the greeting. "Buy dog? Dog buy? Very good dog." The man had taken the pup out of the box and had put it down on the ground. ‘Very cheap. Very good. Happy dog.’ The pup shook the raindrops off its coat, looked at Ashamanja Babu and wagged its minuscule two-inch tail. Ashamanja Babu moved closer to the pup, crouched on the ground and stretched out his hand. The pup gave his ring finger a lick with its pink tongue. Nice, friendly dog. ‘How much? What price?’ ‘Ten rupees.’ A little haggling and the price came down to seven rupees. Ashamanja Babu paid the money, put the pup back in the shoe-box, closed the lid to save it from the drizzle, and turned homewards, forgetting all about the oranges. — Ashamanja Babu’s Dog by Satyajit Ray
4(i)(1). perturbed (line 8)
[1 mark]- (a)frightened
- (b)unsettled
- (c)confused
- (d)mocked
4(i)(2). stunted (line 19)
[1 mark]- (a)prevented from growing
- (b)prepared for tricks
- (c)prevented from taking action
- (d)allowed to do stunts
4. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
4. Ashamanja Babu lived in a small flat in Bhowanipore. A clerk in the registry department of Lajpat Rai Post Office, Ashamanja Babu was fortunate as he could walk to his office in seven minutes flat without having to fight his way into the buses and trains of Calcutta. He lived a rather carefree life as he was not the kind of person to sit and brood about what might have been had fate been kinder to him. On the whole, he was quite content with his lot. Two Hindi films and fish twice a week — these were enough to keep him happy. The only thing that perturbed him at times was his lack of companionship. A bachelor with few friends and relatives, he often wished he had a dog to keep him company. It need not be a huge Alsatian like the one owned by the Talukdars, who lived two houses down the lane; it could be any ordinary little dog which would follow him. On a cloudy day marked by a steady drizzle, Ashamanja Babu went to the market in Hashimara to buy some oranges. At one end of the market, beside a stunted kul tree, sat a man. As their eyes met, the man smiled. Was he a beggar? His clothes made him look like one. Ashamanja Babu noticed at least five sewn-on patches on his trousers and jacket. But the man didn’t have a begging bowl. Instead, by his side was a shoe-box with a little pup sticking its head out of it. ‘Good morning!’ said the man in English. Ashamanja Babu was obliged to return the greeting. "Buy dog? Dog buy? Very good dog." The man had taken the pup out of the box and had put it down on the ground. ‘Very cheap. Very good. Happy dog.’ The pup shook the raindrops off its coat, looked at Ashamanja Babu and wagged its minuscule two-inch tail. Ashamanja Babu moved closer to the pup, crouched on the ground and stretched out his hand. The pup gave his ring finger a lick with its pink tongue. Nice, friendly dog. ‘How much? What price?’ ‘Ten rupees.’ A little haggling and the price came down to seven rupees. Ashamanja Babu paid the money, put the pup back in the shoe-box, closed the lid to save it from the drizzle, and turned homewards, forgetting all about the oranges. — Ashamanja Babu’s Dog by Satyajit Ray
4(ii). Which word in the passage means the opposite of the word 'expensive'?
[1 mark]- (a)carefree
- (b)ordinary
- (c)cheap
- (d)haggling
4(iv). In not more than 50 words, narrate the series of events from the time the puppy was taken out of the box till it was paid for.
[8 marks]4(iii). Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:
4(iii). Ashamanja Babu lived in a small flat in Bhowanipore. A clerk in the registry department of Lajpat Rai Post Office, Ashamanja Babu was fortunate as he could walk to his office in seven minutes flat without having to fight his way into the buses and trains of Calcutta. He lived a rather carefree life as he was not the kind of person to sit and brood about what might have been had fate been kinder to him. On the whole, he was quite content with his lot. Two Hindi films and fish twice a week — these were enough to keep him happy. The only thing that perturbed him at times was his lack of companionship. A bachelor with few friends and relatives, he often wished he had a dog to keep him company. It need not be a huge Alsatian like the one owned by the Talukdars, who lived two houses down the lane; it could be any ordinary little dog which would follow him. On a cloudy day marked by a steady drizzle, Ashamanja Babu went to the market in Hashimara to buy some oranges. At one end of the market, beside a stunted kul tree, sat a man. As their eyes met, the man smiled. Was he a beggar? His clothes made him look like one. Ashamanja Babu noticed at least five sewn-on patches on his trousers and jacket. But the man didn’t have a begging bowl. Instead, by his side was a shoe-box with a little pup sticking its head out of it. ‘Good morning!’ said the man in English. Ashamanja Babu was obliged to return the greeting. "Buy dog? Dog buy? Very good dog." The man had taken the pup out of the box and had put it down on the ground. ‘Very cheap. Very good. Happy dog.’ The pup shook the raindrops off its coat, looked at Ashamanja Babu and wagged its minuscule two-inch tail. Ashamanja Babu moved closer to the pup, crouched on the ground and stretched out his hand. The pup gave his ring finger a lick with its pink tongue. Nice, friendly dog. ‘How much? What price?’ ‘Ten rupees.’ A little haggling and the price came down to seven rupees. Ashamanja Babu paid the money, put the pup back in the shoe-box, closed the lid to save it from the drizzle, and turned homewards, forgetting all about the oranges. — Ashamanja Babu’s Dog by Satyajit Ray
4(iii)(a). What kept Ashamanja Babu happy?
[2 marks]4(iii)(b). What does this tell you about him?
[2 marks]4(iii)(c). What is that one other thing he needed to complete his happiness?
[1 mark]4(iii)(d). Why did Ashamanja Babu think the man was a beggar?
[2 marks]4(iii)(e). Why did Ashamanja Babu forget about his oranges?
[2 marks]5. Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space. Example: By the time she was three, Matilda had (0) __________ (teach) herself to read. Answer: (0) taught
5(a). By the time she was three, Matilda had (0) taught herself to read by (1) __________ (study) newspapers and magazines that (2) __________ (lie) around the house. At the age of four, she could (3) __________ (read) fast and well and she naturally began (4) __________ (hanker) after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking (5) __________ (belong) to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had (6) __________ (learn) all the recipes by heart, she (7) __________ (decide) that she (8) __________ (want) something more interesting.
[4 marks]5(b). (i) It has been raining __________ two hours. (ii) He just scraped __________ his examination. (iii) Mrs. Kapoor was bent __________ attending the meeting. (iv) She is proud and looks __________ on her colleagues. (v) Rahul plays football __________ his grandfather. (vi) The mother was sitting __________ the sick child all night. (vii) Monica is leaning __________ the wall. (viii) Rosie is very good __________ art and craft.
[4 marks]5(c). Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so.
5(c)(i). Sarah and Tyra are twins. They look exactly alike.
[1 mark]5(c)(ii). Rohan does not like to play cricket. He does not like to play hockey either.
[1 mark]5(c)(iii). Sania pushed as hard as she could. The door would not open.
[1 mark]5(c)(iv). The school bus drove through the gate. The clock was striking eight at that moment.
[1 mark]5(d). Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence.
5(d)(i). The librarian orders books for the school library every year. (Begin: Books...)
[1 mark]5(d)(ii). No one will deny that the children have worked very hard this year. (Begin: Everyone...)
[1 mark]5(d)(iii). As soon as the teacher enters, she is greeted by her students. (Begin: No sooner....)
[1 mark]5(d)(iv). She is so busy that she finds no time to entertain her friends. (Rewrite using 'too')
[1 mark]5(d)(v). In spite of the very hot weather, Kevin stepped out to buy some bread. (Begin: Despite....)
[1 mark]5(d)(vi). Sheela will be selected for the competition only if she goes for the auditions. (Begin: Unless....)
[1 mark]5(d)(vii). I would rather eat fruit than a lot of unhealthy junk food. (Begin: I prefer....)
[1 mark]5(d)(viii). The tree was cut down ruthlessly. (Begin: They...)
[1 mark]