Practicing with English Question Paper Class 8 Kerala Syllabus and Annual Exam Question Paper 2023-24 will help students prepare effectively for their upcoming exams.
Class 8 English Annual Exam Question Paper 2023-24 Kerala Syllabus
Time: 90 minutes
Max. Score : 40
Instruction:
- 15 minutes is given as cool off time.
- This time is to be used for reading the question paper.
- You are not supposed to write anything during the cool off time.
- Attempt the questions according to the instructions.
- Keep in mind the score and time while answering the questions.
- The maximum score for questions from 1 to 27 will be 40.
Questions 1-5. Read the passage from the story ‘ A Day in the Country’ and answer the questions that follow. (1 × 5 = 5)
‘That’s a swarm of bees, ‘ Terenty informs them. ‘They were flying looking for ahome, and when the rain came down upon them they settled. If a swarm is flying, you need only sprinkle water on them to make them settle. Now if, say, you wanted to take the swarm, you would bend the branch with them into a sack and shake it, and they all fall in.
Little Fyokla suddenly frowns and rubs her neck vigorously. Here brother looks at her neck, and sees a big swelling on it.
‘Hey-hey!’ laughs the cobbler. ‘Do you know where you got that from, Fyokla, old girl?’ There are Spanish flies on some tree in the wood. The rain has trickled off them, and a drop has fallen on your neck – that’s what has made the swelling’ The sun appears from behind the clouds and floods the wood, the field, and the three friends with its warm light. The dark menacing cloud has gone far away and taken the storm with it. The air is warm and fragrant.
Question 1.
How can one make the swarm of bees settle?
Answer:
One can make the swarm of bees settle by sprinkling water on them when they are flying.
Question 2.
What has made the swelling on Fyokla’s neck?
Answer:
The swelling on Fyokla’s neck has been made by the drop that has trickled from the Spanish flies that live on some trees in the wood. The drain had trickled them off.
Question 3.
Pick out the sentence that describes the clear weather.
Answer:
“The sun appears from behind the clouds and floods the wood, the fields and the three friends with its warm light.”
Question 4.
Find out the word from the passage which means ‘in a very forceful way’.
Answer:
Vigorously
Question 5.
Identify the noun phrase in subject position from the sentence given below.
The dark menacing cloud has gone far away and taken the storm with it.
Answer:
The dark menacing cloud
Questions 6 – 9, Read the following lines from the poem ‘Solitude’ and answer the questions that follow. (1 × 4 = 4)
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure, But they do not need your woe. .
Be glad and your friends are many,
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine; But alone you must drink your life’s gall.
Question 6.
What do people want from us?
Answer:
People want pleasure from us.
Question 7.
People move away from us when…
Answer:
We grieve.
Question 8.
Identify an example of gustatory image from the lines given?
Answer:
nectared wine and life’s gall.
Question 9.
What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Answer:
abcb
Question 10-14. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. (1 × 5 = 5)
Penguins are birds, but unlike most birds they cannot fly. They are one of about 40 species of flightless birds. Most penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. No penguins live in the North Pole.
They are very social and live in colonies. They are great swimmers who use their wings like paddles to swim through the water. They can stay underwater for 10-15 minutes before coming to the surface to breath. They cannot breathe under water.
Their feet are small so that they don’t lose too much heat as they stand on the ice. They help each other stay warm by gathering together and shuffling around. Their main diet is fish and krill. They swallow pebbles as well as their food. It is believed that the stones may help grind up and digest their food.
They can drink seawater because they have a special gland that filters salt from the bloodstream.
Their colours help them to be camouflaged while swimming. From above, their black backs blend into the dark ocean and from below, their white bellies match the bright surface. This helps them avoid predators.
Once a year, penguins molt. Most birds will lose a few feathers at a time throughout the year, but penguins lose all their feathers at once. They cannot swim without features, so they eat a lot more before they molt to survive the 2-3 weeks it takes for their feathers to grow back.
Question 10.
Where do most of the penguins live?
Answer:
Most of the penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.
Question 11.
Why do penguins swallow pebbles?
Answer:
Penguins swallow pebbles to help grind up and digest their food.
Question 12.
How do penguins keep themselves warm?
Answer:
Penguins keep themselves warm by gathering together and shuffling around.
Question 13.
What is the main diet of the penguins?
Answer:
The main diet of the penguins is fish and krill.
Question 14.
How does the colour of penguins help them to disguise themselves from their prdators?
Answer:
The colour of penguins helps them to disguise themselves from their predators. While swimming, their black backs blend into the dark ocean and from below their white bellies match the bright surface.
Questions 15.
Prepare a profile of Victor Marie Hugo using the details given below. Use appropriate linkers wherever necessary. (5 × 1 = 5)
Birth – 26 February 1802, France
Nickname – Ocean Man
Occupations – dramatist, essayist, politician
Notable works – Ruy Bias, The Hunchback ofNotre Dame
Death – 22 May 1885, Paris, France
Answer:
Victor Marie Hugo was bom on 26 February, 1802 in France. He is popularly known by his nickname “Ocean Man”. He was a famous- dramatist, essayist and politician. Some of his notable works are “Ruy Bias”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Les Miserables” and “The Man Who Laughs”. Because of his Republican views he had to- live in exile from 1851 to 1870. He was made a Senator in 1876. He died on 22 May 1885, in Paris, France. He continues to enthral readers around the world with his exquisite stories that touch the hearts and minds of the readers.
Questions 16-18. Answer any two of the following. (5 × 2 = 10)
Question 16.
The writer E.V. Lucas was thoroughly impressed by the educational system run by Miss. Beam in her school. He decides to write a letter of appreciation to Miss Beam after visiting her school. Prepare the likely letter.
Answer:
E. V. Lucas
21 /XX, Queen’s Street
London
2 July 2022
Dear Ms. Beam,
I was indeed fortunate to visit your school where the educational system impressed me as unique. I found the teaching methods used there to be quite different from other schools. You teach only those things that are simple and useful to pupils. The rest was taught by giving them interesting tasks.
What impressed me most was the practice of your school where students had to take an exercise of going through a blind day, lame day, dumb day and deaf day. This helped them to realise first-hand the experiences about the life of the physically challenged people, their difficulties, their special physical, psychological and emotional needs and to generate empathy and, a sense of special responsibility towards them. I think it is a wonderful start in humanizing the youth.
I heartily congratulate you from the core of my heart. I will do my best to spread your message through my writings.
Yours sincerely,
Sd/-
(E.V. Lucas)
Question 17.
Shylock lent Antonio three thousand ducats. Antonia failed to pay the debt. Portia rescued Antonia from the punishment. Prepare a paragraph on how Portia rescued Antonio from the cruelty of Shylock.
Answer:
Shylock, a Jew, hated Antonio, a Christian. He hated Antonio for many reasons. Shylock was a money lender and gave loans to people on high interest. But Antonio gave loans without charging any interest. This adversely affected Shylock’s business. Secondly Antonio used to insult Shylock in public places. Thirdly, Shylock’s daughter Jessica has run away with a Christian named Lorenzo. Shylock lends 3000 ducats to Antonio on the condition that if the money is not repaid by a certain date he will have the right to cut off a pound of flesh from any part of Antonio’s body. Antonio is not able to pay the debt in time and so he is taken to court. Portia comes to know of it. So she comes in disguise, as a lawyer, to help Antonio. First she pleads for mercy. But Shylock rejects her pleas. He is sharpening his knife to cut off the pound of flesh from Antonio. Then suddenly she comes up with an argument that surprises everyone. She says that in the bond signed it says only a pound of flesh. So while cutting the fresh, no drop of blood should be shed. Moreover Shylock should cut off just one pound of flesh – not a gram more or less. Through these arguments, Portia rescues Antonio. Shylock is also seriously punished as he planned to murder a Venetian citizen.
Question 18.
Schools are centre of learning. We acquire knowledge and share out experiences there. ‘School for Sympathy’ gives us a different angle of the educational system. Suppose you get a chance to visit Miss Beam’s school. Prepare five questions to ask her.
Answer:
a) Miss Beam, what prompted you to start a school of this kind which is different from other schools?
b) You teach only simple and useful things to your pupils. Do you think that such limited knowledge is enough to succeed in the modem world?
c) In your school, the students have to take an exercise of going through blind day, lame day, dumb day and deaf day. How does this help the students?
d) Do you think your students become more empathetic to the physically challenged people because of the practice of having blind-lame-dumb-deaf days in your school?
e) What advice do you give to the people running other schools?
Questions 19-23. The following diagram shows the sources of air pollution in a city. Study the diagram and answer the questions that follow. (1 × 5 = 5)
Question 19.
Which pollutant is the largest contributor to air pollution in the city?
Answer:
Vehicles
Question 20.
Which two pollutants together contribute to more than 80% of the air pollution in the city?
Answer:
Vehicles and factories
Question 21.
The least polluting source is ….
Answer:
Power house
Question 22.
Name two sources which equally pollute the city?
Answer:
Railway engines and brick fields
Question 23.
What is the percentage of pollution by factories?
Answer:
Forty percent (40%)
Question 24.
Edit the following. (1 × 3 = 3)
Four sailors of the Colombian Navy are (a) drowned in the Caribbean Sea, while (b) their ship wrecked by (c) a devastating storm.
Answer:
a) were
b) when
c) in
Question 25.
Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the brackets. (1 × 3 = 3)
[an, in, where, the, with]
They boy leaned quickly what …(a)… old priest taught him and was very obedient …(b)… most things. But he had one fault. He liked to draw cats during study hours, and to draw cats even .. .(c)… cats ought not to have been drawn at all.
Answer:
a) the
b) in
c) where