Subject: English 1st Paper, Class: VIII

1^st Terminal Examination - 2014

Subject: English 1^st Paper, Class: VIII

Full Marks: 100                                                          Time: 3 Hours                                                                                                                                         

Health is the condition of our body and mind. It may be good or bad. Good health means healthy body free from diseases. It is essential for everyone to lead a happy life. If we are not in good health, we cannot concentrate on any activity in our life. A proverb goes, ‘Health is wealth’. It means health is equally valuable as gold or any other personal possessions. We may have vast wealth and property, but if we are not healthy we cannot enjoy them. To keep ourselves healthy, we have to do certain things. We have to eat a balanced diet. We must exercise regularly to keep our body fit for work. There is an old saying: 'Early to bed and early to rise / Makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.' So we must not keep late hours. We should go to bed early at night and rise early in the morning. Peace of mind is another condition for good health. So we must not worry over small things of life.

PART A

1. Choose the best answer:                                                                         1×5=5

a) What is the right synonym of ‘concentrate’?

        i) to distract ii) to derail iii) to dishearten iv) to pay attention

b) ‘To keep late hours’ means----------.

        i) to come home late ii) to waste time

        iii) to go to bed late iv) to wake up late  

c) What is the meaning of the word ‘condition’ in the passage?

        i) environment ii) situation iii) state iv) statement

d) ‘A balanced diet’ means----------.

        i) a balanced exercise ii) a balanced health

        iii) a combination of the correct types and amounts of food

        iv) a diet that harms our health

e) A healthy person is one who ----------.

        i) is physical and mentally sound ii) eats good food

        iii) has a lot of wealth iv) is over weight

2. Answer the following questions:                                                          2×5=10

        a) What is the necessity of physical exercise?

        b) Why should we go to bed early?

        c) Why should we need peace of mind?

        d) What is a balanced diet?

        e) To what health is compared in the passage and why?

3. Read the passage again and write down the summary of the passage in not more than 5 sentences.                                                                     1×10=10

Reading Text (Unseen Passage)

Charles Dickens was one of the greatest English novelists of the 19^th century. He wrote some of the best novels in English literature. Even during his life time, he was exceptionally popular. He was born on February 7, 1812 at Portsmouth. When he was a school boy, his father was went to prison for debt. He could not go to school and receive education. But by the time, he was 25 years old, he had become well known as a write of great talent. He had to work in a factory at the age of 12. He never forgot his hard experience of his boyhood. However, some of his best novels are as ‘Great Expectation’, ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, ‘Pickwick Paper’ and so on. In some of his novels a touch of his hard experience is reflected beautifully. He died in June, 1870.

4. Complete the following table with the information from the passage.     1×5=5

(i) Charles Dickens, a famous novelist,	---------------------------------------------
(ii) The imprisonment of his father stopped	---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------	(iii) he become a famous writer.
(iv) His life experience is reflected	---------------------------------------------
‘Oliver Twist’ is one of his	(v) -----------------------------------------

5. True or False. If the information is false, write the correct answer for it.       1×5=5

a) Charles Dickens was born in England.

b) He was both a novelist and poet.

c) He had his education at Oxford University.  

d) During his early age he had to work in a factory because of poverty.

e) ‘A Passage to India’ is his famous novel.

6. Read the passage again and fill in the gaps:                                         1×5=5

Leaking out public examination question paper has (a) -------- a common matter nowadays. Some dishonest people are directly or indirectly (b) -------- in such a hated activity for temporary benefit but they never try to (c) -------- that they are destroying the potential future of the students in our country. Though unfortunate, some stupid students and even guardians are (d) -------- after getting the flashed out question paper before the examination. Sometimes it involves plenty of money and sometimes it is distributed free of cost. But the authority knowing the fact very well often (e) -------- silent in this regard. In fine, we all must remember that education is to enlighten our mind not to acquire certificates only.    

  

7. Rearrange the following sentences to make a paragraph.              1×10=10

a) He was defeated by his enemies.

b) Robert Bruce was a brave king of Scotland.

c) So he was hiding in a cave in jungle.

d) It was trying hard to weave a web.

e) As he was lying in the cave, a spider drew his attention.

f) That was not an easy task for the spider.

g) It tried several times but failed.

h) He decided to fight the enemy once again.

i) It did not lose heart and give up and at last it wove the web successfully.

j) The king thought, “This little creature did not give up. How could I?”

8. Fill in the gaps using the clues in the box:                                       0.5×10=5

choice	enthusiasm	enables	pay	unique
borrow	given	educational	reading	subjects

A library is a part and parcel of an (a) ------ institution. It is a (b) ------ place where books on different (c) ------ are kept in order for (d) ------. It (e) ------ the readers to read books of their own (f) ------ that creates (g) ------ for learning. Students should (h) ------ a visit to a library regularly. They can even (i) ------ books for the certain period and return them after the (j) ------ time.

9. Match the column A with the column B to make five meaningful sentences.                                                                                                      1×5=5

Column A	Column B
a) A dictionary b) It lists c) It tells us about the spelling, d) It gives necessary e) It also gives	the synonyms and the antonyms of a word. is a collection of words. the words of a language. information about them. pronunciation, meaning and parts of speech of words.

PART B

10. Smoking is harmful to health. Now write a dialogue between you and your friend about the bad effects of smoking.                                                   1×10=10

11. Write a paragraph on ‘First Flight’                                                     1×10=10

12. Complete the following story:                                                          1×10=10

        Once upon a time there lived an old farmer with his three sons who were very lazy and idled away their time almost doing nothing at all. --------------------

13. Suppose, you are Nazmul and your friend is Neloy who secured golden GPA 5 in the J.S.C. Now write a letter to your friend congratulating him on his brilliant success.                                                                                        1×10=10

Md. Saiful Alam

B. A. Honours and M. A. in English

Lecturer of English

Queen’s College, Dhaka

E-mail: suman64924@gmail.com

My affectionate Readers,

Please, never hesitate to comment because your comment inspired me much. Moreover, any correction or suggestion regarding my writings will be largely appreciated and valued and you can ask me any grammatical questions regarding English. I promise I would try my level best to assist you, all. Thank you very much.