Comprehension and Summary

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 3 marks

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: With dry lips, parched throat, and ink-stained fingers, and exhaustion on one side and exaltation on the other, Swaminathan strode out of the examination hall on the last day. Standing in the veranda, he turned back and looked into the hall and felt slightly uneasy. He would have felt more comfortable if all the boys had given their papers as he had done, twenty minutes before time. With his left shoulder resting against the wall, Sankar was lost to the world. Rajam, sitting under the second ventilator, between two third-form boys, had become a writing-machine. Mani was still gazing at the rafters, scratching his chin with the pen. The Pea was leaning back in his seat, revising his answers. One supervisor was drowsing in his chair; another was pacing up and down with an abstracted look in his eyes. The scratchy noise of active nibs, the rustle of papers, and the clearing of the throats, came through the brooding silence of the hall. Swaminathan suddenly wished that he had not come out so soon. But how could he have stayed in the hall longer? The Tamil paper was set to go on till five o’clock. He had found himself writing the last line of the last question at four-thirty. Out of the six questions set, he had answered the first question to his satisfaction, the second was doubtful, the third was satisfactory, the fourth he knew was clearly wrong (but then, he did not know the correct answer). The sixth answer was the best of the lot. It took only a minute to answer it. He had read the question at two minutes to four-thirty, started to answer a minute later, and finished it at four-thirty. He had found it hard to kill time. Why wasn’t the paper set for two and a half hours instead of three? He had looked wistfully at the veranda outside. If only he could pluck up enough courage to hand in the paper and go out – he would have no more examinations for a long time to come – he could do what he pleased – roam about the town in the evenings and afternoons and mornings – throw away the books – command Granny to tell endless tales. He had seen a supervisor observing him, and had at once pretended to be busy with the answer paper. He thought that while he was about it, he might as well do a little revision. He read a few lines of the first question and was bored. He had to pretend that he was revising. He set his pen to work. He went on improving the little dash under the last line indicating the end, till it became an elaborate complicated pattern. He had looked at the clock again, thinking that it must be nearly five now. It was ten minutes past four-thirty. He saw two or three boys giving up their papers and going out, and felt happy. He briskly folded the paper and wrote his name. The bell rang. In twos or threes the boys came out of the hall. It was a thorough contrast to the preceding three hours. There was din of excited chatter. (a) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: One word answers or short phrases will be accepted. (i) pacing (line 11) (ii) wistfully (line 26) (iii) din (line 42)

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 2 marks

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: With dry lips, parched throat, and ink-stained fingers, and exhaustion on one side and exaltation on the other, Swaminathan strode out of the examination hall on the last day. Standing in the veranda, he turned back and looked into the hall and felt slightly uneasy. He would have felt more comfortable if all the boys had given their papers as he had done, twenty minutes before time. With his left shoulder resting against the wall, Sankar was lost to the world. Rajam, sitting under the second ventilator, between two third-form boys, had become a writing-machine. Mani was still gazing at the rafters, scratching his chin with the pen. The Pea was leaning back in his seat, revising his answers. One supervisor was drowsing in his chair; another was pacing up and down with an abstracted look in his eyes. The scratchy noise of active nibs, the rustle of papers, and the clearing of the throats, came through the brooding silence of the hall. Swaminathan suddenly wished that he had not come out so soon. But how could he have stayed in the hall longer? The Tamil paper was set to go on till five o’clock. He had found himself writing the last line of the last question at four-thirty. Out of the six questions set, he had answered the first question to his satisfaction, the second was doubtful, the third was satisfactory, the fourth he knew was clearly wrong (but then, he did not know the correct answer). The sixth answer was the best of the lot. It took only a minute to answer it. He had read the question at two minutes to four-thirty, started to answer a minute later, and finished it at four-thirty. He had found it hard to kill time. Why wasn’t the paper set for two and a half hours instead of three? He had looked wistfully at the veranda outside. If only he could pluck up enough courage to hand in the paper and go out – he would have no more examinations for a long time to come – he could do what he pleased – roam about the town in the evenings and afternoons and mornings – throw away the books – command Granny to tell endless tales. He had seen a supervisor observing him, and had at once pretended to be busy with the answer paper. He thought that while he was about it, he might as well do a little revision. He read a few lines of the first question and was bored. He had to pretend that he was revising. He set his pen to work. He went on improving the little dash under the last line indicating the end, till it became an elaborate complicated pattern. He had looked at the clock again, thinking that it must be nearly five now. It was ten minutes past four-thirty. He saw two or three boys giving up their papers and going out, and felt happy. He briskly folded the paper and wrote his name. The bell rang. In twos or threes the boys came out of the hall. It was a thorough contrast to the preceding three hours. There was din of excited chatter. (b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words. (i) Why did Swamy feel slightly uneasy as soon as he came out of the examination hall?

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 8 marks

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: With dry lips, parched throat, and ink-stained fingers, and exhaustion on one side and exaltation on the other, Swaminathan strode out of the examination hall on the last day. Standing in the veranda, he turned back and looked into the hall and felt slightly uneasy. He would have felt more comfortable if all the boys had given their papers as he had done, twenty minutes before time. With his left shoulder resting against the wall, Sankar was lost to the world. Rajam, sitting under the second ventilator, between two third-form boys, had become a writing-machine. Mani was still gazing at the rafters, scratching his chin with the pen. The Pea was leaning back in his seat, revising his answers. One supervisor was drowsing in his chair; another was pacing up and down with an abstracted look in his eyes. The scratchy noise of active nibs, the rustle of papers, and the clearing of the throats, came through the brooding silence of the hall. Swaminathan suddenly wished that he had not come out so soon. But how could he have stayed in the hall longer? The Tamil paper was set to go on till five o’clock. He had found himself writing the last line of the last question at four-thirty. Out of the six questions set, he had answered the first question to his satisfaction, the second was doubtful, the third was satisfactory, the fourth he knew was clearly wrong (but then, he did not know the correct answer). The sixth answer was the best of the lot. It took only a minute to answer it. He had read the question at two minutes to four-thirty, started to answer a minute later, and finished it at four-thirty. He had found it hard to kill time. Why wasn’t the paper set for two and a half hours instead of three? He had looked wistfully at the veranda outside. If only he could pluck up enough courage to hand in the paper and go out – he would have no more examinations for a long time to come – he could do what he pleased – roam about the town in the evenings and afternoons and mornings – throw away the books – command Granny to tell endless tales. He had seen a supervisor observing him, and had at once pretended to be busy with the answer paper. He thought that while he was about it, he might as well do a little revision. He read a few lines of the first question and was bored. He had to pretend that he was revising. He set his pen to work. He went on improving the little dash under the last line indicating the end, till it became an elaborate complicated pattern. He had looked at the clock again, thinking that it must be nearly five now. It was ten minutes past four-thirty. He saw two or three boys giving up their papers and going out, and felt happy. He briskly folded the paper and wrote his name. The bell rang. In twos or threes the boys came out of the hall. It was a thorough contrast to the preceding three hours. There was din of excited chatter. (c) In not more than 50 words, describe what Swami’s classmates and supervisors were doing in the examination hall.