Maharashtra SSC Board Question Paper for Class 10th English 2016 In PDF

Maharashtra SSC Board 10th Standard English Exam Question Paper 2016 – Free Download

Maharashtra SSC Board Class 10 English 2016 Question Paper is a useful resource for understanding the grammar and other complex concepts related to the English language. It helps students who are preparing for the Class 10 board exams to score well. Many consider English an easy language to study and may not give as much importance as other subjects like Maths, Social Science or Science.

However, scoring in the language is easy if students understand the language well. The previous year paper, in the meantime, also lays the foundation for the question types that are asked in the English board exams. Maharashtra SSC Board Students can access the question paper from the respective link mentioned in this article and answer the unsolved question paper PDF. Students can download the paper by clicking on the interactive PDF link and get the printable format of the question paper. The questions and answers are also online on the web-page if the students want to practise.

The students are also urged to get acquainted with the key topics covered in the MSBSHSE Class 10 English textbook. The below-given link for the question paper is considered the perfect resource for students who aim to get an overview of the MSBSHSE Class 10 English exam format. Students are advised to practise these previous year papers of Maharashtra Board Class 10 English to learn the language well. Referring to these previous year question papers will help the students gauge their performance and their preparation level for the board exams. The students can solve these papers and know how to answer the questions most proficient for the exams.

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MSBSHSE SSC (Class 10) English 2016 Question Paper Solutions

1.1 Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities given below:

Answer:

During the devastating July 2005 Floods that hit Mumbai, Rajen Dutta received an urgent call from a relative, Lopa Vyas late in the evening. “A friend’s mother is stranded near your home, Rajen. Can you take her home? Her name is Rashmi,” Vyas told him.

Mumbai had come to a halt and people were trapped everywhere. Despite power failure and raging rain, Dutta stepped out and made his way to the spot, where he found Rashmi as well as a dozen other people. They were stranded in the dark, shivering in the rain. They all lived far away and had no place to go for the night.

Rajen took all of them to his one-bedroom flat, where he served them dinner and invited them to spend the night.

“By doing so”, says Rajen, “I was simply fulfilling my karma, paying the universe back for the good it had done for me.”

“God is kind. My daughter had just started her new job that day, and had gone for her training. She was stranded too.

While she was trying to get to our relatives, she almost drowned, but a young stranger saved her. He and his friends even dropped her to my relative’s place and phoned me to say she was safe. One good turn deserves another.”

A 2. Order

Look at the following sentences from the passage and put them in the correct sequence

1. He took them to his one-bedroom flat
2. Rajen found Rashmi as well as a dozen other people shivering in the rain
3. Mumbai had come to a halt and people were trapped everywhere
4. Rajen Dutta received an urgent call

Answer: Given below is the correct sequential order of the sentences:

1. (d) Rajen Dutta received an urgent call
2. (c) Mumbai had come to a halt and people were trapped everywhere
3. (b) Rajen found Rashmi as well as a dozen other people shivering in the rain
4. (a) He took them to his one-bedroom flat

A 3. (i) Fill in the blanks:

Select the words given in the passage

(i) Thousands of pilgrims were_________ due to the cloudburst in Uttarakhand

Answer: stranded

Thousands of pilgrims were stranded due to the cloudburst in Uttarakhand

(ii) The tiger was ______ by the hunter

Answer: trapped

The tiger was trapped by the hunter

(ii) Antonyms:

Select the correct antonyms for the following words from the options given:

1. Please
2. unplease
3. displease
4. misplease

Answer: (a) (2) displease

(b) Safe

(1) insafe

(2) safeless

(3) unsafe

Answer: (b) (3) unsafe

A4. (i) Tags:

Select the correct tag from the options given:

One good turn deserves another.

1. doesn’t it?
2. don’t it?
3. does it?

Answer: (a) doesn’t it?

One good turn deserves another, doesn’t it?

(ii) Guess:

Choose the correct answer.

Rajen can you please take her home? ‘Can’ indicates:

1. obligation
2. ability
3. permission

Answer: (a) ability

In this statement, the speaker is asking if Rajen is in a position to take the third person (i.e. ‘her’) home. Here, ‘can’ does not indicate any permission,as the speaker neither grants nor takes permission from the listener to take ‘her’ home. He simply wants to know if Rajen is able to “take her home”, indicating Rajen’s ability to take her home.

A 5. Personal Response:

‘One good turn deserves another.’

Explain with an example of your own.

Answer: The idiom ‘One good turn deserves another’ is meaningful. It means that if someone has done any good deed for you then it is your duty to return it in a way that is possible for you. You can also do some good deed or help someone in need, in response.

In this passage, you can see the example of Rajen, whose daughter almost drowned due to the heavy rains of Mumbai but was saved by a youngster who along with his friends also dropped her at a relative’s place. So, in order to do a good deed in response, when Rajen found some strangers who were stranded due to the rains the same day, he provided a meal and a night’s stay at his one-bedroom flat for them along with his relative’s friend’s mom, as he was asked to.

You can give some examples of your own to support this statement.

(B) Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities given: [10 Marks]

B1. Select

Look at the balloons. Which are the qualities inculcated in the author by her teacher?

Write them.

Answer: The qualities inculcated in the author by her teacher includes kindness, hard work, patience, regularity and tolerance.

Sister Monica, however, wasn’t quite as lenient as that, and spent most of the time telling me about the importance of regularity and hard work. She made me realise that success is, like genius 99 per cent perspiration and 1 per cent inspiration. It’s a lesson that has stood me in good stead.

The teachers, I am most grateful to, though, are not those who have taught me the most, but those who have simply been friends to me, believed me and believed in me. Prominent among them is Sudha Ramasubramanium- Rambo, as we used to call her. I didn’t know her too well. She taught me in college, and apart from being incredible in class unless one missed class, she also believed that I actually had a problem when I developed an injury (which several doctors found difficult to diagnose). Despite my missing an exam- the HSC, of all exams-she was the only person who told me to concentrate on my health and assured me that I could take the exam off the top of my head any time I wanted to.

I’m not even certain she remembers it, but at the time, I felt like one of the few rays of hope in an extremely dark tunnel. Perhaps few teachers realise how far their influence extends or how much of a difference their actions and words can make. A number of my teachers have unfortunately taught me kindness and tolerance and patience by being precisely the opposite, and quite obviously, they aren’t the people I like to think about. But many of my teachers have been extraordinary people, who have not only taught me in class but also helped mould me and my character in every other way. I only hope that I live up to what their endeavours were undoubtedly meant to create.

B 2. Answer:

(i) What kind of teachers are disliked by the author?

(ii) What was Sudha Ramasubramanium’s advice to the author when she was going to miss her HSC exams?

Answer: (i) Quite a few of the author’s teachers have unfortunately taught her about kindness and tolerance and patience by being precisely the opposite. The author dislikes these teachers.

(ii) Sudha Ramasubramanium told the author to concentrate on her health. The teacher also assured the author that she could take the exam off the top of her head any time she wanted to.

B3. Match:

Match the words with their correct meanings:

Answer:

B 4. (i) ‘Wh question’

She made me realise that success is, like genius.

(Frame a ‘Wh question’ to get the underlined part as the answer)

Answer: What did she make me realise?

(ii) She taught me in college.

(Begin the sentence with I and rewrite)

Answer: I was taught by her in College.

B 5. Personal Response

Do you agree that a teacher should also be your good friend?

Answer: Children are able to express themselves freely only if they are not being suppressed or judged. This is possible only if the teacher is able to understand the students and be their good friend. Teachers can be a positive influence in a student’s life. Besides being a good friend a teacher should also believe in their students. Such, teachers will be able to inculcate kindness, hard work, patience, tolerance and regularity within their students.

Q 2. (A) Read the following passage and do the activities given below: [10 Marks]

A 1. Guess

Select the correct option from the boxes:

(i) The Olympic Games were originally held in honour of:

1. The Priests
2. The Greeks
3. The Spartans
4. The Zeus

Answer: (d) The Zeus

(ii) The Olympics were held after every:

1. Year
2. Four Years
3. Three Years
4. Two Years

Answer: (b) Four years

(iii) All came to know of Olympia from the:

1. Olympics
2. Spartans
3. Syracusans
4. Athenians

Answer: (a) Olympics

(iv) Altis was the name of a/an:

1. God
2. Race
3. Festival
4. Enclosure

Answer: (d) Enclosure

Olympia, the original site of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece is situated in a quiet, beautiful valley. The old ruins are shaded by evergreen oaks, pines and poplars, as well as, Olive trees. Olympia was never a city, but a sacred ground occupied by temples and dwellings for the priests. At the centre was the enclosure known as Altis, dedicated to Zenus, the god of gods. It was in honour of Zeus that the quadrennial festival and the games were held.

The fame of Olympia rests largely upon the Olympic Games. They were a great national festival of the entire Greek race. During the week of the festival the Athenians, The Spartans, the Syracusans and other groups, all forgot their narrow identities. They regarded an Olympic victory as the highest honour. The simple reward of a twig of wild olive immortalised the victor and his family.

The Olympic Games were held regularly in peace and in war at an interval of four years for over a thousand years from 776 B.C. till 393 A.D.

Originally, men who spoke Greek as their mother tongue were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. No married woman was allowed to be present. The athletic programme was varied by the presence of historians, orators and writers. After each event, a herald announced the victor’s name and handed him a palm. On the last day, the successful competitors were each given a garland of wild olive.

.

A 2. Select

Select one word each from the circle which mean the following:

(i) Occurring at the interval of four years

(ii) Wreckage

(iii) Take part in a game

(iv) One who wins

Answer: (i) quadrennial

(ii) ruins

(iii) compete

(iv) victor

A 3. Complete:

Complete the table and frame your sentence with any one word:

Answer:

A 4. (i) The old ruins are shaded by evergreen oaks, pines and poplars as well as olive trees.

(insert not only ______ but also and rewrite)

Answer: The old ruins were shaded not only by evergreen oaks, pines and poplars but also by olive trees.

(ii) No married women were allowed to be present.(Remove ‘No’ and rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning)

Answer: Married women were not allowed to be present.

Only unmarried women were allowed to be present.

A 5. Personal Response

How are the winners in the Olympics rewarded today?

Answer: Today, winners of the Olympics are given a cash prize, as already agreed upon by the organisers. The winners are also awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal depending on the position they hold.

(B) Read the given passage carefully and then complete the activities as per instructions [10 Marks]

B 1. Choose

Choose the correct alternatives and complete the sentences

(i) The narrator is

1. an astronaut
2. an engineer studying in BITS Pilani
3. in the team of astronauts

Answer: (b) an engineer studying in BITS Pilani

(ii) Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind which means:

(a) one step on the moon means many steps on the earth

(b) he felt like a giant on the moon

(c) one moon mission has opened up many avenues in Science and Technology for mankind

Answer: (c) one moon mission has opened up many avenues in Science and Technology for mankind

It was a late evening of July 20. 1969, when we turned up the hostel radio. I was an engineering student at BITS, Pilani. I still remember the feverish excitement that gripped us from July 16 when Apollo 11. the US space rocket took off from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Neil Armstrong and his team of astronauts, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, were to land on the moon, for the first time in human history. We listened ‘with rapt attention when Armstrong declared: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

His death on Saturday, August 25, is a moment to salute the romance of space science that Apollo 11 unleashed. It has changed forever the way we look at our planet Earth and its satellite, the moon.

Standing on powdery moondust, Armstrong put up his thumb, shut one eye and found his thumb blotting out the Earth. “It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth,” he said later. “I felt very, very small.” But behind that humbling realisation stood a giant truth:

The effort to explore the universe united mankind in technology and knowledge. Each moon mission, about 110 till date, provided more confidence to take on bolder projects.

B 2 Complete:

(i) Armstrong describes the earth as _____

Answer: a tiny pea, pretty and blue

(ii) The effort to explore the universe has_____

Answer: united mankind in technology and knowledge

(iii) Apollo 11 unleashed and changed forever______

Answer: the way we look at our planet Earth and its satellite, the moon

(iv) The author came to know about Apollo 11 mission when he______

Answer: turned up the hostel radio on 20 July 1969

B 3. Solve

Solve the crossword with the following clues. Refer to the passage for the answers.

Down: (1) The area beyond the earth’s atmosphere

(2) The name of the spacecraft that Armstrong travelled

Across: (1) A person trained to travel in space

(2) A natural satellite of the earth

Answer: Down: (1) The area beyond the earth’s atmosphere- Space

(2) The name of the spacecraft that Armstrong travelled- Apollo

Across: (1) A person trained to travel in space- Astronaut

(2) A natural satellite of the earth- Moon

B4. Do as Directed

(i) Begin the Sentence with _For the first time_____ and rewrite.

Answer: For the first time, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins were to land on the moon.

(ii) Insert “that” appropriately and rewrite.

Armstrong found his thumb blotting out the Earth.

Answer: Armstrong found that his thumb was blotting out the Earth.

B 5. Personal Response.

Would you like to be an astronaut? Give reasons.

Answer: Yes, I would love to be an astronaut, as astronauts get the opportunity to travel to space. Their job is to collect the data and the specimens that are required for the research work conducted for the benefit of the whole world. It is seen that the efforts to explore the universe united mankind in technology and knowledge.

Section-II

(Poetry)

Q.3.(A)Read the given extract carefully and complete the activities given below: [5 Marks]

A 1. Saving Motherland

I can save my motherland by putting an end to________

Republic Day ! We grow aware

That nothing can be wrought by prayer

-Prop of the credulous- until

It is supported everywhere

By an all-powerful people’s will !

We have been witness in the past to sights impossible to bear:

Famine and drought and dread and doom

Continue still to spread the gloom

Of humans turned to skeletons, to shriveled bags of naked bones………

MAY EVERY Indian’s heart become

An unafraid announcing drum

Echoing and re-echoing a new hope and a new desire

To burn up rubbish-heaps of hate,

Once and for all. Time cannot wait !

Burn up all selfish aims and ends in a great nation’s cleansing fire!

Let India’s millions chant in chorus:

A mighty future stands before us-

Down with all ruthless tyranny, down with all exploitation which

Renders the poor the poorer- and renders the bloated rich, more rich!

A 2. How does the poet express the condition of people during famines and droughts?

Answer: According to the poet, during the famine and drought, people spread their gloom and turn to skeletons or shriveled bags of naked bones. They do not even have the energy to vent out their suffering via groans or sobs.

A 3. Match

Match the line with the figure of speech that is given below:

Answer:

(B) Read the following extract carefully and do the activities given [5 Marks]

B 1. What does the poet want us to do in the following situation?

(i) While struggling ______

(ii) While making money______

(iii) While dreaming______

(iv) While losing_______

Answer: (i) While struggling, the poet wants us to take loss with a cheerful grin.

(ii) While making money, the poet wants us to hold on to friends and be true to our aims and ends.

(iii) While dreaming, the poet wants us to dream little and do much.

(iv) While losing, the poet wants us to go forward despite defeat.

It’s doing your job the best you can,

And being just to your fellow man;

It’s making money-but holding friends,

And being true to your aims and ends.

It’s figuring how and learning why,

And looking forward and thinking high;

And dreaming a little and doing much,

It’s keeping always in closest touch.

With what is finest in word and deed,

It’s being through, yet making speed;

It’s daring blithely the field of chance,

While making labour a brave romance.

It’s going onward despite defeat

And fighting staunchly, but keeping sweet;

It’s struggling on with the will to win,

But taking loss with a cheerful grin.

B 2. Achieving Success

Hints given by the poet to become successful are:

1. Doing your job the best
2. ______________
3. ________________
4. ____________________
5. ____________________

Answer: (a) Do your job the best and be the best to your fellow men, hold on to your friends even while making money and be true to your aims and ends.

(b) Figure how and learn why, also look forward and think high while dreaming a little and doing much

(c) Keep always in closest touch with what is finest in word and deed, be through but make speed

(d) Go on despite defeat and keep sweet

(e) Struggle with a will to win and take loss with cheerful grins

B 3. Rhyming scheme

Select the appropriate rhyme scheme for the 3rd stanza.

1. abab
2. aabb
3. aaba

Answer: The appropriate rhyme scheme for the 3rd stanza of the above poem is (b) aabb

Section-III

(Rapid Reading)

Q.4 A Read the passage carefully and complete the activities given below: [5 Marks]

A 1. True or False

State whether the following statements are true or false:

(a)The author’s new house was situated at Bangalore

Answer: False.

The author’s new house is situated at the Cantonment in Allahabad.

(b)The writer was delighted because their new house was the biggest they ever lived. Answer: True.

When they first saw it, the author and his brothers were delighted. It was by far the biggest house they had ever lived in.

One of the advantages of growing up in an army household was the frequency with which we move. “Postings” came with predictable regularity every three years. What was unpredictable and therefore exciting was the suspense. Where would we go this time? Ambala, Pune, Dehradun, Allahabad, Tejpur, Bangalore, Yo!….In my short span of thirteen years we had moved lock- stock and barrel eleven times!

Every move meant a change. New journeys, new places, new schools, my new books, new uniforms, new friends and new houses. We lived in tents, bashas, Nissen huts, flats and bungalows. No matter what the shape and size of the dwelling, mother soon put her own special stamps on it and transformed it into a familiar place- our home-complete with bright yellow curtains, coffee-brown carpet, assorted pictures, hanging ferns and potted palms- providing a comforting sense of continuity in our essentially nomadic life.

I was thirteen, the year we moved to the cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city’s commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called McPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted mother.

A 2. Compare

(i) The broad tree-lined roads were named after_______

Answer: long-dead Britishers

The broad tree-lined roads were named after long-dead Britishers.

(ii) Katra and Chowk are _______

Answer: the city’s commercial areas

Katra and Chowk are the city’s commercial areas.

(iii) Mother was daunted with the task of________

Answer: furnishing those huge, echoing rooms

Mother was daunted with the task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms.

(iv) The suspense was exciting because the posting was_______

Answer: unpredictable

The suspense was exciting because the posting was unpredictable.

A 3. Personal Response

What do you think are the problems faced by those who change households frequently?

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own. They can write in their own words.

A sample is given here: :

People who usually change their houses on a regular basis are not stable. They do not have a sense of belongingness to any location because they shift so regularly. These people fail to make any permanent friends. Also, their education experiences will undergo some ups and downs as they have to move from one institution to another from time to time.

Section-IV

(Writing Skills)

Q 5. (A) Do any of the following activities: [5 Marks]

A 1. Letter Writing

Look at the notice issued by the Supervisor of your School.

Picnic to Lonavala

Contribution Rs,500

Spots to be visited: Wax Museum, Narayanidham, Dam’s, Duke’s Nose

Enjoy scenic beauty, pleasant weather.

Need to carry: Water bottle, proper clothing, caps, essentials medicines and snacks for your taste.

Start: 7:30a.m. from School

Return: 9:30 p.m to School

You stay in a Hostel. Write a letter to your dad asking permission to go for the picnic. Also, request him to give you the necessary amount.

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own.

Find here the sample format for the letter:

Address

Date

Salutation:- Dear Daddy,

Get straight to the point. Talk about the excursion/ school picnic-date and time. Ask for permission to go for the picnic. Talk about the items you would have to carry.

Say about the contribution for the picnic. Ask for the money. Talk about the places or spots that you plan to visit as part of the picnic.

End by saying that you would be waiting for a reply.

Your loving daughter/ son,

Name

Or

A 2. 30% Water cut.

Mumbai: Due to major repairs of the pipeline in Dadar and nearby areas, 30% water cut will be implemented for G (N) and (S) wards. Citizens are requested to use water carefully and store water for a day. Water supply will resume on Sunday night. Do not panic.

Write a letter to the Secretary of your Housing Society informing him about the news and drawing his attention to the problem. Request him to take necessary steps.

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own.

Sample format given below:

Name

Address

The Secretary

Address

Subject: Restricted water supply due to repair works

Salutation: Dear Sir,

Explain the scenario of water shortage. Reason for it. Ask the secretary to take the step necessary for it.

Justify the need for adopting the steps to curb water shortage.

Yours Truly,

Name

(B) Do any one of the following features:

B 1. Report writing [5 Marks]

Human Rights department had arranged a programme to save the rights of a child in your locality. Write a report for the newspaper using the hints.

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own.

Or

B 2. Dialogue writing

Look at the following News Headline and develop a dialogue between you and your friend. Use the points given in the call-outs.

MASTER-blaster’s last innings.

Answer: Students can write the answer in their own words

Q 6. A Do any of the given activities: [5 Marks]

A 1. Information Transfer ( Non-verbal to verbal)

Answer: Manuscripts are collected from both students and teachers. These are thoroughly screened, edited, required alterations and omissions are done to the copy. After this a rough draft is prepared and the manuscript along with the dummy is sent to the printer. After this comes the stage of proof correction. Following the corrections made, the manuscript is then sent for final printing.

Or

A 2. Here are some tips about keeping healthy as given in the Science magazine. Read and write in the form of the Dos and Don’ts(table):

You must include vegetables and fruits in your diet and drink a lot of water. You should avoid junk food and aerated water. You shouldn’t sit for a long period of time. Rather you should exercise regularly. You shouldn’t ignore the importance of good breathing habits. Try breathing deeply when you think of it. See to it that you sleep for at least 7 hours a day. In fact, you should avoid irregular timings.

Answer: Find here the tips in the form of Dos and Don’ts Table:

B. Do any of the given activities: [5 Marks]

B 1. Speech

Prepare a speech to be delivered by you on “Environment Day” celebration in your school, laying stress on conserving the environment.

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own(include the points as given)

Or

B2. Views and Counterviews

View: Progress of mankind depends on deforestation.

Counterview:

(i) Rising population

(ii) wild-life affected

(iii) Global warming

(iv) Flora and Fauna endangered

Answer: Counter view: I strongly oppose the statement that ‘Progress of mankind depends on deforestation.’ Students can write on this topic including the points mentioned.

Counter view: I strongly oppose the statement that ‘Progress of mankind depends on deforestation.’ Forests are the home to a diverse species of flora and fauna, which however become endangered as a result of deforestation. It is not justified to cut the trees down to accommodate human greed. As the rising population find a new method to accommodate themselves and their businesses, deforestation will also render animals homeless, while endangering some species. This imbalance in nature will thus cause Global warming.

Q.7 (A) Do any of the given activities: [5 Marks]

A 1. Expansion of ideas(any one)

(i) Dishonesty never pays in the long run.

Answer: Dishonesty has become an integral part of the world we live in. Almost everyone uses dishonesty as a way to get out of trouble or to escape political scams. Even a school going child lies to his mother about his test scores if they fail. Employees also lie to the boss about why they were late to work. It is seen that we use one lie to cover another one. We soon become deprived of a clear conscience. However, dishonesty never pays in the long run. One can cheat and clear an exam or a job interview, but you need to question yourself if this will help you to be the person you want to be.

(ii) Time and tide wait for none.

Answer: Very few people understand the value of time and respect it. Time is elusive for the reason that we always think that we have time, when the reality is that time does not stand still for even a minute. If a moment is lost, then it is lost forever. It is seen that we often delay making a decision and then later we realise that it is already too late to do anything. We must also be aware that even the smallest degree of laziness will cost us dearly, because as said time and tide will not wait for anyone.

Or

A 2. Develop a story having one of the above ideas as a moral. Give a suitable title to your story.

Answer: Students can do this activity on their own.