Sample Question for Grade 7
(From 2017)
English Paper One
Full Marks: 80
Time: 3 hours
Section A: Reading (Total Marks 40)

1. Read the text first and then choose the best answer to the following questions from the alternatives given. You do not need to reproduce the whole chunk of the answer. Only the corresponding number of the answers will do.

Shahana's husband Mr Zamil Huda works in a company office. His firm has a vacant position. On several days he told Shahana, "I want you to apply for the post." But Shahana said, "Please don't insist. I'm joining the local high school as a teacher," "What do you find in a teaching job. Shahana? I don't want you to do it." Her in-laws were also on his side. Yet, Shahana joined the school against the will of the family.

Weeks and months went by. Everyday Shahana helps with the household work. Every day she works hard to prepare her lessons. Every day she goes to school, teaches her students, and helps both weak and bright ones. They often come to her in the teacher's room, in the corridor, and even on the road, and talk to her about any academic or personal problems.

Within a year Shahana becomes a very good teacher. Students give her salam where ever they see her. Teachers, even the Headteacher, admire her. Parents and other people in the commuruty come to see her at home and at the school and pay her great respect.

One day her husband said, "You have opened my eyes, Shahana. Teaching is more than a job. I didn't know it. Congratulations!"

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Tell me Shahana, how you could be such a great teacher!" Zamil wanted to know.

"I don't only teach my subject, I care for my students. I love them. I myself demonstrate good behaviour and inspire them to be good. That's all I do," replied Shahana.

Now choose the correct answer to each question from the alternatives given and write the corresponding number of the answers in your answer script.

0.5x10-5

1. His firm has a vacant position. Here 'firm' means?
   a. school
   b. workplace
   c. culture
   d. workshop
2. Which one of the following words has a similar meaning of 'vacant'?
   a. newly
   b. tasty
   c. guilty
   d. empty
3. But Shahana said, "Please don't insist." What does 'insist' mean?
   a. inspire
   b. request
   c. refuse
   d. force
4. Her in-laws were also on his side. What does 'in-laws' mean?
   a. lawful relatives
   b. loyal relatives
   c. relatives by marriage
   d. distant family members
5. They often come to her in the teachers' room, in the corridor, and even on the road... Here 'corridor' means
   a. passage
   b. room
   c. field
   d. market
6. Teachers and even the Head Teacher admire her. The meaning of the word 'admire' is
   a. honour
   b. dislike
   c. fight
   d. blame
7. At the beginning Zamil was
   a. in favour of his wife's decision
   b. against her wife's decision
   c. respectful of his wife's decision
   d. curious about her wife's decision
8. Zamil congratulated his wife later because
   a. Shahana earned a lot
   b. Shahana gave him salam
   c. everyone respected Shahana
   d. students came to see her
9. What was Zamil's reaction to see his wife's success?
   a. Teaching is helping others.
   b. Teaching can't give anyone anything.
   c. Teaching is showing good behaviour.
   d. Teaching is more than a job.
10. Shahana became a good teacher because
    a. she did a lot for students
    b. she was very strict
    c. she was powerful
    d. she earned a lot of money

Answers:

1 b 2.d 3. d 4.c 5.a 6.a 7. b 8.c 9.d 10.a

2. Read the following text and answer the questions.

Helen Keller was a great humanitarian. She cared deeply for the sick, injured and disabled people. The disabled people have a physical or mental problem that limits their activities or senses. Helen devoted her life to help them.

Helen was born in 1880 in Alabama, USA. Her parents were Captain Arthur Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. Her family was not rich. Their main source of income was cotton plantation.

Helen was born healthy, but in 1882 she became deaf, dumb and blind after a high fever. Her father heard about Perkins School for the Blind in Boston and contacted the Director there. In 1887 the Director sent one of his best students. Anne Sullivan, to help Helen. Anne worked hard to enable her to communicate.

In 1890 Helen's formal education started at Horace Mann School for the deaf in Boston. In 1892 she went to Wright Humason School for the deaf in New York. Helen improved her communication skills and studied regular academic sub-jects. She then decided to go to college, and attended Cambridge School for Young Ladies in 1896. Later she studied at Radcliffe College. Here she learnt Braille, which was a new technique for reading. She also learnt how to type. Anne Sullivan was always with Helen. She sat with Helen in class and helped her by interpreting lectures and texts. In 1904 Helen received her BA degree with honours from Radcliffe College.

Now write answers to the following questions.

2X5= 10

1. List the important persons in Helen's life. (recalling/remembering)
2. Who did Helen help during her life? (understanding)
3. What was the occupation of the Kellers family? (remembering)
4. How did Helen lose her eyesight as well as speech? (understanding)
5. Do you agree that Annie Sullivan gave Helen a new life? Why/why not?
   (analysing)

• A question setter does not need to write the category of question in parenthesis as written above. This is just to make the points clear to question setters.

Probable Answers

1. Captain Arthur Keller, Katherine Admas Keller, the dirctor, Annie Sullivan (Only the names are enough as this is a list. However, if any student writes the names in complete sentence, s/he cannot be penalized or given extra credit.)
2. During her life Helen helped the disabled people. / Helen helped the people who could not use a part of their body.
3. Their occupation was cotton plantation. / The occupation of the Kellers was cotton plantation
4. When Helen was two years old, she had a fever that made her blind, deaf, and dumb. / When Helen was two years old, she had a fever. Gradually she lost her eyesight as well as speech.
5. Helen lost her eyesight as well as speech only at the age of two. At one stage her father contacted Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. They sent Annie Sullivan for Helen's help. Annie taught Helen how to communicate with others without using speech. Therefore, definitely Annie gave Helen a new life.

3. Read the text and answer the following questions.

Kazi Nazrul Islam is the national poet of Bangladesh. He was born on May 24, 1899 at Churulia village in the Burdwan district of West Bengal. His father was Kazi Faqeer Ahmed and mother was Zahida Khatun. His father died when he was only 9 years old. He went through hardship from his childhood. He is known as a 'rebel poet' that stands for 'Bidrohi Kobi' in Bangla. He wrote many poems, novels, songs, short stories, plays, essays, etc. His major works are Notuner Gaan, Bidrohi, Dhumketu, Agniveena, Bandhan Hara etc. but he is most famous for his poem 'Bidrohi'. In 1945, Nazrul was awarded the Jagattarini Gold Medal by the University of Calcutta. After fifteen years he

was awarded the Padma Bhushan title by the Government of India. In 1972, the Government of Bangladesh brought him and his family to Dhaka. He was also awarded the Ekushey Padak by the Government of Bangladesh in February, 1976. After six months he died.

A. Complete the following table with the information given in the passage.

1x5-5

Answer:
a) 1908
b) his childhood
c) Bidrohi
d) 1960
e) August, 1976

B. Read the text and answer the following questions.

Rabindranath Tagore was a great Indian poet. He was born on 7th of May in 1861 at Jorasanka, Kolkata. His father was Maharsi Debendranath Tagore and mother was Sarada Devi. He took his early education at home, not from any school. In 1878, he went to England for his formal schooling. However, he did not complete it. He returned to India and opened his own school named Santiniketan in Bolpur. This school later became a university. He wrote thousands of poems, songs, plays, short stories, essays and articles. His major works are Manasi, Sonar Tori, Gitanjali, Balaka, Gora, Ghare Baire, Shesher Kobita etc. He is known as Bishwa Kobi. He earned the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913. One of his songs, "Amar Sonar Bangla", is the national anthem of Bangladesh. The national anthem of India was also composed by him.

Now read the following statements. Write (T) in your answer script if the statement is true. Write (F) if the statement is false. If false, write the correct answer. You do not need to copy the statement in your script. Only the corresponding number of the statement will do.

1X5-5

i) Rabindranath Tagore went to London at the age of seventeen.
ii) He had his early education from a local school.
iii) Rabindranath Tagore took higher education from England.
iv) From the beginning Santiniketan is a university.
v) Gitanjali is one of his great works.

Answer:
i) T
ii) F. Correct Answer: He had his early education at home.
iii) F. Correct Answer: Rabindranath Tagore did not complete his higher education.
iv) F. Correct Answer: At the beginning Santiniketan was a school.
v) T

4. Read the text below and complete it with suitable words given in the box.

0.5x10-5

Roufun, a girl of class seven, went to a book fair in her town. This was her first book fair (a) _______ though she had heard about it (b) _______ her friends and relatives. When she (c) ______ the fair, she was so amazed (d) _______ see the colourful book stalls and (e) _____ types of people. They all were (f) _______ varied age, status, culture, and look. (g) ______ salesperson smiled at Roufun and asked (h) ______ he could help her when she (i) _______ crossing a stall. Roufun wanted to (j) _______ a book of Jafar Iqbal and she had it. She smelled the pages of the book again and again.

Answer
a) experience
b) from
c) entered
d) to
e) different
f) of
g) A
h) how
i) was
J) buy

5. Match the texts given in column 'A' and column 'B' to write five complete sentences.

1x5-5

Answers:
i) Everyone has to know the value of hard work, commitment and determination in achieving success.
ii) Playing sports can help you learn these values.
iii) Sports can also teach you so much about yourself and the world around you.
iv) You are able to modify your personality and habits positively by sports.
v) All successful athletes and players could realise the need of these qualities to make their dreams true.

6. Rearrange the following sentences in correct order in your answer script. You do not need to reproduce the sentences in your script. Only the corresponding numbers of the sentences need to be written.

0.5x10=5

a) Makeshift refugee camps in Cox's Bazar take in a large population of the Rohingya.
b) Other illnesses similar to malnutrition have also been an unfavourable condition.
c) In order to avoid torture, they often flee to Bangladesh as refugees.
d) As a result, many have been suffering from malnutrition.
e) The Rohingya are a minority group of people living in Myanmar.
f) They are also tortured.
g) However, a shortage of supplies, food and water has been sweeping these camps.
h) Ultimately, the Rohingya face cruel conditions wherever they go.
i) They are Muslims and face a great deal of discrimination.
j) Due to little access to medical care, even these common diseases cause fatality.

Answer: e+i+f+c+a+g+d+ b+ j+ h

Section B: Writing (Total Marks: 40)

7. Read the opening of a story below and complete it in 10 sentences. 10
   Two men were traveling together. Suddenly, they came across a bear. One of them quickly climbed up a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other man did not know how to climb a tree. He realized he would be attacked. So, he fell flat on the ground......

Suggested answer: He knew a bear never touches a dead animal. The bear came up to him. It felt him with its snout and smelt him all over. All this time, the man held his breath. He pretended to be dead. The bear was convinced that he was dead and walked away. When it was gone far away, the other man came down from the tree. He jokingly asked the lying man, "What did your friend whisper in your ears?" "He gave me a good advice," the man replied. "He advised me never to travel with a friend who leaves me at the approach of danger."

8. Write an e-mail on how you celebrated the last Victory Day in your school. 10

Suggested answer:
To : Sumaiya@gmail.com
Subject: Celebration of Victory Day
Dear Sumaiya
I'm delighted to receive your email. You wanted to know about the celebration of the last Victory Day in our school. Now I'm giving a short description of that ceremony.
You know Victory Day is a red letter day in our history. So every year we celebrate the day with great honour. On the last 16 December we all came to the school at 9 a.m. The school was decorated nicely with balloons, festoons and placards. Students arranged a cultural programme and they also took part in some competitions. The programme started at 10 a.m. with the national anthem. Then we enjoyed the main programme. After the cultural program our Head Teacher distributed prizes among the winners. At last she delivered her valuable speech and thanked all. The programme ended at 2p.m We all enjoyed the day very much.
No more today, hope to hear from you soon.
Your friend
Rimita

9. Sayed is visiting different places of Sylhet with his uncle. He is talking with Shamim about the visit over telephone. Now, write a dialogue between Sayed and Shamim. 10

Suggested Answer:
Sayed : Hello!
Shamim : Hello, Shamim here.
Sayed : Hi Shamim! Did you call me yesterday?
Shamim : Yes, I did. But you didn't answer back. Are you alright?
Sayed : Yes, I'm fine, Shamim. I'm sorry that I couldn't receive your call. In fact, I'm in Sylhet now.
Shamim : Wow! How did you go there and with whom?
Sayed : Well, I came here by train and with my uncle. Yesterday I went to a tea garden. I was so happy that I was hopping like a kangaroo. You know, it was my first visit to a garden in Sylhet.
Shamim : How exciting! I wish I could go there with you. What other places have you visited so far?
Sayed : Well, I've already visited Lawachhara forest. You know it's a safe place for wild animals like elephants, monkeys, deer, wild hens, ducks, birds etc.
Shamim : How exciting your life is! I'm not as lucky as you are. Please tell me everything when you come back.
Sayed : Sure. See you very soon.
Shamim : See you. Bye now.

10. Answer the following questions into a continuous paragraph on "Friendship": 10

What is friendship?
How is friendship developed?
What are the qualities of good friends?
What are the benefits of friendship?
Why should we be careful about choosing friends?

Suggested Answer:
Men/women of similar dispositions are naturally attracted towards each other. In course of time, intimacy grows between them. They begin to trust each other. This is called friendship. Friendship. generally, grows between people of the same age and dispositions. They have similar passions, emotions and sentiments. A friend can be a companion, workmate, class-mate or any person with whom our feelings of affection are attached. Good friends are trustworthy, loyal and honest. They easily forgive us for our mistakes. They do not hesitate to give us valuable suggestions for our benefits. They share their moments of joy with us. At the same time, they freely ask us for help when in need. Most importantly, good friends value our presence in their life. People pass their days cheerfully in the company of friends. Our pleasure grows greater when we share good news with our friends. In distress, friends help one another. They also act as our honest guides or mentors. When we are confused, we can always approach our friend to discuss our confidential matter and seek his opinion. But there are some people who are friends of good time only. They are attracted by power or money and they leave us in our odd times. We need to be careful in choosing friends and we should stick to those who are friends in need. Thus, true friendship is a solace and a boon. Those men are fortunate indeed who have got really true and sincere friends.