Exercise 1 English Language Paper

Total 50 marks

Q1. Reading Comprehension

This is an excerpt from the speech delivered by Hilary Clinton at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Plenary Session in Beijing, China: 5 September 1995.

“The international community has long acknowledged that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections and personal freedoms, from the right of personal security to the right to freely determine the number and spacing of the children they bear.

No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse or torture. Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Women and children make up a large majority of the world's refugees. When women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse.

I believe that it is time to break our silence. It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights. These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence.

Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words. The voices of this conference must be heard loud and clear: It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution. It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small.

It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will. If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women's rights - and women's rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard. Women must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure. Let me be clear.

Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments. It means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions. Now it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere.”

Answer the following based on the reading above: (5*2=10)

• According to the excerpt, what range of protections and personal freedoms are both women and men entitled to?
• Why does the speaker emphasize the vulnerability of women when they are excluded from the political process?
• In the context of human rights violations, what examples are provided regarding the treatment of babies, women, and girls?
• What is the meaning of the words: entitled and excluded.
• According to the speaker, what does freedom mean, and how is it connected to the full participation of women in the social and political life of their countries?

Q2. Composition Writing

“Health is Wealth” - Write an essay in 300 words about this topic (10 marks)

Q3. Letter Writing

Write a letter to your friend in Delhi requesting him to visit Bangalore for the Summer vacation (10 marks)

Q4. Notice

An Inter School Debate Competition, happening next week at your Mary Poppins School. You are the President of the Debate Club. Write a notice to inform your fellow schoolmates. (5 marks)

Q5. Grammar Questions

Fill in the blanks with the right prepositions.(5*1=5)

• The dog ran ____ the road.
• The river flows ____ the bridge.
• He is afraid ____ the dog.
• I am fond ____ music.
• He goes ____ Sunday ____ church.

Identify the figures of speech. (3*1=3)

• Her smile was like sunshine, brightening up the room.
• I've told you a million times to clean your room!
• Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
• When the phone rang, Alex rushed to answer it.
• Borrowed clothes do not fit well.
• The cat slept peacefully on the windowsill, and the dog curled up on the rug.
• She enjoys hiking, but her brother prefers to stay indoors and read.

Change the following direct sentences into indirect sentences.(2*2=4)

• Tom said, 'I love playing video games.'
• Mary exclaimed, 'What a beautiful painting!'

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