Class 9 English — Model Question Paper (Set 2)

Model Paper · full syllabus · CBSE 2026-27 pattern

CBSE Class 9 · Mathematics (NCERT ‘Ganita Manjari’) · Max Marks 80 · Time 3 hrs · Exam-level hard

CBSE Class 9 English — Model Question Paper (Set 2 · HOTS) · Max Marks 80 · Time 3 hrs

NCERT ‘Kaveri’ (2026-27) · higher-order, analytical & value-based. Answers & marking scheme in the ✍️ Answers tab.

General Instructions: (i) The paper has three sections — A: Reading (20), B: Grammar & Writing (20), C: Literature (40). (ii) All questions are compulsory; internal choices are provided in some questions. (iii) Answer within the word limits indicated. (iv) Write neatly and number the answers correctly.

SECTION A — READING [20]

Q1. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. [10]

1. Every handmade craft is a conversation between a people and their land. The material a region can grow or gather — bamboo in the north-east, palm leaf in the coast, clay by the river, wool in the hills — quietly decides what its artisans will make, and the shapes they choose carry the memory of festivals, gods and daily work. A craft object, then, is never only useful; it is a small archive of who its makers are.

2. This is why the slow disappearance of traditional crafts is more than an economic loss. When a mould is broken for the last time and no apprentice takes it up, a particular way of seeing the world goes quiet. Machines can copy a shape, but they cannot inherit the stories, the patience and the pride that shaped it by hand.

3. Yet tradition need not be a museum. The crafts that survive are usually those that learn to speak to new buyers without forgetting their own voice — a potter who makes both ritual pots and modern planters, a weaver whose old motifs appear on contemporary bags. Preservation, at its best, is not freezing a craft in the past but keeping it alive in the present.

4. The responsibility, the writer argues, is shared. Artisans must be willing to adapt; buyers must be willing to value the handmade over the merely cheap; and the young must be given reasons — pride, dignity and a fair living — to carry the skill forward. A craft lives only as long as someone chooses to learn it.

(i) Explain the metaphor ‘a conversation between a people and their land’ in your own words.

(ii) Why does the writer call a craft object ‘a small archive’?

(iii) According to paragraph 2, what exactly is lost when a craft dies — beyond income?

(iv) How, in paragraph 3, can a craft stay alive without becoming ‘a museum’? Give one example from the passage.

(v) The writer says the responsibility is ‘shared’. Identify the three groups responsible.

(vi) ‘A craft lives only as long as someone chooses to learn it.’ What is the writer implying?

(vii) Find a word in paragraph 2 meaning ‘a learner being trained by an expert’.

(viii) Pick the option that best states the central idea: (a) crafts are outdated (b) crafts survive by balancing tradition and change (c) machines are better (d) crafts are only decorative.

Q2. Read the case and answer the questions that follow. [10]

A school surveyed 200 students on how learning a skill (music, a craft or a sport) affected them. The findings are summarised below.

Reported benefit	Students (%)
Better focus & patience	72%
More confidence	65%
Felt less stressed	58%
No clear change	9%

Teachers noted that students who practised regularly, even for short periods, reported the greatest gains — echoing the idea that ‘ten years of small steps’ matters more than occasional bursts of effort.

(i) Which benefit was reported by the most students, and by what percentage?

(ii) How many of the 200 students reported ‘more confidence’? (Show the number.)

(iii) What did teachers identify as the key to the greatest gains?

(iv) ‘Only 9% reported no clear change.’ What does this suggest about learning a skill?

(v) How does the teachers’ note connect to the idea of ‘grit’ or perseverance?

(vi) Assertion (A): Learning a skill helps students. Reason (R): 72% reported better focus and patience. Choose: (a) both true, R explains A (b) both true, R does not explain A (c) A true, R false (d) A false, R true.

(vii) Suggest a suitable title for this case study.

(viii) Based on the data, give one piece of advice you would offer a classmate.

SECTION B — GRAMMAR & WRITING [20]

Q3. Complete the following tasks. [10]

(i) Report: Shruti said, “I want to give fusion music a try too.”

(ii) Choose the correct modal (function in brackets): ‘____ you repeat the question, please?’ (polite request)

(iii) Combine using a relative clause: ‘Onula was the last potter. She taught Sentila.’

(iv) Fill in the present-perfect: ‘Many tribes ____ (adopt) this handicraft.’

(v) Change to passive: ‘The villagers trust the postman.’

(vi) Convert the exclamatory sentence to reported speech: ‘“What a soulful performance!” said Nabin.’

(vii) Edit: ‘He work very hard to achieve his dream.’

(viii) Identify the figure of speech: ‘The world might hold a feast.’

(ix) Complete with a noun clause: ‘Everyone knew ____ (that…).’

(x) Rewrite using ‘could have’ (past possibility): ‘They did not take the shorter route (they didn’t know it).’

Q4. You have been inspired by Dr. Deepa Malik’s story. Write an email (100–120 words) to a friend persuading them to join a para-sports awareness drive at school. [5]

Q5. Write a short story (120–150 words) that ends with the line: ‘…and a new dream was born.’ (OR) Write a speech on ‘Compassion is the Real Victory’, drawing on ‘Nine Gold Medals’. [5]

SECTION C — LITERATURE [40]

Q6. Read the extract and answer. [5]

“I underestimated the power of our own music. I was afraid you would be lost to us. I realise that my fears were baseless. After all each bay, its own wind.”

(i) Who is the speaker, and what realisation has he reached?

(ii) Explain the meaning of ‘each bay, its own wind’ in this context.

(iii) What does the word ‘lost’ suggest here — two senses?

(iv) Assertion (A): The speaker now supports his daughter. Reason (R): His wife reminded him of his own past. Choose the correct option (both true & R explains A / etc.).

(v) Name the play and its playwright.

Q7. Read the poem extract and answer. [5]

A little said, and truly said, / Can deeper joy impart / Than hosts of words, which reach the head, / But never touch the heart.

(i) Name the poem and poet, and state its central idea.

(ii) What contrast does the poet draw in these lines?

(iii) Explain ‘reach the head, but never touch the heart.’

(iv) Identify one poetic device in ‘hosts of words’.

(v) How is this idea relevant to communication today? (one sentence)

Q8. Answer any six in 40–50 words each (analytical). [6 × 3 = 18]

• Compare how ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read’ and ‘Follow That Dream’ both treat learning and determination.

• In ‘Canvas of Soil’, how does the extended metaphor of painting change the way we see gardening?

• Why can ‘Winds of Change’ be read as being about more than hand fans? What larger idea does it carry?

• ‘Nine Gold Medals’ could have ended with one winner. How would that change the poem’s message?

• How does Tagore use the senses to recover a memory he cannot see in ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’?

• What role does Leela play in resolving the conflict in ‘Twin Melodies’, and why is it crucial?

• In ‘The World of Limitless Possibilities’, how does the interview format strengthen Dr. Malik’s message?

Q9. Answer any two in 120–150 words each (value-based / HOTS). [2 × 6 = 12]

• Several texts in ‘Kaveri’ celebrate the dignity of work and craft (‘The Pot Maker’, ‘Carrier of Words’, ‘Gifts of Grace’). Drawing on any two, discuss what the book teaches about honest labour.

• ‘A dream needs both a clear head and a brave heart.’ Evaluate this statement using ‘Follow That Dream’ and ‘Believe in Yourself’.

• Many ‘Kaveri’ texts show the bond between generations (‘Vitamin-M’, ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’, ‘Twin Melodies’). Using any two, examine how love and respect pass across generations.

Answers & Marking Scheme (Set 2 · HOTS)

Value points and keys for higher-order, analytical and value-based questions. Reward reasoning, textual evidence and expression.

Q1Section A — Reading, Passage 1 (crafts).

(i) It means a craft grows out of the relationship between people and the land they live on — the materials the land provides shape what artisans make. (ii) Because a craft object stores the identity, stories and memory of its makers, like a record/archive. (iii) A way of seeing the world, with its stories, patience and pride — things machines cannot inherit. (iv) By serving new buyers while keeping its own voice — e.g. a potter making both ritual pots and modern planters. (v) Artisans, buyers and the young. (vi) That a craft’s survival depends on someone choosing to learn and continue it — tradition is not automatic. (vii) apprentice. (viii) (b).

Q2Section A — Reading, Passage 2 (case study).

(i) Better focus & patience — 72%. (ii) 65% of 200 = 130 students. (iii) Regular practice, even in short periods. (iv) That learning a skill benefits almost everyone — very few feel no change. (v) It echoes grit — steady, repeated small efforts matter more than occasional bursts. (vi) (a) both true and R explains A. (vii) e.g. ‘Small Steps, Big Gains’ / ‘How a Skill Shapes a Student’. (viii) e.g. practise a little every day rather than cramming occasionally.

Q3Section B — Grammar (1 mark each).

(i) Shruti said that she wanted to give fusion music a try too. (ii) Could. (iii) Onula, who taught Sentila, was the last potter. (iv) have adopted. (v) The postman is trusted by the villagers. (vi) Nabin exclaimed (with admiration) that it was a very soulful performance. (vii) ‘He works very hard…’ (viii) Hyperbole (also metaphor). (ix) e.g. ‘Everyone knew that Sentila loved pottery.’ (x) ‘They could have taken the shorter route, but they didn’t know about it.’

Q4Section B — Email (value points, 5 marks).

Format (1): To/Subject lines, salutation, body, close, name. Content (2): Dr. Deepa Malik’s story of ‘ability beyond disability’; invite friend to a para-sports awareness drive; what they can do and why it matters. Expression (2): persuasive, polite, well-organised.

Q5Section B — Story / Speech (value points, 5 marks).

Story ending ‘…and a new dream was born’: clear beginning–middle–end, a character who faces a setback and finds new purpose, the given last line used naturally. OR Speech ‘Compassion is the Real Victory’: hook + ‘Nine Gold Medals’ example + call to value kindness over winning. (Content 2 + Organisation/Creativity 2 + Expression 1.)

Q6Section C — Prose extract (Twin Melodies).

(i) Guru Nabin Sharma; he realises his fear that fusion music would make him ‘lose’ his daughter was baseless, and now trusts her. (ii) ‘Each bay, its own wind’ means every artist (and person) has their own unique path/style. (iii) ‘Lost’ = both losing her musicality/identity and being separated from the family. (iv) Both true and R correctly explains A (Leela reminded him of his own past). (v) ‘Twin Melodies’ by Mitra Phukan.

Q7Section C — Poem extract (Words).

(i) ‘Words’ by Charles Swain; central idea: sincere few words matter more than many empty ones. (ii) Contrast between a little truly said and hosts of (many) words. (iii) Many words may be understood intellectually (‘head’) but fail to move the emotions (‘heart’). (iv) Metaphor (‘hosts’ = a great number) / alliteration-free; accept ‘imagery’. (v) e.g. In an age of endless messages, honest, heartfelt words still matter most.

Q8Section C — Analytical short answers (3 marks each; value points).

• Both show determination beating obstacles — the grandmother learns to read at 62; the mother urges a decade of effort to realise a dream. • ‘Canvas of Soil’ frames gardening as art (earth=palette, seeds=brushstrokes), lifting it from labour to creativity. • ‘Winds of Change’ is also about preserving cultural heritage and the dignity of craft against the ‘winds’ of technology. • A single winner would make it a story of individual triumph, losing the message of compassion and collective support. • Tagore uses the humming tune (sound), shiuli scent (smell) and the sky/gaze (sight) to feel his mother’s presence. • Leela, the peacemaker, reminds Nabin of his own rebellion, breaking the father–daughter deadlock. • The interview lets Dr. Malik speak in her own authentic voice, making her resilience and advocacy direct and convincing.

Q9Section C — Value-based long answers (6 marks each; value points).

• Dignity of work: ‘The Pot Maker’ honours mastering one craft; ‘Carrier of Words’ honours selfless service; ‘Gifts of Grace’ honours many trades — together they teach that all honest labour carries dignity. • Clear head & brave heart: ‘Follow That Dream’ supplies the clear head (count the cost, support, time); ‘Believe in Yourself’ supplies the brave heart (take the hard first step) — a dream needs both. • Generations: ‘Vitamin-M’ (grandson–grandfather respect), ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’ (a bond beyond death), ‘Twin Melodies’ (father blesses daughter’s path) — show love and respect flowing across generations.

Section	Area	Marks
A	Reading (2 passages)	20
B	Grammar (10) + Writing (10)	20
C	Literature — Kaveri (extracts + SA + LA)	40
Total		80