CBSE Class 10 English Language and Literature (184) sample paper 2026–27, with marking scheme

The Forgotten Skill of Listening

(1) Schools spend years teaching us to speak well. We practise debates, recite poems on stage and prepare speeches for the morning assembly. Far less time is spent on the skill that sits on the other side of every conversation: listening. We assume that it comes naturally, like breathing. Yet anyone who has tried to tell a friend something important, only to watch him glance at his phone, knows that real listening is surprisingly rare. We nod, we say “hmm”, and our minds are elsewhere. (2) Hearing and listening are not the same thing. We hear the hum of a fan or the traffic outside without trying. Listening is active. It means giving full attention to the speaker, following not just the words but the feelings behind them, and holding back our own reply until the other person has finished. Many of us listen only to find a gap in which to talk about ourselves. Real listening is a gift of attention. (3) Good listeners are valued everywhere. In a classroom, the student who listens carefully to the question gives a better answer than the one who rushes in. In a group project, the member who listens to everyone’s ideas often finds a solution that combines the best of them. Among friends, the person who listens well is the one we turn to when we are worried, because we know we will be understood rather than judged. In sport, too, a player who listens to the coach’s instructions learns faster than one who is sure he already knows. (4) Listening also prevents a great many quarrels. Many arguments grow not because people disagree but because neither side feels heard. When someone simply repeats back what the other person said — “So you felt left out when we planned the trip without you?” — tempers often cool at once. Feeling understood can matter more to us than winning the point. Once people feel heard, they become far more willing to listen in return. (5) Like any skill, listening improves with practice. We can put the phone face down when someone talks to us. We can ask a follow-up question instead of changing the subject. We can notice the urge to interrupt and let it pass. At first this may feel slow and awkward. Over time, however, we discover that people open up to us more, that we learn more from them and that our conversations become richer. It is a small effort with a large reward. Nature, as an old saying goes, gave us two ears and only one mouth — perhaps for a good reason.

1. According to paragraph 1, schools spend more time teaching students to

   1. listen
   2. speak
   3. read silently
   4. breathe correctly
   1 mark

2. Pick the word from paragraph 2 that means ‘involving effort; not passive’.

   1 mark

3. Complete the sentence: Many of us listen only to ______.

   1 mark

4. Why do we turn to a good listener when we are worried?

   1 mark

5. State whether true or false, with a reason: Most arguments grow because people strongly disagree.

   1 mark

6. The last sentence of the passage suggests that we should

   1. speak twice as much as we listen
   2. trust our ears more than our eyes
   3. ignore old sayings
   4. listen more than we speak
   1 mark

7. How is listening different from hearing?

   2 marks

8. Mention two ways, from paragraph 5, in which we can practise listening.

   2 marks

How Students Reach School

(1) A survey of 500 students at a large city school in Pune looked at how pupils travel to school each morning. The results, shown in the table, reveal a mixed picture. The school bus is the most popular choice, carrying 150 students, or 30 per cent of those surveyed. Walking comes second, with 120 students, most of whom live within two kilometres of the gate. (2) Cycling, once a common sight, now accounts for only 80 students. When asked why they did not cycle, many students said that their parents were worried about heavy traffic on the main road outside the school. Others said that there was no safe place to park a bicycle. Ninety students are dropped off by car, and the remaining 60 use auto-rickshaws or vans shared with other children. (3) The survey team noticed that the queue of cars at the gate between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. causes long delays for everyone, including the buses. Students who walked or cycled said they felt more awake in the first period than those who came by car, although the survey did not measure this formally. (4) Based on these findings, the student council has proposed two changes: a covered bicycle stand inside the campus and a ‘walking bus’, in which an adult volunteer leads a group of younger children along a fixed route each morning. The council hopes that these steps will reduce the morning traffic jam.

1. Which is the most common way of travelling to school?

   1. Walking
   2. Car
   3. School bus
   4. Bicycle
   1 mark

2. How many students are dropped off by car?

   1 mark

3. Pick the word from paragraph 3 that means ‘officially; in a proper, planned way’.

   1 mark

4. State whether true or false, with a reason: Walking is the least popular way of reaching school.

   1 mark

5. Complete the sentence, using the table: Students who walk or cycle together make up ______ per cent of those surveyed.

   1 mark

6. What is a ‘walking bus’?

   1 mark

7. Give two reasons why students said they did not cycle to school.

   2 marks

8. How could the two proposals help to reduce the morning traffic jam?

   2 marks

Answer any ten of the following twelve questions.

1. The past participle of “write” is:

   1. writing
   2. wrote
   3. written
   4. writes
   1 mark

2. Host: ____ you like some more rice? Guest: Just a little, thank you.

   1 mark

3. Choose the right article: ____ Yamuna flows past Agra.

   1. A
   2. An
   3. no article
   4. The
   1 mark

4. Change into direct speech: Rahul told Priya that he had carried the bag the week before.

   1 mark

5. Choose the right verb: One of my cousins ____ at the bus stop.

   1. being
   2. is
   3. are
   4. be
   1 mark

6. Does this sentence need an article in the blank? Explain: ____ Mount Kanchenjunga is in Sikkim.

   1 mark

7. In the old days, people ____ send letters by post; now they send messages in seconds.

   1. must
   2. ought to
   3. need
   4. used to
   1 mark

8. Change into reported speech: Asha said to Farhan, “Why are you decorating the cake?”

   1 mark

9. There is only ____ milk left, so we must buy more.

   1. a lot
   2. a little
   3. a few
   4. many
   1 mark

10. Fill in the blank with “was” or “were”: One of my neighbours ____ at the bus stop.

    1 mark

11. Choose the right verb: My spectacles ____ on the shelf.

    1. be
    2. being
    3. are
    4. is
    1 mark

12. Correct the sentence, if needed, and give the rule: “The carton of toys were on the table.”

    1 mark

You are Meera Singh, of 147, Shanti Vihar, Jaipur. Your local public library closes at 5 p.m., before most students finish school and tuition. Write a letter to the Chief Librarian, District Public Library, Jaipur, requesting longer opening hours. Write the letter in 100–120 words.

OR

You are Neha Gupta, of 42, MG Road, Patna. Frequent power cuts in your area in the evenings are disturbing students preparing for board examinations. Write a letter to the Assistant Engineer, Electricity Department, Patna, requesting regular power supply. Write the letter in 100–120 words.

The table below shows the number of visitors in a year in a town in Madhya Pradesh from 2021 to 2026. Write an analytical paragraph of 100–120 words describing the trend.

OR

The table below shows the number of rooftop solar panels fitted in a year in a district in Kerala from 2020 to 2025. Write an analytical paragraph of 100–120 words describing the trend.

Read the opening of 'Coorg' (in 'Glimpses of India') describing where Coorg is, its forests and rain, and the best season to visit.

1. Coorg is

   1. the smallest district of Karnataka
   2. a coastal town
   3. the largest district of Kerala
   4. an island in the Kaveri
   1 mark

2. What part of the district is covered by evergreen rainforest?

   1 mark

3. When is the best season to visit Coorg?

   1 mark

4. Why do visitors stay away in the monsoon, and what makes the following months pleasant?

   2 marks

OR

Read the opening of 'Madam Rides the Bus', in which Valli watches the street from her front doorway and quietly gathers information about the bus to town.

1. Valli’s favourite pastime was

   1. playing with friends
   2. riding a bicycle
   3. reading stories
   4. watching the street from her front doorway
   1 mark

2. What was the fare to the town, one way?

   1 mark

3. How long did the bus take to reach the town?

   1 mark

4. How did Valli find out about the trip without telling anyone her plan?

   2 marks

Read the lines of 'The Ball Poem' in First Flight that describe the boy staring down into the harbour where his ball went, and answer.

1. The boy stands

   1. rigid and trembling
   2. laughing
   3. running after the ball
   4. shouting for help
   1 mark

2. What does the boy seem to be staring at as he looks down 'all his young days'?

   1 mark

3. The word 'rigid' means

   1. stiff and still
   2. angry
   3. tired
   4. cheerful
   1 mark

4. How does the poet show the depth of the boy’s sorrow without the boy saying a word?

   2 marks

OR

Read the lines of 'The Trees' in First Flight that describe the fresh night and the smell of leaves and lichen reaching into the rooms, and answer.

1. The smell of leaves and lichen is said to reach into the rooms like a voice. This is

   1. a simile
   2. a metaphor
   3. an alliteration
   4. a hyperbole
   1 mark

2. What is 'lichen'?

   1 mark

3. The sky in these lines is described as

   1. still open
   2. cloudy
   3. stormy
   4. pitch dark
   1 mark

4. Why does the poet compare the smell of the forest to a voice?

   2 marks

Answer any four of the following five questions from First Flight in about 40–50 words each.

1. Do you think Amanda is a "moody" child, as the speaker says? Give reasons. (Amanda!) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

2. How can desire lead to conflict in everyday life, as "Fire and Ice" suggests? (40–50 words)

   3 marks

3. What does the tiger "terrorising the village" tell us about life in the wild? (A Tiger in the Zoo) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

4. How is a bear recognised, according to the poem, and why is this funny? (How to Tell Wild Animals) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

5. Why does Anne feel that “paper has more patience than people”? (From the Diary of Anne Frank) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

Answer any two of the following three questions from Footprints without Feet in about 40–50 words each.

1. What was Max looking for, and how had he entered the room? (The Midnight Visitor) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

2. How did Monsieur Loisel arrange a dress for his wife? (The Necklace) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

3. Describe the scene when Mrs Pumphrey came to take Tricki home. (A Triumph of Surgery) (40–50 words)

   3 marks

Imagine you are Custard. Narrate the night the pirate came to Belinda’s house. (The Tale of Custard the Dragon) (100–120 words)

OR

'Dust of Snow' shows how nature can heal a troubled mind. Discuss with reference to the poem and say what it teaches us about dealing with a bad day. (100–120 words)

Appearances can be deceptive. Discuss with reference to Horace Danby and the lady in red. (A Question of Trust) (100–120 words)

OR

Trust and kindness can change a person. Show how Anil’s behaviour reformed Hari Singh. (The Thief’s Story) (100–120 words)