Class X
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT II
ENGLISH
Code No. 101
(COMMUNICATIVE)
Section A
Reading
Q1. VSA (1 mark each)
Read the following passage carefully
First introduced in 1927, The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about the adventures
of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one baffling mystery after another.
The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in 1930 a similar series was created for girls
featuring a sixteen-year-old detective named Nancy Drew. The cover of each volume of The Hardy
Boys states that the author of the series is Franklin W. Dixon; the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories are
supposedly written by Carolyn Keene. Over the years, though, many fans of both series have been
surprised to find out that Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene are not real people. If Franklin W.
Dixon and Carolyn Keene never existed, then who wrote The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries?
The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew books were written through a process called ghostwriting. A
ghostwriter writes a book according to a specific formula. While ghostwriters are paid for writing the
books, their authorship is not acknowledged, and their names do not appear on the published books
.Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults, the content of which is unspecific. Sometimes
they work on book series with a lot of individual titles, such as The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew
series.
The initial idea for both the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed by a man named
Edward Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialized in children’s books.
Stratemeyer noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults, and surmised that children
would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives with whom they could identify.
Stratemeyer first developed each book with an outline describing the plot and setting. Once he
completed the outline, Stratemeyer then hired a ghostwriter to convert it into a book of slightly over
200 pages. After the ghostwriter had written a draft of a book, he or she would send it back to
Stratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it back to the ghostwriter. The
ghostwriter would revise the book according to Stratemeyer’s instructions and then return it to him.
Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it was ready for publication. Because each series ran for so
many years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys both had a number of different ghostwriters producing
books; however, the first ghostwriter for each series proved to be the most influential. The initial
ghostwriter for The Hardy Boys was a Canadian journalist named Leslie McFarlane.
A few years later, Mildred A. Wirt, a young writer from Iowa, began writing the Nancy Drew books.
Although they were using prepared outlines as guides, both McFarlane and Wirt developed the
characters themselves. The personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew arose directly from
McFarlane’s and Wirt’s imaginations. For example, Mildred Wirt had been a star college athlete and
gave Nancy similar athletic abilities. The ghostwriters were also responsible for numerous plot and
, setting details. Leslie McFarlane used elements of his small Canadian town to create Bayport, the
Hardy Boys fictional hometown.
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, fill in the blanks with appropriate words /
phrases:
1) The ‘Hardy Boys’ mystery stories are a series of books that
contain__________________
2) _________ was a similar series created like ‘The Hardy Boys’ created for the girls.
3) The process of writing the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew was called ______________
4) The initial idea for both the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed
by______________________________
5) The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were created based on the idea that
children___________________________
6) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys both had a number of different ghostwriters
producing books___________
7) The personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew arose directly from
__________and___________ imaginations.
8) The ghostwriters were responsible for __________ plot and _________ details.
Q 2 VSA (1 mark each)
Read the following passage carefully:
Here’s why effective communication is important. In a large organization, when a CEO
addresses a live webcast — a must in today’s day and age — even a single question from an
employee, no matter how unimportant it might be, will resonate across centres. It then
becomes absolutely necessary for the leader to respond in a precise and unambiguous manner
and use the platform to deliver his message across to the people. When the spotlight is on the
leader, onlookers will hold on to every word he or she utters. Rhetoric can make many a hero.
Usage of words chosen to deliver a message is equally important. “Communication is not
about company information. It’s more like, if you want to drink water, do I presume you want
to drink Coke,” an HR head once remarked. If strategy is important, what’s even more critical
is communication of the strategy. One can either be vague and leave it to the imagination of
others or be precise without any obscurity. Either way, depending on what the situation
demands, it’s a leader’s call and he or she can be sure, people are going to judge.
The importance of effective communication is not restricted to the leadership level alone.
Companies are looking at innovative and effective ways to communicate with employees and
also enable employee-to-employee communication, what one can term as E-2-E. So there are
Facebook like tools that are being created to encourage active discussion among employees,
irrespective of where they are based. It also ensures any gap in communication is bridged and
there are no excuses at that.
An engineering company I know uses SMS as a means to communicate with employees.
They started this practice even when others were just about warming up to sending mailers to
meet their communication needs. Others may take a cue from this and start using platforms
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT II
ENGLISH
Code No. 101
(COMMUNICATIVE)
Section A
Reading
Q1. VSA (1 mark each)
Read the following passage carefully
First introduced in 1927, The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about the adventures
of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one baffling mystery after another.
The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in 1930 a similar series was created for girls
featuring a sixteen-year-old detective named Nancy Drew. The cover of each volume of The Hardy
Boys states that the author of the series is Franklin W. Dixon; the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories are
supposedly written by Carolyn Keene. Over the years, though, many fans of both series have been
surprised to find out that Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene are not real people. If Franklin W.
Dixon and Carolyn Keene never existed, then who wrote The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries?
The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew books were written through a process called ghostwriting. A
ghostwriter writes a book according to a specific formula. While ghostwriters are paid for writing the
books, their authorship is not acknowledged, and their names do not appear on the published books
.Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults, the content of which is unspecific. Sometimes
they work on book series with a lot of individual titles, such as The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew
series.
The initial idea for both the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed by a man named
Edward Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialized in children’s books.
Stratemeyer noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults, and surmised that children
would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives with whom they could identify.
Stratemeyer first developed each book with an outline describing the plot and setting. Once he
completed the outline, Stratemeyer then hired a ghostwriter to convert it into a book of slightly over
200 pages. After the ghostwriter had written a draft of a book, he or she would send it back to
Stratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it back to the ghostwriter. The
ghostwriter would revise the book according to Stratemeyer’s instructions and then return it to him.
Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it was ready for publication. Because each series ran for so
many years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys both had a number of different ghostwriters producing
books; however, the first ghostwriter for each series proved to be the most influential. The initial
ghostwriter for The Hardy Boys was a Canadian journalist named Leslie McFarlane.
A few years later, Mildred A. Wirt, a young writer from Iowa, began writing the Nancy Drew books.
Although they were using prepared outlines as guides, both McFarlane and Wirt developed the
characters themselves. The personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew arose directly from
McFarlane’s and Wirt’s imaginations. For example, Mildred Wirt had been a star college athlete and
gave Nancy similar athletic abilities. The ghostwriters were also responsible for numerous plot and
, setting details. Leslie McFarlane used elements of his small Canadian town to create Bayport, the
Hardy Boys fictional hometown.
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, fill in the blanks with appropriate words /
phrases:
1) The ‘Hardy Boys’ mystery stories are a series of books that
contain__________________
2) _________ was a similar series created like ‘The Hardy Boys’ created for the girls.
3) The process of writing the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew was called ______________
4) The initial idea for both the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed
by______________________________
5) The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were created based on the idea that
children___________________________
6) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys both had a number of different ghostwriters
producing books___________
7) The personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew arose directly from
__________and___________ imaginations.
8) The ghostwriters were responsible for __________ plot and _________ details.
Q 2 VSA (1 mark each)
Read the following passage carefully:
Here’s why effective communication is important. In a large organization, when a CEO
addresses a live webcast — a must in today’s day and age — even a single question from an
employee, no matter how unimportant it might be, will resonate across centres. It then
becomes absolutely necessary for the leader to respond in a precise and unambiguous manner
and use the platform to deliver his message across to the people. When the spotlight is on the
leader, onlookers will hold on to every word he or she utters. Rhetoric can make many a hero.
Usage of words chosen to deliver a message is equally important. “Communication is not
about company information. It’s more like, if you want to drink water, do I presume you want
to drink Coke,” an HR head once remarked. If strategy is important, what’s even more critical
is communication of the strategy. One can either be vague and leave it to the imagination of
others or be precise without any obscurity. Either way, depending on what the situation
demands, it’s a leader’s call and he or she can be sure, people are going to judge.
The importance of effective communication is not restricted to the leadership level alone.
Companies are looking at innovative and effective ways to communicate with employees and
also enable employee-to-employee communication, what one can term as E-2-E. So there are
Facebook like tools that are being created to encourage active discussion among employees,
irrespective of where they are based. It also ensures any gap in communication is bridged and
there are no excuses at that.
An engineering company I know uses SMS as a means to communicate with employees.
They started this practice even when others were just about warming up to sending mailers to
meet their communication needs. Others may take a cue from this and start using platforms
