CREST English Olympiad Class 10 Previous Year Papers

Q.1

Choose the option that cannot fit in the blank:

How have you come ______ such a precious diamond?

Q.2

Read the passage and answer the question:

Sails are usually found on boats. But even without a boat, a sail can be useful. In the winter, you can use a sail when you are on ice skates. If the ice is smooth and there is a good wind, you can have lots of fun. The sail will propel you across the ice at great speeds. You can use it at other times of the year too. Try using one when you're on roller skates or on a skateboard. If you have a surfboard or a small rowboat, you can also have fun with a sail.
To make a sail, you need a double bed sheet and T-shaped frame. Put the frame together from two light sticks. Sew your bed sheet to the frame. It will look a triangle when it is finished. As a rule, the sail should be as tail as you. Quite a lot of sewing is needed. You may need someone to help you with the sewing.
How long you hold the sail is up to you. Put handholds where you want them or just hold on to the frame. To use it with a boat or surfboard, rig up a kind of mast and attach your sail to it.
To make a sail, you must sew the bed sheet to the _________.

Q.3

Read the passage and identify the false statement:

Language is the primary source of communication for humans and is used to convey thoughts, feelings, intentions, and desires to others (Bonvillain 2008:1). Many rules are taken into account when forming a language. According to Bolton, language is arbitrary and is unrepresentative of the objects they represent (Bolton 1996: 63). The study of Semantics allows us to identify the meaning of words and phrases in their literal sense, and helps us to make meaning out of arbitrary sounds and phrases. It has been contributed to by both linguists and philosophers. Linguists used lexical decomposition to understand the features that comprise words and the categories in which the words fit. Philosophers dealt more with the meanings of sentences and truth condition and reference (Parker and Riley 2010: 28). Semantics is still not a completely understood field, and as a result it is not easy to study (Parker and Riley 2010:26-27).Semantics is split into three different sections: sense, reference, and truth conditions.

Thanks to semantics, we gain an understanding of what words mean when they are said to us. Without semantics, we would not be able to understand each other. Semantics take into account cultural, situational and environmental constructs to develop meaning in different areas of the United States and throughout the world (Bonvillain 2008: 27). With that being said, there are several things that semantics brings to the English language that allows us to communicate on a deeper level and makes our language more complex. Sense is the study of the literal and intentional meaning of words and phrases. Part of this section is lexical ambiguity. This occurs when one word has more than one meaning.
Source: https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Semantics-221752

Q.4

Choose the most suitable option to fill in the blank:

______ you excuse me for a moment ?

Q.5

Choose a suitable option which expresses the same sentence in passive/active voice:

The government has launched a massive women welfare programme in New Orleans.

Q.6

Read the jumbled parts of a sentence and find out which of the four combinations is correct:

1 : A connection had long been suspected
P : since both were at their worst in the
Q : same regions and seasons, but the nature
R : between the abundance of mosquitoes
S : and the occurence of malaria
6 : of this connection had not been understood.

Q.7

Choose the most suitable option to fill in the blank:

This new process is a ______ advance in technology.

Q.8

Choose the most suitable option to fill in the blank:

When calamity _______ the family, he faced it boldly.

Q.9

Read the passage and answer the question:

As the rulers of the planet, humans like to think that it is the large creatures who will emerge victorious from the struggle for survival. However, nature teaches us the opposite it is often the smallest species which are the toughest and more adaptable. A perfect example is the hummingbird, which is found in the Americas. One species of hummingbird is known as the bee hummingbird, ranks as the world's smallest and lightest bird and it is barely visible when it is in flight.
Humming birds are the only birds that can fly backwards. They feed mainly on the nectar of flowers, a liquid that is rich in energy. Nectar is an ideal food source for hummingbirds since they need an incredible amount of energy to sustain their body metabolism. A hummingbird's wings flap at a rate of about 80 times per second and its tiny heart beats more than 1000 times per minute. This is why they must consume relatively large quantities of food. In the course of a day, a hummingbird consumes about half its body weight in nectar.

The word, 'incredible' in the passage means

Q.10

Choose the most suitable option to fill in the blank:

A trader was ________ at the airport on Friday for carrying gold jewellery worth over Rs. 1 crore.