AHSEC Class 12 English Question Paper 2013

2013

H.S 2^ND YEAR

ENGLISH

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1. In spite of all the honours that we heaped upon him, Pasteur, as has been said, remained simple at heart. Perhaps the imagery of his boyhood days, when he drew, the familiar scenes of his birthplace, and the longing to be a great artist, never wholly left him. In truth he did become a great artist, though after his sixteenth year he abandoned the brush for ever. Like every artist of worth, he put his whole soul and energy into his work, and it was this very energy that in the end wore him out. For him, each sufferer was something more than just a case that was to be cured. He looked upon the fight against hydrophobia as a battle, and he was absorbed in his determination to win. The sight of injured children, particularly, moved him to an indescribable extent. He suffered with his patients, and yet he would not deny himself a share in that suffering. His greatest grief was when sheer physical exhaustion made him give up his active work. He retired to the estate at Villeneuve Etang, where he had his kennels for the study of rabies, and there he passed his last summer, as his great biographer,….. Radot, has said, “practicing the Gospel virtues.”
2. “He revered the faith of his fathers, “says the same writer,” and wished without ostentation or mystery to receive its aid during his last period,”
3. The attitude of this man to the science he had done so much to perfect can be best summed up in a sentence that he is reputed once to have uttered, concerning the materialism of many of his contemporaries in similar branches of learning to his own: “The more I contemplate the mysteries of Nature, the more my faith becomes like that of a peasant.”
4. But even in retirement he loved to see his former pupils, and it was then he would reiterate his life principles: “Work, “he would say, “never cease to work.” So well had he kept this precept that he began rapidly to sink from exhaustion.
5. Finally on September 27, 1895, when someone leant over his bed to offer him a cup of milk he said sadly: “I cannot”, and with a look of perfect resignation and peace, seemed to fall asleep. He never again opened his eyes to the cares and sufferings of a world, which he had done so much to relieve and to conquer. He was within three months of his seventy-third birthday.
6. Thus passed, as simply as a child, the man whom the French people were to vote at a plebiscite as the greatest man that France had ever produced. Napoleon, who had always been considered the idol of France, was placed fifth.
7. No greater tribute could have been paid to Louis Pasteur, the tanner’s son, the scientist, the man of peace, the patient worked for humanity.

Answer the following questions:

1. Even accolades and honours did not change the simple man that Pasteur was. Why? 2
2. How did Pasteur view those who suffered from diseases? 2
3. How did Pasteur engage himself in the estate? 2
4. What advice did he always give to his pupils? 2
5. How did France, the country of his birth, honour this great scientist?

1.2 Find the words from the passage which mean the same as: (3 marks)

(a) To give up (para 1)

(b) People belonging to the same period (para 3)

(c) Vote by the people of the country to decide a matter of national importance (para 6)

2. Prepare a poster in not more than 50 words for the Inter-School On-the-spot Painting competition that the Three Arts Club of your school is going to organize at your school. 5

Or

Your are the proprietor of Hotel Pinewood, Gangtok. Draft an advertisement for publication in an English newspaper offering attractive discount to Holiday Packages. (Word limit: 50 words)

3. You have witnessed a train accident where the Delhi bound Guwahati Express derailed. Write a report in 100-125 words to be published in an English daily of Guwahati. You are Arun/Anima. 10

Or

You are Priyam/Priya and you have visited your friend, who is staying in the school/college hostel. Write a factual description in 100-125 words including the facilities such as accommodation, food, entertainment, sports etc, provided there.

4. Write a letter to the Editor on an English daily drawing the attention of the authorities concerned to the erratic power supply, particularly during study hours, in your locality. You are Sallman/Syesha. 10

Or

You are Raja/Sunita. You want to study Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) under Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University (KKHSOU), Guwahati. Write a formal letter to the Registrar of KKHSOU to get necessary information about the course, duration of the course, fee structure, mode of learning, evaluation, etc. 10

Grammar (20 Marks)

5. Change the form of narration in the following sentences: 2×2=4

1. “Why aren’t you wearing chappals?”

I ask one boy.

“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf”, he answers simply.

1. One day Mukesh told me that he would be a motor mechanic and leave Firozabad. I asked him if he knew anything about cars.

6. Change the voice of any three of the following sentences: 3×1=3

1. My bicycle has been stolen.
2. He is expected soon.
3. He likes tea.
4. Please give me some more time.
5. When will the work be finished?
6. Shut the window.

7. Rewrite any five of the following sentences using the verbs given in brackets in their correct tense forms: 5×1=5

1. Ice (float) on water.
2. He (go) home when we met him.
3. I want to go for a walk, but I (not finish) my work yet.
4. Perhaps it (rain) yesterday.
5. All the students (leave) when I reached the school.
6. You (sleep) for three hours now.
7. We (walk) for two hours at a stretch and now we need to rest.

8. Rewrite any four of the following sentences filing in the blanks with appropriate propositions: 1×4=4

1. We informed the police ____ the theft in the house.
2. The children were looking forward ____ their visit to Shillong.
3. I spoke to her ____ the office.
4. Did you enjoy yourself ____ the party last night?
5. The girl standing ____ the two boys is their sister.
6. Flour is made ____ wheat.

9. Rewrite any four of the sentences as directed: 4×1=4

1. Kolkata is bigger than any other city in India. (Change into Positive Degree).
2. He left no plan untried. (Change into affirmative).
3. He came in the evening. (Change into a complex sentence)
4. I shall never forget you. (Change into interrogative).
5. You must work hard to succeed. (Change into a compound sentence)
6. No sooner did he see me than he began to quarrel. (Change into affirmative).

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