AHSEC – Class 12 | English Question Paper -2019

1. Read the following passage carefully:

It is a disturbing fact that today many different kinds of wild animals throughout the world are in danger of extinction. The reasons for this are many and varied, but we must largely blame pollution, pesticides, the disturbance of the animals’ natural environment and man’s greed and thoughtlessness.

Industry has grown enormously, and it has become common practice for factories to dispose of waste matter in streams and rivers, causing great loss of river life. Modern agricultural methods include the use of pesticides which effectively control insects classified as pests, but which also destroy many that are not. An increase in population has meant more building and with it the destruction of much of the countryside that provides habitat for wild animals. To satisfy man’s selfish desires the polar bear in North America is under threat, hunted by sportsmen; the Borneo and Sumatra the orang-utan has become part of a smuggling racket; in South America the chinchilla is almost extinct because its fur is in demand; whales are massacred world-wide for the oil and the food they yield. These are only a few of the species under threat.

But the problem is receiving world-wide recognition, and some action is being taken. To name a few examples – sewage pollution in the river Thames has been greatly reduced; a ban on trading in some furs has been agreed; and organizations like Friends of the Earth do valuable work in this deserving cause.

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following questions:

a) Cite the reasons as to why some species of wild animals are on the verge of extinction. 2

Ans: It is a disturbing fact that today many different kinds of wild animals throughout the world are in danger of extinction. The reasons as to why some species of wild animals are on the verge of extinction are- pollution, pesticides, the disturbance of the animals’ natural environment and man’s greed and thoughtlessness.

b) What has brought about the destruction of much of the countryside? 1

Ans: An increase in population has meant more building and with it the destruction of much of the countryside

c) Why are the polar bear and the whales under threat? 2

d) Which animal is hunted for its fur? 1

e) Mention the ways in which wild life is currently helped. 2

f) Give the adjective form of ‘habitat’. 1

g) Find a word in the passage which means “a great slaughter.” 1

                                                                        SECTION B

SKILLS:

– Excellent written and verbal communication skills

– Working knowledge of Tally, Excel, MS-Word , Powerpoint

Achievements:

– Winner of Inter –college Debate Competiton (2011)

– Best employee of the year 2016 at XML Pvt. Ltd. Guwahati.

– Developing successful territory plans

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

a) Reena said to the boy, “What’s the matter? Why are you crying? Be cheerful.”

Ans: . Reena asked the boy what the matter was and why he was crying. She (Reena) asked him to be cheerful.

b) The customer inquired if he could get a garden-roller in that shop. The assistant respectfully replied that he would get it in the hardware department.

c) Ans: The customer said ,” Can I get a garden-roller in this shop?’’ The assistant replied,’’ Sir , You will get it in the hardware department.’’

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

a) Drive the car slowly. Ans: Let the car be driven slowly.

b) I am writing a letter now. Ans: A letter is being written by me now.

c) We should not encourage indiscipline. Ans: One should not encourage indiscipline.

d) Who wrote the Ramayana? Ans: By whom was the Ramayana written?

e) Promises should be kept. Ans: We should keep our promises.

f) He will be forgotten in a few years. Ans: People will forget him in a few years.

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

a) I met him while (go) to his office. Ans: Going

b) They (live) in this place since 1970. Ans: have been living

c) The train (leave) before I reached the station. Ans: had left

d) I wish I (be) a bird! Ans: were

e) Your letter (reach) me yesterday. Ans: reached

f) He (make) a doll now. Ans: am making

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

a) What is the time _____your watch now? Ans: by

b) The students of this college have free access _____ the Principal. Ans: to

c) You should take proper care _____ your books. Ans: of

d) A sage has no desire _____ material wealth. Ans: of

e) India is rich _____ minerals. Ans: in

f) He is very particular _____ his health. Ans: about

g) I did that without any malice _____ you. Ans: with

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

a) Your hair is very lovely. (Make it an exclamatory sentence)

Ans: What a lovely hair you have !

b) The Bhupen Hazarika Setu at Dhola Sadiya is the longest bridge in India. (Change it into positive degree)

Ans: No other bridge in india is as long as The Bhupen Hazarika Setu at Dhola Sadiya.

c) I tried every plan. (Make it negative without changing the meaning)

Ans: I left no plan untried.

d) He wants me to help him. (Make it a complex sentence)

Ans: He wants that I should help him

e) The enemy fled as soon as they saw us. (Make it a compound sentence)

Ans: No Sooner did the enemy see us than they fled.

f) A stone that is rolling gathers no moss. (Make it a simple sentence)

Ans: A rolling stone gathers no moss.

SECTION D

(Text Books : 45 Marks)

10. Read one of the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:

a) “Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits.”

Questions:

1) What do we do every day? 1

Ans: we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth

2) What removes the pall from the dark spirits? 1

Ans: Some beautiful shape or a thing of beauty removes the pall of sadness from our spirit

3) What is the message expressed in these lines? 2

Ans: Through these lins, the poet wants to convey that every morning ,some beautiful shape or a thing of beauty connect us to the earth. It removes the layer of sadness from our soul and make us fresh and energetic.

Or

b) “Driving from parent’s

Home to Cochin last Friday

Morning, I saw my mother,

Beside me,

Doze, open mouthed, her face

Ashen line that

Of a corpse …….”

Questions:

i. Where was the poet driving to? 1

Ans: The poet was driving to cochin airport.

ii. What did she notice when her mother sat beside her? 1

Ans: She noticed the mother’s ashen and almost lifeless face distraught with pain.

iii. Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’. 1

Ans: sleep lightly- Doze; dead body- corpse.

iv. Why was her mother’s face like that of a corpse? 1

Ans: Her mother’s face was pale, dull and completely grey like ash, which made it look a corpse

11. Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words: 3×2=6

1) How did the travelers on the highways react to the roadside stand?

2) What, according to Keats, makes human beings love life in spite of all its problems and miseries?

3) Why quietness would be an exotic moment for the speaker in ‘Keeping Quite’?

4) What is Pablo Neruda’s opinion about different kinds of wars?

5) What is the significance of the parting words of the speaker and her smile in ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’?

12. Answer any five of the following questions: 5×1=5

a) What is the name of the river mentioned in “The Last Lesson”?

b) Where does Saheb originally hail from?

c) Which country had developed synthetic indigo?

d) Where did Gandhi stay in Muzzafarpur?

e) Who is Darek?

f) What did Sophie dream of?

g) Name the book from which “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” is taken.

Ans: “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib” has been taken from the book ‘’A Chota Sahib : Memoirs of a Forest Officer’’

13. Answer any five in 30-40 words: 5×2=10

a) What words did M. Hamel write on the blackboard before dismissing the last class? What did they mean?

b) What would Franz love to do on that sunny morning instead of going to school?

c) What is the actual name of Saheb? What does it signify?

d) How was a solution to the problem of indigo sharecroppers of Champaran found?

e) Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

f) Give a brief description of the Peacock Island.

g) What is a marboat and how is it operated?

14. Answer any one of the following questions in 80-100 words: 1×5=5

a) Describe the character of Sophie’s father and the role played by him in the story “Going Places”.

Or

b) Describe the exploitation of the indigo sharecroppers by English landlords. How did Gandhi help them to get an honorable settlement?

15. Answer any one of the following questions in 125-150 words: 1×7=7

a) Write a character-sketch of Dr. Sadao Hoki as depicted in “The Enemy”.

Or

b) “Though both Mr. Lamb and Derry suffer from a physical disability, their attitude to life is different.” Justify the relevance of this statement with reference to the story “On the Face of it”.

16. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words: 4×2=8

a) What did the Maharaja decide to do when he remembered the astrologer’s prediction?

b) Who was Hana? What did she notice coming out of the mist?

c) How did Derry get his face burnt?

d) Why did Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples?

e) What is the meaning of ‘Domahi’? What do people usually have for lunch on that day?

f) How is the delicacy ‘Sunga-pitha’ prepared?