AHSEC HS 1ST YEAR QUESTION PAPER 2015

Below is the AHSEC class 11 English question paper 2015. you can also find here AHSEC CLASS 11 (HS 1st year) past years English question papers with solution

H.S. 1ST YEAR EXAMINATION

2015

General English,

Full Marks: 100

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

Mahatma Gandhi has laid great stress on Satyagraha in his thoughts. Satyagraha means pursuance of truth. It means striving for truth even by undergoing physical pain. Gandhi relied on the methods of non-violence to strive for truth. Thus it was agreeable to him to suffer physical hardship for the sake of truth. He used to accept Satyagraha not simply as a means but as a principle by itself. He himself had written that Satyagraha is a spiritual principle based on love for mankind. There is no feeling of hatred towards the opponents in it. He used to regard Satyagraha as the most potent force. In ‘Hind Swaraj’ he wrote: ‘Passive resistance (Satyagraha) is an all sided sword, it can be used anyhow. It blesses him who used it and him against whom it is used without drawing a drop of blood. It produces for reaching results. It never rusts and cannot be stolen’.

Gandhi considered four conditions to be necessary for a Satyagraha. He stated, ‘After a great deal of experience it seems to me that those who want to become passive resisters for the service of the country have to (i) observe perfect chastity, (ii) adopt poverty (iii) follow truth and (iv) cultivate fearlessness. Gandhi used to give enough stress on morality. In his view, truth was the essence of morality.

Gandhi laid great stress on non-violence along with truth. He used to consider non-violence as a symbol of strength rather than of cowardice. On 11 August 1946, he wrote in ‘Young India’, Even if non-violence means taking hardship consciously in a constructive manner, nevertheless this principle does not support surrendering oneself before the tormentor. On the contrary, it encourages one to face a tormentor with full soul force’. Elsewhere he said, ‘I believe that non-violence has the power to solve all problems. At the same time I have this faith that if any country in the world can find a solution to all problems through non-violence, it is only India.’

Questions:

(a) What is Satyagraha? 1

(b) What did Gandhi write about Satyagraha in ‘Hind Swaraj’? 2

(c) What, according to Gandhi, are the four conditions necessary for the success of Satyagraha? 2

(d) What are the view of Gandhi on Non-violence? 3

(e) In which country can one find a solution to all problems through non-violence?

(f) Pick out words from the passage that mean. 1×3=3

(i) Powerful

(ii) Fear or lack of courage

(iii) A person who causes somebody to suffer

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

  1. How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the shows that they watch. Television can make us know more about the outside world; there are good programs that help us understand many subjects: science, medicine, the arts, and so on. Moreover, television helps the old and the sick who can’t leave the house or the hospital. It also gives learners of a foreign language lot of chances to practice the language and improve their vocabulary and listening.
  2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages to television. Of course, it gives us a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries, people watch the “boob tube” for over six hours a day. Many children watch TV for more hours each day than they do anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear that the tube has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence if often very bad.
  3. Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of TV, a person’s brain “relaxes” the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. This is how television affects the brain and makes people unable to concentrate. Children who watch a lot of TV can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes; they can pay attention only for the amount of time between commercials!
  4. Another disadvantage is that TV often makes people unhappy with their own lives. Real life does not seem as exciting to these people as the lives of actors on the screen. To many people, TV becomes more real than their own lives, which seem boring to them. Also, many people get upset when they can’t solve problems in real life as quickly as TV actors seem to. On the screen, actors solve serious problems in a half-hour program.
  5. By the age of fourteen, a child will have watched eleven thousand killings on the tube. He or she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killings, and other kinds of violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after watching certain programs. They may even do the things that they saw in a violent show. An example is the effect of the movie The Deer Hunter. After it appeared on TV in the United States, twenty-nine people tried to kill themselves in a way similar to an event in the film.
  6. The worst influence of the “boob tube” might be people’s addiction to it. People often feel a strong need be people’s addiction to it. People often feel a strong need to watch TV even when they don’t enjoy it. Addiction to a TV screen is similar to drug or alcohol addiction: People almost never believe they are addicted.

Questions:

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. Add a suitable title to it.

(b) Make a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.

SECTION – B: WRITING

3. There was a cultural function in your school/college on the occasion of school/college Annual day. Prepare a report to be published in the Assam Tribune. 5

Or

Describe the process of stitching up a cloth bag to your friend. Use the following clues to describe the process: A Pair of scissors, beads-needle or thread or sewing machine-thick cotton cloth at least one metre in length. 5

4. You are asked to address the morning assembly of your school on the topic, ‘Value of games and sports’. Prepare a speech in 100-150 words: 5

Or

The use of plastic is not eco-friendly. Things made of plastic are not biodegradable. Write an article on the topic ‘Say no to plastic!’ in 100-150 words. 5

5. You are Ranjan/Ranjana. You have come across an advertisement in a local daily regarding a situation vacant for the post of Assistant Teacher in a school at Jorhat. Write an application to the Headmaster of the school submitting your candidature for the same. Mention other relevant details. 10

Or

There is no bus stop within a radius of 2 km. from your locality, causing a lot of inconvenience to the residents. Write a letter to the Editor of the Telegraph drawing attention of the authorities concerned to this problem. You are Mrinal/Malini.

SECTION – C

GRAMMAR

6. Rewrite the following sentences after making necessary correction of errors, (any four) 1×4=4

(a) Everybody have to work.

(b) She said she will take care of the baby.

(c) One should learn how to read and write in his mother language.

(d) He left the hostel with bag and baggage.

(e) He is a MA in History.

(f) My mother never listens what I say.

7. Rearrange the words and phrases of the following to form meaningful sentences: any two: 1×2=2

(a) He has yet not from returned school.

(b) Mahesh not know swim does to how.

(c) Are harmless to people most bats.

(d) People along had up lined road the.

8. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb given in brackets: (any four) 1×4=4

(a) I wish I ____ a king (be)

(b) The earth ____ round the sun. (revolve)

(c) It ____ since morning. (rain)

(d) The Prime Minister ____ here tomorrow. (come)

(e) If you came here, you ____ him. (see)

SECTION – D

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS

9. Read one of the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow:

  1. The cardboard shows me how it was

When the two girl cousins went paddling

Each one holding one of my mother’s hands

And she the big girl-some twelve years or so

  1. What does the cardboard show the poet? 1
  2. How did the girls go to the sea beach? 1
  3. Why did the two girl cousins hold one of the poet’s mother’s hands? How old was the poet’s mother? 1+1=2
  4. Who clicked the three girls in the cardboard? 1
  5. When did my childhood go?

Was it the day I ceased to be eleven,

Was it the time I realized that Hell and Heaven,

Could not be found in Geography,

And therefore could not be

Was that the day!

  1. What is the poet asking for? 1
  2. What does ‘Hell and Heaven’ stand for? 1
  3. What phase of life does the stanza reveal? 1
  4. How does the poet describe the process of being grown up? 2

10. Answer any one of the following questions: 2×2=4

  1. Why would the poet’s mother laugh at the snapshot?(N)
  2. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem, ‘The Voice of the Rain’?(N)
  3. In the poem, Childhood, the poet asks two questions – one is about the time and the other about the place.Why does he ask these questions?(N)
  4. What is the father’s greatest wish for his son?(N)

11. Answer any five of the following questions briefly: 3×5=15

  1. How did the sparrows react to the death of the author’s grandmother?(N)
  2. What the difference between village school education and urban school education is as brought out in the lesson ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?(N)
  3. Describe the boat which was made for undertaking the voyage in the lesson, ‘We are not afraid to die….’
  4. Why was Howard Carter’s investigation resented?
  5. What do you understand by the concept of ‘sustainable development’ as explained in ‘The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role’?(N)
  6. Why does Taplow say Mr. Crocker-Harris cannot be a sadist?
  7. Describe and contrast the features of the Chinese and the European art landscapes. (N)
  8. What does Verrier Elwin have to say to the hill people of Assam?
  9. How do East Africans and Indians differ in their attitude to animals?

12. Answer any one of the following questions: 6×1=6

  1. Cite reasons to validate whether the distancing relationship between the author and his grandmother was deliberate or beyond their control. (N)
  2. What is the Daoist concept of ‘Shanshui’ and Daoist view of the universe?(N)
  3. ‘We have not inherited this Earth from our forefathers: we have borrowed it from our children’ Justify this statement. (N)
  4. Compare and contrast Verrier Elwin’s views regarding his visits to the Game Sanctuaries of Kenya and Tanganyka on the one hand and Kaziranga on the other.

13. Answer any one of the following questions: 6×1=6

  1. ‘Mourad was the natural descendant of the crazy streak of uncle Khosrove’. Explain the statement giving instances from the story, ‘The summer of the beautiful while hose’.
  2. ‘Have you come back’? Said the woman, ‘I thought no one had come back’. Does this statement give some clues about the story? If yes, what are they?
  3. ‘English integrates India as a nation or it belittles the expressions of native speakers’. Elucidate with examples from the lessons ‘Ranga’s Marriage’.
  4. Describe the circumstances leading to Albert getting a medical certificate issued declaring him unfit to continue school. (N)

14. Answer any two of the following questions in brief: 2×2=4

  1. Describe the quality of the mangoes of Hosahalli village. (N)
  2. What was the Mathematics teacher Koch’s opinion about Albert’s mathematical knowledge?(N)
  3. What is Cyril’s prime fault as expressed by Mrs. Pearson?
  4. Why was Joe and Susan Morgan’s case special for Andrews?
  5. Cite one instance of irony form the poem, ‘The Tale of Melon City’.
  6. Was Ratna a victim of the arranged marriage system?(N)

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You may also like: AHSEC CLASS 11 (HS 1st year) past years English question papers with solution

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