Assam Higher Secondary Education Council
ANNUAL EXAMINATION, 2012
H.S. FIRST YEAR
Sub: General English
Full Marks: 100
1. Read any two of the following passages and answer the questions given below: 5+5=10
A. “The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s,” said Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, as he leaned over the body for a long first look. Carter-Howard Carter, that is – was the British archaeologist who in 1922
discovered Tut’s tomb after years of futile searching. It contents, though hastily ransacked in antiquity, were surprisingly complete. They remain the richest royal collection ever found and have become part of the pharaoh’s legend. Stunning arte facts in gold, their eternal brilliance meant to guarantee resurrection caused a sensation at the time of the discovery and still get the most attention. But Tut was also buried with everyday things he’d want in the after life: board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments, cases of food and wine.
(a) Who was Zahi Hawass? 2
Ans. Zahi Hawass was the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
(b) Who discovered Tut’s Tomb and when? 2
Ans. Howard Carter, the British archaeologist discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922.
(c) What were the articles placed inside the tomb of Tut? 2
Ans. Stunning artifacts in gold, board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments, cases of food and wine were the articles placed inside the tomb of Tut.
B. Hor was a grim, miserable place. There was no vegetation whatsoever, just dust and rocks, liberally scattered with years of accumulated refuse, which was unfortunate given that the town sat on the shore of Lake Manasarovar, Tibet’s most
Venerated stretch of water. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist cosmology pinpoints Manasarovar as the source of four great Indian rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. Actually only the Sutlej flows from the lake, but
The headwaters of the others all rise nearby on the flanks of Mount Kailash. We were within striking distance of the great mountain and I was eager to forge ahead.
(a) Give a brief description of Hor. 2
Ans. The narrator gives a very vivid description of Hor. It was a grim, miserable place. There was no vegetation, only dust and rocks, which were scattered here and there with years of accumulated refuse.
(b) According to whom, Manasarovar is the source of great Indian rivers? 1
Ans. According to ancient Hindu and Buddhist cosmology
(c) Name the river, which have its source from Manasarovar? 2
Ans. The Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra are the rivers which have their source from Manasarovar.
C. In fifteenth century Antwerp, a master blacksmith called Quinten Metsys fell in love with a painter’s daughter. The father would not accept a son-in-law in such a profession. So, Quinten sneaked into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on his latest panel, with such delicate realism that the master tried to swat it away before the realised what had happened. Quinten was immediately admitted as an apprentice into his studio. He married his beloved and went on to become one of the most famous painters of his age. These two stories illustrate what each form of art is trying to achieve a perfect, illusionistic likeness in Europe, the essence of inner life and spirit in Asia.
(a) Who was Quinten Metsys? 1
Ans. Quinten Metsys was a master blacksmith of the 15th century.
(b) How did he marry his beloved? 2
Ans. Quinten Metsys was not accepted as a son-in-law by his beloved’s father, as he was a blacksmith only. But one day he entered the studio of his beloved’s painter father and painted a fly on his latest panel. The fly was so perfect that the painter thought it a real fly and wanted to swat it away before he realized what had happened. Metsys was then appointed as his apprentice and he married his daughter.
(c) What was Quintten’s Job in the painter’s studio? 2
Ans. Quinten did his job as an apprentice painter.
2. Answer any one of the following questions: 1×5=5
a) The author’s grandmother was religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?(N)
Ans: The author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the different ways of her behaviour.
(i) She hobbled about the house in a white saree, always carrying and telling the beads of her rosary.
(ii she always come to school along with his grandson because temple is attaching to the school, and used to pray inside by reading the scriptures
(iii) When her grandson went up to university she rarely left her spinning wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her spinning wheel and Reciting prayers.
(iv) She would always feed the animals (dogs in the village) and birds (sparrows in the city) because she thought it to be a part of religious rituals.
(v) At her last stage she lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. These are the different cases we can take to decide that grandmother was a religious person
b) Describe the mental condition of the voyagers on 4th and 5th January. (Not in syllabus now)
c) Elucidate in your own words about Tut and his ancestors. (Not in syllabus now)
d) What do you understand by the terms ‘Outsider art’ and ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’?(N)
Ans. ‘Outsider art’ is the art of those untrained artist who in a way do not have the right to be artists. Though these artists do not have formal training yet they show immense talent and artistic insight.
On the other hand, ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’ are unrefined state of art. In this kind of art, the artist used anything and everything from a tin or a sink or a broken down car as the material for their art. Nek Chand, the untutored genius’ creator of the Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a good example of such art.
3. Answer any six of the following questions: 2×6=12
a) Why did the narrator not believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty?(N)
Ans. The writer finds it hard to believe that once his grandmother was once young and pretty because her face was full of crisscross wrinkles that had been the same there on for the last twenty years. There was no change in the wrinkles for the last twenty years.
b) Name the person whom did the narrator and family want to duplicate? Why did they want to duplicate the round-the-world voyage? (Not in syllabus now)
c) What were the things Placed beside Tut’s dead corpse? Why were they placed there? (Not in syllabus now)
d) What is the Green Movement? Explain briefly. (N)
Ans. The Green Movement that was found in New Zealand in the year 1972 brought a great awareness to the humanity. It taught us that we are just partners on the earth having equal rights to inhabit this planet as any other living organism. Having learnt this, human beings worldwide stopped large amount of destruction that it used caused upon the earth. People realized that the earth’s existence was threatened and began to do whatever was possible by each individual and each notion. Its aim is to create a holistic approach to safe guard the plants from further degradation
e) What is the concept of ‘Shanshui’?(N)
Ans. The Chinese word ‘Shanshui’ means ‘mountain-water’ (Yang yin). Together, these two words comprise the Daoist view of the universe ‘Yang’ is ‘mountain’ stable, warm and dry in the sun which reaches vertically towards Heaven. ‘Water is ‘yin’ – the receptive feminine aspect of universal energy. It rests on the earth horizontally and fluid, moist and cool.
f) What surprised the narrator when Mourad came to his window early morning? (Not in syllabus now)
g) Why was the narrator distressed knowing Ranga’s views about his marriage?(N)
Ans. The narrator had in his mind the niece of Rama Rao. She was a pretty girl of eleven. The narrator thought that Ranga would make a good husband for Ratna. But Ranga had no plan of marrying in near future. The narrator was distressed to hear Ranga’s plan.
h) Why and how did Albert decide to get rid of his school?(N)
Ans. Albert didn’t feel at ease at school. After his encounter with the teacher he felt insulted. He decided to get rid of his school by producing a false certificate from a doctor. The doctor was to certify that he had a nervous breakdown. It would serve his purpose. He would not be medically fit to stay in the school.
4. Answer any two of the following questions: 4×2=8
a) What were the obstacles or problems could the narrator and his friend face in their journey towards the Mount Kailash? (Not in syllabus now)
b) Who was Jean Dubuffet? What concept of art did he propound? (Not in syllabus now)
c) What do you gather about Crocker-Harris from the play ‘The Browning Version’? (Not in syllabus now)
d) Give a brief account of Professor Gaitonde bitter experience in the Azad Maidan. (Not in syllabus now)
GROUP – B
5. Answer any five of the following questions: 1×5=5
a) What has the camera captured in the poem ‘A Photograph’?(N)
Ans: Ans. The camera has captured the pretty face of poet’s mother who was a girl of about twelve and the smiling face of two girl’s cousins Betty and Dolly. They were standing at the beach holding poet’s mother hand.
b) Who is the poet of the poem ‘The Laburnum Top’? (Not in syllabus now)
c) What does the phrase ‘Strange to Tell’ mean?(N)
Ans. When the poet questioned the rain who it was, it answers that it is the poem of the earth. The answer that the rain itself gives to the poet is quite strange to tell. According to the poet it was strange to tell because he never expected from such a natural object to understand human language and to answer in their own way.
d) What did the poet Markus Natten realize about Hell and Heaven when he was a child?(N)
Ans: At this age he realizes many things and started to think on his own. He was able to differentiate between fact and fiction, truth and imaginary concepts. He realized that hell and heaven are merely imaginary concept. It cannot be found in geography text books
e) For how long have the father and son staying together in the same house?(N)
Ans: The father and son stayed together for many years till dispute between them began
f) From where does the rain rise eternally?(N)
Ans. Due to evaporation, water vapours rise out of the land and the bottomless sea upwards. They cool down as rain drops.
6. Answer any two of the following questions: 2×2=4
a) How is the father’s helplessness brought out in the poem?(N)
Ans. Physically, the son is built up as his father wanted him to be. But the father feels helpless because he wanted his son to grow up into man of his choice but the son, growing up chose another of his own. He had his own likes and dislikes which the father could not relate. There is a communication gap between them. They do not understand each other and treat each other like a stranger.
b) Give a brief description of the Laburnum tree top before the arrival of the goldfinch? (Not in syllabus now)
c) Why is the rain so essential on the earth?(N)
Ans. Walt Whitman calls the showers of rain as ‘the poem of the earth.’ Rainy season gives a new lease of life to the scorched and parched earth. The rain makes the seeds sprout in the form of saplings. Rain makes the earth pure and beautifies it. Actually it is the voice or the song of the earth. The earth finds its expression only through the showers of the rain.
d) What is the opinion of the poet about the hypocrisy of the adult?(N)
Ans. As the poet gre3w up, he realized that the grown ups are not as good as they appear to be. He realized that all the adults were selfish and hypocrites. They talk and preach of love to their children but do not practice by themselves.
7. Answer any two of the following questions: 3×2=6
a) Give the substance of the poem ‘Childhood’. (N)
Ans: In the poem ‘Childhood’, Markus Natten depicts the reality of childhood innocence gradually transforming into adult rationality, hypocrisy and individuality. The poem begins with the poet wondering when did his childhood go – was it the day he ceased to be eleven; was it the day when he could distinguish between fantasy and reality by realizing that heaven and hell don’t exist since they are not found in geography books; was it the day when he could understand the hypocrisy of adults by realizing that people were not all that they pretended to be; or was it the day when he became conscious of his own growing individuality by realising that he had a mind of his own and that he was capable of producing thoughts and opinions that were different from other people.
In the final lines, the poet concludes the speculations in his mind regarding his lost childhood. He now tries to understand where his childhood has gone. Though he is not aware of the day he lost his childhood, he knows that it has gone to some forgotten place, that is, on the face of an infant. The poet believes that though his childhood has become a memory for him, it has become a reality for some other child. Childhood is a cyclic process, where it leaves one person and goes to another.
b) Cite the reasons behind the unhappiness of the father. What is his problem?(N)
Ans. Walt Whitman calls the showers of rain as ‘the poem of the earth.’ Rainy season gives a new lease of life to the scorched and parched earth. The rain makes the seeds sprout in the form of saplings. Rain makes the earth pure and beautifies it. Actually it is the voice or the song of the earth. The earth finds its expression only through the showers of the rain.
c) Describe the cyclic movement of the rain?(N)
Ans. The rain goes on completing a fixed cycle day in and day out. She rises in the form of water vapours out of the land and the bottomless sea. She rises towards the sky where when she cools down she takes the shape of showers. The showers fall back to the place of its origin-the earth. Hence, the cycle is complete.
GROUP – C
8. Insert appropriate determiners in any five of the following blanks:
(a) There is ____ milk in the glass.
Ans. A little.
(b) We have very ____ information.
Ans. Little.
(c) Kalidas is ____ Homer of India.
Ans. The.
(d) Could you give me ____ examples?
Ans. Some.
(e) ____ people were present there.
Ans. Many.
9. Fill in the blanks with appropriate auxiliaries:
(a) I ____ meet you tomorrow.
Ans. Shall.
(b) He ____ be ten next month.
Ans. Will.
(c) It ____ rain now.
Ans. Will / may.
(d) You ____ consult a doctor.
Ans. Should.
(e) She ____ speak English well.
Ans. Can.
10. Write the verb in the brackets in their correct tenses.
(a) The sun (rise) in the east.
Ans. Rises
(b) Before we (reach) the station the train had arrived.
Ans. Reached
(c) I (see) the Taj Mahal.
Ans. Have seen
(d) He (live) here for a long time.
Ans. Has been living
(e) I wish I (know) all this.
Ans. Knew
11. Rewrite the following sentence correctly:
(a) It is a nice poetry.
Ans. It is a nice poem.
(b) I know to swim.
Ans. I know how to swim.
(c) He prefers coffee than tea.
Ans. He prefers coffee to tea.
(d) The Man is Mortal.
Ans. Man is mortal.
(e) Diganta is a MA in English.
Ans. Diganta is an MA in English.
12. Make a meaning full sentence out of the jumble words:
(a) Physical exercise/for/essential/is/health/good.
Ans. Physical exercise is essential for good health.
(b) Diseases/take/avoid/daily/exercise/and.
Ans. Take exercise daily and avoid diseases.
(c) Discipline/the/life/necessity/of/is.
Ans. Discipline is the necessity of life.
(d) Ideals/life/of/his/is/food.
Ans. His ideal of life is food.
(e) The/station/has/at/arrived/train/the.
Ans. The train has arrived the station.
13. Point out the principal and subordinate clause:
(a) Tell me where he lives.
Ans. Tell me(p) where he lives(s).
(b) I shall do it if I work hard.
Ans. I shall do it(p) if I work hard(s).
(c) What have I done that you dislike me.
Ans. What have I done(p) that you dislike me(s).
(d) As he is ill he cannot come.
Ans. As he is ill(s) he cannot come(p).
(e) This is the boy, who did it.
Ans. This is the boy(p), who did it(s).
GROUP – D
14. Write a letter to a newspaper appealing for help for the victims of flood.
Ans:
Jakubari, Guwahati
12th Febuary,2012
The Editor
The Telegraph
Guwahati- 781001
Sub: Appealing for help for the victims of a flood in Morigaon district.
Sir,
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper I would like to appeal the benevolent public to come forward to the flood victims of Morigaon district.
The recent flood in Morigaon district. have rendered thousands of people homeless. They have lost all they had. Most of them had no other source of income except the land they cultivated. They are now lying in camps in a miserable condition. They have no place to go and no means of livelihood. They are badly in need of cash and kinds. The generous people are hereby requested to donate liberally in both cash and kinds. The donation may be sent to “ Flood Victims Walfare Centre” Pahumara, PO: Pahumara, District: Morigaon ,Assam
Let them not think for a moment that they are being neglected in their hour of need. They are brethren and let as give the proof of our brotherhood by helping them. It is passing phase and they will look after themselves when rehabilitated.
So, I request you to publish this letter and to make an editorial comment over this sad plight of the poor people.
Thanking you for your cooperation.
Yours truly
Mrinal/ Malini.
Or
Write a letter to you friends inviting him/her to attend your birthday at 4 PM the next day.
Ans:
Parbatia Housing Colony
Tinsukia ( Assam)
14 November 2011
Dear Paribhash,
As you know that tomorrow that is on 15 November 2011 is my birthday. I am organizing a party for all my friends to celebrate the day.
The venue for the party is my residence in Parbatia Housing Colony and party starts at 4 p.m. with cake cutting followed by games, dance and finally dinner. I will be very pleased if you can join us for the occasion by 4 . I am looking forward to your company. Your presence will make the occasion even more cherished for me.
Yours affectionately
Trisha
15. Write a report on the following:
a) You are an eyewitness to a road accident in which a school-going boy was killed and many passengers were injured.
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ROAD ACCIDENT
Guwahati, 25 April,2012: Road accident in guwahati have become quit frequent the days. Various accidents are reported everyday from different parts of the city. A horrible road accident took away two innocent lives yesterday. In another incident a school bus collided with an oil tanker coming from opposite direction . the driver of the bus lost control of the bus. The tanker tried to take a sharpe turn. There was a head on collision. The school bus was toppled over. The oil tanker caught fire. Many of the passenger in the bus minor injuries , but the conductor and a school boy died on the spot. The fire brigade arrived within 10 min and put out the fire.
Reported by saurav/Aparna
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H.S. 1ST YEAR EXAMINATION
Q. PAPER 2013
General English
Full Marks: 100
Section A: Reading
1. The New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least, most of us could compile formidable lists of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’. The same old favorites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity. We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat less, find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the house, be nice to people we don’t like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk everyday. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure. Most of us fail in our efforts at self improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into out bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitious: to do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening. An all-night party on Yew year’s Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on he second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.
The daily exercise lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to them early in the morning before anyone had got up. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable. Nevertheless, I managed to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was this that betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped into watch the performance. That was really unsettling, but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the family good-humorously and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, my enthusiasm waned. The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero. By January 10th, I was back to where I had started from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in the morning, I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home form work Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to book. One night, however, feeling could and lonely, I went downstairs and sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven’t given up my resolution to do more reading. In fact, I have just bought a book entitled How to Read a Thousand Words a Minutes. Perhaps it will solve my problem but I just haven’t had time to read it!
A. Choose the correct one: 1×6=6
a) ‘Resolution’ include
i. Our favourite past time
ii. Pledging not to do certain things
iii. Pledging doing certain things
iv. Pledging doing and not doing certain things
Ans. Iv. Pledging doing and not doing certain things
b) Past experiences have taught us that
i. All accomplishments are attainable
ii. Most of our promises are true
iii. All our accomplishments are not attainable
iv. We can do everything and anything
Ans. iii. All our accomplishments are not attainable
c) By January 10th, the narrator
i. Achieved what he aimed to do
ii. Did nothing at all
iii. Was to back to square one
iv. Progressed and achieved
Ans. ii. Did nothing at all
d) The narrator wanted to save his energy in their morning for
i. Exercises
ii. Reading
iii. Playing
iv. Taking rest
Ans. ii Reading
e) The best time for resolutions is:
i. Your birthday
ii. The new year’s Eve
iii. The new year
iv. Christmas Day
Ans. iii The new year
f) Which of the following words in the passage stands for ‘mesmerizing’?
i. Resolved
ii. Betraying
iii. Diminished
iv. Hypnotizing
Ans. Hypnotizing
B. On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using recognizable abbreviations whenever necessary. Use a format you consider suitable. Supply a suitable title. 8
A. New year: a time for resolution
i. Resolve to get up earlier each morning,
ii. Eat less,
iii. Find more time to play with the children,
iv. Be nice to people we don’t like,
v. Drive carefully and take the dog for a walk everyday.
B. Certain acmplsments are beyond attainment.
i. Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement.
ii. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody.
C. The narrator’s resolutions
i. To keep his resolutions to himself,
ii. To do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening.
D. The narrator’s failure
i. The daily exercises lasted only eleven minutes.
ii. By January 10th, he was back to where he started from.
Abbreviations used:
Don’t: Do not
Acmplisments: Accomplishments
Fndamntal: Fundamental
2. Read the following passage and write a summary on it. 6
As what geographers have estimated, about twenty percent of the earth’s surface is occupied by deserts. A majority of us view deserts as one unique kind of landscape – areas with little or not rainfalls.
In actual fact, there are differences between the deserts, though in varying degrees. While it is common for laymen like us to see deserts as rocky or covered with gravel or pebbles, there are some where large sand dunes inhabit. Despite the fact that rainfall is minimal, temperatures do change in deserts, ranging from seasonal ones to daily changes where extreme hotness and coldness are experienced in the day and night.
Unfavourable conditions in the deserts, especially the lack of water, have discouraged many living things from inhabiting these landscapes. Nevertheless, there are exceptionally surviving ones which through their superb tactics, have managed to live through and are still going strong. One such kind is the specialist annual plants which overcome seasonal temperature changes with their extremely short, active life cycles. In events of sudden rain, the plant seeds pullulate and grow very quickly to make full use of the rain water. Their flowers bloom and set seeds that ripen quickly in the hot sun too. Once the water runs dry, the mother plant dies, leaving behind the drought-resistant seeds, waiting patiently for the next rainy season to arrive.
The Cacti, a native in American deserts, adapts to the dry surroundings by having unique body structures. The plant has swollen stems to help store water that carries it through months. By having sharp pines instead of leaves, water loss through respiration is minimized. Besides, these pointed pines also help the plant ward off grazing animals, thus enhancing its survival period.
Besides plants, there are also animals with distinct surviving tactics in deserts too. For instance, Skinks (desert lizards) metabolize stored fats in their bulbous tails, producing water to supplement their needs, just like what camels do with the stored food in their humps during long journeys through deserts. Antelopes like the addax, have very low water needs and hence are able to tolerate the conditions in deserts, extracting moisture from the food they eat.
Finally, there are the sand grouses (desert birds) which do not have special features to overcome the drought-like nature in deserts. Hence, to survive in these hot, dry deserts, they need to spend a large part of their time flying in search of waterholes.
Ans. Despite the dry conditions in the deserts, some plants and animals still manage to survive there. One of them is the specialist annual plants. Their short life cycles allow them to germinate, grow and produce seeds during short rainy seasons. These seeds are drought-resistant and are able to wait for the next rainy season before starting their life cycles again. The Cacti adapts to the dry weather by having swollen stems for water storage and pine-like leaves to minimize water loss through respiration. Skinks generate water from stored fats in their tails and antelopes which requires very little water, survives in deserts by extracting water from food they eat. Finally, sand grouse with no adaptive features turn to waterholes constantly for help.
SECTION B: WRITING
3. You are Neeraj/Nandita working for India Today Last Week you attended a seminar on ‘Pleasure of Eye Donation’, organized by the Young Buzz of your district. Write a report of this seminar in about 100 words taking help from the hints given in the output for the Times of India.
Seminar ‘Pleasure of eye donation’ – organized by young buzz all famous eye surgeons of the town-spoke on the importance of eye donation-50 volunteers offered donation after death-seminar, a great success. 7
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Ans: Pleasure of Eye Donation
Tinsukia, 8 Febuary,2013: A seminar on ‘’Importance of Eye Doantion ’’ was organized in Tinsukia College by young Buzz of Tinsukia district. More than two hundred students along with teachers joined the seminar.
To spread awareness about eye donation this seminar was organized where team of doctors from Assam Medical College gave insights into who can and cannot donate eyes and the time constraints to be followed by the family members of the deceased for the process of the donation. The visitors to the saminar had their doubts cleared
Addressing the participants, Dr Anuradha said that any person (man or woman) of any blood group can donate their eyes on their death to the blind.
“The corneal blind people can be benefitted by this. The cornea from a dead person must be removed within six to eight hours of the death. It takes just 15 to 20 minutes to remove the cornea from the deceased’s eyes, resulting in no distortion on the face,” said Dr Anuradha. 50 volunteers offered donation after death for the benefit of humankind The programme got overwhelming reponsee form both students and teachers.
Reported by – Neeraj/Nandita
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Or
Imagine yourself to be a reporter of New Age, Delhi. Taking help from the input given below, write a report on the running over of two young school children by a Blue Line bus in Guwahati in about 100 words.
4. To enforce strict discipline in schools and colleges is a great problem now-a-days. As Mohan/Mohini, write an article in about 100-150 words for the Hindustan Times about the problems and your views on punishment as a corrective measure. 7
Ans:
Punishment as a Corrective Measure
They say “spare the rod and spoil the child”. To an extent it is true. Punishment has been used as corrective measure since ages. Be it our old ‘ashrams’, ‘Gurukuls’ or the convents of the West, teachers around the world have been using punishment as a corrective measure. The growing indiscipline in schools and colleges has become a great problem now-a-days. Should we use the rod? Easier said than done. We are living in the age of computers. Punishment as a corrective measure won’t work at all. It is inhuman and insulting. Physical punishment crushes the initiative and innocence in a child.In schools and colleges such measures are counter productive. They discourage healthy relationship between teachers and students. Their relationship should be based on mutual love and respect. But human society is not a society of angles. Some kind of punishment may be necessary. It may not be physical punishment. The erring and indisciplined students can be fined. No doubt, the parents will have to suffer for the misdeeds of their wards.But there is no other alternative deterrent. Irregular students should be detained and not allowed to appear in the examinations. Such kind of punishment should be used only in rare cases. They shouldn’t be used as a habit. Teachers must serve as a role models of their students. Teachers should serve as a role-model for their students so that they can see and learn the lessons directly from them rather than going astray like a rudderless ship in the society.
5. Write a letter to the General Manager, MTNL, complaining against unsatisfactory working of your telephone. 6
Ans:
To, Date : 10/12/2013
The General Manager
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited.
Saket Nagar
Kanpur
Sub – Complaining about the unsatisfactory working of your telephone No-223453
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that the telephone service provided by you is not satisfactory from one week. We pay our telephone bill on time but we get poor service in return. I am not able to phone someone from one week. Either the phone becomes dead or otherwise it works one way only .My family members especially my old grandparents who does not have mobile facility so they are dependent to phone someone from telephone. So they have a lot of problems by the poor facility of your service.
In such circumstance, I request you to direct your staff to take a prompt action in the matter. Thanking You
Yours truly,
Samharsh
(Saket Nagar,Kanpur)
SECTION – C
6. Correct the following sentences: 1×4=4
(a) There is still little water in the tank; use it sparingly.
Ans. There is little water in the tank; use it sparingly.
(b) I am knowing you.
Ans. I know you.
(c) He usually is going to school at 7 a.m.
Ans. He usually goes to school at 7 a.m.
(d) The clerk has already typed the letter before the Principal summoned him to do so.
Ans. The clerk had already typed the letter before the Principal summoned him to do so.
7. In the passage below, there is an error in each line. Fine the error and write the correct word in your answer sheet. The first one has been done as an example. ½ x8=4
Sometimes even those children which work e.g. which ………….. who hard
Fail where they are guided by those a when
People who no one has ever told about b whom
Human psychology. Those which think that c who
Hard work is everything they offer
No offer place to know how the child can play and d children
Tell no stories when the child can enjoy e children
Knowing about child psychology will help
Greatly in understanding when a child behaves f how
Properly. It is the best way where everything g anything
About the child can be known. Then we think h if
Of it, we shall understand everything.
8. Combine the following sentences into one complex sentence: 1×4=4
(a) I could not attend the meeting. I am sorry to tell you this.
Ans. I am sorry to tell you that I could not attend the meeting.
(b) There goes my neighbor. I dislike him most.
Ans. There goes my neighbor, whom I dislike most.
(c) Do not eat too much. You will be ill.
Ans. Do not eat too much or you will be ill.
(d) I can not go. I have no ticket.
Ans. As I have no ticket, I cannot go.
9. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets. 1×4=4
(a) I…………….. (read) in this school since 1980.
Ans. I have been reading in this school since 1980.
(b) She never …………… (tell) a lie.
Ans. She never tells a lie.
(c) You…………….. (sleep) when I entered the room.
Ans. You were sleeping when I entered the room.
(d) What ………….. (do) you now?
Ans. What are you doing now?
10. Look at the sentences given below. Reorder them to form meaningful sentences: 1×4=4
(i) he/stepped out/had/hardly/it began/when/to rain.
Ans. He had hardly stepped out, when it began to rain.
(ii) is expected/to do/everyman/his duty.
Ans. Everyman is expected to do his duty.
(iii) the book/out of/print/is/you/mentioned/which.
Ans. The book, which you mentioned is out of print.
(iv) how/you had/at the interview/done/us/let know.
Ans. Let us know, how you had done at the interview.
SECTION – D: TEXT BOOK
11. Read the stanza given below and answer the questions that follow it. 1×6=6
‘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
All these stood to smile through their hair
At uncle with the camera’
(a) The photograph shows
i. The poet and his mother
ii. The poet and his cousins
iii. The poet’s mother and her cousins
iv. The poet’s mother and her friends.
Ans. iii the poet’s mother and her cousins
(b) ‘Paddling’ in the second line means
i. Walking in shallow water with so shoes or socks
ii. Paddling a boat
iii. Paddling a bike
iv. Swimming up and down
Ans. I walking in shallow water with no shoes or socks
(c) The ‘big’ girl described in the fourth line was
i. The poet’s grandmother
ii. The eldest sister of poet’s mother
iii. The poet’s mother
iv. The eldest cousin of the poet
Ans. iii The poet’s mother
(d) All three stood still
i. In a ship
ii. On the ground
iii. On a hill
iv. At the sea beach
Ans. iv At the sea beach
(e) The names of the two cousins standing with the mother were
i. Susan and Sarin
ii. Enna and Anna
iii. Betty and Dolly
iv. Mack and Jack
Ans. iii Betty and Dolly
(f) Pick out the correct option of the opposite of the word ‘shows’ from the alternative given below:
i. Reveals
ii. Displays
iii. Hides
iv. Avoids
Ans. iii Hides.
Or
‘The laburnum top is silent, quiet still (Not in syllabus now)
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen’
(a) The laburnum top is silent because
i. It is afternoon time
ii. It is quiet all around
iii. The goldfinch has not come
iv. There is no bird near the trees
Ans. iii The goldfinch has not come
(b) Goldfinch is a
i. Small animal with dark colour
ii. Small singing bird with yellow feathers
iii. Small duck with while feathers
iv. Slack sparrow
Ans. ii Small singing bird with yellow feathers
(c) The name of the poet of ‘Laburnum Top’ is
i. Shirley Toulson
ii. Ted Hughes
iii. Walt Whitman
iv. R. Tagore
Ans. ii Ted Hughes
(d) ‘Laburnum’ is
i. A small hill
ii. A short tree with hanging branches
iii. Herbal plant
iv. Bush
Ans. ii A short tree with hanging branches
(e) These lines describe the laburnum tree
i. In winter
ii. In summer
iii. In autumn
iv. In spring
Ans. iii In autumn
(f) The word ‘still’ here means
i. Continuing until a particular point in time
ii. Despite what has been said
iii. Some more time left
iv. Calm and quiet
Ans. I Continuing until a particular point in time
12. Answer the following questions: 2×3=6
a) What does the rain do day and night?(N)
Ans. The rain proves a blessing for the earth. When the showers of rain fall down on earth, they wash away all the droughts, dust and other impurities of the earth. The seeds lying hidden in the earth suddenly sprout to life when it rains. So the rain gives a new lease of life to the earth.
b) How is the father’s helplessness brought out in the poem, ‘Father to Son’?(N)
Ans. Physically, the son is built up as his father wanted him to be. But the father feels helpless because he wanted his son to grow up into man of his choice but the son, growing up chose another of his own. He had his own likes and dislikes which the father could not relate. There is a communication gap between them. They do not understand each other and treat each other like a stranger
13. Answer the following questions in not more than thirty words 3×5=15
a) Which train did Professor Gaitonde Travel by? Where was he going to? Why? (Not in syllabus now)
b) What were the results of the CT scan? (Not in syllabus now)
c) What was the first indication of the impending disaster? (Not in syllabus now)
d) How does Khuswant Singh describe his grandmother?(N)
Ans: Khuswant Singh’s grandmother was a old lady. She was short and slightly bent .Her face was full of crisscross wrinkles that had been the same there on for the last twenty years. There was no change in the wrinkles for the last twenty years. She hobbled about the house in a white saree, always carrying and telling the beads of her rosary.
e) Who was Wu Daozi?(N)
Ans. Wu Daozi was a famous painter of China who lived in the 8th century. His last painting was a landscape commissioned by the Tang emperor Xuanzong to decorate his palace wall.
14. Answer the following question in about hundred words: 4
a) Describe the role of Millie Crocker Harris in ‘The Browning Version’? (Not in syllabus now)
Or
Why is the story called, ‘The adventure’? (Not in syllabus now)
15. Answer any of the following in not more than hundred words: 4
a) Give a character sketch of the narrator’s cousin Mourad. (Not in syllabus now)
b) The story ‘The Address’ is divided into pre war and post war times. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times? (Not in syllabus now)
16. Answer any two of the following questions in not more than thirty words: 2 ½ x2=5
i. How did the villagers welcome Ranga?(N)
ii. Suggest a few instances in the poem ‘The tale of Melon city’ which highlight humour and irony. (Not in syllabus now)
iii. What impressions of Shahid do you gather from ‘The Ghat of the only World’? (Not in syllabus now)
