Sample Question Paper No.2 for Class-XII, English (Group-B), WBCHSE

Time : 3 Hours 15 Minutes                                                                Full Marks : 100 
1. Complete each of the sentences which follow, choosing the correct answer from the alternatives given :   1x4=4 
i) “Rajam and Mani” has been taken from – a) My India, b) India: Development and Participation, c) Malgudi Days. 
ii)  Dr. Follicle’s patient finally came to the – a) shaving room, b) shoe-shining seat, c) shampoo section. 
iii) “With me was a young man.” Here the ‘young man’ refers to – a) Ram Saran, b) Crosthwaite, c) the tobacco merchant. 
iv) The growth rate of motorized vehicles in Delhi is increasing at more than – [ a) 10%, b) 15%, c) 20% ] per year.

2.  Answer any two of the questions which follow (each in about 30 words):   3x2=6 
 i.  How did Rajam impress the whole class on the very first day ? 
 ii.“In the old days of, say, twenty years ago, when a man got sick, 
he went to a doctor.” – How did a doctor in ‘the old days’ treat his patient ? 

 iii.What was the first ‘snag’ that Ram Saran’s school faced and how was it solved ? 

 iv.“There is an aspect of what may be called ‘disguised violence’…” – What do Dreze and Sen mean by ‘disguised violence’ ?

3.  Answer any one of the questions that follow (in about 50 words):    5x1=5 

 i.“Swaminathan felt at perfect peace with the world.” – Who was Swaminathan ? Why did he feel perfect peace with the world ? 

 ii.What is Corbett’s observation on labour unrest, strikes and communal disorders in modern day India ? 

 iii.Who was Dr. Follicle ? How did he examine the patient ? What was his diagnosis ? 

 iv.Show how environmental decline tells upon the basic requirements of sustainable development.

4. Which of the following statements are True and which are False?    1x4=4 

 i.In the first section of “The Moon”, the poet compares the moon to a healthy young lady. 

 ii.The ‘playthings’ has been mentioned allegorically in the poem “Nature”. 

 iii.“Move him into the sun…” – Here ‘him’ refers to the dead soldier. 

 iv.The word ‘where’ in “Where the Mind is Without Fear” refers to the heaven of freedom.

5.  Answer any two of the questions which follow in about 30 words:    3x2=6 

 i.What is the moon compared to in the first section of Shelley’s poem ? 

 ii.“Nor wholly reassured and comforted” – Why is the child not wholly ‘reassured’ and ‘comforted’ ? 

 iii.“At home, whispering of fields unsown,” – What is suggested by the expression ‘fields unsown’ ? 

 iv.“Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.” – What does the poet mean to say in this line ?

6.  Answer any one of the questions that follow in about 50 words:   5x1=5 

 i.What does Tagore mean by ‘narrow domestic walls’ ? How do they break up the world into fragments ? 

 ii.What, according to Longfellow, are the feelings of the child being led away to bed ? 

 iii.Describe how Shelley has personified natural phenomenon in the poem The Moon. 

 iv.“O what made fatuous sunbeams toil/ To break earth’s sleep at all ?” – Explain briefly why the sunbeams are called ‘fatuous’.

7.Complete any four of the sentences which follow, choosing the correct answer from the alternatives given :  1x4=4 

i.The word ‘nincompoop’ means – a) silly fool, b) a beautiful lady, c) a witch.

ii.The ‘old witch’ refers to – a) Marie, b) Marie’s mother, c) Mere Gringoire. 

iii.The word ‘bailiff’ means a – a) landlord, b) constable, c) landlord’s agent. 

iv.“… they have been in our family for years.” Here ‘they’ refers to the – a) silver spoons, b) silver salt-cellars, c) silver candlesticks. 

 v.The Convict entered the Bishop’s cottage at around – a) 1 am, b) 12 o’clock at night, c) 1pm. 

 vi.‘He evidently desires it.’ Here ‘it’ refers to – a) supper, b) Persome’s company, c) the Bishop’s company.

vii.“Remember, my son, that she is holy.” Here ‘she’ refers to – a) the Convict’s wife, Persome, c) Virgin Mary. 

viii.“… it’s a queer thing to ask…” Here the ‘queer thing to ask’ is – a) the Bishop’s blessing, b) the candlesticks, c) food. 

8. Answer any two of the questions which follow (each in about 30 words) :   3x2=6 

 i.“If people lie to me, they are poorer, not I.” – Who is the speaker ? What does the speaker mean by these words ? 

 ii.“Ah ! I’m a fool, a child to cry …” – When and why does the speaker cry ? 

 iii.Who is Marie ? Give an example of the Bishop’s kindness to her. 

 iv.What is the parting advice of the Bishop to the Convict ? 
v. Why did the Bishop sell the silver salt-cellars ?

9.  Answer any one of the questions which follow (each in about 50 words) :  5x1=5 

 i.What role does the candlesticks play in “The Bishop’s Candlesticks” ? 

 ii.“Well, for my part I believe that charity begins at home.” – What does the speaker want to mean here ?

iii.Briefly describe how the Convict lived after he escaped from prison ? 

10. A) Rewrite the following sentences as directed, without changing their meaning:   2x5=10 

i.“Could it be postponed for a day or two more ?” he asked. 
ii.This Rajam was a rival to Mani. (Use the noun form of ‘rival’) 
iii.A fond mother, when the day is over, leads by the hand her little child to bed. ( Turn into a simple sentence) 
iv.They gave me a devil in its place. (Change the voice) 
v.Work at the start had been very strenuous for all of us. (Turn into exclamatory)

B)    Fill in the numbered blanks with appropriate articles and prepositions:    3
One  __i__ my first undertakings when I had __ii__ little time __iii__ myself and __iv__ few rupees __v__ my pocket, was to start a school __vi__ the sons of my workmen.
  
C) Frame a question with the following wh-word in such a way that the answer matches the given content:     1x2=2 
i)  How :
Content : Swaminathan felt at perfect peace with the world. 
ii) Whom :
Content : The Convict seized the Bishop from behind.

    11. a)Write a letter within 120 words to the Editor of an English daily about the harm that is caused to the environment by the use of plastic bags and plastic cups.  10

OR

b) Suppose your brother lives in a boarding school and reads nothing beyond his school books. Write a letter within 120 words to him advising him to read an English newspaper daily.  10

12. a)  Write a report in about 150 words on the celebration of Independence Day in your school.  10

OR

 b) Write a summary in about 100 words of the passages given below:   10

 The test of a great book is whether we want to read it only once or more than once. We want to read a really good book the second time even more than we wanted to read it the first time; and every additional time that we read it, we find new meanings and new beauties in it. A book that a person of education and good taste does not care to read more than once is very probably not worth much. But we cannot consider the judgement of a single individual as final. We may doubt such a judgement. But there is no doubt possible with regard to the judgement of generations. Even if we cannot at once perceive anything good in a book, which has been admired and praised for hundreds of years, we may be sure that by trying, by studying it carefully, we shall at last be able to feel the reason of this admiration and praise. The best of all libraries for a poor man would be a library entirely composed of such great works only, books which have passed the test of time.

   13.       Read the following passage:

The girl got up and began to collect her things. I wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, or if it was plaited, or if it hung loose over her shoulders, or if they were cut very short.

The train drew slowly into the station. Outside, there was the shouting of porters and vendors and a high-pitched female voice near the carriage door which must have belonged to the girl’s aunt.

“Good-bye,” said the girl.

There was some confusion in the doorway. A man, getting into the compartment, stammered an apology. Then the door banged shut, and the world was shut out again. I returned to my berth. The guard blew his whistle and we moved off. Once again, I had a game to play and a new fellow-traveller.

The train gathered speed, the wheels took up their song, the carriage groaned and shook. I found the window and sat in front of it, staring into the daylight that was darkness for me.

So many things were happening outside the window. It could be a fascinating game, guessing what went on out there.

The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie.

“you must be disappointed,” he said. “I’m sorry I’m not as attractive a travelling companion as the one who just left.”

“she was an interesting girl,” I said. “Can you tell me—did she keep her hair long or short?”

“I don’t remember,” he said, sounding puzzled. “It was her eyes I noticed, not her hair. She had beautiful eyes—but they were of no use to her. She was completely blind. Didn’t you notice?”                        [Adapted from The Eyes Are Not Here by Ruskin Bond]

   A) Complete each of the sentences which follow, choosing the correct answer from the alternative given: 1x7=7 
      i.  The high-pitched voice belonged to a – a) man b) woman c) child.  
           ii.   The girl bade good-bye to -- a) the narrator b) her aunt c) the guard. 
          iii.  The word ‘groaned’ evokes the image of – a) a hermit in meditation b) an animal in pain c) children at play.

iv. The narrator stared into the daylight which – a) looked like the light of Heaven on the earth b) was totally dark for him c) increased the pain in his eyes.

 v. The word ‘reverie’ means – a) sleep b) day-dream c) anger.

vi. The new fellow-traveller – a) thanked himself for being an agreeable companion b) appreciated the narrator’s power of observation c) regretted that he was not an attractive companion.

vii.  The narrator asked the man if the girl – a) had beautiful eyes b) kept her hair long or short c) was dressed gorgeously.

    B) Answer the questions which follow (each in about 20 words) : 2x4=8

i)  What did the narrator wonder when the girl got up to collect the things? 
 ii) What were the noises that came to the narrator in the station?

iii) What did the narrator do as the train groaned and shook?

 iv) What did the man say about the girl’s eyes?

    C) Rearrange the following sentences in their proper order:   5

  i) The girl bade good-bye.

  ii) The train drew into the station.

  iii) The door was shut with a bang.

  iv)The girl got up to collect her things.

   v) A man got into the compartment.

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