Sample Question Paper No.3 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. The title which was conferred on Ram Saran was – a) Rai Bahadur, b) Rai Sahib, c) Knighthood. 
        ii. The pride of Malgudi was – a) River Sarayu, b) Ellaman Street, c) Town Hal
       iii. The patient wanted to postpone the immediate shave for – a) three days, b) a week, c) a day or so more. 
     iv.The environmental base in Kalahandi is – a) hill, b) desert, c) forest.

   2.  Answer any two of the questions which follow (each in about 30 words): 3x2=6 
        i.Why did the shoeshine boy refuse to polish the patient’s shoe ? 
       ii.“...the real business of the day started...”—What was the real business of the day ? Why is the business called the real business ? 
    iii.“There were vague rumours ...”–About whom were these ‘rumours’ ? What were the ‘rumours’ ? 
       iv.  What is meant by ‘per capita’ income? How does it affect the environment?

   
    3. Answer any one of the questions that follow (in about 50 words): 5x1=5 
        i.Why, according to Dr. Follicle, snipping the hair around the ears is a delicate job ? 
      ii.“One of my first undertakings, when I had ...” – What was the undertaking referred to ? How was it materialised ?
    iii.How did Rajam appear to be a new menace in Mani’s life ? 
    iv.What is meant by ‘sustainable development’? How does the present trend of environmental decline affect it?

   4.      Which of the following statements are True and which are False?  1x4=4 
        i.The moon rises in the dark and gloomy western sky.
    ii.The child in the poem “Nature” is not comforted by promises. 
    iii.Rabindranath prays for nothing but political freedom in “Where the Mind is Without Fear”. 
    iv.The young soldier in the poem “Futility” was originally a peasant.

   5.      Answer any two of the questions which follow in about 30 words: 3x2=6 
    i.“Art thou pale for weariness ?” – What, according to the poet, is the cause of the moon’s weariness ? 
     ii. How does the little child in Longfellow’s “Nature” behave, when his mother draws him away from play at the end of the day ? 
       iii.“To break earth’s sleep at all?” – What does the poet mean by ‘earth’s sleep’? 
      iv.“Where the head is held high.” – 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, according to Tagore, are the qualities of mind required for attaining true freedom? 
    ii.“The moon arose up in the murky east.” – How does Shelley describe the rising of the moon in his poem The Moon ? 
    iii.Show how Longfellow compares Nature to a loving mother in the poem Nature. 
    iv.What is the poet’s attitude to war in the poem”Futility’?

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

i) “You are incorrigible.”—Here ‘you’ refers to –a) the Bishop b) the Convict c) Marie.

ii) “He evidently desires it.” –Here ‘it’ refers to –a) supper b) Persome’s company c) Bishop’s
company.
iii) Three basic principles of Christianity are -- a) Prayer, Meditation and Charity b) Hope,
Charity and work c) Faith, Hope and Charity.

iv)“I set too great store by them.”—By ‘them’ the speaker refers to – a) the Bishop’s
furniture b) salt-sellers c) silver candlesticks.

v) “…this gentleman is my very good friend.” –This is said to –a) the Convict b) the sergeant
c) Persome.

vi) “Remember my son that she is holy.”—Here ‘she’ refers to—a) Marie’s mother b) Virgin
Mary c) the Bishop’s mother.

vii) “Were it not for my little dot, we should starve…”—Here the word ‘dot’ means –a) a
woman’s marriage portion(dowry) b) a large sum of money c) property.

viii) “Ah, how nice and warm it is in here!”—Here the speaker is—a) Persome b) the
Sergeant of Gendarmes c) Bishop. 

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

i) “I have a wolf inside me tearing at my entrails.” – What does the speaker mean here?

ii)“Well for my part, I believe that charity begins at home.”--What does the speaker suggest
by these words?

iii)“If people lie to me they are poorer, not I.”—What attitude of the speaker is revealed
here?

iv) “One must do a great deal for the Devil, in order to do a little for God.”—Explain.

v) “That is why they are left open.”—What are left open and why? 

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

i) Describe the Convict’s inner conflict before he steals the candlesticks.

ii) “While Persome seems to us to be a worldly wise woman, her brother the Bishop seems to
be an extraordinary kind man of deep faith.”—Contrast the Bishop’s character with that of
Persome.

iii) “Look here, I was a man once.”—Who is the speaker here? How was his life before he was
sent to prison?

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

i) We at Mokameh Ghat observed no Hindu or Mohammedan holidays. (Turn into passive
voice)

ii)“Miss Smith,” he said to the entering secretary,”please fill out a card for this gentleman for
the Shaving Room.” (Change the mode of narration)

iii) Rajam shouldered his gun and fired a shot in the air. (Change into a complex sentence)

iv) Gently its touch awoke him once. (Use ‘gentle’)

v) I led him into temptation. (Use ‘tempted’) 

B) Fill in the numbered blanks with appropriate articles and prepositions: 3
__(i)___ people whose lives are impoverished and shattered __(ii)__ this way are often
among __(iii)__ poorest __(iv)__ the society, __(v)__ street vendors __(vi)__ pavement
dwellers. 

C) Frame a question with the following wh-word in such a way that the answer
matches the given content: 1x2=2 
i) Who:
Content: So Nature takes away our playthings one by one.
ii) Why:
Content: The idea originated with Ram Saran. He had few opportunities for education.

11. a) Write a letter within 120 words to the Editor of an English daily
expressing your fear and concern for the growing cases of violence against
women in our country. 10

OR

b) Write a letter to your friend within 120 words describing your aim in life.  10 

12. a). Write a report in about 150 words on the flood-triggered landslide in
Kedarnath, Uttarakhand on the following points: 10

[A devastating flood-triggered landslide in Kedarnath – thousands of pilgrims stranded
--Flash flood of Mandakini made the situation grave – army, local people and Government
helped – packets of dry food sent – mobile medical team and other facilities provided –
situation limping to normal.]

OR

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

  As daylight can be seen through very small holes, so little things will illustrate a person’s
character. Indeed character consists in little acts, well and honourably performed in our daily
life. One of the marked tests of character is the manner in which we conduct ourselves
towards others. A graceful behaviour towards superiors, inferiors and equals is a constant
source of pleasure. It pleases others because it indicates respect for their personality; but it
gives tenfold pleasure to ourselves. Every man may, to a great extent, be a self-educator in
good behaviour, as in everything else. He can be civil and kind, if he wills, though he may not
have a penny in his purse. Even a kind look will give pleasure and confer happiness.
Gentleness in society is like a silent influence of light which gives colour to all nature. It is
more powerful than the application of force and more fruitful than that.

    13. Read the following passage: 
      It was a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how, fifteen years before, he had given a party one autumn evening. There had been many clever men, and there had been interesting conversations. Among other things they had talked of capital punishment. The majority of the guests disapproved of the death penalty. They considered that form of death out of date, immoral, and unsuitable for Christian States. In the opinion of some of the guests, the death penalty ought to be replaced everywhere by imprisonment for life.
      “I don’t agree with you,” said their host, the banker. “The death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?”
     “Both are equally immoral” observed one of the guests, “for they both have the same object – take away life. The Sate is not God. It has not the right to take away what it cannot restore when it wants to.”
     Among the guests was a young lawyer, a young man of about five-and-twenty. When he was asked his opinion, he said:
    “The death penalty and life sentence are equally immoral, but I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not live at all.”
     A lively discussion arose. The banker, who was younger and more nervous in those days, was suddenly carried away by excitement. He struck the table with his fist and shouted at the young man:
    “It’s not true! I’ll bet you two millions you wouldn’t stay in solitary confinement for five years.”
    “If you mean that in earnest,” said the young man, “I’ll take a bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years.”
    “Fifteen? Done!” cried the banker. “Gentlemen, I stake two millions.”
    “Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!” said the young man.
    And this wild, senseless bet was carried out!        [Adapted from The Bet by Anton Chekhov] 

    A)     Complete each of the sentences which follow, choosing the correct answer from the alternatives given:   1x7=7 
   i)The banker had given a party – a) a decade ago b) a score of years ago c) fifteen years ago. 
   ii)Most of the guests did not approve of the – a) death penalty b) lifelong imprisonment c) betting. 
   iii)The majority of the guests regarded death penalty as – a) a must b) a civilised form of punishment c) out of date. 
   iv) The word ‘humane’ means – a) related to man b) forgiving c) kind or gentle. 
   v) “The death penalty and life sentence are equally immoral.” Here the word ‘sentence’ means – a) a group of words having a complete sense b) punishment c) proposal. 
   vi)The banker struck the table with his fist because he was – a) excited at the prospect of the bet b) fond of showing his physical strength c) overjoyed at staking two millions in the bet. 
    vii) The idiom ‘in earnest’ as used in the passage means – a) eagerly b) honestly c) seriously. 

    B) Answer the questions which follow (each in about 20 words): 2x4=8 
   i)What did most of the guests think of death penalty? 
   ii)What did one of the guests observe? 
   iii)What was the banker’s attitude about death penalty? 
   iv)Why did the banker prefer death penalty to imprisonment for life? 

    C) Rearrange the following sentences in their proper order: 5 
      i)Hearing this, the banker struck the table with his fist and shouted. 
   ii)Someone asked a young lawyer about his view on the subject of death penalty and imprisonment for life.
   iii)   He staked two millions in a bet saying that he would not be able to stay in solitary confinement for five years. 
     iv)The young man accepted the bet adding that he would stay for fifteen years. 
     v)The young man replied that he preferred imprisonment for life to death penalty.