ENGLISH ELECTIVE NCERT
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
2015-16
CODE NO. 001
CLASS-XII
Time Allowed: 3 hours
Marks: 100
General instructions:
1. Question nos. 1-4 are compulsory
2. Attempt either Question 5 or 6
3. Your answer should be to the point. Stick to the word limit given
SECTION – A
READING – 20 MARKS
Q.1 a) 5 x 2 =10 marks
Read the following passage and answers the questions.
1. On the banks of the Thames it is a tremendous chapter of accidents – the London-lover has to confess to the existence of miles upon miles of the dreariest, stodgiest commonness. Thousands of acres are covered by low black houses, of the cheapest construction, without ornament, without grace, without character or even identity. In fact there are many, even in the best quarters, in all the region of Mayfair and Belgravia, of so paltry and inconvenient and above all of so diminutive a type, that you wonder what peculiarly limited domestic need they were constructed to meet.
2. The great misfortune of London, to the eye (it is true that this remark applies much less to the City), is the want of elevation. There is no architectural impression without a certain degree of height, and the London street-vista has none of that sort of pride. All the same, if there be not the intention, there is at least the accident, of style, which, if one looks at it in a friendly way, appears to proceed from three sources.
3. One of these is simply the general greatness, and the manner in which that makes a difference for the better in any particular spot, so that though you may often perceive yourself to be in a shabby corner it never occurs to you that this is the end of it. Another is the atmosphere, with its magnificent mystifications, which flatters and superfuses, makes everything brown, rich, dim, vague, magnifies distances and minimises details, confirms the inference of vastness by suggesting that, as the great city makes everything, it makes its own system of weather and its own optical laws.
4. The last is the congregation of the parks, which constitute an ornament not elsewhere to be matched and give the place a superiority that none of its uglinesses overcome. They spread themselves with such a luxury of space in the centre of the town that they form a part of the impression of any walk, of almost any view, and, with an audacity altogether their own, make a pastoral landscape under the smoky sky.
5. There is no mood of the rich London climate that is not becoming to them – I have seen them look delightfully romantic, like parks in novels, in the wettest winter – and there is scarcely a mood of the appreciative resident to which they have not something to say. The high things of London, which here and there peep over them, only make the spaces vaster by reminding you that you are after all not in Kent or Yorkshire; and these things, whatever they be, rows of ‘eligible’ dwellings, towers of churches, domes of institutions, take such an effective gray-blue tint that a clever watercolorist would seem to have put them in for pictorial reasons.
6. The view from the bridge over the Serpentine has an extraordinary nobleness, and it has often seemed to me that the Londoner twitted with his low standard may point to it with every confidence. In all the town-scenery of Europe there can be few things so fine; the only reproach it is open to is that it begs the question by seeming – in spite of its being the pride of five millions of people – not to belong to a town at all.
7. The towers of Notre Dame, as they rise, in Paris, from the island that divides the Seine, present themselves no more impressively than those of Westminster as you see them looking doubly far beyond the shining stretch of Hyde Park water. Equally admirable is the large, river-like manner in which the Serpentine opens away between its wooded shores.
8. Just after you have crossed the bridge you enjoy on your left, through the gate of Kensington Gardens, an altogether enchanting vista – a footpath over the grass, which loses itself beneath the scattered oaks and elms exactly as if the place were a ‘chase.’ There could be nothing less like London in general than this particular morsel, and yet it takes London, of all cities, to give you such an impression of the country.
Adapted from an essay by Henry James
1. What does the author mean by, ‘ a tremendous chapter of accidents’?
2. Which two sources does the author mention as being instrumental in giving London its style?
3. What is the great misfortune of London to the eye?
4. Why does the author refer to the parks in London as an ornament?
5. How does the author describe the view from the bridge over the Serpentine?
Q.1 b) 1+1+1+1+1+5=10 marks
Read the following poem and answers the questions that follow:
Night by William Blake
The sun descending in the west, The evening star does shine; The birds are silent in their nest. And I must seek for mine. The moon, like a flower In heaven’s high bower, With silent delight Sits and smiles on the night. Farewell, green fields and happy grove, Where flocks have took delight: Where lambs have nibbled, silent move The feet of angels bright; Unseen they pour blessing And joy without ceasing On each bud and blossom, And each sleeping bosom. They look in every thoughtless nest Where birds are covered warm; They visit caves of every beast, To keep them all from harm: If they see any weeping That should have been sleeping, They pour sleep on their head, And sit down by their bed. (Extract from the poem ‘Night’ by William Blake)
1: What does ‘bower’ represent here?
2: What is the moon compared to?
3: Why have the Birds’ nest been described as ‘thoughtless’?
4: Explain the figure of speech used, in the line ‘In heaven’s high bower’ .
5. Where do the angels move?
6: Complete the following summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with suitable words or phrases.
The first stanza describes a landscape with “the sun i) __________________,” when the world is settling quietly into ii) _____________. Night has a iii) __________ connotation in this poem because the moon “iv) _________________ on the night,” showing how night is v) ______________and peaceful. This is continued in stanza two, where vi) ___________ tread where lambs vii) _________________ and viii) _______________have taken delight” pour[ing] blessing.” The angels’ duties are described in stanza three. Angels “visit caves” and “look in ix) _____________, keeping the animals safe and giving them sleep when the animals are x) ___________________.
SECTION – B
CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS – 30 MARKS
Q. 2 a) 10 marks
Choose any one of the following topics and write an essay giving your own ideas in about 150 – 200 words.
Tobacco has emerged as the greatest killer in recent times. Young and old alike are caught in its unrelenting grip. Write an essay on the hazards of smoking
OR
Is it true that acting quickly and instinctively is the best response to a crisis? Or are there times when an urgent situation requires a more careful consideration and a slower response? Write an essay on the topic, ‘Think before you Leap.’
Q. 2 b) 5 marks
The mass media, including TV, radio and newspapers, has a great influence in shaping people’s ideas. Prepare a speech to express your opinion on this topic in about 80-100 words.
Q. 2 C) 5 marks
On the occasion of the International Yoga Day hundreds of school students participated in an hour long yoga session with the honourable Prime Minister at Rajpath. As a correspondent for a national daily, write a report about it in about 80 – 100 words
Q.3 a) 10 x ½ = 5 marks
In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and after it in your sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.
Before — Missing — After
Young children responsive and a) ——— ——— ———-
receptive concepts and skills are introduced b) ——— ——— ———-
at appropriate level. Each educational c) ——— ——— ———- environment the young child has d) ——— ——— ———- experiences enhance cultural awareness. e) ——— ——— ———-
The home, the first educational environment f) ——— ——— ———-
establishes, social foundation for g) ——— ——— ———- learning to interact with others. The school h) ——— ——— ———-
and the community build the home experiences
that i) ——— ——— ———- enhance the cultural awareness the mind of
the young child. j) ——— ——— ———-
Q.3 b) 5 x 1=5 marks
Read the following conversation between a customer and a saleswoman. Then based on the information complete the paragraph given below in your own words.
Customer Can I have a cigarette, please?
Saleswoman Of course, but you cannot smoke here.
Customer What?
Saleswoman Yes sir, smoking is prohibited here.
Customer That’s funny. You sell cigarettes in here, but you prohibit smoking?
Saleswoman (smilingly) We also sell bath towels here, sir.
A customer i)_____________________________ in a departmental store. He was warned by the saleswoman ii)___________________________. She further told the agitated customer that iii)_____________________ . The customer retorted that it was odd that iv) ____________________ smoking. The saleswoman smilingly said v) ___________________________________________.
SECTION – C
TEXT FOR DETAILED STUDY – 30 Marks
Q.4 a) 4 x 2=8 marks
Choose any two of the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1) Far Psalteries of Summer –
Enamoring the Ear
They never yet did satisfy –
Remotest – when most fair
a) What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?
b) What is the significance of the use of dashes in these lines?
2) ‘She tried to weigh each side of the question.’
a) What was Eveline’s dilemma?
b) Why was she reluctant to leave her home?
3) Manjula: Intellectuals whom I respected, writers who were gurus to me, friends who I thought would pat me on my back and share my delight—they are all suddenly breathing fire.
a) Why are Manjula’s friends and colleagues upset with her?
b) What explanation does she give for this so called betrayal?
Q. 4 b) 6 + 6 =12 marks
Answer any two of the following questions in about 120-150 words each.
1) Why does the author compare Neruda to a Renaissance pope?
2) What is the role of the mother in Prakriti’s self-realisation? What are her hopes and fears for her daughter?
3) In the poem “On Time” by John Milton, why has the poet pitted the flight of time against the “lazy leaden-stepping hours” and “the heavy Plummet’s pace”?
Q. 4 c) 5 + 5 = 10 marks
Answer any two of the following questions in about 80 – 100 words each.
1. What are the issues that the playwright satirizes through the TV monologue of a celebrity?
2. ‘She needs really to concentrate—living this way is not unlike carrying an audience with you wherever
you go.’ What makes Tao Ying feel this way?
3. Dr. Solomon Margolin was a very important member of his community. Justify.
4. What are the pitfalls that need to be avoided with regard to the concept of a flourishing democracy in India?
SECTION – D
FICTION – 20 MARKS
NOTE: Attempt either question 5 or 6
Q. 5 a) 10 marks
Answer any one of the following in about 150 – 200 words.
1) In what ways are the human characters in A Tiger for Malgudi, a sharp contrast to the Tiger?
2) Captain is a victim of his own ignorance and spiritual inertia. Discuss.
Q. 5 b) 5 x 2= 10 marks
Answer the following in about 80 – 100 words.
1) How does Master describe the presence of God?
2) What is the Tiger’s perception of God? How is it different from man’s perception of God?
Q. 6 a) 10 marks
Answer one of the following in about 150 – 200 words.
1) How does the author present the evil effects of westernization in the character of Balu?
2) Why is Margayya so fanatical about possessing wealth?
Q. 6 b) 5 x 2= 10 marks
Answer the following in about 80 – 100 words.
1. Who is Dr. Pal? What role does he play in Margayya’s quest for wealth?
2. How does the author bring out the suffering of middle class wives through the characters of Meenakshi and Brinda?