Time
allowed: 3 hours Max. Marks: 1 0 0
General
Instructions
1. All the questions
are compulsory.
2. Your answer should
be to the point, try to stick to the word limit given.
Section
A: Reading 20 Marks
Q.
1. Read the passage given below and then answer the questions which follow: 12
marks
1 In spite of all the
honours that we heaped upon him, Pasteur, as has been said,
remained simple at
heart. Perhaps the imagery of his boyhood days, when he drew
the familiar scenes
of his birthplace, and the longing to be a great artist, never
wholly left him. In
truth he did become a great artist, though after his sixteenth
year he abandoned the
brush for ever. Like every artist of worth, he put his whole
soul and energy into
his work, and it was this very energy that in the end wore
him out. For him,
each sufferer was something more than just a case that was to
be cured. He looked
upon the fight against hydrophobia as a battle, and he was
absorbed in his
determination to win. The sight of injured children, particularly,
moved him to an
indescribable extent. He suffered with his patients, and yet he
would not deny
himself a share in that suffering. His greatest grief was when
sheer physical
exhaustion made him give up his active work. He retired to the
estate at Villeneuve
Etang, where he had his kennels for the study of rabies, and
there he passed his
last summer, as his great biographer, Vallery Radot, has said,
“practicing the
Gospel virtues.”
2 “He revered the
faith of his fathers, “says the same writer, “and wished without
ostentation or
mystery to receive its aid during his last period.”
3 The attitude of
this man to the science he had done so much to perfect can be best
summed up in a
sentence that he is reputed once to have uttered, concerning the
materialism of many
of his contemporaries in similar branches of learning to his
own: “The more I
contemplate the mysteries of Nature, the more my faith
becomes like that of
a peasant.”
4 But even then in retirement
he loved to see his former pupils, and it was then he
would reiterate his
life principles: “Work, “he would say, “never cease to work.”
So well had he kept
this precept that he began rapidly to sink from exhaustion.
5 Finally on
September 27, 1895, when someone leant over his bed to offer him a
cup of milk, he said
sadly: “I cannot, “and with a look of perfect resignation and
peace, seemed to fall
asleep. He never again opened his eyes to the cares and
sufferings of a
world, which he had done so much to relieve and to conquer. He
was within three
months of his seventy-third birthday.
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6 Thus passed, as
simply as a child, the man whom the French people were to vote
at a plebiscite as
the greatest man that France had ever produced. Napoleon, who
has always been
considered the idol of France, was placed fifth.
7 No greater tribute
could have been paid to Louis Pasteur, the tanner’s son, the scientist,
the man of peace, the
patient worker for humanity.
1.1
Answer the following questions:
a. Even accolades and
honours did not change the simple man that
487 words
Pasteur was. Give
reasons. 2 marks
b. How did Pasteur
view those who suffered from diseases? 1 mark
c. How did Pasteur
engage himself in the estate? 2 marks
d. What advice did he
always give to his pupils? 2 marks
e. How did France,
the country of his birth, honour this great scientist? 2 marks
1.2
Find the words from the passage which mean the same as: 3 marks
a. to give up (para
1)
b. people belonging
to the same period (para 3)
c. vote by the people
of the country to decide a matter of
national importance
(para 6)
Q.
2. Read the passage given below: 8 marks
Residents of the
Bhirung Raut Ki Gali, where Ustad Bishmillah Khan was born
on March 21, 1916,
were in shock. His cousin, 94-year -old Mohd Idrish Khan
had tears in his
eyes. Shubhan Khan, the care-taker of Bismillah’s land, recalled
: “Whenever in
Dumaraon, he would give rupees two to the boys and rupees five
to
the girls of the locality”.
He was very keen to
play shehnai again in the local Bihariji’s Temple where he
had started playing
shehnai with his father, Bachai Khan, at the age of six. His
original name was
Quamaruddin and became Bishmillah only after he became
famous as a shehnai
player in Varanasi.
His father Bachai
Khan was the official shehnai player of Keshav Prasad Singh,
the Maharaja of the
erstwhile Dumaraon estate, Bismillah used to accompany
him. For Bishmillah
Khan, the connection to music began at a very early age. By
his teens, he had
already become a master of the shehnai. On the day India gained
freedom, Bismillah
Khan, then a sprightly 31 year-old, had the rare honour of
playing from Red
Fort. But Bishmillah Khan won’t just be remembered for
elevating the shehnai
from an instrument heard only in weddings and naubatkhanas
to one that was
appreciated in concert halls across the world. His life was a
testimony to the
plurality that is India. A practising Muslim, he would take a daily
dip in the Ganga in
his younger days after a bout of kusti in Benia Baga Akhada.
Every morning,
Bishmillah Khan would do riyaaz at the Balaji temple on the
banks of the river.
Even during his final hours in a Varanasi hospital, music didn’t
desert Bishmillah
Khan. A few hours before he passed away early on Monday, the
152
shehnai wizard hummed
a thumri to show that he was feeling better. This was
typical of a man for
whom life revolved around music.
Throughout his life
he abided by the principle that all religions are one. What
marked Bishmillah
Khan was his simplicity and disregard for the riches that come
with musical fame.
Till the very end, he used a cycle rickshaw to travel around
Varanasi. But the
pressure of providing for some 60 family members took its toll
during his later
years.
2.1 On
the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes using headings and
sub-headings. Use
recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
2.2 Make
a summary of the above passage in not more than 80 words using the notes
made and also suggest
a suitable title.
5
marks
3
marks
Section
– B Advanced Writing Skills 35 marks
Q.3 A.K
International School is looking for a receptionist for the school. Write an
advertisement on
behalf of the administrative officer in the classified columns of
the local newspaper
giving necessary details. Draft the advertisement in not more
than 50 words.
5
marks
OR
Suman/Suresh has
cleared the Pre-Medical Pre-Dental entrance examination. The
family is elated at
the achievement and they decide to have a get-together for all
friends. Draft an
informal invitation for the get-together.
Q.4.
You are Shekhar/ Tripta a student of A.P Public School. Principals
of two schools
from Bhutan visited
your school as part of a cultural exchange programme. 10 marks
Students of the
school put up a cultural show in their honour. Write a report about
it for your school
magazine. (100-125 words)
OR
It was raining
heavily. You were walking to your house after the school, when
suddenly you saw a
huge Neem tree coming down and falling on the pavement
and the road thereby
hitting a car parked on the pavement. The traffic came to a
standstill. Describe
the chaotic traffic scene in 100-125 words.
Q.
5. You are Nitin/Natasha a student of Class XII at K.P.N. Public
School Faridabad.
The student is
required to cope with a lot of peer pressure in today’s competitive 10 marks
environment. Write a
letter to the editor of a national daily highlighting the kind of
pressures an
adolescent faces and suggest ways to cope with the same.
OR
You are Suresh/Smita.
You come across the following advertisement in a national
daily. You consider
yourself suitable and eligible for the post. Write an application
in response to the
advertisement.
153
a. ‘A thing of
beauty is joy for ever’. Explain. 1
b. Why does a
beautiful thing ‘pass into nothingness’? 1
c. What does poet
mean by ‘a bower quiet for us’ 1
Applications are
invited for the post of a Nursery teacher in a reputed school of
Delhi.The candidate
must have at least 5 years experience of teaching tiny-tots. The
applicant must have a
pleasant personality. He/she should be creative and innovative.
Attractive salary.
Interested candidates should apply to The Principal, AKS
International,
Indirapuram, New Delhi within 10 days with detailed resume.
Q.
6. Some colleges conduct entrance test for admission to
under-graduate courses like 10 marks
English (Hons.) and
Journalism (Hons.). Do you think that the entrance test is the
right method of
selecting students? Write an article in about 150-200 words. You
are S h a n / S hwe t
a , a student of class XII at A.P. International School Agra.
OR
Computer games and
video games have become popular with children today. As
a result outdoor
games seem to have no place in their life anymore. You are
Mukesh/ Meena. You
decide to write a speech to be delivered in the school on
assembly on your
experiences about the joys of playing outdoor games in about
150- 200 words.
Section
– C Textbook 30+15 = 45 Marks
Read
the following extract from the poems and answer the questions that follows:
Q.
7. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; 3
marks
They
pace in sleek chivalric certainly.
a. Are Aunt
Jennifer’s tigers real ? Give reasons for your answer.
b. Why do the tigers
not fear the man beneath the tree?
c. What do you
understand by ‘chivalric certainty’?
A
thing of beauty is a joy for ever
Its
loveliness increases, it will never
Pass
into nothingness; but will keep
A
bower quiet for us.
Q.
8. Answer any three of the following questions in about 30-40 words. 2x3= 6
marks
1. According to Pablo
Neruda, what is it that human beings can learn
from Nature?
2. Why does Spender
call Shakespeare wicked and the map a bad example?
3. What kind of
ordeals is Aunt Jennifer surrounded by?
4. What is the
significance of the parting words of the poet and her smile, in
My
Mother at Sixty-six?
Q.9.
Answer a n y th r e e o f the following questions in about 30-40 words. 2x3=
6marks
a. For Franz, what
was much more tempting than going to school and why?
b. Mention any two
hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
c. How did Douglas
overcome the old terror?
d. The crofter can be
called as a good host. Why?
154
Q.10.
Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words. 10 marks
Franz’s attitude
towards school as well as towards M. Hamel changes when he
comes to know about
the take over of his village by Prussians. Do you agree ?
Discuss with
reference to the The Last Lesson.
OR
How did the
Chamaparan episode prove to be a turning point in Gandhiji’s life?
Explain with the
reference to the text, Indigo.
Q.
11. Read the following and answer the question that follows: 5 marks
Then
he turned to the blackboard, took a piece of chalk and, bearing on with all his
might,
he wrote as large as he could—
“Vive
La France!”
Abraham
Lincoln, a former President of America said,
“I
like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.
I
like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”
After
reading the lesson and the above quote of Abraham Lincoln you begin to reflect
on
the
lost spirit of patriotism amongst the youth in India due to which there is no
respect
for
ones countrymen and no determination amongst the youth to lead the country to a
better
future.
Write
an article in about 100 words for a national magazine on the need for revival
of
patriotic
spirit amongst the youth in India.
Q.12
Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words. 7 marks
The
modern consumerist world is full of fear, insecurities, stress and wars. What
are the ways in which
we try to combat them? Answer with reference to The Third
Level.
OR
How can we say that
Antartica is the best place to study and understand about
Earth’s present, past
and future? Answer with reference to, Journey to the end of
the
Earth.
Q.13.
Answer the following briefly (30-40 words) 2x 4 = 8 marks
(1) Even though the
Maharaja lost ` three lakhs, he was still happy. Why?
(The
Tiger King)
(2) In a short span
of twelve thousand years man has managed to create a
ruckus on this earth.
How? (Journey to the End of the Earth)
(3) Why did Roger
Skunk go in search of the wizard? (Should Wizard hit
Mommy)
(4) Mention any two
reasons because of which it would take thirty minutes to
an hour for Bama to
reach home? (Memories of Childhood- We Too are
Human
Beings.)
155
c. Pasteur retired to
the estate at Villeneuve Estang 2 marks
• conducted study on
rabies
• practiced the
gospel virtues
d. • he would tell
his pupils never to stop working. 2 marks
• Working according
to him, was the most important of life principles.
e. • the French people
voted him as the greatest man that France had ever
produced.
• This was the
greatest tribute that could have been paid to Louis Pasteur. 2 marks
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