KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN

DELHI REGION
MLL ENGLISH CORE (60% OF SYLLABUS)
ENGLISH CORE CODE NO. 301 2024-25
Section A 12 Marks - Reading Skills
I Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passage (12 MARKS)

1.One unseen passage to assess comprehension, interpretation, analysis and inference.

Vocabulary assessment will also be assessed via inference. The passage may be factual,
descriptive or literary.

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions and Short Answer Type Questions (to
be answered in 40-50 words) will be asked.

Section B 18 Marks - Creative Writing Skills

II. Creative Writing Skills
3.Notice, up to 50 words. One out of the two given questions to be answered.
(4 Marks: Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar: 1).

4.Formal/Informal Invitation and Reply, up to 50 words. One out of the two given questions
to be answered.
(4 Marks: Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar:1).

5. Letters based on verbal/visual input, to be answered in approximately 120-150 words.

Letter types include application for a job with bio data or resume. Letters to the editor
(giving suggestions or opinion on issues of public interest). One out of the two given
questions to be answered.
(5 Marks: Format: 1 / Organisation of Ideas: 1/Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and
Grammar:1).

6. Article/ Report Writing, descriptive and analytical in nature, based on verbal inputs, to be
answered in 120-150 words. One out of the two given questions to be answered.
(5 Marks: Format: 1 /Organisation of Ideas: 1/Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and
Grammar:1).
Section C 30 Marks
Literature Text Book and Supplementary Reading Text
This section will have a variety of assessment items, including Multiple Choice Questions,
Objective Type Questions, Short Answer Type Questions and Long Answer Type Questions
to assess comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation and extrapolation beyond the
text.

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7. One Poetry extract out of two from the book Flamingo to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, inference and appreciation. (6x1=6 Marks)

8. One Prose extract out of two, from the book Vistas to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, evaluation and appreciation. (4x1=4 Marks)

9.One prose extract out of two from the book Flamingo to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, inference and evaluation. (6x1=6Marks)

10.Short answer-type questions (from Prose and Poetry from the book Flamingo), to be
answered in 40-50 words each. Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical
thinking. Five questions out of the six given, are to be answered. (5x2=10 Marks)

11.Short answer type questions, from Prose (Vistas), to be answered in 40- 50 words each.
Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical thinking. Any two out of three
questions to be done. (2x2=4 Marks)

CONTENT
S.NO. PAGE NO.
1 Question Paper Design 4-6
2 Section A: Reading Skills 7-14
Practice Passages (solved and unsolved)
Case-Based Passages (solved and unsolved)
3 Section B Creative Writing Skills 15-37
1. Notice Writing
2. Formal/Informal Invitation and Reply
3. Application for Job
4. Letter to the Editor
5. Article Writing
6. Report Writing
5 Section C : (Literature Text Book and Supplementary Reading Text) 38-102
Flamingo (Prose)

1. The Last Lesson

2. Lost Spring
3. Deep Water
4. The Rattrap
5. Indigo
6. Poets and Pancakes
7. The Interview
8. Going Places
(Poetry)
1. My Mother at Sixty-Six

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 2. Keeping Quiet
3. A Thing of Beauty
4. A Roadside Stand
5. Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
Vistas
1. The Third Level
2. The Tiger King
3. Journey to the End of the Earth
4. The Enemy
5. On the face of it
6. Memories of Childhood
 The Cutting of My Long Hair
 We too Are Human Beings

6 Sample Question Papers(Solved and Unsolved) 103-126

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 QUESTION PAPER DESIGN
ENGLISH CORE CODE NO. 301 2024-25
Section A 22 Marks
Reading Skills
I Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passage (12+10 = 22 Marks)

1.One unseen passage to assess comprehension, interpretation, analysis and inference.

Vocabulary assessment will also be assessed via inference. The passage may be factual,
descriptive or literary.

2.One unseen case-based factual passage with verbal/visual inputs like statistical data,
charts, etc., to assess comprehension, interpretation, analysis, inference and evaluation.

Note: The combined word limit for both the passages will be 700-750 words.

Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions and Short Answer Type Questions (to
be answered in 40-50 words) will be asked.

Section B 18 Marks
Creative Writing Skills
II. Creative Writing Skills
3.Notice, up to 50 words. One out of the two given questions to be answered.
(4 Marks: Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar: 1).

4.Formal/Informal Invitation and Reply, up to 50 words. One out of the two given questions
to be answered.
(4 Marks: Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar:1).

5. Letters based on verbal/visual input, to be answered in approximately 120-150 words.

Letter types include application for a job with bio data or resume. Letters to the editor
(giving suggestions or opinion on issues of public interest). One out of the two given
questions to be answered.
(5 Marks: Format: 1 / Organisation of Ideas: 1/Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and
Grammar:1).

6. Article/ Report Writing, descriptive and analytical in nature, based on verbal inputs, to be
answered in 120-150 words. One out of the two given questions to be answered.
(5 Marks: Format: 1 /Organisation of Ideas: 1/Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and
Grammar:1).

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 Section C 40 Marks
Literature Text Book and Supplementary Reading Text
This section will have a variety of assessment items, including Multiple Choice Questions,
Objective Type Questions, Short Answer Type Questions and Long Answer Type Questions
to assess comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation and extrapolation beyond the
text.
7. One Poetry extract out of two from the book Flamingo to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, inference and appreciation. (6x1=6 Marks)

8. One Prose extract out of two, from the book Vistas to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, evaluation and appreciation. (4x1=4 Marks)

9.One prose extract out of two from the book Flamingo to assess comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, inference and evaluation. (6x1=6Marks)

10.Short answer-type questions (from Prose and Poetry from the book Flamingo), to be
answered in 40-50 words each. Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical
thinking. Five questions out of the six given, are to be answered. (5x2=10 Marks)

11.Short answer type questions, from Prose (Vistas), to be answered in 40- 50 words each.
Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical thinking. Any two out of three
questions to be done. (2x2=4 Marks)

12.One Long answer type question, from Prose/Poetry (Flamingo), to be answered in 120-
150 words. Questions can be based on incident/ theme/passage/extract/event as reference
points to assess extrapolation beyond and across the text. The question will elicit analytical
and evaluative response from the student. Any one out of two questions to be done.
(1x5=5 Marks)
13.One Long answer type question, based on the chapters from the book Vistas, to be
answered in 120-150 words, to assess global comprehension and extrapolation beyond the
text. Questions to provide analytical and evaluative responses using incidents, events,
themes, as reference points. Any one out of two questions to be done. (1x5=5 Marks)

Prescribed Books
Flamingo: English Reader published by NCERT, New Delhi
Prose Poetry
The Last Lesson
Lost Spring My Mother at Sixty-Six
Deep Water Keeping Quiet
The Rattrap A Thing of Beauty
Indigo A Roadside Stand
Poets and Pancakes Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
The Interview
Going Places

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Vistas: Supplementary Reader published by NCERT, New Delhi
• The Third Level
• The Tiger King
• Journey to the End of the Earth
• The Enemy
• On the Face of It
 Memories of Childhood
- The Cutting of My Long Hair
- We Too are Human Beings

Question Paper Design

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 SECTION A: READING COMPREHENSION (22 marks)

PRACTICE PASSAGE (SOLVED)

THE RELEVANCE OF REPETITION

1. The painstaking memorisation of mathematical tables, historical dates, capitals of
countries and even poems leaves an indelible mark on every adult who has attended school.
However, all educators deprecate this rote learning system by orally reciting and consigning
lessons to memory as mindless and mechanical, which goes against critical thinking and
creativity. But is this dichotomy between creativity and rote learning part of lazy binary
thinking?

2. We often hear about people who can repeat the entire telephone directory or memorise
the entire dictionary. Indians have a history of highly developed systems of memorisation,
perfected through centuries of Vedic learning. From a typically Western perspective, the
permanency of the written word has been pitted against the ‘unconscious operation of
memory’ of oral cultures and held to be more reliable in cultural transmission. However,
refuting this thesis, Fritz Stall, an Indie scholar, observes that the oral tradition in India is
remarkable “because it has led to scientific discoveries that are of enduring interest”. Of
course, this mugging up can be aural (i.e., chanting aloud) or visual—mentally storing
images in a visual map.

3. The advantages of rote memorisation—like it expands areas of the mind to great

possibilities—are now becoming evident to the world. Various accounts from ancient India,
including those from travellers like I-Tsing, point to the fool-proof system of oral
memorisation and the capacity to absorb volumes of data. While communicating
mathematics, philosophy and other scientific disciplines, cryptic text forms were created
that facilitated memorisation.

4. A related question pertains to cognition—how can we transmit principles using

memorisation as a creative tool rather than as a mechanical process of repetition?
Bhaskara’s Lilavati, the seminal 12th-century treatise, illustrates how memorisation and
creativity go together.

5. The fact that Bhaskara’s methods still figure in Indian pedagogic consciousness was
recently brought home in a news report on the Ramanujan School of Mathematics in Patna,
which trains youngsters from poor families to clear the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
entrance test. This year, all the 30 students of the school got through IITs. Anand Kumar, the
school’s founder, called it the “sheer power of practice to break the so-called IIT code” and a
student attributed the success to his teacher’s ability to teach differential calculus through a
“thrilling story of a daring robber”.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage given above.

a) All educators condemn rote learning as they think……………. 1
i. It is a feat of memory.
ii. It is a parrot like learning.

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 iii. It is a painstaking process.
iv. It is against critical thinking and creativity.
b) Which of the following statements would hold true according to the passage? 1
i. Learning through repetition is ineffective.
ii. Creativity is hampered due to rote learning.
iii. Western philosophers discard rote learning.
iv. India has a rich heritage of learning through memorisation.
c) Which of the following is the antonym of the word ‘Deprecate’ as mentioned in Para 1? 1
i. Belittle
ii. Derogate
iii. Applaud
iv. Discredit
d) Rote learning has its advantages as…………………. 1
e) Cryptic texts were created for mathematics, philosophy, etc. because…………………. 1
f) Write in 40 words why oral tradition in India is called remarkable. 2
g) How does Bhaskara’s Lilavati still affect the Indian pedagogical consciousness? Write your
answer in 40 words. 2
h) What is the dichotomy between creativity and rote learning? Does the passage support
it? Justify with one example. 2
i) According to the passage,memorising is a comparatively easier skill. True or False? 1

Answers to Passage 1

a)iv) It is against critical thinking and creativity.

b)iv) India has a rich heritage of learning through memorisation.
c)iii) applaud
d) it expands areas of the mind to greater possibilities
e) these are easy to remember
f)because it has led to scientific discoveries
g)The technique used in institutes/reference to the story of ‘daring robber’, etc.
h)Rote learning goes against creativity. Aural/visual faculty developed/ any other
i) False

PRACTICE PASSAGE (UNSOLVED) (CBSE 2024 DELHI REGION SET 3)

1. Five enterprises received approval and grants for prototype development of

sustainable educational toys.
2. Government authorities, educational institutions, and Edtech startups are planning
to introduce state-of-the-art, made-in-India educational toys that not only illuminate
Indian values and civilisations but also help develop children's critical thinking and
decision-making skills.
3. One such enterprise is working on different types of projects that can teach children
how electromagnets and magnetic fields work. These projects can resolve a lot of issues
in many schools in tier 2 and 3 cities that do not have proper infrastructures. Another is
working on an excavation site to teach children about ancient Indian civilisation. It has
implanted a few artefacts at the site which the children will have to find so that they are
able to learn how to preserve and label artefacts. Another start-up has proposed to

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 create miniaturised labs for schools in tier 2 and 3 cities where children can learn
concepts of Physics. “We will ensure that these prototypes are developed within a year,
and then the
production can be scaled up,” says the senior manager of the project, talking about the
importance of indigenously- built educational toys.
4. Playtime is vital for the cognitive development of children, and toys are an essential
component that helps enhance specific cognitive abilities and skill sets. “Well-designed
toys ignite students’ curiosity and increase focus. They can be very beneficial in helping
them master a skill and enhance understanding. These can be in visuals, auditory aids,
kinesthetic, or a mixture of all three,” says HOD, Early Childhood Education.
5. Toys offer an engaging avenue to teach mathematical, verbal, and problem-solving
skills. “Toys that engage students in experiential learning enhance their special
awareness and fine motor skills. Those designed for two or more players help students
develop better social skills as they learn to negotiate, settle differences, etc., with their
peers.
6. Experiential gadgets and toys enable students to learn faster and retain lessons
longer. “A child’s interest is piqued when taught in a contextual framework instead of
rote learning. The Indian education system has witnessed several innovations with the
development of toys and gadgets that can be used and felt in person or through VR
platforms across subjects, be it Science, Technology, Math or Engineering.

Answer the following questions based on the passage given above.

i. By tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the author refers to 1
A. Metro cities
B. Cities with a huge population
C. Underdeveloped cities
D. Cities with less population
ii. Complete the sentence with evidence from the text. 1
The made-in-India educational toys serve the dual purpose of………………….
iii. The author’s point of view that can be inferred from the above passage is that…… 1
A. Educational toys are a booming business.
B. Educational toys are meant to entertain children.
C. Educational toys will replace teachers.
D. Educational toys will make education more pragmatic.
iv. Complete the following sentence appropriately: 1
Educational toys enhance the personality of children by……………………
v. Read the five headlines (a) – (e), given below:
a) Sustainable Educational Toys are Developmentally Appropriate.
b) Sustainable Educational Toys Promote Free Play.
c) Sustainable Educational Toys – Free and Widespread
d) Sustainable Educational Toys- Experiential Learning
e) Sustainable Educational Toys- Hinder Interaction with People

vi. Identify the option that displays the headline that does not/ do not correspond with
what the passage highlights. 1
A. Only (e) B. (a) and (b) C. ( c) and (e) D. only (d)

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vii. What evidence do you gather from the passage to state that the educational toys
revolutionised the educational system? Answer in about 40 words. 2
viii. Explain in about 40 words how education at the grassroots level is benefitted by
these projects. 2
ix. As opposed to learning by heart, experiential toys 1
A. Ignite interest B. Challenge the teachers C. Replace textbooks D.
Confuse learners
x. Playing is usually considered a distraction. Is it justified on the part of the narrator to
assert that playing is an important aspect of education? Write your answer in about
40 words. 2

CASE-BASED PASSAGE (SOLVED)

1. Education in India is primarily provided by public schools (controlled and funded by the
government at three levels: central, state and local) and private schools. Under various
articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is a fundamental right to
children aged 6 to 14. The approximate ratio of public schools to private schools in India is
7:5.

2. India has made progress in increasing the attainment rate of primary education. In 2011,
Approximately 75% of the population, aged between 7 and 10 years, was literate. India’s
improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic
development. Much progress, especially in higher education and scientific research, has
been credited to various public institutions.

3. At the primary and secondary levels, India has a large private school system
complementing the government-run schools. In the 6 to 14 age group, 29% of students
receive private education. Certain post-secondary technical schools are also private. The
private education market in India had a revenue of US$450 million in 2008 but is projected
to be a US $40 billion market.

4. As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 96.5% of all rural children
between the ages of 6-14 were enrolled in school. This is the fourth annual survey to report
enrolment above 96%. India has maintained an average enrolment ratio of 95% for students
in this age group from 2007 to 2014. As an outcome, the number of students in the age
group 6- 14 who are not enrolled in school has come down to 2.8% in the 2018 academic
year (ASER 2018). Another report from 2013 stated that 229 million students enrolled in
different accredited urban and rural schools of India, from Class I to XII, representing an
increase of 23 lakh students over 2002 total enrolment and a 19% increase in girl’s
enrolment.

5. While quantitatively, India is inching closer to universal education, the quality of its
education has been questioned, particularly in its government-run school system. While
more than 95 per cent of children attend primary school, just 40 per cent of Indian
adolescents attend secondary school (Grades 9-12). Since 2000, the World Bank has
committed over $2 billion to education in India. Some of the reasons for the poor quality

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include the absence of around 25% of teachers every day. States of India have introduced
tests and education assessment systems to identify and improve such schools.

6. Although there are private schools in India, they are highly regulated in terms of what
they can teach and in what form they can operate (must be a non-profit to run any
accredited educational institution) and all other aspects of the operation. Hence, the
differentiation between government schools and private schools can be misleading.

7. In January 2019, India had over 900 universities and 40,000 colleges. In India’s higher
education system, a significant number of seats are reserved under affirmative action
policies for the historically disadvantaged Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes. In universities, colleges, and similar institutions affiliated with the federal
government, a maximum of 50% of reservations apply to these disadvantaged groups; at the
state level, it can vary. Maharashtra had 73% of reservations in 2014, India's highest
percentage.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the given questions.

(a) The approximate ratio of private schools to public schools in India is............................ 1
i. 5 : 7 ii. 1 : 9 iii. 7 : 5 iv. 9 : 7
(b) Pick the option that lists statements NOT TRUE according to the passage. 1

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 A. India’s improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its
economic development
B. At the primary and secondary level, India has a large private school system.
C. A 2013 report stated that 329 million students were enrolled in different accredited
urban and rural schools in India
D. Maharashtra had 33% reservations in 2014, the lowest percentage of reservations in
India.
i) C and D (ii) B and D (iii) A and B (iv) A and C
(c) India’s improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its
...................... 1

(i) overall development (ii) social development

(iii) economic development (iv) political development

(d) Based on the Statistical data in the passage, which option represents the correct
graphical representation of enrolment rate in Primary and Secondary schools? 1

(i) image 1 (ii) image 2 (iii) image 3 (iv) image 4

(e) According to the table, the literacy rate of females in the year 2011 was……………… 1
(f) Based on the given statistical data in the passage, choose the option that lists the
statements that are TRUE with respect to the education policy. 1
1. Enrolment in Secondary Schools was 69%.
2. The National Education Budget passed by the ministry is 3.1%
3. The literacy rate of women was 69.5% in 2011.
4. As per the 2011 census, the total literacy rate was 82.2%.
(i) 1 and 4 (ii) 2 and 4 (iii) 3 and 4 (iv) 1 and 3
(g) State a reason for the poor quality of education in Government-run schools in India. 2
(h) What could be the reasons for only 40% of students attending Secondary school against
95% attending Primary school? 2

Answers to Case-Based Passage 1:

a) i) 5:7 e) 69.5%

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b) i) Cand D f) iv) 1 and 3
c) iii) economic development g) absence of around 25% of teachers every day
d) ii) Image 2 (h) dropouts/ economic constraints/earnings for family, etc.
CASE-BASED PASSAGE (UNSOLVED)

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

1.The present generation is well-updated in the use of the Internet and computers. The
rapid development in computer technology and increasedinternet accessibility for academic
purposes has changed the face of education for everyone associated with it. Let’s look at
the data arising out of a recent survey that was done to ascertain the time spent on
utilisation of the computer and internet:

2. At present, many schools and universities have been implementing internet-based

learning, which supplements conventional teaching methods. The internet provides a wide
variety of references and information to academics and scientific researchers. Students
often turn to it for their academic assignments and projects.

3. However, research on the Net differs significantly from traditional library research, which
can cause problems. The Net is a tremendous resource, but it must be used carefully and
critically.

4. According to a 2018 Academic Student e-book Experience Survey conducted by LJ’s

research department and sponsored by EBSCO, when reading for pleasure, almost 74% of

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respondents said they preferred print books for leisure, whereas 45 % of respondents chose
e-books rather than the printed versions, for research or assignments.

5. When asked what e-book features make them a favourite for research, the respondents
were clear. Having page numbers to use in citations topped the list (75%), followed by the
ability to resize text to fit a device’s screen (67%); the ability to bookmark pages, highlight
text, or take notes for later reference (60%); downloading the entire e-book (57%); and
allowing content to be transferred between devices (43%) were the varied responses.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the given questions:

a) According to the passage, one of the reasons for the recent transformation of education
is the:
i. techno-efficiency of the present generation.
ii. expanse of courses on technology.
iii. Simplification of the teaching and learning- method.
iv. easy availability of the internet.
b) Pick the option that lists statements that are NOT TRUE according to the passage
A. Internet-based education can only complement familiar methods of education.
B. Net-based learning will replace face-to-face education.
C. The resources that the net provides are a danger to the education system.
D. The current times have seen a rise in the convenience of using the internet for
academic purposes.
i. A &B ii. C&D iii. B&C iv. A&D
c) The word ‘tremendous’, as used in paragraph 3, means the same as
i. expensive
ii. renowned
iii. innovative
iv. incredible
d) “but it must be used carefully and critically.” The idea of being careful and critical while
using the internet is mainly a reference to
i. Hardware malfunction
ii. plagiarism
iii. troubleshooting
iv. virus threats
e) Which of the following statements is NOT substantiated by information in paragraph 4?
i.About three-quarters of the respondents preferred print books for recreational
reading
ii.A little less than 50% of the respondents voted for e-books for research or
assignments
iii.More than 50% of respondents stated enjoying both
versions of books for leisure reading
iv.The survey was intended to understand the e-book experience among students.
f) Arrange the given e-book features preferred for research from the least favourite to the
most favourite, from the following:
1. downloading the entire e-book.
2. choosing page numbers in citations.
3. highlighting text.

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 4. resizing text to fit the screen
i.1,3,4,2 ii.3,2,4,1 iii.2,4,3,1 iv.4,1,2,3
g) The child in the cartoon has just managed to pass his test. True/False?
h) Around ………………% of people never use computer for academic activities.
i) A little less than …..................% of people use the internet for work every day.
j) Find a word from para 5 which means the same as ‘diverse’.
SECTION B: CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS (18marks)
NOTICE WRITING
A notice is a written information or news announcement. Notices are either displayed at
prominent places or published in newspapers/ magazines. They are meant for a selected
audience only. Since notices contain formal announcements, they have a formal style and
are factual, using simple language.
Marking Scheme
4 Marks: Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar :1
FORMAT OF NOTICE WRITING-

NAME OF THE INSTITUTION/ORGANIZATION/OFFICE, PLACE

NOTICE

DATE( JUNE XX, 20XX)

SUITABLE HEADING

Content : Target group- for whom the notice is. Date, time, venue and all important details
and any extra information needed. (Body of the Notice 50 words)

{Answer the questions- For whom, what, when, where , when how, by whom + additional
information}
Signature
(Name)
Designation
Tips to be followed while writing a Notice
● Adhere to the specified word limit of 50 words.
● Write the word NOTICE at the top.
● Mention the name and place of the school, organization or office issuing the notice.
● Give an appropriate heading.
● Write the date of issuing the notice.
● Clearly mention the target group (for whom the notice is to be displayed).
● Purpose of the notice.

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 ● Mention all the relevant details (date, venue, time, whom to contact, etc.).
● Signature, name and designation of the person who is issuing the notice.
● Put the notice in a box.

SOLVED EXAMPLES
Sarvodaya Education Society, a charitable organisation is coming to your school to distribute
books among the needy students. As Head Boy/Head Girl, Vinayak Public School, Sikar, write
a notice in about 50 words asking such students to drop the lists of books they need in the
box kept outside the Principal's office. You are Navtej/Navita.
VINAYAK PUBLIC SCHOOL, SIKAR

NOTICE

JUNE XX, 20XX

DISTRIBUTION OF BOOKS

Sarvodaya Education Society, a charitable organisation is arranging to visit our school on

XXth August, 20XX to distribute books among the needy students. This is to inform such
students to drop the lists of books they need with their names written in the box, kept
outside the Principal's office. The books will be handed over to the concerned students by
the class teachers. For any queries, contact the undersigned.
Navita
(Head Girl)
You are Smitha/ Sunil, Secretary AVM Housing Society. You are going to organise a Blood
Donation Camp. Write a notice in not more than 50 words, urging the residents of your
societyto come in large numbers for this noble cause. Invent all necessary details.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

Q.1 As Librarian, Crescent International School, Gwalior, draft notice in not more than 50
words asking all the students and teachers to return the library books they have borrowed
two days before the commencement of the examination.

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Q.2 As Sports Secretary of G.D.G Public School, Pune, draft notice in not more than 50 words
for your school notice board informing the students about the sale of old sports goods of
your school. You are Rohini/Rohit.

Q.3 You lost your wrist watch in your school auditorium. Write a notice in not more than 50
words for your school notice board giving a detailed description of the watch. You are
Anirudh/Arundhati of Class XII of Springfields School, Pune.

Q.4 You are the President of your colony's Residents Welfare Association. There will be no
water supply on Saturday and Sunday in the colony due to repair work. Write a notice for the
colony Notice Board informing the residents about the same, advising them to store water,
giving phone no. of water tankers.

Q.5 Every year in the Central Park of the city a flower show is held in the month of February.
Your school has received a circular from the District Collector inviting your students to visit
it. Write a letter in about 50 words informing the students about the show and advising
them to go and enjoy it. You are Jayesh/ Jhanvi, Head Boy/ Head Girl, Sikkim Public School,
Sikkim.

INVITATION AND REPLIES

The practice of inviting friends and relatives is a part of social etiquette. Invitations are
generally in form of printed cards or in form of note/letters through which we invite our
guests on some auspicious occasions like wedding, birthday , wedding anniversary, house
warming, inauguration of a shop/factory, annual function, sports/misc events etc.
Invitations are basically of two types: 1) Formal and 2) Informal
Formal invitations may further be divided into i) Printed cards and ii) Formal letter of
invitation.

Marking Scheme
Marks: 4- Format: 1 / Content: 2 / Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar :1

FORMAL INVITATION -
PRINTED CARDS (General Invitation/Invitation Card) – These written requests are generally
designed and printed on invitation cards. and are for bulk invitations to relatives,
neighbours, colleagues, guardians on social occasions/Other misc events.
TIPS FOR WRITING FORMAL INVITATION

● Must be enclosed in a box ● Be brief and stick to the word limit

● It is a single sentence presentation (50 words)
● In line commas are allowed ● Write the invitation in 3rd person.
● End line punctuations are skipped ● It has to be polite and courteous.
● Answer the five W’s ● Month to be written in words (1st
o WHO – is the host. July,20XX)
o WHAT – is the occasion. ● Write in simple present tense.
o WHOM – for whom is the ● No signatures are required.
occasion. ● Name of VIP is included in VIP

17
 o WHEN – is the date, time. invitations.
o WHERE – is it being held.
FORMAT OF FORMAL INVITATION
● Name (s) /Designation of the host issuing the invitation.
● Use a standard expression/introductory lines for the invitation--
● (…. Cordially invite you to, request the pleasure of your company, solicit your
benign/gracious presence, Cordially request the honour of your presence, invite you
to join, seek the pleasure of your company/ presence)
● Mention the purpose/Reason of the occasion (Birthday, marriage, Annual Function or
Other Misc Events, etc.)
● Day, Date, and time of the Event/Function
● Name the venue/place of the event and provide the complete address.
● In the case of VIP, the name of the Chief Guest /VIP
● Write- R.S.V.P (French Word : Respondez S’il Vous Plait –i.e., Respond if You please.)
● Include the contact details of the host, such as telephone or mobile number.
● Add the address of the host.
● Mention the special note, if any. (e.g., Keep the phone on silent mode / Please be
seated by …)
● May use varied fonts and sizes to highlight the Keywords.

1. You are a student of Neelgiri Public School, Ooty. The school is holding its annual function.
Write an invitation on behalf of the Principal of your school inviting the important persons of
the town to attend the function to be held on July 15, 2024, at 10.00 am.

18
2. You are Dhruv/ Deepa. Your father, Shri Dheeraj Garg of Gurugram wants you to draft an
invitation to be sent to friends and relatives on the occasion of your elder sister’s marriage.
Prepare the invitation giving necessary details in not more than 50 words.

REPLIES TO FORMAL INVITATION (of card format)

Formal replies are formal in tone and treatment. It must be brief, to the point, pleasant,
polite and courteous.
TIPS FOR WRITING FORMAL REPLY-
● Card should be replied to as a Note (Third person narration ), while a Formal Letter
should be replied to as a formal letter (First Person narration).
● Write in brief/Concise.
● The date of writing appears on the left-hand side.
● Acknowledge the invitation and express gratefulness.
● All the details like events, date, day, venue etc must be included
● It closes with regards/Best wishes and name.
● Varied fonts and sizes are not used.
● Written in continued Text, and content is enclosed in a box.
● Mention acceptance or regret (specify the reason for not attending).
● Use polite and formal language.
● Stick to the word limit of 50 words.

FORMAL ACCEPTANCE
3. You are Trina Das. Write a formal reply to acknowledge your acceptance to the wedding
ceremony invitation, inventing all the necessary details.

19
8, Park Road,Delhi
20th April 20XX
Trina Das thanks Mrs. and Mr. Dheeraj Garg for inviting her to their daughter's marriage
ceremony on Monday, 24th April, 20XX, at Diamond Party Lawn, S.V. Road, Gurugram. She is
delighted to accept and will be glad to attend the ceremony. She extends her best wishes to
the newlyweds and wishes them a happy married life.
Best wishes
Trina Das

FORMAL REFUSAL
4. You are Trina. Write a formal reply refusing an invitation to a wedding ceremony while
inventing all the necessary details. (Formal reply of refusal to the question No-3)

8,Park Road,Delhi
20th April20XX
Trina Das thanks Mrs. and Mr. Dheeraj Garg for inviting her to the wedding ceremony of
their daughter on Monday, April 24th, 20XX, at Diamond Party Lawn, S.V. Road, Gurugram.
She regrets that she will not be able to attend due to some prior unavoidable engagement.
She extends her best wishes to the newlywed couple.
Best wishes
Trina Das

FORMAL INVITATION (IN THE FORM OF A LETTER)-

These are written to specific people for formal occasions, e.g., to the chief guest, judge for
the competition, etc. Such invitations are very persuasive.

FORMAT:

Sender's/Host- Address
Date (July 24, 20XX)
Address of the Addressee/Guest
Subject: Invitation for/to............................................
Salutation: (Sir/Dear Sir/Respected Sir)
Body:----------------------------------(All the details of invitation – Event/Function/Purpose/
date/time/Venue etc)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely / truly:
Name/Designation

20
 5. The Literary Club of your school is putting up the play ‘Waiting for Godot’. As the Secretary
of the Club, draft and invitation inviting the famous writer Tishani Doshi to be the Chief
Guest of the function. Write the invitation in not more than 50 words. You are Anupam/
Anushree.

The Literary Club

Kendriya Vidyalaya RK Puram Sec -8,

New Delhi

12th Feb. 20XX

Ms. Tishani Doshi

Member, All India Writers’ Association

Pragati Path, New Delhi

Subject: Invitation to be the Chief Guest.

Dear Madam (Ma’am)

The Literary Club of the Vidyalaya requests the pleasure of your esteemed presence on the occasion
of Annual Theatre Festival on Friday, 19th Feb 20XX at 9 a.m. at the School Auditorium.

The students of the school are putting up the play ‘Waiting for Godot’. Your presence will encourage
the students thereby making the occasion more meaningful and attractive. Hope our invitation will be
accepted by you.

Thank you.

Yours truly

Anupam/ Anushree

Secretary

6. On 30th November your school is going to celebrate its Annual Sports Day. You want Mr.
Dhanraj Pillai, a noted hockey player to give away the prizes to the budding sportspersons of
the school. Write a formal invitation in about 50 words requesting him to grace the occasion.
You are Jay/ Jagruti, Sports Secretary, Tagore Public School, Chennai.

Tagore Public School

Chennai

15th November 20XX

Mr Dhanraj Pillai

21
Abhilasha Apartments
Chennai

Subject: Invitation to Preside over Annual Sports Day

Dear Sir
Our school is going to celebrate its Annual Sports Day on 30th November 20XX. Several
students are likely to participate in various sports events.
We would be highly honoured if you kindly give your consent to preside over the
programme and give away the prizes to the school's budding sportspersons at 10:00 a.m.
at the school playground.
Hope our invitation will be accepted.
Warm regards

Yours truly
Jay/ Jagruti
Sports Secretary

REPLIES TO FORMAL INVITATION OF LETTER FORMAT

FORMAL ACCEPTANCE
7. You are Dr. Anant Gupta, an eminent educationist. Nalini, the President of the English
Literary Club of Government Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector-20, Chandigarh, has invited you to
preside over an inter-zonal declaration competition. Write a reply accepting the invitation.

73, Sector 14A

Chandigarh

18th January 20XX

Ms Nalini Dev
Government Model Sr Sec School,
Sec-20 Chandigarh

Subject: Acceptance of Invitation

Dear Nalini
Many thanks for inviting me to preside over the Inter-Zonal Declamation Competition,
which will be held on 27 January 2023 at 9:30 a.m. I will be delighted to attend the
function and enjoy listening to the views of the thoughtful students. It would be kind of
you to provide me with official transport.

Yours truly
Dr. Anant Gupta

22
FORMAL REFUSAL
8. You are Mr. Raj Sood, Director of Physical Education at the University of Delhi. You
received an invitation to be the guest of honour for the Annual Sports Day at Swadesh
School, August Road, Delhi, to be held on 30th June202X. Write your reply, in not more than
50 words, expressing your inability to attend the function.

University of Delhi
New Delhi

20th June 202X

The Sports Secretary

Swadesh School
August Road, New Delhi

Subject: Inability to Attend the Function

Sir
I express my sincere thanks for being invited as the guest of honour on the Annual Sports
Day to be held on 30th June 202X in your esteemed school. However, I regret that I shall
notbe able to attend the function due to my prior professional commitments. Best
wishes for the success of the program.

Yours sincerely
Raj Sood

INFORMAL LETTER OF INVITATION –An informal invitation follows the ordinary pattern as
used in personal letters. This type of invitation is written to invite a few people, such as
friends and relatives, to some informal gatherings or private occasions (e.g., a small birthday
party or celebration). Informal invitations are written in the format of an informal letter.
TIPS FOR WRITING INFORMAL INVITATION
● Write in brief/Concise.
● The date of writing appears on the left-hand side.
● Use first person 'T', 'we' and 'you' and avoid using 'he', 'she' and 'they'.
● Do not write the subject and the receiver's address.
● Write in a warm and personalised style with a relaxed and informal tone.
● Avoid writing unnecessary details. Begin with 'Dear'......... (Name)
9. You are Tarun/Tanishka of 23, Yojna Vihar, Delhi. Write an invitation to invite all your
friends to the party you are giving to celebrate your selection to SRCC of Delhi University.

Yojna Vihar
New Delhi

23
 10th January 202X

Dear Mayank
You will be glad to know that I have been selected for SRCC at Delhi University. I have
much pleasure in inviting you to my post-selection party at my residence on 16th
January, 202X, at 7:30 p.m. to join my family and friends in this moment of joy. I look
forward to meeting you.

Yours affectionately
Tanishka/Tarun

10. Write an invitation in not more than 50 words to your friend Meghali to spend her
Summer Vacation with you in Gangtok. You are Puja/Puneet of 25, M.G. Road, Gangtok,
Sikkim.

25, M.G. Road

Gangtok, Sikkim

15th May 202X

Dear Meghali
You have always wanted to visit Sikkim. As summer is approaching, I invite you to spend
the summer break with me in my house in Gangtok. Summer is the perfect time for
travelling, sightseeing, and exploring the beauty of this lovely city. I am sure you will have
a great time with me and my family. I am looking forward to spending this vacation with
you.

Yours affectionately
Puja/Puneet

INFORMAL REPLY:-
Informal replies should be informal in tone and may include personal feelings in intimate
style.
TIPS FOR WRITING INFORMAL REPLY-

● Write in brief.
● Acknowledge the invitation and express gratefulness.
● Write thanks in first person.
● Use the second person to address the sender.
● Mention acceptance or regret (specify a reason for not attending).
● Use friendly and informal language.
● Give ‘Best wishes’ in case of decline.
● Stick to a word limit of 50 words.

INFORMAL ACCEPTANCE

24
11. You are Natasha, residing in Pune. Your cousin, from the same city, is hosting your
grandmother's eightieth birthday and has extended an invite to you. He has also requested
your assistance with the necessary arrangements. Draft a reply of acceptance in not more
than 50 words.

Happiness Colony
Pune

16th November 202X

Dear Rajveer
I am incredibly excited that we are going tocelebrate our grandmother's eightieth birthday. It
is a grand occasion for the family. I will gladly assist you with the arrangements by reaching
out two days in advance. I will not miss the celebrations for anything in the world.

Yours affectionately
Natasha
INFORMAL REFUSAL
12. You are Bharti and have been invited to the post-selection party of your friend Bhuvan.
Write a reply regretting your inability to attend the same.

7-C, Yojna Vihar

Delhi
10th January 202X

Dear Bhuvan
Many thanks for inviting me to your post-selection party, but I am sorry to say that I won't
be able to attend as I'll be out of town next week due to a prior family commitment. I'll miss
this joyous occasion. I wish you all the best for the future. God bless you.

Yours
Bharti

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1. You are Ankit Verma. Your friend from Malaysia is staying in the hostel. Invite him to
join Diwali celebrations with you at your residence.
2. Rohit has succeeded in the NEET Examination. He wants to celebrate his admission to
Shivaji Medical College, Nagpur, by throwing a party for his friends. Write an informal
invitation giving details of the venue, time, and date. Do not exceed 50 words.
3. You are a member of the organising committee of Sacred Heart Convent, Chandigarh.
The school is organising its annual function, and the state education minister will be
the chief guest. Design an invitation card to be sent to the invitees.
4. Draft a formal reply expressing your inability to attend the inauguration of the
showroom ‘Regalia’ on Sunday, the 20th of July 20XX, at 11 a.m. at B-12, Rohini. You
are Navin Jain of C-5, G.K.J, New Delhi; your friend is G.L. Bansal of 23, Sunder Nagar,
New Delhi.

25
 5. You are Akshya / Aakriti. You have been invited to participate in a seminar on
‘Fundamental Rights of Children’, organised by the Lions Club of your district.
Respond to the invitation by writing a letter to the Secretary of the Club.

LETTER WRITING
MARKING SCHEME
Format – 1 Content -2 Organisation of ideas -1 Accuracy of spelling and grammar-1

FORMAL LETTERS
A letter written for business or professional purposes with a specific objective in mind is
called a formal letter. It uses simple language that can be easily read and interpreted.
Formal letters have a variety of purposes. The formal letters in class XII English Core Syllabus
2024-25 are
a. Letters to the editor (giving suggestions or opinions on issues of public interest)
b. Application for a Job with Bio-Data or Resume.
IMPORTANT POINTS
 The formal letter is written in formal language. Try to avoid starting with 'I'. Keep the
sentences short and to the point. Do not use contractions.
 End with a short sentence that anticipates the response of the addressee.
 The tone in formal letters is polite and impersonal.
 Use passive voice where possible.
 Be brief and precise; do not beat about the bush.
 Be clear and specific; state the purpose clearly and concisely.

FORMAT OF A FORMAL LETTER:

26
 APPLICATION FOR A JOB WITH BIO-DATA OR RESUME
These types of letters demand very formal and precise treatment. They are accompanied by
biodata that must include the name, address, date of birth, educational qualifications,
experience, hobbies, expected salary, and signature.
A job application consists of two parts- the cover letter and the biodata.
The format of the cover letter is similar to the format of a formal letter.
 PARAGRAPH 1- Begin the body of the letter by mentioning the source (from where
you learned about the job) of information (e.g. newspaper) along with the day, date,
and advertisement number. Also, mention the post for which you wish to apply.
 PARAGRAPH 2- Here, you offer your candidature by briefing about your
qualifications, achievements, previous experiences, and your strengths. In other
words, this paragraph should be an answer to the question: ‘How are you the perfect
candidate for the job?’.
Keep in mind that it should be to the point and precise. You should not sound
boastful.
 PARAGRAPH 3- In this part of the body, you make a reference to the Bio-data or
curriculum vitae and other detailed documents that you have enclosed. You can also
appeal for a one-on-one interview.
 After signing, you are supposed to mention the heading “ENCLOSURES,” which will
include the names of the attached documents and testimonials along with the cover
letter.

27
  Bio-data
A biodata refers to a person’s life, experience, and achievements. It should be
representative of all your personal and professional details in a specified format. It is
generally divided into four parts:
Personal Details Experience

Qualifications References

Application for a Job with a Bio-data or Resume

Address(writer)

Date

The Director/Manager,etc

Address

Sub: Application for the Post of__________

Sir,

With reference to your advertisement dated 28 th December,20XX, I wish to offer my candidature for
the same.

I am a young and dynamic person with pleasing personality and pleasant manners.I fulfil all the
requisite qualifications as required by you.

Sir, I given a chance, I assure you of my sincere services towards the organisation.

Yours sincerely

Name

Encl.:

1.Merit Certificate

2 Resume/Bio-Data/curriculum vitae

Bio-data
Name ………………….
Father’s Name ………………….
Gender Male/Female
Date of Birth …/…./……….
Nationality Indian
Marital status Married/ Unmarried

28
Address
Contact No. …………………..
Educational Qualification
Serial Name of Year of Name of Percentage of
number Examination Passing board/University marks

Professional Qualification
1
2
Languages Known
Salary expected As per norms
References
1. Name, Designation & Address
2. Name, Designation & Address

Date:
Signature
Place:
(Name)
Solved questions:
You are Anand/Arti of 14, Model Town, Delhi. You have seen an advertisement in The Hindu
for the post of Chief Chef in a 5-star Hotel. Apply for the job with complete biodata. Write in
125-150words.

Answer:
14, Model Town
Delhi
May 25, 20XX

The Managing Director

The Radisson Hotel
Gurgaon

29
Sir
Sub: Application for the post of Chief Chef

This is with reference to your advertisement published in the esteemed daily, The Hindu
dated May 20, 20XX. I wish to offer my candidature for the post of chief chef in your
prestigious hotel.
I have completed my MBA in hotel management from Delhi University. I am hard-working,
honest, and punctual. I assure you that I shall work with full devotion and sincerity.

I have enclosed my biodata for your perusal.

In anticipation of an early response.
Yours truly
Anand

BIO – DATA
Name Anand Kumar
Father’s Name Kapil Kumar
Date of Birth 22 January,1990
Contact No. 93xxxxxxx9
Marital Status Unmarried
Qualification Graduation in Hotel Management, Satyawati College,
(2011)-94% Marks
Working Experience Trainee at the Taj Hotel,New Delhi.(May 2013-Dec 2013)

Languages Known Hindi and English

References 1 A.K. Poddar Professor, Head of Dept. ABC College, Delhi.
2 Ram Prakash Professor and Dean K.X. College, Delhi

Questions for Practice

You are Krishna / Krishan from F-9, Mayur Vihar, Delhi. You have come across an
advertisement in a national daily for the recruitment of Radio Jockey by Radio One, Noida.
Apply in response to this advertisement giving your detailed biodata.

You are Ritu / Ritva of 131, Jagriti Vihar, Gurgaon. You recently read about a post of chemist
being advertised by Charak Research Ltd. Noida. You wish to apply for it. Apply with full
details to the Manager of the Production Unit.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

These letters give suggestions/create awareness on an issue of public interest, or an issue
already raised in an article/write-up/published letter.

Important Points

30
  Begin with reference to the recent development/event/issue.
 Give details of the topic bringing out a cause-effect relationship.
 Offer suggestions/solutions.

Do not ask the editor to solve the problem as he can only voice your views
and ideas.
FORMAT OF THE LETTER
Sender‘s Address
Date ………………
Receiver’s address
The Editor
Name of The News Paper
Place of Publication
Subject :……………………………………………………………………..
Salutation Sir/Madam
BODY OF THE LETTER
Paragraph 1- Define your purpose for writing the letter. You can start with
―Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw the
attention of the concerned authorities/ readers to the problem…………………….]
Paragraph 2- Define the problem in detail. Specify at least three effects of the
problem.
Paragraph 3- Write the conclusion and the solutions you have if any. (Minimum
of 2 preferred solutions) or request the authorities to solve the problem.

Yours sincerely
Signature
Name

EXAMPLE 1
Write a letter to the Editor of the National Herald, New Delhi about water scarcity in your
locality suggesting ways to improve the water supply. You are Ramnath/ Reema of Kavi
Nagar, Ghaziabad.
House no. A-24
Kavi Nagar
Ghaziabad
April 2, 20XX
The Editor
National Herald

31
New Delhi-110001

Subject: WATER CRISIS IN KAVI NAGAR

Sir/Madam
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to draw the attention of the
concerned authorities towards the problem of water scarcity in our locality.
It is still early summer, and the residents face an acute water shortage. The supply is cut off
at 8.30 in the morning and is restored only for an hour in the evening between 6 p.m. to 7
p.m. Since the timings are erratic, many people, especially the working couples, are unable
to store water. Frequent complaints to the Jal Board have not yielded any result as the
authorities express their helplessness, saying that one of the tanks of the Haiderpur Water
Treatment Plant is under repair and has been shut down for a month or so, thereby
affecting the water supply in the area. However, it has been nearly one and a half months
since the problem began, yet there is no relief for the residents.
In the meantime, the Jal Board should make provisions for water tankers at different hours
of the day and take measures to expedite the repair work.
Yours sincerely
Ramnath /Reema
EXAMPLE 2
You have noticed stray animals on the road during the busy hours of the day. These animals
have caused traffic jams as well as accidents. You have already written to the concerned
authorities but no action has been taken. Write a letter to the Editor of a leading
newspaper, telling him about the nuisance created by the stray animals. You are Preeti
Krishnan, C/5, Dispur Road, Assam.
House No. C/5
Dispur Road
Assam
15thMarch 20XX
The Editor
The Indian Express
Guwahati

Sub: NUISANCE CREATED BY STRAY ANIMALS

Sir/Madam
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to draw the attention of the
concerned authorities of the Municipal Corporation regarding the plight of the residents of
Bow Bazaar due to the nuisance created by stray animals.
While going to school at 8.50 a.m., I notice many stray animals wandering here and there on
the busy market roads. The position is almost the same, with a repeat performance in the
afternoon. Sometimes these animals cross the road in a long unending array, thus causing

32
traffic jams and accidents. These animals create a health hazard too by urinating
everywhere. Huge heaps of dung are littered here and there. Flies hover over them and
insects breed inside them. We have already written to the authorities but no action has
been taken yet.
The authorities are requested to depute officials to catch these stray animals and send them
to the police pen. If unclaimed, these might be auctioned. I hope the authorities concerned
will take suitable action.
Yours sincerely
Preeti
Questions for Practice:

1. Write a letter to the Editor of The Times of India, Mumbai, expressing your views on how
the standard of performance in sports can be improved in India.
2. You are Ramesh/Reema of 20, Sarvodaya Colony, Lucknow. Write a letter to the Editor of
Nagrik Times to draw the attention of the Traffic Police Department to the lawlessness
among bus drivers and conductors.

ARTICLE WRITING
Marking Scheme
5 Marks:
Format:1/ Organisation of Ideas: 1/ Content: 2/ Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar :1

Word Limit: 120-150 Words.

An article is a piece of writing on a specific topic that forms an independent opinion
expressed by a writer. It is the most advanced form of writing, presenting information on a
variety of themes.
Points to Remember-
1. Give an appropriate title –
● Write the Heading/Title at the top with the writer's name.
● The first letter of every word should be capitalised, e.g., Pollution- A Menace.
● Make it eye-catching.
● Should give a crisp idea of the theme.
2. Divide the article into three parts, i.e., split your subject matter into 3-4 paragraphs.
Part-1: Introduction/ Beginning–Briefly mention the status of the issue, stating facts
or quotation
Part 2: Analyse the topic in terms of types/kinds –Causes and effects –Problem (if
any) – Consequences –Positive / Negative effects –Related Information / Statistical data –
Implications - social/environmental/psychological / health related.
Part 3: Conclusion- suggestions / remedial measures / reminders / compare and
contrast
3. Organise the ideas in a logical order, with systematic presentation.

33
4. Predictions and personal observations may be included.
Hints:
● Create rough work.
● Jot down all the ideas.
● Make a sequence.
● Join all the ideas with linkers and cohesive words.
● Pay attention to grammatical accuracy and good use of vocabulary.
● Use sentence linkers to ensure continuity, e.g., ‘consequently’, ‘similarly’, 'finally',
‘moreover', etc.
Article: Assessment Parameters
Format
● Title & Byline
Organisation & Content:

SOLVED QUESTION:
Over the past few years, there has been a constant rise in Coaching Institutes and private
tuition centres all over India. Write an article in about 120-150 words highlighting the
exploitation of young minds that seek sincere counselling and proper direction. You are
Mahesh/Mita, a student of class XII of Indira Public School, Gwalior.

Coaching Institutes Exploit Students

By Mita, Class XII
Over the past few years, coaching institutes have mushroomed in every nook and corner of a
city. These so-called "temples of learning" exploit young minds just for their financial gains.
The misleading advertisements of these Institutes act as magnets to attract innocent,
inexperienced students who are seeking sincere counselling and proper direction.

Most private tuition centres and coaching institutes treat students as commodities; instead
of providing them with proper direction in their scholarly pursuits and individual attention,
they leave them to their fate. The counsellor appointed to these institutes is assigned the
task of filling the unpopular coaching programmes with more students so that the institution
can maximise its profits, irrespective of whether that particular programme suits the
students.

34
These Coaching Institutions take advantage of illiterate parents' ignorance by advising them
to enrol their weak child in a "crash" course when he needs to join a long-term coaching
programme to be successful in life. The sole purpose of these institutions is to fill their
coffers with money, not to look into the well-being of these students, who are the future
assets of the nation. These institutions are like the" termites", making the nation's future
hollow.

The government's Education Department should be vigilant and stop these coaching
institutes from exploiting innocent students. Stringent laws should be enforced to prevent
these institutes from spreading their tentacles in society. The guilty who are playing with the
future of the students should be brought to task.

The surge in private vehicle ownership has led to increased air pollution, traffic congestion,
inadequate parking facilities, and heightened road rage. The remedy lies in promoting the
usage of public transportation. Write an article, within 120-150 words, on ‘The Significance
of Public Transport’. You are Raman/Ritika.

UNSOLVED QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE:

1. In many parts of our country, girls are still discouraged from attending school.
Consequently, a sizable section of the population is deprived of education. Schemes like
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the CBSE scholarship to the Single Girl Child and the Government ‘s
policy of giving free education to girls have come as a boon to our society. You are
Raghav/Rohini. Write an article in 120-150 words on the education of the girl child in the
country.

2. Recent floods in many metropolitan cities of the country during the monsoon season laid
bare the hollowness of the claims of the civic authorities of their preparedness. The poor
had to bear the brunt of the problem while no one was held accountable. Write an article in
120-150 words on the common man’s woes during the monsoons and the need for
accountability of the officials concerned. You are Sumit/Smita Verma.

REPORT WRITING
Marking Scheme
5 Marks: Format:1/ Organisation of Ideas: 1/ Content: 2/ Accuracy of Spelling & Grammar :1

Word Limit: 120-150 Words.

A report is a written account of an incident heard, seen, done or experienced and meant to
be published, about an event that has taken place in the past. A good report must have a
good introduction, complete reporting and proper conclusion
Types of Report
✔ Newspaper Report
✔ School Magazine Report

Points to Remember:
● Use Simple Past Tense
● Use Active/Passive Voice in Reported Speech
● Divide the report into three parts

35
 Part I: Introduction – Mention– Event, date, time, place
Part II: Body—details of the incident, its causes, consequences, effects, guests, steps,
activities, people involved, and relevant details.
Part III: Conclusion – reactions/statements of people/promises by authorities/steps taken. A
report can be a brief note or complete detailed information about an event that has
occurred in the past.

SOLVED QUESTIONS.
1. Newspaper Report
Last week, you attended a Heritage Awareness Programme organised by the History Club of
Modern Public School, Agra. Being a staff reporter, write a report to be published in a
national daily. You are Aakash/Aakanksha.
Heritage Awareness Programme
By Aakash, Staff Reporter
Agra, 2 July 2024: The History Club of Modern Public School, Agra, organized a heritage
awareness programme on 2nd July from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the school premises.

The school was well decorated with posters of various historically important monuments.
Mr. K.H. Sahu, Professor of the History Department of Delhi University, was the Chief Guest.
Other prominent guests included Mr. Avinash Malawar, Assistant Director, ASI of India and
Mrs. Ratna Rajshree, head of the Tourism Department of the Government of Delhi. Around
2000 students and parents attended the programme. The Programme began with the
lighting of the inaugural lamp by the Chief Guest. After that, an XI class student presented a
skit showing the importance of our heritage and monuments.

The audience enjoyed an engrossing documentary prepared by the school's History

Department. The documentary briefly details 100 monuments from different parts of India.
The Chief Guest gave a very motivating speech on the role of Youth in keeping the
monuments safe. Mrs Smriti Pant deliberated upon the importance of monuments in
encouraging tourism in the concerned place. The Principal presented a vote of thanks.

2. School Magazine Report.

Scholastic India Ltd. organised a one-day workshop on Creative Writing in your school to
promote writing skills. As the Literary Captain of your school, write a report to be published
in the school magazine. You are Rohit/Radha.

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP

By Radha
Scholastic India Ltd. conducted a one-day workshop in KV. __________as part of their
campaign to promote creative writing on 20th September'22 in the school library for the
students of class XI-XII.

The school coordinator cordially welcomed the Team of Scholastic India Ltd., Ms. J. Sharma.
Mr Rahul and Ms Deepshikha of the team conducted the session. They took the students
through writing mechanics and explained how figurative language can improve their writing.
The students were grouped into teams of 5 each and were given some clues to write a story

36
in the stipulated time. The teams were expected to present their stories one by one. It was
interesting to note that the same clues were developed in different stories.

The next session was mainly for the budding poets. Mrs Rima Roy, the famous poet, took the
next session. She highlighted the finer details of writing poetry. The students were then
asked to compose poems. From class XII, Rohit got a lot of appreciation for his poem. The
stories and poems were all on the library board for others to read. The workshop ended with
the address of the principal, Mr. Rajendran K. He expressed the need to develop effective
writing skills for good communication. Master Anson, the Head Boy, proposed a vote of
thanks for the organisers.
UNSOLVED QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE:
1. You are Amit of Class XII, Birla Vidya Mandir, the Publication Captain. Your School was the
venue of the National Level Social Science Exhibition. Write a report in about 120-150 words
for the School Magazine.
2. You are Akshay / Akshita, a press reporter with Indian Express. Recently, a few trains were
cancelled due to fog during the winter. Passengers were stranded at the New Delhi Railway
Station. Write a report in about 120-150 words highlighting the problems faced by the
passengers.

SUGGESTED THEMES FOR LONG COMPOSITIONS

Corruption, Environment, Health and Medicines, Yoga,Women Empowerment, Girl Child
Education, Digital India, Role of Youth, Stress Management, etc.

37
 SECTION C: LITERATURE
Text Book & Supplementary Reading Test(40 marks)
FLAMINGO (PROSE)

THE LAST LESSON (by Alphonse Daudet)

GIST
The story reflects the pain that conquerors inflicted on the people of a territory by taking
away their rights to study or speak in their own language. This lesson depicts the importance
of one’s own language for one's existence. It also brings out Linguistic Chauvinism. It also
throws light on students’ and teachers’ attitudes to teaching and learning and the habit of
postponing learning.

Major Incidents in the Story:

1. Teaching of French is banned in schools in the districts of Alsace and Lorraine.
2. M. Hamel is in his best clothes on the last day of school.
3. A school student named Franz enters the silent class with fear and finds the villagers
on the back benches of the class.
4. M. Hamel teaches dedicatedly and explains the importance of one’s own language.
5. While addressing the gathering at the end, his throat chokes and he writes on the
blackboard Vive La France.
6. The lesson is a fine example of the love, dedication, inclination, and significance of
learning one’s language for existence.

MAIN POINTS OF THE LESSON:

• Little Franz late for school.
• Crowd at the Town Hall.
• Unusual calm at school.
• Presence of the villagers in the class.
• Last Lesson declared by M. Hamel.
• A sudden change in Franz’s views.
• Franz makes an effort to answer.
• Mr. Hamel laments and reflects upon the reasons for the students’ deficiency in the
language.
• M. Hamel highlights the importance of French Language.
• M. Hamel conducts his last French lesson.
• Vive La France.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS:

Extract 1
It was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods; and in the open
field back of the sawmill the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was all much more tempting
than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.
When I passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board. For the last
two years all our bad news had come from there — the lost battles, the draft, the orders of

38
the commanding officer — and I thought to myself, without stopping, “What can be the
matter now?”
Then, as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the blacksmith, Wachter, who was there, with his
apprentice, reading the bulletin, called after me, “Don’t go so fast, bub; you’ll get to your
school in plenty of time!”

i. What can be inferred about the living condition of the place?

a. Everybody lived in peace and harmony.
b. Natives were happy with the foreign presence.
c. The inhabitants coexisted with external force without qualms.
d. There was a sense of uneasiness looming around the environment.
Ans: d
ii. Identify the factor that does not serve the purpose of implying the theme.
a. The reference to the bulletin board.
b. The presence of Prussian soldiers
c. The description of nature.
d. The narrator’s stand on French lesson.
Ans: c
iii. Write the word from the passage which means ‘helper’.
Ans: Apprentice
iv. What did Franz think about the comment of Wachter?
Ans: It was a sarcastic remark.
v. What is the speaker’s command over participles?
Ans. He has no knowledge of its rules.
vi. Find a word in the passage that means the opposite to ‘give in’.
Ans. resist

Extract 2
What a thunderclap these words were to me!
Oh, the wretches; that was what they had put up at the town-hall!
My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I
must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’
eggs, or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago,
so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I
couldn’t give up. And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never
see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.

i. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!”. The words were:

(a) Loud and clear. (b) Startling and unexpected.
(c) Pleasant and welcome. (d) None of these.
Ans: (b)
ii. Who are called as ‘Wretches’?
(a) People of France (b) Germans
(c) Prussians (d) None of these
Ans: (c)
iii. How does Franz describe the announcement of the last French lesson?

39
Ans: Franz describes the announcement as a ‘thunderclap’, indicating it was a sudden,
shocking revelation to him.
iv. What realization does Franz come to regarding his education?
Ans: Franz realizes the importance of his education and regrets not taking his lessons
seriously. He acknowledges that he hardly knows how to write and feels remorseful for not
valuing his studies.
v. Why didn’t Franz like his teacher much?
Ans. He used a ruler and was easily annoyed.
vi. Why do you think the narrator hardly knew how to write in French?
Ans. He never paid attention to his studies and often spent the day outdoors instead of
going to school.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

1. What was the notice from Berlin, and how did it affect class?
Ans: The notice, which was served from Berlin, stated that French would not be taught in the
schools of Alsace and Lorraine; only German would be taught instead. So, M. Hamel, the
French teacher, was asked to vacate the place for a new German teacher. The notice affected
everyone badly. Everybody repented having wasted their time and not having learnt French.
2. Why did Franz think of running away from the school that morning?
Ans. Franz was afraid that Mr. Hamel would scold him because he was already late for school
and had not prepared for the test on participles. He wanted to spend the day outside
watching Prussian soldiers drilling, birds chirping, and basking in the warmth and brightness
of the day.
3. How is the title ‘The Last Lesson’ appropriate?
Ans. The title ‘The Last Lesson’ is appropriate because it was M. Hamel’s last lesson and also
the last French lesson in the school according to the order from Berlin after Alsace and
Lorraine had been conquered by the Prussians.
4. How were the parents and M. Hamel responsible for the children’s neglect of the French
language?
Ans. M. Hamel blamed everyone for putting off learning until the next time and thus losing
out on the opportunity to learn their native language, French. The parents preferred to put
their children to work on a farm or at the mills so that they could earn more money. M.
Hamel, too, sent them to water his flowers and gave them a holiday when he wanted to go
fishing.
5. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What does this
tell us about the attitude of the Frenchmen?
Ans. During his last French class, Franz hears the pigeons cooing and wonders if the
Prussians would make them sing in German, too. His thought reveals the Frenchmen’s fear
of complete domination by the Germans, whereby they would try to enslave even their
minds.

THE LOST SPRING: STORIES OF STOLEN CHILDHOOD (by Anees Jung)

GIST
'Lost Spring' is a fascinating and revelatory description of the lives of poverty-stricken
children in India. It escapes from being a dry report about child labour because of its
evaluative language. It is about children coming to cities to work as rag pickers or

40
cleaners/servers at tea stall; or helping at furnaces where they are exposed to health
hazards.

SOMETIMES I FIND A RUPEE IN THE GARBAGE

✔ Author's encounter with Saheb
● Meets ragpicker Saheb belonging to a refugee family from Bangladesh.
● Questions him about his vocation of rag picking and advises him to go to school.
● Promises to open a school.
● Feels embarrassed for making a hollow promise.
✔ Irony in name and existence
● Full name- 'Saheb-e-Alam'- meaning 'lord of the universe’.
● But deprived of even basic needs, scrounges the garbage with other ragpicker boys.
● Barefoot boys reflect extreme state of poverty.
✔ Saheb's new vocation
● Works at a tea stall; Earns ₹800 per month.
● Appears burdened and forlorn.
● No freedom now.
● Tin container was heavier than his rag picking bag.

I WANT TO DRIVE A CAR

✔ Mukesh
● A child labourer in a glass factory in Firozabad.
● Wishes to be a motor mechanic.
● Wants to learn to drive a car.
● Family unaware that child labour is illegal.
✔ Working condition in glass furnaces
● High temperature.
● Dingy cells, poorly ventilated.
● Children lose eyesight at an early age.
✔ Living conditions in Firozabad
● Houses with crumbling walls, wobbly doors.
● Humans and animals both live together.
● Stinking lanes.
● Mukesh: house half-built, wood stove, aluminium utensils.
✔ Mukesh’s father
● Head of the family
● Poverty stricken, unable to renovate house or provide education to sons
● Only legacy-the art of bangle making
✔ Mukesh’s grandmother's view
● Their present state- result of Karma.
● Accepted her husband's blindness caused by dust of glass bangles as their destiny.
● Thinks art of bangle making as God-given lineage.
✔ Vicious circle of poverty
● No progress despite years of struggle- poverty, illiteracy, dissatisfaction, victims of
middlemen.
● Fear of police, lack of leadership

41
✔ Children as victims
● by birth- bordered by stigma of caste.
● No hope: have to accept family occupation.
● Ruled by sahukars, middlemen, policemen.
● Little desire to dream snubbed in childhood.
✔ Mukesh: an exception
● Has a dream to be a motor mechanic.
● Practical, does not have the dream of aeroplanes.
● Few planes fly over Firozabad (few opportunities available).

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Extract 1
After months of knowing him, I ask him his name. “Saheb-e-Alam,” he announces. He does
not know what it means. If he knew its meaning — lord of the universe — he would have a
hard time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his
friends, an army of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon.
Over the months, I have come to recognise each of them.
1. The author asks the name of Saheb after months of knowing him. This suggests that
a. She does not care about barefoot rag-pickers who live in a slum dwelling.
b. She has been waiting for the right opportunity.
c. Names are insignificant for her as she is more interested in their problems & their
solutions
d. It is difficult for her to remember so many names together.
2. Which of the following is not rightly matched?
a. Name of Saheb-e-Alam: irony
b. An army of barefoot boys: Anaphora
c. Boys who appear like morning birds: Simile
d. I ask him his name: Alliteration
3. Why is the author interested in these barefoot ragpickers?
a. She will write a book about such children & earn money.
b. She will gain popularity by publishing their story in a newspaper.
c. She will attract the attention of the authorities towards their problems.
d. She is moved by the plight of these unfortunate children.
4. The author’s interaction with these children reflects her ….
i. Empathy
ii. Professionalism
iii. Cleverness
iv. Compassion

a. Only ii
b. Only i & iii
c. Only i & iv
d. Only ii & iii
5. Where is Saheb originally from?
6. Give a synonym of ‘acknowledge’ from the above passage.

42
ANSWERS:
1) Names are insignificant for her as she is more interested in their problems & their
solutions
2) An army of barefoot boys-anaphora
3) She is moved by the plight of these unfortunate children
4) Only 1 & 4
5) Dhaka, Bangladesh
6) recognise

Extract 2
“Why not organise yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of young men who have
fallen into the vicious circle of middlemen who trapped their fathers and forefathers. “Even if
we get organised, we are the ones who will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged
to jail for doing something illegal,” they say. There is no leader among them, no one who
could help them see things differently. Their fathers are as tired as they are. They talk
endlessly in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice.

1. Which of the following pairs of word-meanings is not rightly matched?

a. Apathy: lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
b. Vicious: deliberately cruel or violent
c. Hauled up: To push away
d. Greed: avarice
2. Their fathers are as tired as they are. This suggests that …
a. The youth have surrendered before their oppressors & accepted their fate.
b. The youth have followed the footsteps of their parents & resigned to their destiny.
c. The youth have no energy & enthusiasm to struggle against their oppressors.
d. Youth do not get proper nutrition due to poverty, which exhausts them easily.
3. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below:
Assertion: The police haul up the youth if they make a union.
Reason: The policemen are very efficient & arrest the wrongdoers promptly.
a. Both A & R are correct. R is the correct explanation of A
b. Both A & R are correct. R is not the correct explanation of A
c. A is correct, R is wrong
d. Neither A nor R is correct
4. What is missing among the bangle makers that they are not able to organise themselves
into cooperatives?
5. Why are the bangle makers easily hauled up by the policemen for no valid reason?
6. Give a synonym of ‘evil’ from the above passage.
ANSWERS:
1. C.
2. The youth have followed the footsteps of their parents & resigned to their destiny.
3. A is correct, R is wrong
4. A leader
5. As they are ignorant of their rights
6. Vicious

43
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’?
Answer: Since Saheb now works in a tea-stall, he is bound to his master and feels burdened.
The steel canister he carries is very heavy compared to his light plastic bag. The bag was his
own and the canister belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. So, he is no
longer his own master.
2. Is it possible for Mukesh to realise his dream? Justify your answer.
Answer: Mukesh’s determination is going to prove instrumental in helping him to realize his
dream. His dream can become a reality only if he is able to find a garage where he can be
taken in as an apprentice and then he will have to learn how to drive a car. He will then be
able to graduate himself to be a good mechanic.
3. Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall? Answer by giving reasons.
Answer: Since Saheb now works in a tea stall, he is now bound to his master and feels
burdened. The steel canister he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bag. The
bag was his own, and the canister belonged to his master, whose orders he now had to
follow. He is no longer his own master; hence, he seems unhappy.
4. What does the title, ‘Lost Spring,’ convey?
The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys how millions of children in India lose out on living the ‘spring’
of their lives, which is their childhood. The best phase of life is lost in the hardships involved
in earning their livelihood. Poverty forces these young children to work in the most inhuman
conditions, because of which they miss out on the fun of childhood, which hampers their
growth.
5. Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?
Answer: The author says that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web that starts from
poverty, indifferences, greed, and injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams.
They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have fallen into a vicious circle of
‘sahukars’, middlemen and the police, so they get condemned to poverty and perpetual
exploitation.
6. How is Saheb’s name full of irony?
Answer. Saheb's full name is Saheb-e-Alam. It means the Lord of the Universe. The irony in
Saheb's name is he is a poor ragpicker who does not even have chappals to wear. Though his
name means that he is the lord of the universe, yet in reality he does not have money to
even meet the most basic needs.
7.What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Answer. Certain forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty. These include the moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of
law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they impose a heavy burden on the child.

DEEP WATER (by Wiliam Douglas)

GIST
The chapter, ‘Deep Water’ is an excerpt from Of Men and Mountains, written by William
Douglas, in which he shares his fear of water and how he overcomes the fear with courage,
hard work, determination, willpower, perseverance and a strong desire to learn swimming. It
conveys the idea that fear is a great obstacle to our happiness and progress. It is a negative
feeling that we can overcome by sheer willpower and optimism.

44
LESSON AT A GLANCE
1. The narrator develops an aversion to water
(i) 3 to 4 years old: father took him to the beach in California.
(ii) waves knocked him down and swept over him.
(iii) fear of water set in.
2. Decides to learn swimming at the age of ten or eleven
(i) warned against Yakima River being treacherous.
(ii) kept fresh in his mind - each drowning in the river.
(iii) opts for a safe Y.M.C.A. pool.
3. Misadventure at Y.M.C.A. (safe pool)
(i) Y.M.C.A. pool- 2-3 feet deep at the shallow end; 9 feet at the deep end.
(ii) An 18-year-old bully tossed him into the deep end.
(iii) Douglas' plan (strategy)- to jump with all his might and come to the surface as soon as
the bottom of the swimming pool was hit.
(iv) went 9 feet down and struggled to jump up.
(v) failed to rise, felt suffocated, lungs ached, head throbbed. Fear-stricken.
(vi) became unconscious and nearly died.
4. Effect/Impact of Fear:
(i) ruined his fishing trips.
(ii) deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating & swimming.
5. Decides To Overcome Fear of Water:
(i) Hired an instructor and practised 5 days a week-1 hours each day.
(ii) The instructor used a belt & rope to teach swimming.
(iii) Taught Douglas:
a) to exhale underwater& inhale above water
b) limb coordination
c) different strokes-crawl, breast, side &backstroke
(iv) Built a swimmer out of him piece by piece.
6. Tested Himself:
(i) Had residual doubts, went to Lake Wentworth in Hampshire and swam 2 miles to Stamp
Act Island.
(ii) Went up to Meade Glacier to swim in Warm Lake near Gilbert Peak.
(iii) Conquers fear of water.
(iv) Feels liberated.

CHARACTER SKETCH OF DOUGLAS

● adventurous by nature.
● had a zest for life.
● courageous/bold.
● indomitable spirit-to overcome his fear.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT – 1
My breath was gone. I was frightened. Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at
the overpowering force of the waves.

45
My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred
childish fears. But in a little while I gathered confidence. I paddled with my new
water wings, watching the other boys and trying to learn by aping them. I did this two or
three times on different days and was just beginning to feel at ease in the water
when the misadventure happened.

1) Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author’s father laughed to mock his son’s inability to swim.
Statement 2: The author wanted to swim just to prove to his father that he could swim.
a) Statement 1 is true, but Statement 2 is false.
b) Statement 1 is false, but Statement 2 is true.
c) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred
d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
2) “My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred
childish fears.” It can be inferred that this was a clear case of
a) suppression b) oppression c) depression d) repression
3) The misadventure that took place right after the author felt comfortable was that
a) the author slipped and fell into the swimming pool.
b) a bully tossed him into the pool for the sake of fun.
c) his coach forgot to teach him how to handle deep water.
d) his father couldn’t help him from drowning into the water.
4) The option that best defines the underlined phrase feel at ease is
a) relaxed b) surprised c) enthusiastic d) curious
5) William Douglas tried to learn swimming by ____________ other boys at YMCA pool.

6)

a) Option 1 b) Option 2 c) Option 3 d) Option 4

Answer key:
1) C 4) A
2) A 5) aping
3) B 6) Option 4

EXTRACT – 2
Next he held me at the side of the pool and had me kick with my legs. For weeks I did just
that. At first my legs refused to work. But they gradually relaxed; and finally I could
command them.

46
Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer. And when he had perfected each piece, he put them
together into an integrated whole. In April he said, “Now you can swim. Dive off and swim
the length of the pool, crawl stroke.”
I did. The instructor was finished.
But I was not finished.

1) Why was Douglas not finished?

(a) Because he wanted to check if he could swim properly.
(b) Because he wanted to check if he still feared water.
(c) Because he wanted to practice more.
(d) Because he wanted to see his skill when he was alone
2) Select the option that lists the correct inference based on the information in the extract.
(a) The instructor used a well-known strategy to help Douglas.
(b) The instructor motivated Douglas throughout his lessons.
(c) The instructor was patient, strategic and encouraging.
(d) The instructor’s only job was to teach the skill and not the removal of fear.
3) Douglas mentions that the instructor built a swimmer out of him ‘piece by piece’. He
means that he became a swimmer ……………
(a) with regular practice
(b) over time as his determination increased
(c) with self-belief and gradual increasing confidence
(d) in gradual stages, learning one skill at a time.
4) What was the reason for Douglas’ leg’s refusal to work?
5) How did Douglas come to ‘command his legs’?
6) “But I was not finished.” What does the sentence imply?
(a) William Douglas still had doubt about his being alone in the pool
(b) he had not finished his training
(c) yet to complete his homework
(d) not finished talking to his instructor
Answer key:
1) B 2) C 3) D 4) Return of terror 5) Repeated practice 6) A

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1) 'I had an aversion to the water when I was in it', says Douglas. Why did he have an
aversion to the water?
Answer. At the age of three or four years, Douglas had visited the beach in California along
with his father. He had held his father tightly, even then the waves knocked him down and
swept over him. He was buried in water and was breathless. He was terrified and since then
had an aversion to the water.
Q2) What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was
thrown into the pool?
Answer: His repeated failed attempts left him terrified and exhausted, till he slipped into
unconsciousness and was pulled out of the pool. The author went from fear to exhaustion
and finally submission.
Q3) How did this experience affect him?

47
Answer: The writer’s experience of near drowning affected him greatly. He felt weak and
trembled on his way back home from the pool. He spent many more days in unrest. He
never went back to the pool. He feared water and avoided it whenever he could.
Q4) How did the instructor “build a swimmer” out of Douglas?
Answer. The instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece. For three months he
held him with on a rope attached to his belt. He went back and forth across the pool. Panic
seized the author every time. The instructor taught Douglas to put his face under water and
exhale and to raise his nose and inhale. Then Douglas had to kick with his legs for many
weeks till they relaxed. After six months the instructor told him to swim the length of the
pool.
Q5) Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Answer. His fear of water ruined his fishing trips. It deprived him of the joy of canoeing,
boating, and swimming. Douglas used every way he knew to overcome this fear he had
developed since childhood. Even as an adult, it held him firmly in its grip. He was
determined to get an instructor and learn swimming to get over this fear.

THE RATTRAP (by Selma Lagerlöf)

GIST
Human beings are inherently good by nature, but they tend to fall into the trap of material
benefits. At the same time, it is the human tendency to redeem oneself from dishonest
ways. The story exhibits the episode of the life of a rattrap seller who has fallen into the trap
of materialism and later on he realizes his mistake and tries to give up the temptation.

KEY POINTS
● The peddler was a vagabond who sold rattraps, with a little thievery on the side to
make both ends meet. He had no worldly possessions to call his own. It amused him to think
of the world as a rattrap and all the material possessions as bait because the world, he felt,
was never kind to him. Moreover, he prided himself in the fact that he was out of it.
● Takes shelter at a crofter’s cottage. The crofter welcomed him, gave him dinner,
shared his pipe, played Mjolis with him also confided in him about his income and showed
him where he put it. Next morning, the peddler steals the money and takes the back roads
to keep away from people and gets lost in the jungle at night. While he wanders in the
forest, he realizes that he has also got caught in the rattrap and that the money was the bait.
● Finally reaches Ramjso Ironworks, where he takes shelter for the night. The
blacksmith and his assistant ignore him, but the master mistakes him to be an old
acquaintance and invites him home. Though the peddler does not correct the ironmaster,
hoping to get some money out of him, he declines his invitation. The ironmaster then sends
his daughter who persuades him to go home with her. She notices his uncouth appearance
and thinks that either he has stolen something, or he has escaped from jail.
● The peddler is scrubbed, bathed, given a haircut, a shave and a suit of old clothes of
the ironmaster. In the morning light, the iron master realizes he is mistaken and that he is
not the Captain. He wants to call the Sheriff. The peddler is agitated and breaks out that the
world is rattrap, and he too is sure to be caught in it. The ironmaster is amused but orders
him out. The compassionate Edla convinces her father that he should spend the Christmas
day with them.

48
● The peddler spends the whole of Christmas eve eating and sleeping. The next day at
church, Edla and her father come to know that the peddler is a thief who stole thirty kronor
from the poor crofter. Back home, they found a letter addressed to Edla, signed as Captain
Von Stahle and a rattrap as a gift from the crofter. In the rattrap were the three ten kronor
notes.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1
But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, which really seemed to him
entertaining. He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by
the idea that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities
and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than
to set baits for people.
1) Who has been referred to as ‘this man' in the above extract?
a) Vagabond b) Crofter c) Master Blacksmith d) Ironmaster
2) According to this man, the world included
a) Lands b) Seas c) Cities d) All the above
3) To what did this man equate the whole world?
a) Idea b) Cities and villages c) Nothing d) Rattrap
4) Find a word as used in the extract which is synonymous to 'decoys’.
5) From the given extract one can infer that this man was also a
a) Thief b) Painter c) Philosopher d) Guide
6) What kind of life did he lead?
Answer Key
1.Vagabond 2. All the above 3. Rattrap
4. Baits 5.Philosopher 6. Sad and monotonous

EXTRACT 2
Instead of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an old man without
wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. Immediately he put the
porridge pot on the fire and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his
tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his own. Finally , he got out
an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with his guest until bedtime.
1)What according to you would best describe reaction of the guest at the treatment
extended by the 'owner'?
a) Sour faces b) Deep sorrow c) Pleasant surprise d) Extreme anger
2) Which of the following was not an attribute of the owner?
a) Old man b) Without children c) Suffering from loneliness d) Short tempered
3) What according to the extract, was the most urging need of the owner?
a) Serve supper b) Smoke pipe c) Play cards d) Talk to somebody
4) Which word as used in the extract is synonymous to ‘piece’?
a) Porridge b) Supper c) Slice d) Mjolis
5) Why did Crofter show thirty kronor to the Peddler?
6) How did Crofter treat the Peddler?
Answer Key
1. Pleasant surprise 2. Short tempered 3. Talk to somebody
4. Slice 5. To assure his guest of the truth 6. In a friendly manner

49
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. How did the peddler earn his livelihood? What kind of life did he live?
Ans. The peddler earned his livelihood by selling small rattraps of wire, which he used to
make himself from the material got by begging in the stores or at big farms. But this was not
so profitable, so he had to beg or even to steal. He roamed about like a vagabond all alone.
He lived a sad and monotonous life with no one to welcome him.
2. How did the crofter treat the peddler and why?
Ans. The crofter was a lonely man whose wife had died, and children had left. He craved and
longed for human company to share his loneliness. He welcomed the peddler and offered
him porridge for supper and even his tobacco. He played cards with him. He even showed
him his earnings and let him know where it was kept.
3. Did the peddler respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter? Why/Why not?
Ans. No, the peddler did not respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter. He broke
his trust as the very next morning he returned when the crofter was away and stole the
thirty kronor. The evil in him forced him to do so. The circumstances – his poverty, loneliness
and rejection received from society had made him insensitive and sadistic.
4. What made the peddler accept Edla Willmanson's invitation?
Ans. Edla started sympathising with the vagabond understanding that he was going through
a hard time. She was compassionate and benevolent. Her manner was so friendly that the
vagabond felt confident. Despite knowing that he was hiding something, she insisted that he
could leave at his will after spending Christmas with them. Because of her friendly request
and sympathy, the peddler accepted her invitation.

INDIGO (by Louis Fischer)

GIST
The chapter “Indigo” authored by Louis Fischer, describes Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts to help
sharecroppers in Champaran, Bihar. These farmers were being exploited by British planters
who compelled them to grow indigo on part of their land and sell it at unfairly low prices.
Gandhi’s intervention helped organise protests and legal battles, leading to a significant
victory for the farmers. The story highlights the transformative impact of his leadership in
challenging injustice and bringing about meaningful change.

Key points:
* Gandhi's involvement in Champaran in 1917 marked a significant turning point in his life
and in India's struggle for independence. Initially approached by Rajkumar Shukla, a peasant
from Champaran, Gandhi was moved by the plight of the indigo sharecroppers oppressed by
British landlords.
* Despite facing resistance and intimidation from British officials, Gandhi embarked on a
mission to understand and address their grievances.
* He organized investigations, mobilized local support, and demonstrated civil disobedience
in defiance of unjust British orders. This led to widespread protests and eventually a
government inquiry that validated the peasants' claims.
* Through negotiations, Gandhi secured a partial refund for the sharecroppers, breaking the
deadlock and demonstrating the power of nonviolent resistance.

50
* Beyond political and economic reforms, Gandhi addressed social and cultural issues in
Champaran, advocating for education, sanitation, and healthcare improvements.
* His actions reflected a philosophy of self-reliance, insisting that Indians must take charge
of their own destiny rather than rely on external support.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1:
Gandhi’s lawyer friends thought it would be a good idea for Andrews to stay in
Champaran and help them. Andrews was willing if Gandhi agreed. But Gandhi was
vehemently opposed. He said, ‘‘You think that in this unequal fight it would be helpful if we
have an Englishman on our side. This shows the weakness of your heart. The cause is just
and you must rely upon yourselves to win the battle. You should not seek a prop in Mr.
Andrews because he happens to be an Englishman’’.
(1) Who was Mr. Andrews?
(a) An English lawyer (b) A high-ranking British officer
(c) An English pacifist (d) A British planter
(2) Gandhi’s words in the above extract reflect his vision of
(a) Non-violence (b) Civil disobedience
(c) Truth (d) Self-reliance
(3) Gandhiji did not want to take his English friend Mr. Andrews’ help because ______.
(4) The meaning of the word ‘vehemently’ in the above extract is
(a) In a strong and emotional way (b) In an indifferent and casual way
(c) In an arrogant and dominating way (d) In a thoughtless and careless way
(5) The ‘unequal fight’ here is
(a) the fight between Champaran sharecroppers and the British landlords.
(b) the disagreements between Gandhi and lawyers.
(c) the conflict between the judge and the lieutenant Governor.
(d) the fight between Champaran peasants and the judge.
(6) Find a word from the extract that means ‘support’.
Answer key:
1) c 2) d 3) He wanted farmers to be self-reliant 4) a 5) a 6) prop

EXTRACT 2
Several days later, Gandhi received a written communication from the magistrate informing
him that the Lieutenant-Governor of the province had ordered the case to be dropped. Civil
disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India.
Gandhi and the lawyers now proceeded to conduct a far -flung inquiry into the grievances of
the farmers.
(1) ‘The case’ referred in the above passage is the case charged against
(a) the British landlords for not returning money to farmers.
(b) Professor Malkani for harbouring Gandhi in his home.
(c) Gandhi for disobeying the commissioner’s order to leave Tirhut.
(d) Charles Freer Andrews for supporting Gandhi.
(2) Which among the following was not a part of the inquiry into the grievances of the
farmers?
(a) Collection of documentary evidences from farmers.
(b) Writing down the depositions by thousands of peasants.

51
(c) Collection of photographs and videos which depict the abuse to farmers.
(d) Preparation of notes on evidences given by farmers.
(3) What was the order passed by the lieutenant -governor?
(4) Civil disobedience triumphed for the first time in modern India in the year
(a) 1916 (b) 1917 (c) 1947 (d) 1918
(5) What does the passage suggest about the relationship between Gandhi and the legal
system during this incident?
A. Gandhi was respectful towards the magistrate's decisions.
B. Gandhi and the lawyers were frequently in conflict with the legal authorities.
C. Gandhi used legal channels to address social injustices.
D. Gandhi ignored legal procedures in favour of civil disobedience.
6) ‘Far-flung’ in the above passage means
a) brief b) systematically planned c) quick d) widespread

Answer key
1) c 2) c 3) that the case against Gandhiji to be dropped 4) b 5) c 6) d

EXTRACT 3
Gandhi protested against the delay. He read a statement pleading guilty. He was involved, he
told the court, in a “conflict of duties”— on the one hand, not to set a bad example as a
lawbreaker; on the other hand, to render the “humanitarian and national service” for which
he had come. He disregarded the order to leave, “not for want of respect for lawful
authority, but in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience.”
(1) Gandhi protested against the delay in
(a) trial at the court (b) grant of bail
(c) refund to farmers (d) setting up of inquiry commission
(2) Gandhi complied with
(a) law of the land (b) order of the commissioner
(c) his inner voice (d) the instruction of his lawyer friends
(3) “Humanitarian and national service” referred here is
(a) protest against the injustice meted out to tenant farmers in Champaran.
(b) opening of schools in Champaran.
(c) improving health conditions in Champaran.
(d) teaching the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation.
(4) The passage given above reflects Gandhi’s
(a) sincerity to people (b) integrity
(c) love for humanity (d) All the above
(5) Gandhiji dedicated his life to __________
(6) Find a word from the above extract which means ‘having a sense of right or wrong’.
Answers:
1) a 2) c 3) a 4) d 5) humanitarian and national service 6) conscience

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1. What was ‘conflict of duties’ in which Gandhi was involved? What did he choose?
Ans. The conflict of duties that Gandhi faced was that on the one hand he did not want to

52
be labelled as a lawbreaker and on the other hand, he wanted to listen to the voice of his
conscience and help the peasants of Champaran. He chose the higher law of his being, the
voice of his conscience.
Q2. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
Ans. The amount of refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had been
obliged to surrender part of the money, and with it, part of their prestige. The peasants saw
that they had rights and defenders. Moreover, he wanted to break the deadlock on the
percentage of refund between the landlords and the peasants.
Q3. Why did Gandhi oppose to Charles Freer Andrews helping him in Champaran?
Ans. Mr. Charles Freer Andrews was an Englishman and Gandhiji did not want his help. He
did not believe in seeking a prop in him. Since, the cause was good, he believed that their
victory was certain. He wanted that the lawyers must not take any help from an English man
as their fight was against the English. He wanted to teach the lesson of self-reliance to the
lawyers and peasants in Champaran.
Q4. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Ans. Ordinary people also contributed a lot to the freedom movement with utmost spirit. It
was Rajkumar Shukla, an ordinary peasant, who initiated Gandhi’s fight in Champaran.
Thousands of peasants demonstrated around the courthouse where Gandhi was
summoned, which made the British feel challenged and baffled. Professor J.B. Kripalani
along with a large body of students received Gandhi at Muzzafarpur railway station.
Thousands of sharecroppers from Champaran arrived on foot to see Gandhi. The lawyers of
the town called on Gandhi to brief him about the issue of sharecropping system.

POETS AND PANCAKES (by Asokamitran)

This is an account of the events and personalities in a film company, Gemini Studios, in the
early days of Indian cinema. It also shows poets and writers in a film company environment.
The lesson begins with Asokamitran's account of Gemini Studios and their extensive use of
the "Pancake” makeup brand. He describes the harsh conditions actors and actresses face,
including glaring lights and excessive makeup. The author works in a cubicle collecting
newspaper cuttings and listens to the office boy's complaints about Subbu, a resourceful and
loyal man who is vital to the studio. The story also covers the visit of the Moral Rearmament
Army and Stephen Spender, whose significance remained unclear until the author later
recognized his name in a book. The narrative provides insight into the film industry's inner
workings in early Independent India.

Important Points
• The Gemini studio was located in Madras (now Chennai).
• The writer recounts his years in the company.
• The make-up department was in the upstairs of a building that was believed to have been
Robert Clive’s stables.
• Pancake was the brand name of the make-up material used by the artists in Gemini
studios.
• The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon with incandescent lights at all
angles and around half a dozen large mirrors. The writer speaks about the ‘fiery misery’ ‘of
those subjected to make-up.

53
• There was a great deal of ‘national integration’ in the department and a strict hierarchy
was maintained there.
• The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the ‘office boy’ in his early
forties, a frustrated person, who turned all his anger towards Kothamanagalam Subbu.
• The author’s job was to cut out newspaper clippings and store them in files. Most people
including the ‘boy’ thought author was doing ‘next to nothing’.
• S. S. Vasan (editor of Tamil weekly ‘Ananada Vikatan’) was the owner of the studios. Subbu
was No.2.
• Subbu, a Brahmin, had the ability to look cheerful at all times, could be ‘inspired when
commanded’, was tailor-made for films, had a separate identity as a poet and actor, had
genuine love for others, was charitable, was always seen with ‘The Boss’, and associated
with the Story Department.
• Story Department- an assembly of poets and writers- wore khadi.
• A lawyer (legal adviser)- referred to as ‘the opposite’- caused the end of a brief and
brilliant career of a talented actress, looked ‘alone and helpless’, man of cold logic in a crowd
of dreamers, wore pants, coat and a tie, attached to Story Department, lost his job when the
Story Department was closed down.
• Gemini studios –favourite haunt of poets, excellent mess which supplied good coffee
• Congress rule meant prohibition, almost everyone radiated leisure, wore Khadi and
worshipped Gandhi, averse to Communism.
• Visit of MRA (a kind of counter movement to international Communism) in 1952-
presented two plays - ‘The Forgotten Factor’ and ‘Jotham Valley’ in a professional manner,
impressed Madras and Tamil drama community
• Another visitor-a poet from England, tall man, very English, addressed ‘a more dazed and
silent audience’, visit remained an unexplained mystery, staff did not know whether he was a
poet or an editor.
• Author’s conviction about prose-writers – ‘prose writing is for the patient, persistent,
persevering drudge’, short story contest by a British periodical ‘The Encounter’-found in the
British Council Library almost ‘untouched by readers’, discovered Stephen Spender was the
editor.
• Author bought ‘The God That Failed’ years later –six essays describing the disillusionment
of six eminent men of letters with Communism, Stephen Spender one among them, author
suddenly realized the relevance of his visit to Gemini studios.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1
A strict hierarchy was maintained in the makeup department. The chief makeup man made
the chief actors and actresses ugly, his senior assistant the ‘second’ hero and heroine, the
junior assistant the main comedian, and so forth. The players who played the crowd were the
responsibility of the office boy. (Even the makeup department of the Gemini Studios had an
‘office boy!) On the days when there was a crowd-shooting, you could see him mixing his
paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players.
1. What do you understand by ‘hierarchy’?
a. members/ participants of any organisation b. successor
c. surplusage d. paradox
Ans. a. members/ participants of any organisation
2. Whose responsibility was to make up the crowd?

54
A. The legal advisor B. office boy
C. actor D. V S Vasan
Ans. B. office boy
3. How does the passage illustrate the hierarchical structure of the makeup department at
Gemini Studios?
Ans. The passage illustrates the hierarchical structure of the makeup department at Gemini
Studios by detailing the specific roles assigned to each member based on their rank: the
chief makeup man handled the main actors, the senior assistant took care of the secondary
leads, the junior assistant managed the main comedian, and the office boy was responsible
for the crowd players.
4. What task did the office boy handle on days when there was a crowd-shooting?
Ans. On days when there was a crowd-shooting, the office boy mixed paint in a giant vessel
and applied it to the crowd players.
5. Tone the writer uses in the above extract is ____ _ _
Answer: Sarcastic
6. ‘The chief makeup man made the chief actors and actresses ugly’. What literary device is
used in the line?
Ans: Irony

EXTRACT 2
Gemini Studios was the favourite haunt of poets like S.D.S. Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyam,
Krishna Sastry and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya. It had an excellent mess which supplied
good coffee at all times of the day and for most part of the night. Those were the days when
Congress rule meant Prohibition and meeting over a cup of coffee was rather satisfying
entertainment. Barring the office boys and a couple of clerks, everybody else at the Studios
radiated leisure, a pre-requisite for poetry.
1. Why were the four poets mentioned above gathered at Gemini Studios?
a. It was a place for entertainment
b. It was an excellent place for discussion, and they felt relaxed gathering there.
c. It was a place for shooting films
d. It was a place where they can meet famous people
Ans. b. It was an excellent place for discussion, and they felt relaxed gathering there.
2. What was the use of mess at Gemini Studios?
a. Supplied coffee during the day
b. Supplied dosa
c. Supplied tea only
d. Supplied good coffee at all times
Ans. d. Supplied good coffee at all times
3. Why was leisure, a pre-requisite for poetry?
Ans. It is popularly believed that people who write poetry have a lot of free time/ Creative
thought requires leisure time.
4. Find a word from the passage that means ‘free time’.
Ans. Leisure
5. Which line tells us that Gemini Studios was the choiced place for poets?
Ans. Gemini Studios was the favourite haunt of poets.
6. Which word in the above extract means the opposite of ‘including’?
Ans. Barring

55
EXTRACT 3
And years later, when I was out of Gemini Studios and I had much time but not much money,
anything at a reduced price attracted my attention. On the footpath in front of the Madras
Mount Road Post Office, there was a pile of brand-new books for fifty paise each. Actually,
they were copies of the same book, an elegant paperback of American origin. ‘Special low-
priced student edition, in connection with the 50th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution’.
1. Where did the writer find new books?
a. Library near the Gemini Studios
b. On the footpath in front of the Madras Mount Road Post Office
c. Book shop near the footpath of Gemini Studios
d. Theatre where they all worked
Ans. b. On the footpath in front of the Madras Mount Road Post Office
2. What do you understand by ‘paper back’?
a. The hardbound cover of a book. b. Newspaper
c. Book with softcover d. Stack of papers
Ans. c. Book with softcover
3. Why were those books on the footpath so cheap?
Ans. They were the books, special low-priced student edition, in connection with the 50th
Anniversary of the Russian Revolution.
4. Find a word from the extract which means the opposite of ‘repulsed’.
Ans. Attracted
5. Why does the writer say, ‘he had much time not much money’?
Ans. Because he had left Gemini Studios and was not working anymore.
6. Name the book that is referred to as ‘copies of the same book’.
Ans. The God that failed.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
Ans: The make-up room of Gemini Studios looked like a hair cutting salon. It had around half
a dozen mirrors with incandescent lights at all angles around them. The artists would feel
the heat emanating from these lights. Thus, the writer uses the term ‘fiery misery’ to denote
the uncomfortable situation of those subjected to make-up.
2. How was the make-up room a fine example of national integration?
Ans: Transcending all the barriers of regions, religions and castes, people from all over India
came to Gemini Studios for jobs. The make-up department was headed by a Bengali,
succeeded by a Maharashtrian, assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madrasi,
Christian and an Anglo Burmese and the usual local Tamils. Hence, the writer finds in the
make-up department a perfect example of national integration.
3. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. Justify.
Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu may not have had much formal education but, by virtue of his
being born as a Brahmin, he had had exposure to many affluent situations and people. He
had the ability to look cheerful at all times, even after a setback. He was always full of
creative ideas. Above all, he was a charitable and extravagant man and hospitable to his
relations. His loyalty had put him close to his boss. But he seemed to others a sycophant and
a flatterer and, probably, that was the reason he had enemies.
4. Why did the magazine, ‘The Encounter’, ring a bell in the writer’s mind?

56
Ans: The writer wanted to participate in a short story writing contest organized by ‘The
Encounter’, a British publication. Before sending his entry, he waited, confirmed the
authenticity of the periodical, so he visited the British Council Library. When the author read
the editor’s name, a bell rang in his mind. It was Stephen Spender, the poet who had visited
the Gemini Studios.

THE INTERVIEW (by Christopher Sylvester)

GIST
‘The Interview’, written by Christopher Sylvester throws light on various aspects of interview
in the field of journalism. Interviews, invented over 130 years ago, have become a
commonplace in journalism. However, opinions on interview- of its functions, methods and
merits vary considerably. Part II is an extract from an interview of Umberto Eco, author of
the popular novel, ‘Name of the Rose’ by Mukund Padmanabhan from ‘The Hindu’. This
interview helps us know many aspects of his writing style and ideas. Though he gives the
impression of doing many things at a time, he says he is doing the same thing, pursuing his
philosophical interests through his writings and his novels. Through his modest answers, he
tells the secrets of his success. He utilizes the ‘Interstices’- empty spaces to his advantage.

PART I
● Interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Opinions on the functions, methods
and merits of Interview vary considerably.
● Some claim it to be in the highest form, a source of truth and in practice, an art.
● Some despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into people’s lives, which
diminishes their personality.
● S. Naipaul feels that ‘some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of
themselves.’
● Lewis Carroll never consented to be interviewed for he believed it to be ‘a just horror of
the interviewer’.
● Rudyard Kipling considered it ‘immoral, a crime, an assault that merits punishment’.
● H.G. Wells referred to interviewing as an ‘ordeal’.
● Saul Bellow describes it ‘like thumbprints on his windpipe’.
● Despite the drawbacks, interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
● Interviews are the most vivid impressions of our contemporaries, and the interviewer
holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.

PART II
● An extract from an interview of Umberto Eco interviewed by Mukund Padmanabhan.
● Umberto Eco was a professor with a formidable reputation as a scholar for his ideas on
Semiotics, literary interpretation and medieval aesthetics before he turned into writing
literary fiction. He attained intellectual superstardom with his publication “The Name of the
Rose”.
● In the interview Eco shares his idea of empty spaces in our lives just as they exist in an
atom, which he calls Interstices. He says that he makes use of these empty spaces to work.
● Eco’s essays were scholarly and narrative. He likes to be identified more as a university
professor who writes novels.

57
● Eco’s ‘The Name of the Rose’, a serious novel, which delves into metaphysics, theology and
medieval history, enjoyed a mass audience. It dealt with the medieval past. He feels that the
novel wouldn’t have been so well received had it been written ten years earlier or later.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1
Maybe I give the impression of doing many things. But in the end, I am convinced I am
always doing the same thing… And then I have a secret. Did you know what will happen if
you eliminate the empty spaces from the universe, eliminate the empty spaces in all the
atoms? The universe will become as big as my fist. Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in
our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator
and while you are coming up, I am waiting for you. This is an interstice, an empty space. I
work in empty spaces.

1. Read the questions given below. Imagine they were interjections raised by the interviewer
based on the above extract. Choose the option that correctly describes the given questions.
(i) If you are “always doing the same thing”, isn’t your work lacking in originality?
(ii) Could you elaborate on these larger ethical, philosophical interests that inform your
work?
(iii) All writing happens in empty spaces. In fact, why don’t I tell you all about my
experiences?

a) (i) is not relevant; (ii) is appropriate; and (iii) is unnecessary

b) (i) is appropriate; (ii) is repetitive; and (iii) is useful information
c) (i) is inappropriate; (ii) is relevant; and (iii) is not relevant
d) (i) is unnecessary; (ii) is intrusive; and (iii) is extrapolatory

2. Based on your reading of Part II of ‘The Interview’, which one of the following may NOT be
an appropriate title to the above extract?
a) The Empty Spaces of Umberto Eco
b) Big Exposé: Eco’s Secret Revealed!
c) “I am always doing the same thing”: Eco’s Echoes
d) Umberto Eco, Mr. Prolific!

3. “I work in empty spaces”. Choose the option that most accurately captures Eco’s idea of
empty spaces.
(i) management of time
(ii) organization of space
(iii) philosophical inclination
(iv) command of thought

a) Options (i) and (ii) b) Options (iii) and (iv)

c) Options (i) and (iii) d) Options (ii) and (iv)

4. What secret does Eco reveal in the above lines?

a) Removing empty spaces will reduce the size of the globe.

58
b) Reducing the size of the globe will give one less time.
c) He works in empty spaces.
d) Empty spaces are called interstices.
5. How are interstices used by the author himself?
6. Give a synonym of ‘remove’ from the passage.

ANSWERS:
1. c) (i) is inappropriate; (ii) is relevant; and (iii) is not relevant
2. b) Big Exposé: Eco’s Secret Revealed!
3. c) Options (i) and (iii)
4. c) He works in empty spaces.
5. he used it constructively to do his writing work
6. eliminate

EXTRACT 2
Saul Bellow, who has consented to be interviewed on several occasions, nevertheless once
described interviews as being like thumbprints on his windpipe. Yet despite the drawbacks of
the interview, it is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. “These days, more
than at any other time, our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through
interviews,” Denis Brian has written. “Almost everything of moment reaches us through one
man asking questions of another. Because of this, the interviewer holds a position of
unprecedented power and influence.”

1. How would you describe Denis Brian’s opinion on interviews? Choose the most
appropriate option.
(i) appeasing
(ii) utilitarian
(iii) approving
(iv) praising

a) Options (i) and (ii)

b) Options (iii) and (iv)
c) Options (ii) and (iii)
d) Options (i) and (iv)
2. According to Saul Bellow, interviews are like thumbprints on his windpipe. What emotion
might best describe such an image?
a) sadness b) frustration c) pain d) fear
3. Denis Brian states that the interviewer occupies a position of power and influence as
a) everything reaches us through one man asking questions of another.
b) the interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
c) our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews.
d) interviews are like thumbprints on the interviewee’s windpipe.
4. The use of the word “serviceable” implies that interviews are
a) significant. b) powerful. c) advanced. d) useful.
5. State any one drawback of interview based on the text.
6. Give a synonym of ‘impact’ from the passage.

59
ANSWERS:
1. c) Options (ii) and (iii)
2. c) pain
3. a) everything reaches us through one man asking questions of another.
4. d) useful.
5. Interviewer can force his way into the private lives of the people
6. influence

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. How can the importance of interviews be justified in modern journalism?
Ans: The interview is the most serviceable medium of communication today. It has become a
commonplace of journalism. We can know about celebrities through interview.
2. What are some of the positive points about an interview?
Ans: It is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. It provides a vivid impression
of our contemporaries. It equips one with the things related to life and progress.
3. How has Umberto Eco become popular among the public?
Ans: Umberto Eco's novels made him popular among the people in general. Ten to fifteen
million copies of the novel 'The Name of the Rose' were sold.
4. What are ‘Interstices’? How does Umberto Eco use them?
Ans. During the course of interview, Umberto Eco talks about ‘Interstices’ which actually
means empty spaces. He utilizes these in doing the creative work of writing. Citing an
example, he tells his interviewer that while waiting for his elevator to come up, he had
already written an article.
5. What is the position of the interviewer during the interview?
Ans. According to Denis Brian, the interviewer holds a position of ‘unprecedented power
and influence’. He holds the balance between the audience and the man who is being
interviewed. Almost everything of the celebrity reaches us through one man asking
questions of another.
6. ‘The Name of the Rose’ is a very ‘serious novel’. Yet it enjoyed a mass audience. Give
reasons for its popularity.
Ans. Umberto Eco’s famous novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ is a very ‘serious novel’ but it
enjoyed a mass audience. People like what is served to them. The novel’s setting in the
medieval past might have also contributed to its success. Its ‘timing’ was perfect. About 10
to 15 million copies of the novel were sold.

GOING PLACES (by A.R. Barton)

GIST
"Going Places" is a tale that delves into the world of teenagers, their vivid imaginations, and
their idolization of heroes. It's common for teenagers to indulge in incredible and fictional
fantasies, particularly about celebrities. The story revolves around a young girl, Sophie, who
dreams about meeting a famous footballer and fakes a story about this encounter. She
shares this made-up tale with her brother and father. This story explores the lives, dreams,
habits, and actions of teenagers, offering a glimpse into their unique experiences and
aspirations.

Important Points of the Lesson:

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(1) Two schoolgirls- Sophie and Jansie- talk about their future plans after school education.
(2) Sophie wants to have a 'boutique' but Jansie doubts it as it needed a huge amount of
money.
(3) Sophie has larger-than-life dreams and claims to find money by working as a manager, an
actress or a fashion designer.
(4) Jansie thinks that they (Sophie & she) are earmarked for a biscuit factory.
(5) Geoff, Sophie’s elder brother and an apprentice mechanic, a silent and realistic fellow by
nature, is in her complete trust.
(6) She confides in him her illusory meeting with Danny Casey, a young Irish football player.
(7) Her father does not like her make-believe world. He warns Sophie quite often to come
out of it and face reality.
(8) On Saturday, the family goes to watch United, in which Casey scores the second goal for
United.
(9) The family celebrates this in their own distinct manner.
(10) Sophie, under the delusion of meeting Danny Casey, derives immense pleasure from it.
(11) Gradually reality dawns on her.
(12) She is disappointed and is worried about her credibility.
(13) But refuses to accept the reality and is convinced that Danny and she understand the
situation. She continues to live in virtual reality.

MAJOR FEATURES:
Sophie Two School Girls Jansie

Daydreamer Realistic
Ambitious Practical
Lives in a make-believe world, fantasies Down-to-earth
Unhappy with her life, present station Gossip monger.

SOPHIE'S FAMILY
(1) Geoff --Elder Brother -- Apprentice mechanic- realistic and silent.
(2) Her father --a middle-class, poor man- dislikes her wild stories.
(3) Her mother- poor, exhausted, overburdened with responsibilities, no joy or
entertainment in life
(4) Derek-Her younger brother- more observant & realistic than his elder sister Sophie.

ISSUES RAISED
(1) Adolescent fantasising
(2) Hero-worshipping

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT -1
“She thinks money grows on trees, don’t she, Dad?’ said little Derek, hanging on the back of
his father’s chair.
Their mother sighed.

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Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered at the incongruity of the
delicate bow which fastened her apron strings. The delicate-seeming bow and the crooked
back. The evening had already blacked in the windows and the small room was steamy from
the stove and cluttered with the heavy-breathing man in his vest at the table and the dirty
washing piled up in the corner. Sophie felt a tightening in her throat. She went to look for
her brother Geoff.
1) Choose the correct option about Sophie’s parents based on the extract given above.
a) Sophie’s parents’ marriage was an example of harmony and affection.
b) Sophie’s relationship with her parents was warm and friendly.
c) Sophie’s mother was subdued while her father was detached.
d) Sophie and her brother didn’t like to stay with their parents.
2) Choose the option that supports the contention coming through Derek’s dialogue, “She
thinks money grows on trees, don’t she, Dad?”.
a) Derek thought his sister to be unreasonable at times.
b) Derek had no faith in Sophie’s abilities to open a boutique.
c) Derek thought of his sister as someone who was not realistic.
d) Derek was not at all happy about Sophie’s habit of day dreaming.
3) It could be inferred that Sophie’s mother was fatigued and burdened. Choose the option
listing the elements that form the basis of this inference.
1) her sigh
2) her delicate bow
3) her apron’s strings
4) her crooked back
a) 1, 2 b) 3, 4 c) 2, 3 d) 1, 4
4) “Sophie felt a tightening in her throat.” Pick the option that lists Sophie’s feelings in this
context.
1) anxious
2) annoyed
3) uneasy
4) terrified

a) Options 1 & 3 b) Options 2 & 3 c) Options 1 & 4 d) Options 2 & 4

5) Find the word which means the same as ‘inappropriate’.
6) Find the phrase which means the same as ‘a strong emotion of sorrow’.
Answers
1) C 2) C 3) D 4) A 5) Incongruity 6) Tightening in throat

EXTRACT - 2
On Saturday they made their weekly pilgrimage to watch United. Sophie and her father and
little Derek went down near the goal — Geoff, as always, went with his
mates higher up. United won two-nil and Casey drove in the second goal, a blend of
innocence and Irish genius, going round the two big defenders on the edge of the penalty
area, with her father screaming for him to pass, and beating the hesitant goalkeeper from a
dozen yards. Sophie glowed with pride. Afterwards Geoff was ecstatic.
1) Their visit to the match was like a ‘weekly pilgrimage’ refers to
a) strong bond as a family.
b) love for a fixed routine.

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c) similar feelings of devotion.
d) excitement for the match.
2) Based on the following statements, choose the correct option.
Assertion: “Geoff, as always, went with his mates higher up.”
Reason 1: Geoff was not very close to his family and lived in his own world.
Reason 2: Geoff was rude and indifferent towards everyone around him and didn’t care
about anyone at all.
a) Reason 1 and Reason 2 both can be inferred from the assertion.
b) Reason 1 can be inferred but Reason 2 cannot be inferred from the assertion.
c) Reason 1 cannot be inferred but Reason 2 can be inferred.
d) Reason 1 and Reason 2 both cannot be inferred.
3) ‘Sophie glowed with pride.’ Her pride is the result of
a) belonging to a region where everyone thought of Danny as a hero.
b) watching her father cheer and support Danny.
c) The information she gathered from her brother, about Danny.
d) being an avid fan and her sense of closeness with Danny.

4)
Choosetheoptionlistingthesituationinwhichonewouldbe‘ecstatic’.
Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4
Going to an oldage Being seatednext Going toa Cominghomeandfindingthatth
home andlistening to toyourfavourite dogshowandlosi ere are 11messages fromyour
themshare popsingerduringasho ngyourpet there. Principalin youremail
storiesfromthepast. rt flight. inbox.

a) Scenario 1 b) Scenario 2 c) Scenario 3 d) Scenario 4

5) Find the word which means the same as extremely happy.
6) Who in Sophie’s family didn’t go to watch football match?
Answers
1) D 2) D 3) B 4) B 5) Ecstatic 6) Her mother

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1) Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from having dreams?
Answer: Jansie and Sophie both belonged to poor families. They did not have any means to
fulfil their ambitions and dreams. Jansie had calmly accepted her fate. But Sophie was a very
ambitious girl. She had very unrealistic dreams and fantasies. Jansie knew that her friend
had to meet disappointment in the end. Therefore, she discouraged Sophie from having
dreams.
Q2) Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her meeting with Danny?
Answer: Sophie thought if Jansie came to know about her meeting with Danny, she would
tell everyone. Then thousands of people would come to her house. It would make her father
very angry. She thought that her father could then possibly murder her.
Q3) How did Sophie’s father react when Geoff told him about her meeting with Danny
Casey?

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Answer: Sophie’s father turned his head on his thick neck to look at her. His expression was
one of disdain. Sophie told him that Danny Casey was going to buy a shop. At this her father
muttered, “This is another of your wild stories. One of these days you’re going to talk
yourself into a load of trouble.” This shows that the old man knew his daughter very well.
Q4) Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her
perspective, what did he symbolise?
Answer: Sophie liked her brother because he symbolised freedom. He lived the life Sophie
dreamt of. Sophie thought Geoff lived in some exotic, interesting world.

FLAMINGO (POETRY)

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX (by Kamala Das)

Theme:
Death, Advancing Age, Mother Daughter relationship, Fear of Separation or Loss
Message: We should take care of our aged parents and learn to balance our duties and
responsibilities.
Rhyme Scheme
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” is written in free verse.

SYNOPSIS
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” begins in a story-like manner. Once, the poetic persona or the poet
herself headed towards Cochin to catch a flight. The place is also known as Kochi, situated in
Kerala. While she was on the way, driving the car, she suddenly looked at her mother’s face.
The old lady was sleepy, and she was dozing open-mouthed. Her face resembled that of any
aged person. The speaker could see some signs of pain on her face. It is natural; her only
daughter was leaving her behind.
Putting off the thoughts of her mother, she looked outside the car. The “young trees” rapidly
going behind (for the speed of her car) grabbed her attention. Children “spilled” out of their
homes happily to play. After that, the poet quickly shifts to the airport’s security checking
scene. She stood a few yards away from her mother and looked at her pale face. A chilling
sensation of fear concerning her mother’s imminent death made her numb. Nothing crossed
her mind, instead of the thought of her mother’s death. She struggled to utter a customary
goodbye to her amma. Then she put on a mask of a smile and left.
Mother-Daughter Relationship
Kamala Das also presents the theme of the mother-daughter relationship in “My Mother at
Sixty-Six.” This poem contains a daughter’s feelings for her ageing mother, who is standing
on the verge of death. The pale face of her old mother pains her deeply. She feels stranded
in this journey of life whenever the thought of her mother’s death crosses her mind. At the
moment of departure, when she looked at her mother, she was speechless to think that she
was going to die one day. She could not say anything instead of smiling by hiding her tears:
all I said was, see you soon, Amma,/ all I did was smile and smile and/ smile……”

Poetic Devices
1. Face ashen like a corpse - Simile (dull face of mother is compared with a dead body)
Wan, pale as a late winter's moon ~Simile
(Mother's Face is indicative of her declining health and approaching death and looks like the
hazy winter moon)

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2. Young Trees Sprinting - Personification
3. Merry children spilling out of their homes - Metaphor, Imagery
4. Smile and Smile and Smile - Repetition
(Desperate effort to hide her fear of losing her mother)
5. Contrast between the scenes outside the car
(Life and Energy) and inside the car (Death and Decay)

Main points
• Poetess travels back to Cochin airport with her mother in a car.
• Looks at the wan, pale face of her dozing mother.
• Her face has a dull, colorless appearance and reminds her of a corpse.
• Thought is very painful; realizes she is now an old woman and could be nearing death.
• Turns to look at sprinting trees outside; sees merry children running out of their homes.
• A welcome change from the gloomy thoughts that grip her.
• Reaches the airport, after the security check looks at the mother again.
• Sees her pale and aging face; is reminded of the winter moon with all the vitality and
brightness gone.
• Feels pained at being reminded of a childhood fear---had always been scared of losing her
mother one day.
• Does not want to show her agony and fear to her mother now.
• Tells her that she will see her soon and bids her goodbye with a bright smile.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

1. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.
“But after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon”
1.1) Mother’s face has been compared to
(a) full moon brightness (b) late winter’s moon and its paleness
(c) young children (d) young tree
Answer -:(b) late winter’s moon and its paleness
1.2) Why did the poet look at her mother again?
(a) to see if she was sleeping (b) to check if she was well
(c) to bid her goodbye (d) to say something to her
Answer -: (c) to bid her goodbye
1.3) What were the reasons for the mother’s pale face?
(a) mother’s old age (b) the poet’s deteriorating condition
(c) the mother’s illness (d) both (a) and (b)
Answer -: (a) mother's old age
1.4 Which figure of speech has been used in the lines “the young trees sprinting……”?
(a) Personification (b) Metaphor
(c) Simile (d) Alliteration
Answer -:(a) Personification
1.5 What does the narrative single-sentence style of the poem highlight?
(a) Poet’s feelings (b) Poet’s insecurities

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 (c) Poet’s thought (d) Poet’s intertwining thought and rush of emotions
Answer –: (d) Poet’s intertwining thought
1.6 Find the words from the extract which mean the same as ‘pallid.’
Answer –: wan and pale

2. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.
She was as old as she
looked but soon put that thought away, and
looked out at Young Trees sprinting,
the merry children spilling out of their homes,
2.1 Which poetic device is used here ‘She was as old as she looked’
(a) Metaphor (b) Simile (c) Alliteration (d) Repetition
Answer -: (b) Simile
2.2 What do the running trees signify?
(a) fast-moving appearance (b) speed of the moving car
(c) fast changes in human life from childhood to old age (d) none
Answer -: (a) fast-moving appearance
2.3 What is the significance of the title My Mother at Sixty-Six?
(a) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother (b) Poet’s fear of moving fast
(c) Poet’s inability to express her feelings (d) All of these
Answer -: (a) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother
2.4 Why are the trees described as sprinting?
(a) their running appearance and to show fast-moving change in human life
(b) to show their running appearance
(c) to tell how trees look from a speeding car
(d) to show the speed of the car
Answer -:(a) their running appearance and to show fast-moving change of human life
2.5 How is the imagery of ‘young trees and merry children’ a contrast to the mother?
(a) mother is old in comparison to the trees and children
(b) mother is like ash while the trees are green and the children are happy
(c) like spring and autumn season
(d) Mother’s health-hopelessness, and trees, merry children- youthfulness and hope
Answer -: (d)
2.6 Find the word from the extract which meansthe same as ‘running.’
Answer –: sprinting

3. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

“And felt that old

Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear
But all I said was see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile…”
3.1 What is the poet’s childhood fear?
(a) Mother’s illness (b) Mother’s growing old
(c) Fear of separation and losing her mother forever (d) All of the above
Answer: -(c) Fear of separation and losing her mother forever
3.2 Which word in the stanza means “to suffer from a continuous dull pain”?

66
 (a)wan (b)familiar (c)pale (d)ache
Answer -: (d) ache
3.3 Why did the poet say “See you soon, Amma”?
(a) bidding farewell (b) being hopeful to meet mother again
(c) to comfort her mother (d) None of the above
Answer-: (b) being hopeful to meet mother again
3.4 Why did the poet smile again and again?
(a) she was pretending to smile (b)trying to hide her fear from her mother
(c)to distract her mother (d)both (a) and (b)
Answer-: (d)both (a) and (b)
3.5 What does the expression ‘smile, smile and smile’ signify?
(a) the poet was going home and was elated (b) the poet was happy
(c) the poet was hopeless (d) the poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears
Answer -: poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears
3.6 Why did the poet only smile, smile and smile?
Answer:-to hide her fear of never seeing her mother again.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Why does Kamala Das compare her mother to a late winter’s moon?
The winter season is a traditional symbol of death, and the moon, especially if it is pale and
hazy, enhances the image of decay. The mother’s pale and colourless face, which has
become rather wrinkled due to old age, gives her such a look that the poet compares her
with ‘the late winter’s moon’.
2. What is the message of “My Mother at Sixty-Six”?
The message of this piece lies in the speaker's attitude toward her mother. Her departure
signifies that everyone has to leave their loved ones someday.
3. What childhood fear did Kamala Das refer to in the poem? How did she hide it?
Kamala Das’s childhood fear was being separated from her mother. She hid her fear behind a
smile.
4. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
To put away the thoughts of her ageing mother, she looked outside the car and tried to
rejuvenate her thoughts with the vitality of nature.
5. How does Kamala Das capture the complex subtleties of human relationships in
“My Mother at Sixty-Six”?
My Mother at Sixty-Six is an emotional poem that describes a daughter’s feelings towards
her mother. In it, the daughter expresses her concern over her mother’s ageing. Through the
lines of this poem, the poet has expressed her fear of losing her mother as a daughter.

KEEPING QUIET (by Pablo Neruda)

GIST
In this poem, the poet aims to appeal to the readers to take some time out of their busy
lives for a little introspection. The title, “Keeping Quiet”, is symbolic of stopping all activities
and keeping the mind quiet by not doing anything but questioning and understanding the
purpose of the world that humans have created around themselves. The poet talks about
the necessity of quiet introspection as it can develop a feeling of mutual understanding
among human beings.

67
The main themes of the poem Keeping Quiet are peace, fraternity, and unity. Throughout
the poem, the poet talks about the destruction caused by greed and selfishness. We are
destroying our environment, killing our brothers and hurting ourselves and while doing all
this, we never introspect ourselves and our actions. The solution to this is self-introspection.
If it is acted upon, it will be the first major step towards uniting people. Everyone should
look within and analyse what is wrong and who is the wrongdoer. This will cleanse every
heart and ennoble all people. Only by keeping quiet and stopping all destructive activities
can we find peace and tranquillity. The poem celebrates the necessity of introspection and
the advantage of doing nothing for some time. Silence creates a unique moment when all
differences are removed, and a feeling of brotherhood prevails.
Poetic Devices
Following literary devices/figures of speech have been used in the poem Keeping Quiet:
1. Alliteration: It is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. e.g. ―we
will
count, ―sudden strangeness, ―stop for one second, ―his hurt hands, ―clean clothes.
2. Anaphora: Two consecutive lines starting with the word, Let’s. let’s not speak in any
language, let’s stop for one second
3. Repetition: It is the repetition of phrases in the poem for poetic effect. e.g. ―without
rush,
without engines.
4. Symbolism: The poet uses various symbols in the poem. e.g. ―counting to twelve
symbolises time, ―Brothers symbolise mankind, ―green wars refer to deforestation/new
techniques of waging war, ―wars
with gas refers to pollution, ―clean clothes symbolise change of perspective, ―shade‖
symbolises protection etc.
5. Antithesis: It is the juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas. e.g., ―count to twelve
and
we will all keep still. Here counting and keeping still are contrasting activities and are put
together.
6. Personification: it is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human things and
animals. e.g., ―Earth can teach us.
7. Metaphor: It is used to make a comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do
have
something in common. e.g. ―shade refers to protection.
8. Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence to the next line/stanza. In the poem,
many
sentences continue to multiple lines. e.g.
i) ―Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.,
ii) ―For once on the face of the Earth let’s not speak in any language let‘s stop for one
second, and not move our arms so much.
iii) Perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death. etc.
9. Irony: When everything seems dead, later proves to be alive
10.Transferred epithet:A transferred epithet is when an epithet is transferred from the
thing it actually describes to something else in the sentence.

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'Fishermen in the cold sea' is a transferred epithet. Here, the poet refers to fishermen as
cold-hearted for damaging other species for their selfish needs. So, the word cold in fact
describes the fishermen and not the sea. Thus, it is an example of a transferred epithet.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands
‘i)Name the poetic device in ‘Cold sea’;
(a) personification (b) transferred epithet (c) metaphor (d)
alliteration
Answer: (b) transferred epithet
ii) What kind of a moment would it be when everyone is silent?
(a) terrible (b) painful (c) exotic (d) unforgettable
Answer: (c) exotic
iii While gathering salt, what will happen to the man if he keeps silent for a moment?
(a) he will stop dropping it (b) he will look at the ground
(c) he will walk carefully (d) he will think of the harm the salt is doing to his hands
Answer: (d) he will think of the harm the salt is doing to his hands
iv)What will happen if there are no engines and no crowd?
(a) noise will be lessened (b) no crowd on roads
(c) no traffic rush (d) it will create a perfect, happy moment
Answer: (d) it will create a perfect, happy moment
v) What does hurt hand refer to?
(a) Growing needs of the man (b) growing greed of man
(c) unfulfilled desires (d) growing insensitivity of man to pain
Answer: (d) growing insensitivity of man to pain
vi) Find the word from the extract which means the same as ‘unusual or strange’.
Answer: exotic

EXTRACT 2
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

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i)According to the poet wars that are fought leave behind no;
(a) soldiers (b) weapons (c) fighter planes (d) survivors
Answer: (d) survivors
ii)‘Have no truck with death’ means;
(a) will not die of the truck accident (b) remove poverty and illiteracy
(c) have no association or deal with death (d) will not drive a truck
Answer: (c) have no association or deal with death
iii)Where would they be walking?
(a) in the park (b) along the river (c) in the shade (d) on the road
Answer: (c) in the shade
iv)The types of wars the poet talks about are;
(a) green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire (b) verbal wars
(c) technological warfare (d) nuclear wars
Answer: (a) green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire
v)What symbol from nature does the poet use to prove that keeping quiet is not total
inactivity?
(a) Sun (b) Soil (c) Earth (d) Sky
Answer: (c) Earth
vi) What confusion does the poet try to clear here?
Answer: The poet makes it clear that his request should not be confused with total
inactivity. ‘Total inactivity’ would mean ‘death’ and he wants no association with death.

EXTRACT 3

Perhaps the Earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

i)Man needs to learn a lesson from

(a) moon (b) stars (c) earth (d) sun
Answer: (c) earth
ii)What can human beings learn from nature?
(a) beauty (b) keeping quiet (c) to be happy (d) working with silence
Answer: (d) working with silence
iii)What is always alive even when everything seems to be dead or still?
(a) mountains (b) rivers (c) Sun (d) Earth and nature
Answer: (d) Earth and nature
iv)What does number 12 represent?
(a) hours of the day and months of a year (b) earth
(c) clock (d) cricket players
Answer: (a) hours of the day and months of the year
v)How will keeping quiet protect our environment?
(a) by creating peace and brotherhood feelings (b) no noise will be there
(c) people will not fight (d) none
Answer: (a) by creating peace and brotherhood feelings

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vi) What can we learn from the earth?
Answer: We can learn to progress or develop silently without any destruction.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:
Q.1 Why does Pablo Neruda urge us to keep still?
Ans. Pablo Neruda considers that indecent haste and activities lead humanity to wars,
violence, and death. He urges us to keep still and enjoy moments of peace, rest, and
tranquillity. Sometimes, keeping still gives us the much-needed respite.
Q.2 How can suspension of activities help?
Ans. Man's indecent haste has already caused many problems. His activities have only given
birth to chaos, war, violence, and miseries. Suspension of human activities can help restore
the environment and health of this world. Suspension of undue haste and rush can help
bring peace and tranquillity to the troubled world.
Q.3 How is 'stillness' not equal to total inactivity? Why does Neruda say: 'I want no truck
with death’?
Ans. The Earth can teach us an important lesson. The earth is never dead. When everything
seems to be dead, it remains still alive. 'Stillness' shouldn't be confused with 'total
inactivity'. Life goes on as usual. The poet doesn't advocate for total inactivity and has no
association with death.
Q.4 Do you think the poet Pablo Neruda advocates total inactivity and death? Why/Why
not?
Ans. No, the poet Pablo Neruda does not advocate total inactivity and death. He wants to
give mankind an opportunity of quiet introspection to know and realise how he has been
harming himself and others. He makes it clear that stillness should not be confused with
inactivity. Stillness means halting harmful human activities. He also wants mankind to
understand that life sprouts out of seemingly dead surroundings.
Q5. Which images in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ show the poet condemns violence?
The images of fishermen not harming the whales in the sea and wars leaving behind no
survivors to celebrate the victory show that the poet condemns violence. The poet wants
the warmongers to change their bloodstained clothes to clean ones. The poet’s refusal to
have any association with or deal with death also shows that he is not in favour of any form
of violence.
A THING OF BEAUTY (byJohnKeats)
THEME: Nature is an endless treasure of beauty and a perpetual source of joy Main Points:
 Based on a Greek legend, the poem is an excerpt from ‘Endymion.’
 According to the poet, a beautiful thing is a constant source of joy. Its loveliness only
increases.
 It gives sweet dreams and peaceful sleep, fine breathing and good health. Hence, it is
a boon to all.
 We are surrounded by jealousy and disappointment.
 The ignoble qualities make our lives gloomy and miserable, resulting ins uffering and
pain.
• A thing of beauty removes the gloom (sadness) from our spirits.
• The sight of nature, such as clear streams of water, daffodils (a flower), musk-rose and
forest thickets - makes our lives sweet, soothing and happy.
• This beauty is also experienced in the grandeur of the dooms that we have imagined for our
powerful dead forefathers - Doom refers to the ruins of the great deeds of legendary heroes.
• Lovelier than lovely tales, the incessant beauty of nature is pouring unto us like an immortal

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drink through an endless fountain from heaven. This means that nature’s beauty acts as an
elixir for humanity.
Major Features:
Rhyme Scheme: aa bb cc
Alliteration: Noble Nature, Some shape, cooling covert, Band to bind
Metaphor: Heaven’s brink, Bower quiet, Sweet dreams, Flowery band, Unhealthy and over
darkened ways, The pall, Dark spirits, Endless fountain of immortal drink.
Transferred Epithet: Unhealthy and over-darkened ways, Gloomy days
Personification: Some shape of beauty removes the pall
Images: Bower, fountain

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS:

Extract 1:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

1. Explain how Keats uses imagery and language in this extract to convey the
eternal quality of beauty.
Ans. In the extract from John Keats' poem "A Thing of Beauty," he employs vivid
imagery and eloquent language to convey the eternal quality of beauty and to convey
the idea that beauty transcends time and impermanence, offering perpetual delight,
tranquility, and spiritual nourishment to those who experience it.
2. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
A. Beauty is supreme
B. Beauty leaves a lasting impact
C. Beauty is temporary
D. Everyone likes to enjoy it
Ans. B. Beauty leaves a lasting impact
3. What can a quiet bower give man?
A. Good health
B. Quiet breathing
C. Good sleep
D. All of the above
Ans. D. All of the above
4. Which figure of speech is used in the lines?
Ans. Metaphor
5. The rhyme scheme of the above lines is _________
Ans. aabb
6. Mention one good effect of a quiet bower on us.
Ans. Sleep/sweet dreams/health/quiet breathing.

Extract 2:
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

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Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall.

1. Analyze the symbolism of the "flowery band" mentioned in this extract and its
significance in the context of the poem.
Ans. The "flowery band" in Keats' poem symbolizes a profound connection with
nature's beauty, offering solace, renewal, and enduring joy in the face of life's
challenges. It reinforces the poem's central theme of the eternal nature of beauty and
its vital role in human existence.
2. Pick the option that enumerates what ‘noble natures’ would include:
1. Selflessness
2. Insensitivity
3. Enthusiasm
4. Aggression
5. Meticulousness
6. Judiciousness
A. 1, 4 and 5
B. 2, 3 and 6
C. 2, 4 and 5
D. 1, 3 and 6
Ans. D. 1, 3 and 6
3. Based on the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the statements
given below:
Statement 1: The earth without the beautiful things is full of despair and
unpleasantness.
Statement 2: The ornate band created by human beings ushers hope in their lives.
A. Statement 1 is true, but Statement 2 is false.
B. Statement 2 is true, but Statement 1 is false.
C. Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
D. Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
Ans. C. Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
4. Give the rhyming scheme of the above lines:
Ans. aabbcc
5. What casts a pall over the human soul?
Ans. Despondence/lack of noble nature/gloomy days/unhealthy and over-
darkened ways.
6. Which word in the extract is the opposite of ‘plenty’?
Ans. Dearth

Extract 3:
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from heaven’s brink.

1. What are 'mighty dead' in the poem?

A. Nature

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 B. Nectar
C. Worthy ancestors
D. Trees
Ans. C. Worthy ancestors
2. Pick the words from the poem which mean ‘stories of magnificence’.
A. Immortal drink
B. Tales of grandeur
C. Heaven’s brink
D. Endless fountain
Ans. B. Tales of grandeur
3. Pick the option that refers to what ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’
suggests:
1. Inspirational deeds of great men
2. A ceaseless series of dreams
3. An infinite source of strength
4. An elixir of life for upliftment of the soul
5. An eternal source of delight
6. A boundless gift of love
A. 1, 4 and 5
B. 2, 3 and 5
C. 1, 2 and 6
D. 2, 4 and 6
Ans. A. 1, 4 and 5
4. What poetic device is used in ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’?
Ans. Imagery/Metaphor
5. Who are referred to as ‘mighty dead’ in the above lines?
Ans. Great men like writers, inventors, warriors, etc.
6. The rhyme scheme of the above extract is ________
Ans. aabbcc

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. What rich bounty has the heaven given us?

Ans. Heaven is the source of an endless fountain that keeps pouring on us the elixir of
life, which brings infinite pleasure and divine influence. It keeps motivating those
who have read or heard about the heroic tales of the mighty dead.
2. How does Keats depict the miseries and suffering of the world?
Ans. In the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty,’ Keats highlights some causes of human
suffering, such as hopelessness, sadness, and a lack of noble ways. If we follow
unhealthy and wicked paths in life, this will harm us. These paths or circumstances
cause misery and suffering in the world.
3. How do we get joy from a life otherwise full of sorrows?
Ans. The lives of human beings are full of sorrows due to disappointments and
frustrations. But the beautiful objects of nature give us eternal joy. Nature heals our
wounded souls and fills us with hope and optimism.
4. In "A Thing of Beauty," how does John Keats describe the impact of beautiful
things on human life and emotions? Provide specific examples from the poem to
support your answer.

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 Ans. In "A Thing of Beauty," John Keats describes the impact of beautiful things on
human life and emotions as profoundly uplifting and comforting. He asserts that
beautiful things bring joy and solace, helping to alleviate sorrow and despair. Keats
writes that a beautiful thing is a "joy forever," indicating that its loveliness inspires
and brings happiness long after the initial encounter.

A ROADSIDE STAND (by Robert Frost)

GIST
The poem “A Roadside Stand”, composed by Robert Frost, is about a farmer who puts a little
new shed in front of his house on the edge of a road. Several thousands of cars speed past it.
He wants to sell wild berries, squash, and other products. He does not like charity. He tries
to sell his products for money. He believes that money can improve his lifestyle, as seen in
the movies. However, his hopes are never fulfilled. People in cars go past without a cursory
look at his stall. And if few of them happen to look at it, they see how the letters N and S had
been turned wrong. They believe that such badly painted signs spoil the beauty of the
countryside. Nevertheless, a few cars did stop. One of them desired to take a U-turn. It came
into the farmer’s yard and spoiled the grass. Another car stopped to know the way. And one
of them stopped as it needed petrol, though it was quite evident that the farmer did not sell
petrol. The poor village people had little earnings. They have not seen much money. They
lead a life of poverty. It is known that some good-doers plan to remove their poverty. They
aimed to buy their property on the roadside to build theatres and stores. They plan to shift
the villagers into the village, which is huddled together. They wished to teach them the ways
that could change their life. They even aimed to teach them to sleep during day time. The
‘greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’ desired to force the benefits on the poor
village people and befool them.
KEY POINTS
● Roadside stands are crude constructions by the roadside, selling petty things to the
commuters.
● The poet speaks of a shed, which was constructed by the roadside, as an extension of
an old house. It stood beside a road on which traffic sped at great speed.
● The seller, sitting at the roadside stand, expected some sympathy from the traffic. He
did not beg for a loaf of bread but for some hard cash which could support his poor life.
● The traffic sped with a single-minded focus on some destination which lay ahead.
● The traffic never stopped to express any interest in the items displayed for sale.
● At times, a vehicle would stop at the roadside stand, and the prospective customer
would only express disgust at the way the sign boards mar the beauty of the countryside.
● The stand offered wild berries and golden squash for sale.
● At times, the commuters behave in a mean manner toward the sellers.
● The sellers say that they don’t like to promote their business at the cost of
humiliation.
● They explain that they have set up their stand conveniently from the city.
● They expect only to get some cash to expand their lives and enable them to aspire to
the phenomenal life depicted in films.
● A piece of news claims these people are expected to be rehabilitated.
● They are to be accommodated near the theatre and the store in the city.
● The rehabilitators claim that these poor people do not have to think for themselves
any more.

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● The industrial routine will teach them to sleep all day and destroy their sleep all
night.
● The poet experiences tremendous pain, looking at the awesome expectations of the
sellers.
● They sit at their window, looking out with expectant air for some prospective
customers.
● At times a car would stop only to inquire what the prices of the things are.
● Another would stop to turn his car around or to ask for directions.
● Sometimes, a stray traveller would stop to ask for a gallon of fuel.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
1. The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.’
1.1. Why was the roadside stand built?
a) To attract travellers with the aim of winning some city money
b) To make a shop to earn money
c) To make a bus stop for travellers
d) To mar the beauty of the place
1.2. Who is the poet of ‘A Roadside Stand’?
a) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
b) Robert Frost
c) Lord Byron
d) Percy Shelley
1.3 Who made the roadside stand and where?
1.4 What is a roadside stand in the poem?
(a) A bus stop
(b) A waiting point
(c) A shed outside a roadside old house
(d) A shed for protection from rain
1.5 How do city people harm the poor rural folk?
a) by misguiding and depriving them of their sleep
b) by attracting them by giving them money
c) by making false promises
d) by destroying their shops
1.6 What is the poetic device used in the third line?

Answers
1.1 a) To attract travellers to win some city money
1.2 b) Robert Frost
1.3 The poor rural people made it in the village
1.4 c) A shed outside a roadside old house

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1.5 c) by making false promises
1.6 Personification

2. The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,

Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
2.1 What does ‘polished traffic’ refer to?
(a) City people who dress up smartly
(b) Smartness of city people
(c) rich city people
(d) None
2.2 Explain the poetic device in ‘The polished traffic’.
a) Metaphor
b) Transferred epithet
c) Irony
d) Imagery

2.3 What are the N and S signs?

a) For guiding traffic
b) For No-parking and Silent zone
c) For showing the directions
d) Abbreviations for shed owners’ shop
2.4 . Who are the greedy doers in the poem?
a) The Villagers
b) The ruling party
c) The Policemen
d) None of the above

2.5 What do you believe is the poet’s true concern?

2.6 What was being sold on the roadside stand?
Answers
2.1 c) Rich city people
2.2 b) Transferred epithet
2.3 c) For showing the directions
2.4 b) The ruling party
2.5 The poet shows more concern for the sadness of the shed-owners than he does for the
landscape blemish.
2.6 Wild berries and crook-necked golden squash with silver warts and similar other
products.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1) What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Answer: The people who had put up the roadside stand did not ask for charity. They wanted
the cars to stop and buy something with cash. They pleaded that somebody stopped there
to buy their products.

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2) Why are those cars named as ‘selfish’?
Answer: Cars (vehicles) continuously pass through that road but out of those thousands of
cars, not a single car stops there even to inquire about the prices of the products of the
farmers.
3) Explain: “soothe them out of their wits” with reference to the poem 'The Roadside Stand’.
Answer: The powerful men approach the country folk with false promises of providing them
with better living conditions and a better life. These innocent and simple rustics repose blind
faith in their false claims and feel soothed and satisfied. They fail to see through their
crookedness and selfishness.
4) What news in the poem ‘The Roadside Stand’ is making rounds in the village?
Answer: The news making rounds is about the resettlement of the poor, rural people who
will be resettled in the villages next to the theatre and the store. They would be close to the
cities and no longer have to worry about themselves.

AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGERS (by Adrienne Rich)

GIST
The poet expresses the inner feelings of a woman – Aunt Jennifer. The aunt embroiders a
motif comprising energetic, fearless tigers moving freely around the bright greenery. She is
living a life of submissiveness to her husband’s command. He dominates her life, and she
fears him constantly. This pattern of the free and fearless tigers reflects her inner desire to
live a free and fearless life. The tigers are graceful, elegant, and bright. Aunt Jennifer’s
fingers tremble as she embroiders. She does not enjoy the freedom to do anything as she
wishes. She is scared of doing the embroidery, too, and fears his wrath. Since the day she got
married, she has been fulfilling the demands of her husband. The wedding ring on her hand
is a constant reminder that she belongs to her husband. The burden of the demanding
marriage has exhausted her. The torment will not end until her death. Even after her death,
the ring will remain on her hand, and she will never be free. On the other hand, the tigers
that she is embroidering will continue to move around freely forever. Her desire for freedom
and fearlessness will live on through her tigers
Points to Remember
● Aunt Jennifer's tigers symbolize the spirit of freedom which she herself is bereft of.
● The tigers are the dwellers of the green forest and are fearless and ferocious. This is
in stark contrast to the suppressed womanhood in Aunt's personality.
● Uncle made her life very burdensome; the expression 'massive weight of uncle's
wedding band' symbolizes male dominance.
● 'Ringed' refers to the confines, constraints, and demands of marriage that bind a
woman, within the vicious grip of her unhappy married life.
● Even after her death she would feel terrified by the trauma she faced due to her
dominating husband /male-dominated society.
● Aunt Jennifer's tigers will survive even after her death. The tigers she knitted on the
panel will remain fearless, brave, and majestic.
● The aunt herself will remain alive through her art.
POETIC DEVICES
Alliteration- ‘fingers fluttering’, ‘prancing proud’,
Imagery- bright topaz denizens
Symbolism-Tigers-freedom of spirit

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Anaphora: use of the same word in two consecutive lines (they do not … and they pace in…)
Metaphor: Use of topaz to describe the yellow colour of tigers (Bright topaz)

SYMBOLS
•Tigers: are fearless, bold, courageous and confident. They are a reflection of Aunt Jennifer's
inner self.
•Ring & Uncle's wedding band: shows the power of her husband on her, bondage, and the
burden of marriage. The band has become metaphorically too heavy to break for Aunt
Jennifer.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

1. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

(i) How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers described?

(ii) Why are they described as denizens of a world of green?
(iii) Name the poetic device used in the second line.
a. personification
b. metaphor
c. simile
d. imagery
(iv) Pick out the synonym used for fearless in the above lines
a. denizen
b. prance
c. sleek
d. chivalric
(v) The rhyming scheme of the above passage is
a. aabc
b. aabb
c. aaab
d. bbab
(vi) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are
a. the real tigers of the forest
b. Aunt’s work of embroidery
c. Painted tigers
d. Her imaginary tigers
Answer:
(i) Fearless, sleek, courageous
(ii) They live fearlessly in the forests
(iii) Metaphor
(iv) Chivalric
(v) aabb
(vi) Aunt’s work of embroidery

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 2. When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

(i)Read the statement given below:

Aunt Jennifer’s plight is best explained by her hands, they hold both her freedom and the
instrument of her imprisonment.
Choose the option that best explains the above statement, as per the extract.
a) Aunt Jennifer’s hands are terrified, but when she is dead, her tigers will roam free.
b) Aunt Jennifer knits her desires but is overpowered by the wedding ring she wears.
c) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are proud and unafraid, but she is mastered by ringed ordeals.
d) Aunt Jennifer makes panels of tigers when she has time from her responsibilities.

(ii) Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the given extract?
a) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will keep her alive in everyone’s memory.
b) Aunt Jennifer feels oppressed and constricted in her marriage.
c) Even in death, Aunt Jennifer cannot escape patriarchal subjugation.
d) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance as a lasting symbol of her desires.

(iii) What makes the tigers “proud and unafraid”?

a) They embody the grandeur and supremacy of animals in the wild.
b) They symbolise authority and are ‘topaz denizens of green’.
c) They represent Aunt’s repressed desires for freedom and power.
d) They are a product of Aunt’s imagination and colonial experience.

(iv) Choose the option that DOES NOT reflect the movement implied by ‘prancing’.
a) bounding
b) frolicking
c) strutting
d) shuffling

(v) Why are her fingers fluttering?

(vi) What is the difference between her and the tigers?
Answer:
i) b) Aunt Jennifer knits her desires but is overpowered by the wedding ring she wears.
ii) a) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will keep her alive in everyone’s memory.
iii) a) They embody the grandeur and supremacy of animals in the wild.
iv) b) Frolicking
v) She is nervous
vi) She is timid and weak whereas tigers are fearless and strong

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?

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Ans. The word ‘denizens’ means that they are proud of their home, they feel safe there and
have a feeling of belonging attached to it. The word ‘chivalric’ shows that they have a
majestic and worthy position like knights.
2. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’?
Ans. Her hands are fluttering, probably because she is scared of her husband, who could
come anytime and scold her for sitting idly and wasting her time doing embroidery.
3. What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band?
Ans. The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band suggests symbolically that the bindings
and obligations of her marriage are so much that they have put a lot of burden and stress on
her.
4. What kind of ordeals is Aunt Jennifer surrounded by?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer is haunted and surrounded by the ordeals of her married life. The old
memories of her married life don't give her any solace or happiness. On the other hand, her
'terrified hands' only 'ringed' with ordeals that were given by her unhappy married life. The
unbearable and 'massive weight of Uncle's wedding band' made her fingers tremble and
shake.
5. Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer chose to embroider tigers on the panel because of their traits. They
symbolize strength and splendour, which is in sharp contrast to her own meek nature. The
massive weight of the wedding band that sits heavily on her finger symbolizes the ordeals
and hardships of her married life, so she creates tigers as they are a striking contrast to the
frail, meek, and dependent lady who created them.
6.Aunt Jennifer’s efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
Answer: Although Aunt Jennifer tried her best to conquer her fear, she continued to be
traumatized and oppressed by her husband. Her act of embroidering fearless, prancing
tigers could only temporarily release her pent-up feelings of seeking liberation from her
husband's dominance.

VISTAS

THE THIRD LEVEL (by Jack Finney)

GIST
The Third Level by Jack Finney is an interesting story that is set after the world wars.
Consequently, life was full of fear, insecurity, war & worry. This story talks about the figments
of imagination that can be used to escape from reality. It takes readers back to a time of joy
and peace. Charley, the protagonist, wants to escape from the harsh realities of the modern
world and imagines the world of the 19th century, where people were living a peaceful life
and had ample time for themselves. The story weaves together the psychological journey of
the narrator into the past, and present and progresses towards the future.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT -1

Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors and
staircases like roots. There’s probably a long tunnel that nobody knows about feeling its way
under the city right now, on its way to Times Square, and maybe another to Central Park.

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And maybe — because for so many people through the years, Grand Central has been an
exit, a way of escape — maybe that’s how the tunnel I got into... But I never told my
psychiatrist friend about that idea.

1) Charley decided not to tell his psychiatrist friend about his idea. Choose the option
that reflects the reaction Charley anticipated from his friend.
a) “That’s such a lovely comparison. Why don’t you become a writer, Charley?”
b) “Oh Charley. It is so sad to see your desperation to run away! So very sad.”
c) “Maybe that’s how you entered the third level. Who would have thought?!”
d) “You need help, my raving friend. You are way too invested in this crazy thought!”

2)
Look at the given image that lists some of
the ways in which the symbolism of a tree is
employed.
Which of the following would represent an
example as used by Charley in the above
extract?

a) ‘Stay grounded’ as the train station is underground.

b) ‘Connect with your roots’ as he desires to go back to his past.
c) ‘Enjoy the view’ as the station leads to all the tourist sights of the city.
d) ‘Keep growing’ as the station keeps renovating and expanding.

3)The idiom ‘feeling its way’ implies__________ movement.

a) swift
b) tentative
c) circular
d) disorganised

4)Name the literary device used in ‘growing like a tree’

Answers
1) D 2) D 3) B 4) Simile

EXTRACT – 2
Yes, I’ve taken the obvious step: I talked to a psychiatrist friend of mine, among others. I told
him about the third level at Grand Central Station and he said it was a waking dream wish
fulfillment. He said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of mad, but he explained that he
meant the modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it and that I
just want to escape.
1. Why did the narrator go to a psychiatrist?

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 2. What is ‘Waking dream wish fulfilment’ according to the psychiatrist in the lesson?
(a) Charley's finding of a Third Level at Grand Central Station
(b) Charley’s realisation of his wish to visit Galesburg, Illinois
(c) Charley’s Stamp collecting hobby
(d) All of the above
3. Select the option that signifies the condition of people of the ‘modern world’ mentioned
in the extract
1. Anxious
2. Overenthusiastic
3. Afraid
4. Nostalgic
5. Regretful
(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 and 5
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 4 and 5
4. Why did Sam’s explanation make Charley’s wife ‘mad’?
(a) It seemed to her that she was not a good wife to Charley.
(b) It seemed to suggest to her that the cause of Charley’s unhappiness was their marriage.
(c) It made her aware of Charley’s bad habits.
(d) It offended her that Sam was assuming things.
Answer key
1) Because he experienced something unusual 2) a 3) a 4) a
Short Answer Questions:
Q1. What was Sam’s answer to Charley’s dilemma?
Ans. Charley met his psychiatrist friend Sam and told him about this experience at the third
level. The psychiatrist interpreted it as a mental disorder. Indicating his hobby of stamp
collection and this sort of experience, the psychiatrist explained his abnormality to be
escaping from the struggles of life by fantasizing.
Q2. How did Charley ascertain that he had reached the 1894 world?
Ans. The World was a popular newspaper that stopped publishing before 1894. Having
reached the third level of Grand Central Station, Charley noticed ‘The World’ and the date
June 11, 1894, and confirmed that he was back in 1894. This was confirmed when he saw
‘The World’. The lead story said something about President Cleveland, and it was printed on
June 11, 1894.
Q3. Describe Galesburg, as it existed in the year 1894.
Ans. Galesburg was a wonderful town with big old frame houses, huge lawns, and
tremendous trees whose branches met overhead and roofed over the streets. In 1894,
summer evenings were twice as long, and people sat on their lawns, the men smoking.
Q4. Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Ans: The fears, anxieties, and insecurities of the modern world are taking a toll on man’s
mind. He feels helpless and frustrated and seeks temporary respite from life’s harsh realities.
Charley, too, was unable to cope with his fast-paced and stressful life, so his flight to the
third level was undoubtedly a medium of escape for him.

THE TIGER KING (by Kalki)

GIST-

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The 'Tiger King' by Kalki Krishnamurthy is a cautionary tale set in the fictional kingdom of
Pratibandapuram. It focuses on the life and obsessions of its ruler, Maharaja Jung Jung
Bahadur, who becomes obsessed with hunting tigers due to an astrologer's prophecy. The
Maharaja perseveres and kills 99 tigers, celebrating triumphantly when he hunts down the
100th tiger. However, the unexpected twist comes when he dies from a simple injury caused
by a wooden toy tiger, fulfilling the prophecy in an unexpected way. This twist in the story
serves as a cautionary tale, warning us about the consequences of unchecked obsession and
the dangers of blind faith in predictions.

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EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT 1
From that day onwards, it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting
Pratibandapuram. The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A
proclamation was issued to the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a
tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated.
The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred
tigers. Initially, the king seemed well set to realise his ambition. Not that he faced no
dangers. There were times when the bullet missed its mark, the tiger leapt upon him and he
fought the beast with his bare hands. Each time it was the Maharaja who won.

(1) The tone of the author when he says, ‘it was celebration time for all tigers’ is_______
(2) Pick the pair of TRUE statements based on the extract.
1). Tiger hunting was absolutely banned in the kingdom.
2). The Maharaja was extremely courageous and fearless.
3). The Maharaja paid no heed to matters related to his kingdom.
4). The Maharaja was able to fulfil his ambition without any perils.
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 4
c) 2 and 3
d) 1 and 4
(3) Which of the following options can the underlined words NOT be replaced
with ‘proclamation’?
a) The politician shared his manifesto during the election meeting.
b) All the citizens of the kingdom had to abide by the emperor’s edict.
c) The communique made by the official had a disastrous effect.
d) The decree of the state forbade cruelty against animals.
(4) On the basis of this passage, pick the option that enumerates the
characteristics of the king.
1. gullible
2. arrogant
3. wilful
4. aggressive
5. apathetic
6. scrupulous
a) 1, 2 and 6
b) 3, 4 and 6
c) 3, 5 and 6
d) 2, 3 and 5
Answers
1) Sarcastic 2) c 3) a 4) d

EXTRACT 2

At midnight when the town slept in peace, the dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger
into the car and shoved it into the seat. The dewan himself drove the car straight to the

85
forest where the Maharaja was hunting. When they reached the forest, the tiger launched
its satyagraha and refused to get out of the car. The dewan was thoroughly exhausted in his
efforts to haul the beast out of the car and push it down to the ground. On the following day,
the same old tiger wandered into the Maharaja’s presence and stood as if in humble
supplication, “Master, what do you command of me?” It was with boundless joy that the
Maharaja took careful aim at the beast. The tiger fell into a crumpled heap.
(1) Pick the option that uses the same figure of speech as ‘town slept in peace’.
a) His actions really flared up my temper, so I walked out.
b) She is going through a rollercoaster of emotions.
c) My alarm clock yells at me every morning until I get out of bed.
d) The children were screaming and shouting in the fields.
(2) Pick the option that best describes the dewan’s attitude.
1. desperate
2. submissive
3. servile
4. dishonourable
5.detestable
6. flattering
a) 2, 3 and 6
b) 1, 4 and 5
c) 2, 4 and 6
d) 1, 3 and 5
(3) Which of the following is NOT an example of ‘satyagraha’?
a) People on a hunger strike as a mark of protest against a law.
b) People resort to violence to ensure their demands are accepted.
c) A few people blocking a roadway or passage peacefully.
d) People participating in a silent march to protest against injustice.
(4) Find a synonym from the above extract that means ‘ to pull or drag with force’.
Answers
1) c 2) a 3) b 4) Haul

EXTRACT 3

The Diwan followed his orders. He found the right girl from a state which possessed a large
number of tigers. Maharaja Jung Jung Bahadur killed five or six tigers each time he visited his
father-in-law. In this manner, 99 tiger skins adorned the walls of the reception hall in the
Pratibandapuram palace.
(1) Why did the Maharaja get married?
a) for getting children
b) for encroaching on the estate of his father-in-law
c) for his love for the princess
d) for killing the rest of the tigers
(2) What was Maharaja’s preference for marrying a girl?
a) she must be educated
b) she must have blonde hair
c) she must have Tigers in her estate
d) she must have been poor

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 (3) Which literary device has been used in the last line?
a) Transferred Epithet
b) Oxymoron
c) Fun
d) Alliteration
(4) What does the narrator mean by 99 tiger skins adorning the walls?
a) the Maharaja had bought ninety-nine tiger skin
b) the Maharaja had killed ninety-nine tigers
c) the Maharaja had decorated his Palace with ninety-eight tiger skin
d) the Maharaja had sold ninety-nine tiger skins that were there on the walls

Answers
(1) d 2) c 3) d 4) b

SHORT ANSWERS QUESTIONS

1. What did the State astrologer say he would do ‘if the hundredth tiger were also killed’?

Ans: The State astrologer was so sure of his prediction that he announced that he would cut
off his ceremonial tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent in case the king
was able to kill the 100th tiger, too. He was sure that the Maharaja’s death would be caused
by the 100th tiger.

2. A high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandhpuram. What was the purpose of his
visit? Was his desire fulfilled?

Ans: The high-ranking British officer wanted to kill a tiger. When he was denied permission
to hunt, he sent a word to the king that he would be happy if he was allowed to get
photographed with the dead body of a tiger killed by the king. However, his wish remained
unfulfilled.
3. The Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom for he prevented a British officer
from fulfilling his desire. How did the Maharaja manage to save his throne?

Ans: The Maharaja had annoyed the visiting senior British officer over the issue of tiger-
hunting and ‘stood in danger of losing his kingdom itself’. So, the Maharaja and the Dewan
decided to placate and pacify the officer through bribes by sending gifts of expensive
diamond rings to the ‘Duraisani”, the wife of the British officer. Thus, he managed to save
his throne.

4. How did the ‘Duraisani’ behave on receiving the gifts?

Ans. Some fifty samples of expensive diamond rings were sent to the Duraisani and it was
expected that she would select one or two and return the rest. But the lady proved to be
greedy as she retained all of them and merely sent a letter of thanks.

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 JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH (by Tishani Doshi)

GIST
This chapter is a travelogue (an account of a traveller’s experience) in which the author
recounts her visit to Antarctica.
The narrator's journey to Antarctica began aboard the Russian research ship 'Akademik
Shokalskiy,' departing from Chennai and traversing nine time zones, six checkpoints, three
bodies of water, and over 100 hours of travel. On arrival, she marvelled at Antarctica's
immense, ice-covered isolation, contrasting with its historic connection to India as part of
the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. The visit aimed to study geological and climatic
features crucial for understanding the Earth's past and future, highlighting the region's vast
ice reserves and simple ecosystem's susceptibility to minor environmental changes.
Participating in Geoff Green's 'Students on Ice' program, the writer emphasized the
importance of youth awareness for future policy-making. She underscored the potential
global impacts of ozone layer depletion and climate change, exemplified by the
phytoplankton's role in the Southern Ocean. A memorable walk on a meter-thick ice pack
illustrated the region's fragile beauty, underscoring the need for sustainable development to
protect our planet.

Extract Based Questions

EXTRACT -1

The reason the programme has been so successful is because it's impossible to go anywhere
near the South Pole and not be affected by it. It's easy to be blasé about polar ice caps
melting while sitting in the comfort zone of our respective latitude and longitude, but when
you can visibly see glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing, you begin to realise that the
threat of global warming is very real.
a) What was the name of the programme?
1) Students on Ice 2) Students on Water
3) Students on Ocean 4) Students on Fire
b) What did the narrator notice about glaciers?
1) They were retreating 2) They were growing
3) They were increasing 4) None of these
c) Whom does the narrator find responsible for global warming?
1) Phytoplankton 2) Humans 3) Dinosaurs 4) Rhinos
d)Who is the narrator?
Answers: a –1) b – 1) c – 2) d – Tishani Doshi

EXTRACT -2

Climate change is one of the most hotly contested environmental debates of our time. Will
the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely? Will the Gulf Stream Ocean current be disrupted?
Will it be the end of the world as we know it? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Antarctica is a
crucial element in this debate not just because it's the only place in the world, that has never
sustained a human population and therefore remains relatively ‘pristine' in this respect; but

88
more importantly, because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon records
trapped in its layers of ice.

(i) According to the extract, which of the following is a strongly debated topic?
(a) Price change (b) Oil change (c) Climate change (d) Road change

(ii) Which of the following is not a correct meaning of ‘pristine’?

1. Original 2. Natural 3. Inadequate 4. Pure 5. Ardent
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 4 (c) 3 and 5 (d) 1 and 4

(iii) Based on the extract, what could be the most likely profession of the narrator?
(a) Astrologer (b) Lawyer (c) Environmentalist (d) Anthropologist

(iv) Which of the following possibilities has not been indicated in the extract?
(a) Melting of entire ice sheet (b) Disruption in Gulf Ocean Current
(c) End of the world (d) Beginning of a new era

Answers: (i) c (ii) c (iii) c (iv) d

EXTRACT -3

It's easy to be blasé about polar icecaps melting while sitting in the comfort zone of our
respective latitude and longitude, but when you can visibly see glaciers retreating and ice
shelves collapsing, you begin to realise that the threat of global warming is very real.
Antarctica, because of its simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to
study how little changes in the environment can have big repercussions. Take the microscopic
phytoplankton those grasses of the sea that nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean's
food chain.

(i) What does the phrase 'our respective latitude and longitude' as used in the extract imply?
(a) school (b) laboratory (c) observatory (d) home

(ii) Which of the following sentences does not convey the meaning ‘little changes can have
big repercussions’?
(a) A little neglect can breed great mischief
(b) A small leakage can sink a great ship.
(c) Little drops make a mighty ocean.
(d) The little boy looked a little upset.

(iii) According to the extract which of the following does not make one realise that the
threat of global warming is very real?
(a) retreating glaciers (b) breaking of ice sheets
(c) lack of biodiversity (d) All of the above
(iv) Which word in the extract means the same as 'miniature'?
Answers: (i) d (ii) d (iii) c (iv)microscopic

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SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q.1 How do geological phenomena help us to know about the history of mankind?
Answer: It is a geological phenomenon that helps us understand mankind's history.
Geologists say that about 650 million years ago, a giant ‘amalgamated’ supercontinent,
Gondwana, existed in the South. At that time, India and Antarctica were parts of the same
landmass. Gondwana had a warm climate and a huge variety of flora and fauna. This
supercontinent survived for 500 years until the age of mammals got underway.

Q.2 How can a visit to Antarctica be an enlightening experience?

Answer: By visiting Antarctica, we can understand the Earth’s past, present, and future. A
visit there can teach the next generation to understand and value our planet. Antarctica also
holds within its ice cores half-million-year-old carbon records, which will help us study
climatic changes caused by global warming.

Q.3 Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?
Answer: Presently, only Antarctica is in its purest and original form, as its ice cores contain
half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. Antarctica has never
sustained a human population and, therefore, remains relatively ‘pristine’ in this respect. So,
Antarctica is the place to go to understand the Earth’s present, past, and future.

Q.4What was the objective of the ‘Students on Ice’ programme’?

Answer: The objective of the ‘Students on Ice’ programme was to take high school students
to the limits of the world and provide them not only with inspiring opportunities in
education but also enable them to understand and respect our planet. The idea was to
provide them with a life-changing experience at an age when they are ready to absorb, learn
and, most importantly, act. According to Geoff Green, High School students are the future
policymakers, and through this programme, they would save this planet from ecological
hazards and the harmful effects of global warming.

THE ENEMY (by Pearl S. Buck)

GIST

Japan and America are at war during World War II. Dr. Sadao is a Japanese surgeon trained in
America. One day he and his wife, Hana, find a wounded American soldier, perhaps an
escaped prisoner, on the beach near his house. Sadao and Hana are apprehensive about the
idea of the soldier being taken care of in their house at the time of war. Yet, they take him in
and Sadao risks his honour, career, and life by treating the sailor, operating on him, and
saving the life of the enemy.
However, being loyal Japanese, he reports about the soldier to the General of the Japanese
military. The General assures Sadao that he will arrange for assassins to eliminate the
American soldier. The General was sick and needed Sadao as he was the best surgeon in
Japan. The assassination doesn't take place, and with a sigh of relief, Sadao helps the soldier
escape.

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EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT-1

His father had taken him often to the islands of those seas, and never had he failed to say to
the little brave boy at his side, "Those islands yonder, they are the stepping stones to the
future for Japan." "Where shall we step from them?" Sadao had asked seriously. "Who
knows?" his father had answered, "Who can limit our future? It depends on what we make
it."

1. What does the word ‘yonder' mean?

a) Distant b) Nonadjacent c) Far-flung d) All of these

2. What does the speaker mean by ‘stepping stone'?

3. Pick out the synonym of the word ‘gravely' from the above extract.

4. Name the author of this chapter.

Answers
1. d) All of these
2. Means of advancement, furtherance and progression
3. Seriously
4. Pearl S. Buck

EXTRACT-2

He ran quickly down the steps and behind him Hana came, her wide sleeves flying. A mile or
two away on either side there were fishing villages, but here was only the bare and lonely
coast, dangerous with rocks. The surf beyond the beach was spiked with rocks. Somehow the
man had managed to come through them- he must be badly torn. They saw when they came
toward him that indeed it was so. The sand on one side of him had already a stain of red
soaking through.

1. 'He ran quickly down the steps'. To whom does the word 'he' refer to in this sentence?
2. Which of the following options does not represent features of the beach described in the
extract?
1. Bare
2. Crowded
3. Spiked with rocks
4. Rocky
a) 1
b) 3
c) 4
d) 2
3. What is the meaning of the phrase 'he must be badly torn’?

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4. Which of the following idioms correctly represents the theme of ‘They saw when they
came toward him that indeed it was so.’
a) One look is worth a thousand words
b) Seeing is believing
c) We need better sight to make a better choice
d) Seeing is better than hearing
Answers
1. (b) Doctor Sadao 2. (d) 2 3. Injured 4. b. Seeing is believing.

SHORT-ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1 Why did the General overlook the matter of the enemy soldier?
Ans. The General had an attack and according to Dr. Sadao, he could not survive the second
attack. So, if Dr. Sadao was arrested, no other doctor was capable of operating. So, for
furthering his selfish needs he overlooked the matter and promised to send his assassins.
But he was so self-absorbed, that he forgot about it.

2. Why was Dr. Sadao not sent with the troops?

Ans. The General thought that Dr. Sadao was indispensable to his life and could save anyone
as he was very skilled. He also did not trust anyone except Dr. Sadao. So, he was not sent
with the troops.

3. How was the plan of the patient's escape executed in the story?
Ans. The prisoner was successful in his escape only because of the right guidance and help
from Dr. Sadao. He provided him with his boat, gave him food, made him wear Japanese
clothes and also helped him to comfortably sail to a nearby island.

4. Why did the servants leave Dr. Sadao's house?

Ans. They were not in favour of keeping the American prisoner hidden in the house. They
also did not want Dr. Sadao to save his life as he was the enemy. Also, if the police came to
know of it, their lives would be in danger. Dr Sadao would be considered a traitor.

5. Why didn't Dr. Sadao put the wounded man back in the sea even though he was his
enemy?
Ans. Dr Sadao could not put the wounded man back in the sea even though he was an
enemy because he was a doctor, and the foremost duty of a doctor is to save life. He knew
the man would die if not tended medically, which would be against medical ethics. So, he
rescued him and gave him medical treatment.

ON THE FACE OF IT (by Susan Hill)

GIST

Theme:
This play highlights the discrimination faced by the people who suffer from some handicap.

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Important Points to Remember:

Mr. Lamb Derry (14 Years)

● owns an apple orchard, garden ● secretly enters Lamb's garden
● keeps the gate open for people to meet ● jumps over the wall
him ● Introvert, defiant, low self-esteem,
● bomb blew up his leg, now has a tin leg withdrawn
● lonely yet optimistic ● fears people
● keeps his spirits high ● faces spoilt by acid, pessimistic
● His visitors are temporary, they never ● pained by people's attitude
come back
● lives in a house with open windows &
no curtains
● enjoys life and loves people

Lamb inspires Derry by

• watching, listening & thinking
• showing him a positive side of life.
• explaining that life cannot be lived in fear and narrates the story of a man who feared
death but died when a painting fell off the wall in the house which killed him.

Derry is inspired:
• despite his mother's protests he returns to Lamb.
• decides to live life to the full
Reaches the garden only to find that Mr Lamb has a fall and he is dead.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS:

EXTRACT 1:
Derry: You see, you see! I came back. You said I wouldn’t and they said …. but I came back, I
wanted…. (He stops dead. Silence) Mr. Lamb, Mr. … You’ve…. (He runs through the grass.
Stops, kneels) Mr. Lamb, it’s all right … you fell … I’m here, Mr. Lamb, it’s all right. (Silence) I
came back. Lamey – Lamb. I did …… come back. (Derry begins to weep)

(1) What makes Derry weep?

(a) fallen apples of Mr. Lamb (b) the Death of his mother
(c) Death of Mr. Lamb (d) Death of his father

(2) What does the word ‘Kneel’ mean?

(a) to raise up (b) To bend down
(c) to call for (d) to call off

(3) Why do children call Mr. Lamb ‘Lamey Lamb’?

(a) for he was lame (b) for he was visually disabled
(c) for he was sad at his death (d)for he was happy at his death

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(4) What happened to Mr. Lamb in the end?

Answers
1) c 2) b 3) a 4) he fell off the ladder and died

EXTRACT 2

Mr. Lamb: you could lock yourself up in a room and never leave it. There was a man who did
that. He was afraid, you see, of everything. Everything in this world. A bus might run him
over, or a man might breed deadly germs onto him, or a donkey might kick him to death, or
lightning might strike him down, or he might love a girl and the girl would leave him, and he
might slip on a banana skin and fall and people who saw him would laugh their heads off. So,
he went into this room and locked the door and got into his bed and stayed there.

(1) What happened to the man mentioned by Mr. Lamb in the extract?
(a) he survived (b) he died
(c) he committed suicide (d) he married again

(2) The man was afraid because____________

(3) What does the speaker mean by ‘laugh their heads off’?
(a) to laugh a lot
(b) to cry a lot
(c) to cry less
(d) to laugh less

(4) What does the phrasal verb ‘run over’ imply?

(a) To knock a person down
(b) to run out of petrol
(c) to run out of money
(d) to embrace someone
Answers
1) b 2) he did not want to die 3) a 4) a

EXTRACT 3

Derry: And no one will kiss me ever. Only my mother and she kisses me on the other side of
my face and I don't like my mother to kiss me. She does it because she has to. Why should I
like that? I don't care if nobody ever kisses me.
Mr. Lamb: But do you care if you never kissed them?

(1) What does Derry think of his mother?

(a) that she was partial
(b) that she was just
(c) that she was fair
(d) that she was rude

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(2) Derry thinks that no one will kiss him because ______________
(3) What kind of an attitude does Derry have towards life?
(a) Optimistic
(b) Pessimistic
(c) Balanced
(d) Positive

(4) What is the tone of the speaker in the first line?

(a) Pleasure
(b) Displeasure
(c) Inquisition
(d) Elation

Answers
1) a 2) Of his half-burnt face 3) b 4) b

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q.1 What consolation did people give when they saw Derry’s acid burnt face?
Ans: When people saw Derry’s acid burnt face, they tried to console him by telling him fairy
tales. They said that it was not important what he looked like. Derry knew that people lied
and showed sympathy only to comfort him and that he would not change and would
continue to look like a ‘monstrous beast’.

Q.2 Mr. Lamb told Derry the story of a man who hid himself in his room. Why did the man
do so and with what result?
Ans: Mr Lamb told Derry the incident of a timid man who hid in his room and refused to
come out lest he should meet some fatal accident. Ironically, he died in his room because a
picture hanging on the wall fell off it, landed on his head, and killed him. An escapist attitude
is not the solution to any problem.

Q.3 Why does Derry stay away from people?

Ans: Derry suffers from an acute sense of inferiority complex after one side of his face gets
burnt by acid. He stays away from people who constantly remind him of his ugliness. He
does not like to see people shirking from him because he is ugly. He feels rejected and
unwanted.

Q.4 What did Derry overhear at the bus stop?

Ans: Derry had a half-burnt face. At the bus stop, two ladies were talking about his face.
They were horrified when they saw him and one of them remarked that only a mother could
love such an ugly face.

Q5. How do you think Derry’s mother contributes to his sense of alienation and isolation?
Derry’s mother is overprotective and doesn’t understand her son’s longing for
companionship. She treats him with a sense of pity and robs him of his dignity by
perpetually treating him like a helpless victim. In this way, Derry’s mother led to the
development of feelings of alienation and isolation in her son.

95
 MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

GIST

This unit presents autobiographical episodes from the lives of two women from marginalised
communities who reflect on their childhood and their relationship with mainstream culture.
The first account is by an American Indian woman born in the late nineteenth century, and
the second is by a contemporary Tamil Dalit writer.
Zitkala-Sa, or Gertrude Bonnin, was born in 1876. She grew up on a Sioux reservation in
South Dakota. At the age of eight years, as part of a U.S. government policy designed to
“Americanize” American Indian children, she was sent east to a boarding school.
Bama (born 1958), also known as Bama Faustina Soosairaj, is a Tamil Dalit feminist,
committed teacher, and novelist. She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku
(1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit women in Tamil Nadu.

Story 1: THE CUTTING OF MY LONG HAIR (by Zitkala Sa)

An Outline
Zitkala Sa was a new student at the Carlisle Indian School. She describes her humiliation on
her first day of school in the land of apples, where she was forcefully extracted from her
culture. She felt like she had lost her freedom. She had to speak a new language and wear
short skirts, shoes, and short hair.
❖ Regimentation at Carlisle Indian School:
● Loud, crashing breakfast bell.
● Tapping a small bell to pull a chair from under the table.
● Second small bell sounded for being seated.
● Third one sounded/rung for picking up cutlery and to start eating.
The author was not used to this 'eating by the formula,' but she had no other choice.
Besides, other things came as a surprise to her. Students were forced to wear the same kind
of dress and shoes. Things of comfort (blankets, moccasins) were taken away from them.
The worst, however, was yet to come. This would prove to be the hardest trial, but the
author had planned to give a stiff resistance to it
❖ Cutting the author's hair, her resistance
The author had been told by her mother and other people of her community that shingled
hair was of unskilled warriors or prisoners of war, mourners, and cowards
● Judewin warns the author about cutting off her hair.
● The author had planned to put up a fight. So, she slipped out unnoticed
● Entered a room in the dormitory and crawled under the bed in the farthest corner.
● She did not open her mouth even when she was being hunted.
● When finally, she was located and dragged out, she resisted by kicking and scratching
wildly.
❖ Unbearable/intolerable humiliation
The author was forcibly carried and tied in a chair. She opposed vehemently but in vain. Her
thick braids were mercilessly chopped off. She lost the spirit to resist.
❖ Extreme indignities:
● Spirit bound in a struggle for liberation
● Comforts taken away

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● Regimentation while moving, eating sitting, etc.
● Uncomfortable stares from the people around
● Dealt with as if she were a puppet or an animal herded around.
● No one to comfort her.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT-1
The first day in the land of apples was a bitter-cold one, for the snow still covered the
ground, and the trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast, its loud metallic voice
crashing through the belfry overhead and into our sensitive ears. The annoying clatter of
shoes on bare floors gave us no peace. The constant clash of harsh noises, with an
undercurrent of many voices murmuring an unknown tongue, made a bedlam within which I
was securely tied. And though my spirit tore itself in struggling for its lost freedom, all was
useless.

1. Which of the following does not describe Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward what she
experienced on the first day?
a) She felt that school was a calm, peaceful place with a lot of apple trees.
b) She felt that the school was an annoying clatter of sounds.
c) She felt that the school was an uncomfortable, unfriendly, and scary place.
d) She felt that the school was a prison from which she could not escape.
2. In which season did the narrator join the school?
a) Winter
b) Spring
c) Summer
d) Autumn
3. Why did the narrator feel securely tied?
a) She was tied to a chair.
b) She had lost her friend Judewin.
c) She had lost her freedom.
d) There were white people all around
4. Identify the literary device used in ‘The annoying clatter of shoes on bare floors gave us
no peace.’
Answers
1) a 2) a 3) c 4) Onomatopoeia

EXTRACT-2
But this eating by formula was not the hardest trial on that first day. Late in the morning, my
friend Judewin gave me a terrible warning. Judewin knew a few words of English and had
overheard the pale-faced woman talk about cutting our long, heavy hair.

1. What did the narrator mean by ‘eating by formula’?

2. What terrible warning did Judewin give?
3. Which option best describes the narrator’s point of view towards the adults at the school?
a) They were controlling and often cruel towards the children.
b) They were friendly and playful towards the children.
c) They were warm and cared about the children.

97
d) They were firm and emotionally attached to the children.
4. What was the effect of Judewin’s warning?
Answers
1) There was a bell for sitting, a bell for praying, and a bell for picking the cutlery.
2) Their long hair was going to be cut.
3) a
4) The narrator ran away and hid in a dark room

SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Why was Zitkala-Sa in tears on the first day in the land of apples?
On her first day in the land of apples, Zitkala-Sa was upset for several reasons. It was bitterly
cold, and she felt embarrassed without her shawl. She also found the eating by-formula
practised there very difficult to follow. But this was not the hardest trial for her. Her hair was
shingled, and she felt like an animal in a herd.

2. How did Zitkala-Sa react to the various sounds that came when the large bell rang for
breakfast?
She was irritated by the metallic voice of the bell, the annoying clatter of shoes on the bare
floor, and harsh noises murmuring in an unknown language; felt tied and helpless, her spirit
torn, struggling for freedom.

3. “I felt like sinking to the floor,” says Zitkala-Sa. When did she feel so, and why?
Zitkala-Sa wasn’t used to wearing the tight, clinging dress given at school. Her blanket was
her comfort as it belonged to her culture. When it was forcibly taken away at school, she felt
embarrassed.

4. What did Judewin tell Zitkala-Sa? How did she react to it?
Judewin knew a few words of English. She had overheard the teachers talk about cutting the
long hair of the native girls, and she told Zitkala-Sa about it. Zitkala-Sa was shocked but
decided to resist and stand up against it.

5. How is Zitkala-Sa’s response to having her hair cut different from Judéwin’s response?
The two girls responded in vastly different ways. While Judewin submitted to the people
cutting her hair, Zitkala Sa wanted to fight. She hid away in a room and stayed under the
bed, hoping to escape this ordeal, but she was carried downstairs while she was kicking and
screaming and was ultimately tied to a chair where her hair was cut.

Story 2 - WE TOO ARE HUMAN BEINGS (by Bama)

GIST
Similar to Zitkala Sa was the case with Bama, an Indian writer from Tamil Nādu. While Zitkala
Sa was a victim of racial discrimination, Bama suffered because of being born into a low-
caste family. She, too, was a human being, but the richer and privileged society didn’t
consider her so. While still very young, she got to see, feel, and experience untouchability.
● Daily routine of the author (Bama)- Although the distance between the author's
school and home was a barely ten-minute walk, quite conveniently, she would take
somewhere from half an hour to an hour and a half. Leisurely, she would walk the distance,

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taking in whatever came her way. As a little girl, she would be interested in all the big and
small things happening on the route. She would be interested in

o The performing monkey, the snake possessed by the snake charmer.

o A cyclist pedalled continuously for days, and the people pinning rupees onto his shirt,
egging him on.
o The Maariyaata temple has a huge bell and Pongal offerings.
o Shops, streetlights, stalls, etc.
o Political campaigns with their fiery speeches.
o Street play, puppet show, magic show, stunt performance
o Hawkers selling various things
o Coffee clubs in the marketplace
o Trees laden with fruits

● Humorous sight leaves a deep impression

o The landlord was seated on a stone ledge watching farm labourers threshing. The
peasants were hard at work as they drove their cattle round and round to tread out the grain
from the straw.
o An elderly man came along carrying a small packet with some eatables in it. He
walked in a funny manner, holding the packet by the string so that his hands would not
touch the packet. He bowed low and offered the packet to the landlord without touching it.

Author's Description: Realisation dawns

o The author shared what she thought were comic details of the episode with her
elder brother.
o Annan, the brother, told her that the landlord was an upper caste and the worker, an
untouchable, was not supposed to touch the contents of the packet or even the packet lest
it should be polluted.
o Now, the anecdote did not seem funny at all; she felt provoked and angry at why
those people thought so much of themselves simply because they had put together some
money. She felt that as human beings, they had self-respect and should not run such petty
errands for these people but only work for them and get wages in return.
o The narrator's elder brother, who was home for the holidays, told her his experience
of untouchability when he was asked about his street by the landlord’s men.
o Annan said that they would have to work hard for their dignity and respect as they
were born in such a community that these things did not come easily. Struggle, hard work,
and education would earn them dignity. He told her to study with care and to learn all that
she could. His advice left a deep impact on her mind. She studied hard as her elder brother
had urged, stood first in her class, and thus made many friends and finally rose to become a
writer.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

EXTRACT-1
The performing monkey; the snake which the snake charmer kept in its box and displayed
from time to time; the cyclist who had not got off his bike for three days, and who kept
pedalling as hard as he could from break of day; the rupee notes that were pinned on to his

99
shirt to spur him on; the spinning wheels; the Maariyaata temple, the huge bell hanging
there; the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple; the dried fish stall by the
statue of Gandhi; the sweet stall, the stall selling fried snacks, and all the other shops next to
each other; the street light always demonstrating how it could change from blue to violet;
the narikkuravan hunter-gypsy with his wild lemur in cages, selling needles, clay beads and
instruments for cleaning out the ears — Oh, I could go on and on. Each thing would pull me
to a stand-still and not allow me to go any further.

1. People pinned notes to the shirt of the man on the bike because
a) His shirt did not have pockets to keep money.
b) He was a beggar asking people for alms.
c) He was performing a stunt and people wanted to encourage him.
d) He wanted to please Maariyaata goddess.
2. Why has the author mentioned the statue of Gandhi?
a) The statue was the main attraction of the market.
b) It was made of special stone.
c) Gandhi is a prominent person in India.
d) She was interested in the fish stall near the statue.
3. The streetlight attracted the attention of the narrator because __
a) It was a rotating light.
b) It was of very high power.
c) It changed colour from blue to green.
d) It changed colour from blue to violet.
4. Who are ‘narikkuravan’?
a) An Indigenous tribe in Tamil Nadu
b) People belonging to lower caste
c) The narrator’s neighbours
d) The passers-by in the market
Answers
1) c 2) d 3) d 4) a

EXTRACT -2
At times, people from various political parties would arrive, put up a stage and harangue us
through their mikes. Then there might be a street play, or a puppet show, or a “no magic, no
miracle” stunt performance. All these would happen from time to time. But almost certainly
there would be some entertainment or other going on.
Even otherwise, there were the coffee clubs in the bazaar: the way each waiter cooled the
coffee, lifting a tumbler high up and pouring its contents into a tumbler held in his other
hand. Or the way some people sat in front of the shops chopping up onions, their eyes turned
elsewhere so that they would not smart.

1. Why has the narrator grouped the political parties with street play, puppet show, and
stunt show?
a) They would perform plays for social awareness.
b) They encouraged encroachment of the marketplace.
c) They sponsored street plays, stunt shows, and puppet shows.
d) Their purpose was to gather a crowd, similar to street plays.

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2. What was the most attractive thing about the coffee clubs in the bazaar?
a) The aroma of coffee
b) People chopping onions in front of the shop
c) People drinking coffee inside the shop
d) Waiter cooling coffee by pouring it into two tumblers
3. Choose the option that means the same as ‘harangue’.
a) Tribute
b) Blessing
c) Persuading
d) Citation
4. Pick the option that has a similar meaning to that of ‘smart’ as used in the passage.
a) I need a smart jacket for my interview.
b) My sister has the latest smartphone.
c) His eyes smarted from smoke.
d) She is smart in her studies.
Answers
1) d 2) d 3) c 4) c

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Why did Bama take thirty minutes to walk home from school when she could have
covered the distance in ten minutes?
It was a daily routine for Bama to walk back home from school, which was a ten-minute
walk. But it always took her more than thirty minutes to reach home because the stalls and
shops fascinated her a lot. These stalls and shops were of sweets, dried fish, fried snacks,
etc. There were also gypsies selling animals in cages, political parties holding meetings in the
open, street plays, puppet shows, etc.

2. What comic incident did Bama narrate to her brother? Why was he not amused?
Bama narrated the incident of an elderly man in their community holding a food packet with
its string and walking in a funny way. Annan did not find it funny and explained that the man
was holding the packet with its string because he was from the lower caste and could not
touch the food of the upper caste people. Bama was infuriated and felt restless and upset to
see the harsh treatment of Dalits. It was disgusting to consider some human beings as
untouchables. She hated the discrimination.

3. Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother about the street he lived on? What was
its significance?
Bama’s brother studied in a university and lived in a hostel. So, the people of his town did
not know him. In their town, people of one caste lived together. So, by knowing Annan's
street, the landlord’s man would know about his caste. On knowing his caste, they would
come to know whether they could touch him or he was untouchable.

4. Which words of her brother made a deep impression on Bama?

On narrating what happened while returning home, Bama’s elder brother told her that
although people did not get to decide the family where they were born into, they could
outwit the indignities inflicted upon them if they were well-read and successful. It was by
educating themselves that they could attain a feeling of individuality that left a deep

101
impression on her.

5. What does the title of the unit, ‘Memories of Childhood’ bring to light?
This unit presents autobiographical episodes from the lives of two women. Both are
from backward communities. Their childhood gives us a picture of their relationship with
the privileged classes. The first account is by an American Indian woman, and the second is
by a Tamil Dalit writer. There is a common theme in both of them: the element of
oppression and injustice.

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 SUBJECT- ENGLISH CORE (301)
SOLVED QUESTION PAPER
Time :3 Hours Max Marks: 80

Section A
(Reading Skills-20 Marks)
I.Read the Passage given below. (12 Marks)
1. The art of living is learnt easily by those who are positive and optimistic. From humble and
simple people to great leaders in history, science, or literature, we can learn a lot about the
art of living by having a peep into their lives. The daily routines of these great men and
women not only reveal their different, perhaps unique lifestyles but also help us learn
certain habits and practices they followed. Here are some; read, enjoy, and follow in their
footsteps as it suits you.
2. A private workplace always helps. Jane Austen asked that a certain squeaky hinge should
never be oiled so that she always had a warning whenever someone was approaching the
room where she wrote. Without a lock on his study door, William Faulkner detached the
doorknob and brought it into the room with him. Mark Twain’s family knew better than to
breach his study door-they would blow a horn to draw him out. Graham Green went even
further, renting a secret office; only his wife knew the address and the telephone number.
After all, every one of us needs a workplace to work on our creation uninterruptedly.
Equally, we need our private space too!
3. A daily walk has always been a source of inspiration. For many artists, a regular stroll was
essentially a creative inspiration. Charles Dickens famously took three-hour walks every
afternoon, and what he observed on them fed directly into his writing. Tchaikovsky made do
with a two-hour jaunt but wouldn’t return a moment early; convinced that doing so would
make him ill. Ludwig van Beethoven took lengthy strolls after lunch, carrying a pencil and
paper with him in case inspiration struck. Nineteenth-century composer Erik Satie did the
same on his long hikes from Paris to the working-class suburb where he lived, stopping
under street lamps to jot down ideas that came on his journey; it’s rumoured that when
those lamps were turned off during the war years, his music declined too. Many great
people had limited social lives, too. One of Simone de Beauvoir’s close friends puts it this
way. ‘‘There were no receptions, parties. It was an uncluttered kind of life, a simplicity
deliberately constructed so that she could do her work.” To Pablo, the idea of Sunday was an
‘at home day’.
4. The routines of these thinkers are difficult. Perhaps it is because they are so unattainable.
The very idea that you can organise your time as you like is out of reach for most of us, so I’ll
close with a toast to all those who worked with difficulties. Like Francine Prose, who began
writing when the school bus picked up her children and stopped when it brought them back;
or T.S. Eliot, who found it much easier to write once he had a day job in a bank than he had
as a starving poet and even F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose early books were written in his strict
schedule as a young military officer. Those days were not as interesting as the nights in Paris
that came later, but they were much more productive–and no doubt easier on his liver.
5. Being forced to follow someone else’s routine may irritate you, but it makes it easier to
stay on the path. Whenever we break that trail ourselves or take an easy path of least
resistance, perhaps what’s most important is that we keep walking.

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Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions.

(i) If the writer was forced to follow someone else’s routine, they would feel ______. (1 )
(a) furious
(b) annoyed
(c) humoured
(d) indifferent

(ii) Select the option that suitably completes the given dialogue as per the context of the
passage. (1)
X: I don’t think I can ever be a great writer like William Faulkner.
Y: Why do you think like this? (1)
X: No, I don’t have weird habits and quirks like him.
Y.; ….(2)… you just have to give it a try.
(a) (1) Of course, you can be a good writer like him (2) That is true. But what can you do
(b) (1) You can be better than him (2) Yeah, he was a special one
(c) (1) But, I can see that you are right (2) Yeah, you don’t have any special mannerism
(d) (1) Sure, you can be a great writer like him. (2) That doesn’t really matter

(iii) What is the relationship between (1) and (2)? (1)

(1) The people who are hopeful and have a positive outlook in life can easily
learn the art of living.
(2) A lot can be learnt about a person by looking into their lives.
(a) (2) is the cause for (1)
(b) (1) and (2) are independent
(c) (2) elaborates the problem described in (1)
(d) (2) sets the stage for (1)
(iv) According to the passage, why did some artists resort to walking?
(1)
(a) It is an exercise
(b) It was a creative inspiration
(c) It is essential for improving their health Page
(d) It was helpful in interaction with others
v) Find the word from the passage (paragraph 3) which means “arranged”
(1)
(vi) Why did Jane Austen believe that a certain squeaky hinge should never be
oiled? (2)
(vii) According to the passage, why did Erik Satie’s music decline?
(2)
(viii) During which time did Fitzgerald write the most productively?
(1)
(ix) “Those days were not as interesting as the nights in Paris that came later…”
Which days are referred to in this line?
(2)

II .Read the passage given below(10 marks)

104
1.Covid-19 isn’t gone when a dengue fever surge has come, with 13 cases in two days. The
count for this time is 134, at least since 2017, but doctors fear a rise in November when the
weather cools down. UT health director Dr Amandeep Kang said: Our main problem is that
due to the fear of COVID-19, people don’t let the health workers into their houses, so we are
unable to check for larvae and mosquito-breeding. However, we are on with
the fogging exercise in the vulnerable area.”
2.She said: The residents need to be cautious, as November is the surge time for dengue
fever; they should check for the larvae and breeding spots independently since our staff
can’t get inside.” The health department inspectors, who went to the houses of positive
cases, found grounds in flowerpots, exposed overhead water tanks, refrigerator trays kept in
the backyard, and water traps in the bathroom.
3. Dr Kang said: “Covid has disrupted our lives already and if a vector-borne disease also
breaks out, we will have a public health emergency.” Advising the public to discard the
freshwater gathered in and around the houses, she said: “If the health department can’t
look inside homes, people should discard collected water on their own. If there is a breeding
ground for the larvae, call the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) office for
fogging. Already, public health experts in Chandigarh have braced for the third wave of
COVID-19, which has swept Haryana and NCR.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions:

(i) As per the given chart, the highest numbers, of dengue cases were reported in the year..
(a) 2020 (1)
(b) 2018
(c) 2017
(d) 2019
(ii). People don’t allow the health workers to enter their houses because.
(1)
(a) They fear their valuables may be stolen.
(b) They are afraid of being infected with dengue.
(c) They are afraid of Covid-virus.
(d) People of Chandigarh are non-cooperative.
(iii) According to the experts, who are at the risk of getting infected with dengue? (i) Infants
(ii) Young boys (iii)Senior citizens (iv) People doing physical exercises (v) People with low
immunity (1)
(a) (i), (iv) and (v)
(b) (ii), (iii) and (iv)
(c) (i), (iv) and (v)
(d) (i), (iii) and (v)
(iv) The health department has started fogging exercise in order to………….
(1)
(a) teach a lesson to the people of the city.
(b) check mosquito breeding.
(c) control Covid cases.
(d) give warning about the increasing cases of dengue.

(v) According to Dr Kang, people should…………. (1)

105
 (a) allow the health workers to come in.
(b) check for the larvae and breeding spots.
(c) expose their overhead water tanks.
(d) not bother about mosquitoes at all.
(vi) What are the symptoms of dengue?
(2)
(vii) What does ‘discard’ in para 3 mean?
(1)
(viii)What, according to Dr. Kang, will be a ‘public health emergency’?
(2)

Section B
(Creative writing skills -18 marks)
3. A You are Rohit, Secretary of the English Literacy Association of Memorial School Jaipur;
write a notice for the notice board inviting names of those who would like to participate in
the proposed Inter-House debate on the topic “ Spare the rod and spoil the child. Mention
date, time, last date for the name submission, etc. (50 words) 4 Marks
OR
3.B The Student Council of your school has decided to organise an excursion to Goa for the
students of classes XI & XII during summer vacation. As President of the council, write a
notice telling the students about this excursion and inviting their names to join it. Invent
other details like dates, fees and last date for submission of names, etc.(50 words)

4. A. You are opening an exclusive parlour for ladies. Draft a formal invitation for its
inauguration with the necessary details. 4
Marks
OR
4.B. Sarvodaya Public School, Rohtak, is organising its Annual Sports Day. The Principal
wishes to invite MR P.K. Singh, the District Magistrate, as the Chief Guest to preside over the
function. Draft a formal letter of invitation to be sent to the above-mentioned dignitary.

5.A Sunshine Public School, Pune, requires two sports coaches(one male and one female).
Each should be a degree holder in Physical Education as well as an SAI certified coach in
athletics. You have seen their advertisement and you know that you have these
qualifications. Write a job application in 120-150 words along with your resume. You are
Praveen /Praveena., M-114, Rohini, Delhi
5 Marks

Clues
• Position and experience
• Degree and certificates
• Achievements
• Preferred immediate joining
OR
5.B. As a regular commuter by bus from Noida to Delhi, you have been witnessing rash
driving by the bus drivers daily without exception. Write a letter to the Editor, ‘The Times of

106
India’, drawing the attention of the General Manager, Delhi Transport Corporation, to this
problem. You are Priti/Prakash, 15 Udyog Vihar, Noida.

Clues
• Causes traffic jams and accidents
• Concerned authorities should take strict action.
• Becoming a nuisance.
• Problem need to be rectified as soon as possible.

6.A Choice of course after clearing the senior secondary school examination produces a
great deal of stress on the minds of our students. Counselling can be of great help to them.
Write an article in 120-150 words on the topic ‘Role of counselling in choice of course’. Use
the following clauses. 5 Marks
Clues
• Deciding a career goal important
• Discover their potential and interests
• The pressure starts building up at the threshold.
• Counselling can help decide your career based on your aptitude, skills, interests,
personality, strengths and weaknesses.
• Counsellor identifies that unique quality and guides informed choice.
• Even in the future, counselling helps in setting goals and gives directions to life.

OR
6.B. Your school conducted a ‘Talent Hunt’. Various competitions were held. Many new
talented students came to the light. As the Head Boy/ Head Girl of your school, write a
report on it to be published in your school magazine
Value points
• What, When, Where
• Date, venue objectives
• Name of the competition, level, topic
• Chief guest, special invitees
• Inaugural ceremony, welcome.
• Audience response.
• Message by the chief guest.
• Vote of thanks.

SECTION C
(Literature Text Books-40 Marks)

7. A. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.
(Do any ONE) (6*1=6 marks)

“If we were not so single-minded

About keeping our lives moving,
And for once could do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence
Might interrupt this sadness

107
 Of never understanding ourselves
And of threatening ourselves with death.”

(i) What does the poet Pablo Neruda want here?

a) To be single-minded
b) Be confused with total inactivity
c) To understand others
d) To stop conversation
(ii) What is the ‘sadness’ being talked of here?
a) Never understanding ourselves
b) Ever remaining silent
c) Destroying the environment
d) Ever keeping our lives moving
(iii) When can a huge silence do us good?
a) When we threaten ourselves with death
b) When we advocate for stillness
c) When we strive to be victorious
d) When we enjoy the unusualness
(iv) What do you mean by ‘no truck with death’?
(v) What do people pursue single-mindedly?
(vi) How would a huge silence interrupt sadness?
OR
7.B Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.”
(i). Which poetic device is used in the line ‘fingers fluttering through her wool’?
a. Simile
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Metaphor

(ii). Why does she find it hard to pull the ivory needle?
a. mental suppression
b. physical weakness.
c. Emotional satisfaction
d. Untrained hands

(iii). In third line, ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ refers to

a. male authority and power.
b. constraints of marriage
c. gender oppression.
d. All of the above

(iv). What is the rhyme scheme of these lines?

(v).What does the ring around her fingers symbolise?

108
(vi). What do ‘fluttering fingers’ indicate?

8. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.(Do any ONE)
(4*1=4 marks)

You think…. ‘Here’s a boy.’ You look at me… and then you see my face and you think. ‘That’s
bad. That’s a terrible thing. That’s the ugliest thing I ever saw.’ You think, ‘Poor boy.’ But I’m
not. Not ever poor. Underneath, you are afraid. Anybody would be. I am. When I look in the
mirror, and see it, I’m afraid of me.

(i).Derry is talking to ________

(a) The man with a tin leg.
(b) His family members.
(c ) His mother.
(d) The woman at the bus stop

ii. Derry doesn’t like the people’s fake ________.

(a) Sympathy
(b) Disapproval
(c ) Fear
(d) Dislike

iii. What had happened with Derry’s face?

iv. What made Derry so negative?
OR
8.B Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 4*1=4

In the conviction of her own superiority she bent impulsively and untied the knotted rugs
that kept the white man covered. When she had his breast bare she dipped the small clean
towel that Yumi had brought into the steaming hot water and washed his face carefully. The
man’s skin, though rough with exposure, was of a fine texture and must have been very
blond when he was a child.

i) Who has unknotted the rugs and washed the white man?
a) Hana
b) Yumi
c) Sadao
d) Tom
ii) ‘he was a child’. Who is ‘he’ here?
a) Tom
b) Tom’s father
c) Sadao
d) Sadao’s father
iii) Who was the white man?
iv) What was the need to wash the white man?

9.A Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.(Do any ONE)

109
 (6*1=6 marks)
But the jump made no difference. The water was still around me. I looked for ropes, ladders,
water wings. Nothing but water. A mass of yellow water held me. Stark terror took an even
deeper hold on me, like a great charge of electricity. I shook and trembled with fright. My
arms wouldn’t move. I tried to call for help, to call for mother. Nothing happened.
(i) For the writer, what was the reason in the midst of the terror?
a) To jump up when hit the bottom
b) To look for ropes, water wings
c) To shout for someone’s help
d) To float like a cork on the surface
(ii) Who is responsible for such a misadventure?
a) The big bruiser of a boy
b) The instructor’s carelessness
c) The author’s father
d) The writer himself
(iii) Which one was not one of the reactions of the author when he was drowning?
a) He hoped to survive.
b) He shook and trembled
c) His arms did not move
d) He called for his mother
(iv) Explain –‘nothing happened’?
(v) Find the word in the passage that means “fluttered”?
(vi) Find the line which brings out the helplessness faced by the author.
OR
9.B His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the
plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his. The canister belongs
to the man who owns the tea shop.
(i) Who is 'He’here?
(a) Saheb
(b) Firoz
(c) Mukesh
(d)Shop owner
(ii) Name the chapter and its author.
a) William/ Deep Water
b) William/Lost Spring
c) Kalki/ The Tiger King
d) Anees Jung/ Lost Spring
(iii) Steel Canister is a symbol of
a) Tea
b) Responsibilities
c) Money
d) child
(iv) What does the plastic bag refer to?
(v) Why does the steel canister seem heavier?
(vi). Was ‘he’ happy working at the tea stall? justify
10. Answer any five in about 40-50 words: 5x2 =10 Marks

110
(i) How did the poetess divert her mind from the painful thoughts of her mother
approaching the end of her life?
(ii)What did the ‘greedy good-doers’ plan to do to the poor people? (A Roadside Stand)
(iii)How does Umberto Eco find the time to write so much?
(iv) For Franz, what was much more tempting than going to school and why?
(v) Why does Asokamitran call Subbu " a Charitable and improvident man"?
(vi) Why do the bangle-makers fail to organise themselves into a co-operative?

11. Answer any two in about 40-50 words: 2x2 =4 Marks

(i) How did Annan’s advice to his sister Bama impact her ?
(ii) What does the ‘The Third Level’ refer to?
(iii) What was the objective of the ‘Students on Ice’ Programme?

12. Answer any ONE of the following in about 120-150 words each. 1 x 5 =5 marks

12. A. Jansie and Sophie are very close friends but poles apart. Elaborate.
Or
12.B. Why did Gandhiji consider freedom from fear more important than legal injustice for
the poor peasants of Champaran?

13.Answer the following in about 120-150 words. 1 x5=5 marks

13. A. Seeds of rebellion are sown early in life. Injustice can’t escape the eyes of a child.
Justify the statement with reference to the lesson “Memories of Childhood.”
OR
13.B. What is the message of the story “On the Face of It”?

*****************
ANSWER KEY
Note: There can be answers other than the provided key. The teachers are requested to give
due credit for any other relevant /alternate answer

Value Points
1. Reading
(i) (b) annoyed
(ii) (d) (1) Sure, you can be a great writer like him. (2) That doesn’t really matter
(iii) (b) (1) and (2) are independent
(iv) (b) It was a creative inspiration
(v) uncluttered
(vi) so that she always had a warning whenever someone was approaching the room where
she wrote.
(vii) His inspiration was lost when the lamps on his streets were turned off
(viii) F. Scott Fitzgerald’s military days as a young military officer
(ix) when he was in the army
2. Unseen passage (Case-Based Passage)
i. c. 2017
ii. c. They are afraid of Covid-virus

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iii. d.(i) (iii) and (v)
iv. b. check mosquito breeding
v. b. check for the larvae and breeding spots
vi. fever with chills, lower backache, headache, Abdominal pain, Persistent vomiting,
Rapid breathing (any two)
vii. to throw away
viii. if a vector-borne disease also breaks out, we will have a public health emergency.

3.A NOTICE WRITING

Value points
Format - 1 Mark
Content - 2 Marks
The content should answer
1. What is to be organized
2. Who is organizing it?
3. When is it being organized (Date & Time)
4. Where is it being organized (Venue)
5. Target group
6. Last date of submission of names and to whom (if applicable)
Expression - 2 Marks

4. Invitation
Marking scheme
Format: 1 Marks
Organisation of Ideas: 1 Marks
Content 2 Marks
Expression 1 Marks
(Accuracy of spelling and Grammar)

Option 1
Formal Card form invitation

Option 2
Formal invitation in letter form.
Format as of the formal letter

5.Letter Writing
Format : 1 Marks
(Sender, address, date, receiver’s address, subject, opening and closing )
Organisation of ideas: 1 Marks
Content : 2 Marks
Expression : 1 Marks
(Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar)
Option 1
Formal Letter:
Reference to the advertisement
Offering of candidature

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Enclosures
Bio-data
Option 2:
Format, Address, Editor, Newspaper

Value points: Reference to newspaper highlighting the issue of rash and reckless driving by
the bus drivers on the city roads- overtaking from the wrong side- quarrels/ fights- invalid
license- rectifying measures- defaulters penalised, etc.

IV. Article writing:-

Marking Scheme
Format : 1 Marks
(Heading/title and writer's name)
Organisation of ideas : 1 Marks
Content : 2 Marks
Expression : 1 Marks
(Accuracy of Spelling and Grammar)
Value points:
Deciding a career goal is important, Discover your potential and interests, The pressure
starts building up at the threshold, Counselling can help decide your career based on your
aptitude, Skills, interests, performance and personality strengths and weaknesses.,
Counsellor identifies that unique quality and guide informed choices, Even in the future,
counselling helps in setting goals and gives directions to life., Ending -wind up the article
with suggestions, Conclusion
OPTION 2 REPORT WRITING
Marking Scheme
Format : 1 Marks (Heading/title and writer’s name)
Organisation of ideas : 1 Marks
Content : 2 Marks
Expression : 1 Marks
(accuracy of Spelling and Grammar)

Value points:
Type of function or its name, Date time and place, Name of designation of the chief guest,
inauguration (if any), objective and main highlights of the programme, description of the
event price distribution (if any), Chief guest’s address to audience, Vote of thanks,
Conclusion -comments about the quality of the program by the third person
SECTION C LITERATURE TEXTBOOKS
7.
A. Extract-based questions from poems.
value points
Option One
(i) (a) To be single-minded
(ii) (a) Never understanding ourselves
(iii) (a) When we threaten ourselves with death
(iv) No association with death
(v) Keeping their lives moving

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(vi) Silence will lead to introspection and self-realisation which will make us realise that we
all are brothers and sisters
Option2
(i) c. Alliteration
(ii) a. mental suppression
(iii) d. All of the above
(iv) aabb
(v). male dominance/unhappy marriage/burdened/caged
(vi). Aunt`s timid nature/she was afraid of her husband
B. extract-based questions Vistas
Options 1
(i) (a) the man with a tin leg
(ii) (a) sympathy
(iii) Half of the face got burnt by acid
(iv) People’s behaviour /his inferiority complex /his burnt face
Or
(i) (a) Hana
(ii) (a) Tom
(iii) Prisoner of war/soldier from US Navy
(iv) He was wounded/ soaked with blood/ needed to be operated
C. Extract-based questions from Flamingo prose
(i) (a) To jump up when hit the bottom
(ii) (a) The big bruiser of a boy
(iii) (a) He hoped to survive
(iv) He started down a third time.
(v) trembled
(v) “But the jump made no difference./I looked for ropes, ladders, water wings. Nothing but
water/I shook and trembled with fright./My arms wouldn’t move. I tried to call for help, to
call for mother/Nothing happened
Or
9.B
(i) a-Saheb
(ii) d- Anees Jung, lost spring
(iii) b- responsibilities
(iv)His job as a ragpicker/bag was to collect rags as he was a ragpicker.
(v) Because Saheb is burdened as a child labour.
(vi)No, he was not happy, as said—he has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems to
be heavier.

10. Answers:
(i) The wan and pale expression on the face of her mother floods her mind with thoughts of
her impending death. She succeeds in the necessity of switching her mind by looking out of
the window of the car. Outside the car, she sees the trees racing back in a direction opposite
to the movement of the car and merry children coming out of their homes with energy and
vigour.

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(ii) The 'greedy good-doers ', in their insatiable quest for more, schemed to defraud the
poor of their lands and thrust them into unsanitary and overcrowded areas. They would
manipulate them and strip them of their pristine environment, a gross injustice that should
not go unnoticed.

(iii) Umberto Eco works on the theory of interstice which is an empty space
Eco's theory of 'interstice ', a profound concept that underscores the significance of 'empty
space' in our lives. He is a proponent of utilizing these voids, often seen as unproductive, for
creative pursuits such as his writing.
(Iv)watching birds chirping /soldiers drilling because it was a beautiful morning to stay out
v) Subbu had genuine love for anyone he came across. His house was a permanent residence
for dozens of relatives and acquaintances. Hence, the writer calls him charitable and
improvident
vi) The young bangle-makers have fallen into the vicious traps of middlemen. They are afraid
of the police. Moreover, there is no leader among them to help them see things differently.
Even their fathers at home are tired.
11.a) Bama was told by Annan to research carefully and to learn everything she could.
People would come to her on their own and bind themselves to her if she was still ahead in
her classes. Bama took her brother's advice and trained diligently. She was the first in her
class, and as a result, she made a lot of friends.

b) The third level was the subway of Grand Central Station, which took passengers from
Galesburg, Illinois. Metaphorically, it refers to an escape medium that takes man away from
the harsh realities of life.
c) The 'Students on Ice' programme aims to take high school students to the ends of the
world. It provides them with inspiring educational opportunities which foster in them a new
understanding and respect for our planet.

12. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION FLAMINGO

Value Points -

Jansie is nosey, which leads Sophie not to disclose Danny, Cassy, and a famous football
player’s meeting. She fears that Jansie will tell others about it. Jansie is a realist, knowing the
hard facts of life, and takes life as it comes. Sophie lives a life based on a figment of her own
imagination. She imagines many things that can never be possible in her life.
OR
Value Points
British ruthless exploitation—farmers fight through lawyers—battles were inconclusive—
terror-stricken—Gandhiji’s declaration—no need for law court –overcome terror—be bold
and courageous

13. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION VISTAS

Value points
Two autobiographical episodes- American Indian womanDalit writer. Both stories highlight
the women’s oppression, class barriers, racialism discrimination and exploitation that tend
to pull them down. Both the stories advocate the statement ‘seeds of rebellion are sown

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early in life’. Cutting off long hair - the feeling of breaking free- rebellion-gaining freedom.
Zitkala Sa- faced indignity & oppression - not ready to get her hair cut- to lose her & identity-
but is helpless as she is overpowered. We, too, are human beings- the little girl was amused
to see how the old man was holding the pack, but when she came to discover the truth -she
was extremely upset at discrimination. Through her struggle & hard work -stands first & wins
many friends. Thus, we can see that though the children are small & innocent, they cannot
tolerate injustice.
OR
It revolves around two characters; both suffer from some kind of—Different approaches and
attitudes in facing the challenges of life.
Derek, a small boy with a burnt face, looks at the dark side and withdraws himself from
society, whereas Mr Lamb, who has a tin log, looks at the bright side and faces the challenge
bravely and happily. He mixes with people, plays with children, and enjoys life to the fullest.
The message that the play gives is to be positive. Hatred causes more harm. It is not one’s
fault if one is physically challenged or impaired. One should love all creations of nature. It is
the people who make this world so we should live in harmony, with one another& not
withdraw ourselves from others. We must accept happily what God has given us.

UNSOLVED QUESTION PAPER

SUBJECT- ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS XII MAX. MARKS 80
TIME: 3Hrs.

General Instructions:
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections – READING, WRITING AND LITERATURE.
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part
___________________________________________________________________

SECTION A: READING SKILS (22 marks)

Q1. Read the passage given below carefully: (12 marks)

(1) The term “poor-quality medicines” is something of a catch-all. It includes “substandard,”

medicines that have had inadequate quality control or that have degraded from improper
storage or the passage of time. It also includes falsified medicines—fakes—that claim to be
what they are not. These may not be made by the manufacturer whose name is on the
package, and they may not contain the stated ingredients in the stated quantities.
(2) Poor-quality medicines might not work. They usually have none or only part of the active
ingredient they are supposed to contain. This would mean that the illnesses of those people
who consume them would be left to take their course. Consuming them can even kill you
because the contaminants in the medicines can end up causing severe infections.
(3) Poor-quality medicines can be life-threatening even if you don’t take them. Antimicrobial
drugs (including antibiotics and antivirals) that have too little active ingredient are generally
accepted to help disease-causing bugs evolve so that they develop resistance to treatment
even with good-quality antimicrobials. And then these bugs spread.
(4) The factors that speed up the development of antimicrobial resistance — high rates of
infections, the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials, poor sanitation, and poor-quality

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medicines — are more common in low- and middle income countries, which means that so
is resistance. But microbes travel easily across the world in foodstuffs being exported and in
the bodies of humans. Often, resistant microbes can transfer genetic material to each other
to become even more dangerous to humans.
(5) The result: infections that were simple to cure are back with a vengeance. Conditions like
tuberculosis and HIV are getting harder to treat. In the future, routine surgery could become
risky and cancer treatment more challenging. There is a real danger of returning to a time
when any one of us could pick up an infection and find that medicines are unable to produce
the intended results.
(6) In 2010, Indians consumed the most antibiotics per person in the world. Medicines,
including antimicrobials, are easily available over the counter despite rules that forbid this. A
recent study found that a large number of antibiotics were on sale without being approved
either in India or in the country of the manufacturer. On an international level, further
complicating the picture is the fact that different countries have different standards of
quality.
(7) Ensuring medicine quality is a global challenge. A pill might be manufactured from
ingredients sourced from multiple countries, shipped via several ports, packaged and
repackaged in various countries, and ultimately sold via an internet pharmacy. The number
of points at which fakes or sub standards could enter the chain is staggering, so international
coordination and regulation is essential.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

(i)The term poor quality medicines are considered to be a catch-all because of it. 1
(a)Helps consumers identify medicines that are of bad quality and reject them.
(b)Highlights the authentic medicines that contain ingredients that are of high quality
(c)Indicates that the issue is related to quality and helps authorities to stay vigilant
(d) includes medicines that are both fake and fail to meet appropriate quality
standards

(ii) Can microbes that are not directly exposed to poor-quality medicines pose a threat to
humans? Support your answer with reference to the text. 2

(iii) In paragraph 6, the writer points out that antimicrobials are easily available over the
counter in India despite rules that forbid this. Based on your understanding of this issue,
how can you purchase medicines responsibly?
2

(iv) Select the option that conveys the meaning of ‘staggering’ used in paragraph 7. 1
(a)Shocking (b)Damaging

(c)Detectable (d)Unplanned

(v) Which of these statements is NOT true about poor-quality antimicrobials? 1

(a) They misrepresent the amount of active ingredients that they contain.
(b) The effects caused by them can be reversed with appropriate medication.
(c) They can pose a serious threat even to people who do not consume them.

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 (d)The germs exposed to them can adapt themselves to become a stronger variant.

(vi) In 2013, a multinational pharmaceutical company was heavily fined by the USA for
falsifying data and violating safety standards. When the same violations came to the
attention of UK authorities, they did not find it to be serious enough to punish. Based on the
passage, mention one fact that explains this situation.
1

(vii) Will stopping the manufacturing of poor-quality medicines fully resolve the issue of
antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries? Give reasons to support your
view. 2

(viii) Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference from the passage:
1

Effective quality control and regulation of medicines at their point of production alone
cannot guarantee the eradication of poor-quality medicines because

(ix) Which of these is the primary purpose of paragraph 5?

1

(a)To give insight into the process of gene transmission in microbes

(b) To list the infections that can become difficult to treat in the future
(c) To reveal the effects that infections can produce in human bodies
(d)To emphasise the serious consequences of antimicrobial resistance

Q.2. Read the following passage: 10

The effects of global warming are already bringing harm to human communities and the
natural world. Further temperature rise will have a devastating impact. So, immediate action
to check greenhouse gas emissions is urgently required. Population and climate change are
inextricably linked. Every additional person increases carbon emissions — the rich far more
than the poor — and increases the number of climate change victims – the poor far more
than the rich.

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 Fig 2.1-Emissions Pie Chart Fig 2.2- Green House Gas Emission

2. Population growth is mainly responsible for climate change. Overconsumption of natural

resources, especially deforestation, at a very fast rate is causing great harm to the
environment. We are currently adding more than 80 million people a year to our global
population. The UN projects that without further action to address population growth, there
will be two billion more people by 2050 and three-and-a-half billion more by 2100.
Climate change poses a great threat. Further warming of our atmosphere is now almost
impossible to avoid. The effects of that warming will depend on how high and how fast the
temperature rises. Global warming changes weather patterns, causing severe weather
events, heat waves, droughts, and floods.
3. Climate change is already shrinking glaciers and ice caps, altering the availability of fresh
water. It contributes to ocean acidification, destroying coral reefs and other aquatic
ecosystems. It makes places uninhabitable for some plants and animals, leading to extinction
and species redistribution. It threatens food production with alien pests and diseases.

Fig 2.3
4. Its potential human cost is catastrophic. A rise in sea levels threatens hundreds of millions
of people in coastal communities and cities across the globe. Food and water shortages and
conflict over productive land will force hundreds of millions of people to migrate from their
homes by 2050.
It’s a wake-up call for all of us. We all must rise to the occasion doing our bit. The sooner, the
better.
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above:

i. Who are more vulnerable to the inimical effects of climate change? 1

ii. As per Figure 2.2 which gas is mostly responsible for the greenhouse effect? 1
a. Methane
b. F gases
c. Carbon dioxide
d. Nitrous oxide.
iii. What is the ratio of Japan vs India’s contribution towards emission of greenhouse
gases? (Fig 2.1)1

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a. 2:3
b. 3:2
c. 1:6
d. 1:1
iv. According to Fig 2.3, which country will report the maximum deaths in 2050 due to
climate change?
1
a. France
b. Spain
c. Italy
d. Poland
v. ‘We all must rise to the occasion doing our bit’. How do you infer the phrase
____________________________. 2
vi. According to the passage people will be forced to migrate from their homes by 2050
because of________________ 1
vii. Explain the result of climate change in about 40 words? 2
viii. What is the cause of the destruction of Coral reefs? 1

SECTION -B -CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS (18 marks)

Q3. Attempt ANY ONE of two questions in about 50 words. (4)
(A) You are Rimsi / Rohan, the Sports Secretary of Lotus International School, Delhi. Your
school is going to put old sports goods on sale for students. Draft a notice for your school
notice board informing the students about the same.
OR
(B) As the Principal of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, draft a notice informing students of the change
in school timings with effect from the 1st of October. State the valid reasons for the change.

Q4. Attempt ANY ONE of two questions in about 50 words.

(4)
(A) The literary club of your school is putting up the play ‘Waiting for Godot’. As secretary of
the club, draft an invitation inviting the famous writer MANYATA GOYAL to be the guest of
honour at the function. As Govind/Gauri, the President of the school’s Literary Club, draft
the invitation.
OR
(B) As the Dean of a reputed college, you have been invited to inaugurate a Book Exhibition
in your neighbouring college. Draft a reply to the invitation in not more than 50 words,
expressing your inability to attend the function. You are Tarun/Tanvi.
4
Q5. Attempt ANY ONE of two in about 120-150 words. (5)
(A) Terrorism is a big threat to millions of lives. Write a letter in 120-150 words to the
Editor of a national newspaper on how terrorism has an impact on the entire mankind and
suggest measures to curb it. You are Arnav / Bhairavi of M-114, Vasant Kunj, Delhi.

(B) You are Prem/Parul of 16, TT Nagar, Bhopal. You would like to apply for the post of
Marketing Manager in a reputed firm in Mumbai. Write a letter to the Public Relations
Officer, Rohan Enterprises, Mumbai, applying for the job. Write the letter including your
biodata.

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Rohan Enterprises Mumbai
Are you a dynamic marketer ready to lead our brand to new Heights?
Rohan Enterprises invites
● Passionate Marketing Managers to drive innovation and success
● Leverage your skills in strategy, digital marketing, and leadership to shape your future
Apply now and be part of our growth story
Email your resume to careers@rohanrenterprises.com

Q6. Attempt ANY ONE of two questions in about 120-150 words. (5)
The education of the Girl Child is as important as that of a Boy Child. It might be considered
even more important as an educated woman leads to an educated family. Her contribution
in all aspects, is equally important for the welfare of a family. Using the clues given above
and including your own ideas, write an article on the importance of Girls’ Education. You are
Ramesh/ Reena.

OR
(B) A major bus mishap which left several people seriously injured took place at Nicholas
Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai. Luckily no life was lost. Collect the information from the
eyewitnesses and send a report to ‘The Nungambakkam Times’. You are Vinod/Vinodhini, a
reporter. (5)

 15 killed in Road Accident

 The accident took place around 9:00 a.m.
 Truck rammed a tempo and then hit another car
 Injured taken to the local medical college
 The Chief Minister expressed his condolences
 A magisterial enquiry has been ordered, said by the ADG of Police

SECTION-C
LITERATURE TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLEMENTARY READING TEXT (40 marks)

Q7. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two. (6x1=6)

(A) But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs with N turned wrong and S turned wrong

(i) What is the tone of the poet in the given extract? 1

a. Optimistic
b. Resigned
c. Sympathetic
d. Indifferent

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(ii) With reference to the given extract, what harm has been caused by the ‘artless paint’?
1
(iii) Complete the sentence appropriately---- 1
The city is compared to______________________.
(iv) Compete the analogy with a word from the given extract.
Donate: contribute Dying: ____________. 1
(v) Choose the correct option. 1
The roadside stand is:
(a) at the edge of the road
(b) marred with artless paint
(c) like the flower of cities
(d) well maintained
(vi) What type of expectations do the stand owners have from the city dwellers? 1

OR
(B) Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the Ivory needle hard to pull
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand
(Aunt Jennifer's Tigers)

(i) How would you describe Aunt Jennifer based on the above extract? 1
(a) Oppressed and depressed
(b) malnourished and weak
(c) ageing and having ugly looks
(d) Diseased and sick
(ii) Why are Aunt Jennifer’s hands fluttering through her wool? 1
(iii) Complete the sentence appropriately 1
Uncle’s wedding band sits heavily on Aunt Jennifer's hand suggests that_______
(a) She feels burdened in her marriage
(b) The ring was very heavy in design
(c) The ring carries the burden of the uncle’s absence
(d) The ring symbolizes a deep responsibility
(iv) State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE. 1
‘Aunt Jennifer’s fingers flutter through her wool because it is cold, and she is not perfect at
embroidery.’
(v) What do the symbols ‘tigers’, ‘fingers’ and ‘ring’ stand for in the poem? 1
(vi) Identify the figure of speech in ‘fingers fluttering’. 1

Q. 8. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for any one of the two given. (4)

(A) Human civilisations have been around for a paltry 12,000 years- barely a few seconds on
the geological clock. In that short amount of time, we've managed to create quite a ruckus,
etching our dominance over Nature with our villages, towns, cities, and megacities. The
rapid increase of human populations has left us battling with other species for limited
resources, and the unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has now created a blanket of carbon

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dioxide around the world, which is slowly but surely increasing the average global
temperature.

i) What is responsible for all the ruckus according to the narrator?

a) Human Population
b) Building up of cities
c) Deterioration of Nature
d) All of these
ii) What does the word ‘unmitigated' mean?
iii) How can Global Warming be curbed?
iv) Humans have been living on this planet since …………………..

OR
(B) Have you ever been there? It's a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses, huge
lawns, and tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets. And in
1894, summer evenings were twice as long, and people set out on their lawns, the men
smoking cigars and talking quietly, the women waving Palm-leaf fans, with the Fire-flies all
around, in a peaceful world. To be back there with the First World War still 20 years off, and
World War II over 40 years in the future…. I wanted two tickets for that.
(i) Which place is the narrator talking about? 1
(ii) The society represented in the above extract is ____________. 1
(iii) Why does the narrator wish to visit that place? 1
(iv) “Tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets” is not an
example of.. 1
1. Imagery 2. metaphor 3. alliteration 4. anachronism
(a) Options 1 and 2 (b) Options 1 and 3
(c ) Options 2 and 3 (d) Options 2 and 4

Q9. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for anyone of the two. (6)

(A) She entered, followed by a valet, carrying on his arm a big fur coat. She was not at all
pretty but seemed modest and quite shy. In the forge everything was just as it had been
earlier in the evening. The master blacksmith and his apprentice still sat on their bench, and
iron and charcoal still glowed in the furnace. The Stranger had stretched himself out on the
floor and lay with a piece of pig iron under his head and his hat pulled down over his eyes.
As soon as the young girl caught sight of him, she went up and lifted his hat. The man was
evidently used to sleeping with one eye open. He jumped up abruptly and seemed to be
quite frightened.

(i) ‘She’ refers to ___________. 1

(ii) How is ‘she’ described? 1
(iii) How did the man react when ‘she’ approached him? 1
(iv) ‘He was sleeping with one eye open’ means: 1
(a) He was in deep sleep
(b) He was pretending to sleep
(c) He was alert while sleeping
(d) He wanted to steal something.

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(v ) The stranger had come to the forge to___________. 1
(a) steal scrap iron
(b) take shelter in the mill on a wintry night
(c) to meet the ironmaster
(d) to inspect the proceedings at the mill
(vi ) Why was the stranger frightened when he woke up? 1
OR
(B) Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday
clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back
of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It
was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing
their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
(i) Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as a ‘poor man’? 1
(ii) Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending the last
lesson most accurately? 1
(a) Too good to miss (b) Too little, too late
(c )Too many cooks spoil the broth (d) Too Cool For School
(iii) M. Hamel was also responsible for not rendering faithful service as a teacher because
______. 1
(iv) The old men wanted to express their______ and _____ by attending the last lesson of M.
Hamel.1
(v) Read the following statements and answer the question by selecting the correct option:
1
Assertion: M. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes.
Reason: He was invited to a dinner party.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of
assertion
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but the reason is not the correct explanation
of assertion
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false
(d)Assertion is false and reason is true
(vi) Why did the old men of the village feel sorry? 1

Q.10. Answer ANY FIVE of the following six questions in about 40-50 words. (5x2=10)
i. The peasants were themselves the most crucial agents in the success of the
Champaran Civil Disobedience Movement. Elucidate.
ii. How has Asokamitran described the makeup room in the chapter ‘Poets and
Pancakes’?
iii. Why do most celebrities despise being interviewed?
iv. What do the parting words of the poet, Kamala Das, and her smile signify?
v. Describe both the physical and emotional impacts that the misadventure at the YMCA
pool had on the narrator.
vi. “And she was jealous of his silence”. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?

Q.11. Answer any two of the following three questions, in about 40- 50 words: 2x2=4
i. Sadao and Hana have a moral compass that urges them to save the prisoner’s life. Do we
all need this moral compass? Why?

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ii. ‘It is not merely age but experience that counts.’ With the help of examples from the
lesson ‘On the Face of It’, comment on how Derry found Mr lamb different from other adults
he had encountered.
iii. Which problem did the Maharaja face when he killed 70 tigers? How did he solve it?

Q.12. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in about 120- 150 words. (5)
A. It could be said that the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ presents the poet’s philosophy for a
different kind of world. If you were asked to highlight elements of Neruda’s vision that
resonate in your specific social, political, and cultural context, which three main ideas would
you engage with? Use relevant textual details to support your analysis.
OR
B. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy, but
they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.

Q.13. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in about 120- 150 words. (5)

A. How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you
find them truly sincere towards him, or are they driven by fear when they obey him?
OR
B. Imagine Zitkala-Sa and Bama meeting each other. They both share their experiences of
being from marginalised communities. They reflect on instances of oppression they faced
and how those instances proved to be the source of strength to fight against such
oppression. Write down their discussion in a creative way, with reference to their
experiences.

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