APEEJAY SCHOOL

SUBJECT -ENGLISH

CLASS XII

Time Allowed 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

General instructions:

1.This paper is divided into three sections: A, B and C. All the sections are compulsory.

2. Separate instructions have been given for each section and question, wherever
necessary. Read these instructions and follow them carefully.

3. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

___________________________________________________________________________

SECTION- A

READING: 20 marks

1. Read the passage given below: 12

1. The sage of science, Einstein, was sitting in a depressive and pensive mood one evening.
His eyes were brimming with tears. The pain was evident on his face. He peeped out of the
window of his room. The sun had set a few minutes back. The sky was filled with a reddish
glow. At this sunset, he felt that it was humanity that had sunk into devilish darkness and the
reddish glow in the sky was the blood of humanity spilling all over the sky from earth. With
tired steps, he walked back to his chair and settled down. It was the 9th of August 1945.
Three days back, he had felt the same agony as if someone had torn him apart. He was deeply
hurt and depressed when he heard on the radio that America had dropped an atom bomb on
the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Today, within three days another bomb was dropped on another
city, Nagasaki and lakhs of people had been killed.

2. He had heard that the blast released so much energy that it had paled all past destructions
in comparison and death had played out a pitiable dance of destruction. The flames that broke
out of the bomb were burning, melting and exploding buildings. Scared of the heat of the
bomb, people had jumped into lakes and rivers, but the water was boiling and the people too
were burnt and killed. The animals in the water were already boiled to death. Animals, trees,
herbs, fragrant flowering plants were all turned into ashes. The atomic energy destruction had
just not stopped there. It had entered the atmosphere there and had spread radiation that
would affect people for generations to come and would also bring about destructive
irreversible biological changes in animals and plants.

3. As the news of the atomic attack reached Einstein, and he became aware of the glaring
horror of the abuse of atomic energy, his distress and restlessness knew no bounds. He could
not control himself and picked up his violin to turn his mind on to other things. While playing
the violin, he tried to dissolve his distress in its sad notes, but couldn't. He was burning on the
embers of destruction; his heart was filled with an ocean of agony and tears just continue
streaming uncontrollably out of his eyes. Night had fallen. His daughter came up and asked
him to eat something as he had not taken anything for the last four days. His voice was
restrained and he said, "I don't feel like eating."

4. He could not sleep that night. Lying down, he was thinking how he had drawn the attention
of the then American President Roosevelt towards the destructive powers of an atomic bomb.
He had thought that this would be used to scare Hitler and put an end to the barbarism that
Hitler was up to. However, Roosevelt kept him in the dark and made false promises.
Eventually, he had abused Einstein's equation of E=mc2 that resulted in the destructive
experiments. His actions had made science and scientists as murderers. Einstein kept on
thinking for a long time. Eventually, he slipped into sleep. When he woke up at dawn, there
was a new dawn in him too. The atomic threat had transformed his heart.

5. The next day, he decided to disassociate from the scientific policy of the government and
all governmental institutions. He decided to open educational institutions for children,
adolescents and youth - institutions where along with science, spirituality will be
compulsorily taught.

6. To inaugurate this institution, he had invited two great philosophers, Bertrand Russell and
Albert Schweitzer. Ten other great scientists who had won Nobel Prizes in different fields
were also invited. They all saw a different Einstein, not a great scientist but a sage in him.
The institution was opened by garlanding a photo of Mahatma Gandhi. While garlanding the
Mahatma, he became emotional and said with a lump in his throat, "I bow down to the great
man who fought for the independence of his country through non-violence. He could do so
because he was a truthful man and true spiritualist."

7. Those who teach science should be taught spirituality too. Without harmony between
science and spirituality, the destruction would continue unabated. A few years after this
institution was built, a Japanese delegation came to meet him. Einstein broke down in the
meeting and said, "You can give me any punishment and I will accept it. Anyway, I have
decided to lead my life in penitence." The Japanese were moved by his sincerity and forgot
their grief.

1.1 On the basis of your understating of the above passage, answer any five questions
given below, by choosing the most appropriate option: (1X5=5marks)

(a) Einstein invited philosophers and scientists ______________

(i) to discuss the causes of war (ii) to submit his resignation

(iii) to inaugurate an institution to teach spirituality (iv) to teach in his institution

(b) Why did Einstein play the violin?

(i)It was his daughter’s birthday (ii) He wanted to practice some notes

(iii) He had not played it since a long time (iv) He wanted to divert his mind to other things
(c) Einstein came to know that America had dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city,
Hiroshima through ________.

(i) television (ii) newspaper

(iii) radio (iv) a telephonic message

(d) What had the American President been informed about by Einstein ?

(i) The destructive power of an atomic bomb (ii) The conspiracy by the Japanese

(iii The inauguration of his institution (iv) His new idea on education

(e) Einstein words to the Japanese delegation were, _________

(i) “You can’t blame me, I’ll not accept it”

(ii) “You can’t give me any punishment.”

(iii) “Anyway I’ve decided to move on”

(iv) "You can give me any punishment and I will accept it."

(f) A word from the passage which means ‘repentance’ or ‘regret’ is_________

(i) pensive (ii) penitence

(iii) agony (iii) distress

1.2 Answer the following briefly in your own words: (1X5=5marks)

(a) What did Einstein feel while looking at the sunset from his room's window?

(b) Give a brief description of the disaster in 1945, which according to Einstein, turned
science and scientists into murderers.

(c) What did Einstein do to show his displeasure over the atomic attack?

(d) Why did Einstein want harmony between science and spirituality while teaching in
educational institutions?

(e) What did Einstein think of Mahatma Gandhi?

1.3 Find words in the passage that mean the following: (1X2=2marks)

(a) mental pain (para 1)

(b) without any reduction in intensity or strength (para 7)

2. Read the following passage carefully.

1. Every urbanite knows the bright lights of the city make it impossible to see the stars in a

night sky. What most of us do not know is that those lights also may be making us sick. The
cause is light pollution – the unearthly glow of billions of street lamps, security and porch

lights, searchlights, office lights and signs – as people everywhere try to dispel the darkness

of the night.

2. For the first time, light is being investigated seriously as a pollutant and a health hazard – a

possible cause that has increased incidence of breast cancer, depression and other ailments.

3. In the most heavily urbanized regions, it no longer ever really gets dark. Satellite images

reveal that in large areas of eastern North America, Western Europe, Japan and Korea, night

has become a constant twilight. In a natural night sky, someone looking at the heavens

should be able to see nearly 3500 stars and planets and the glow from the Milky Way, our

galaxy. But in some brightly lit cities, the number of visible stars has dwindled to about a

few dozen.

4. And for many wildlife species, light pollution seems to be as grave as environmental threat

as bulldozed habitats and toxic-chemical dumping. Lighting from office towers confuse
migratory birds which fly into buildings lit up at night.

Millions of birds in North America die from these crashes. Researchers have noticed since

the 1980s that artificial lights along ocean beaches confuse millions of baby turtles.

Observers say that the turtles instinctively crawl to the brightest thing on the horizon –

normally the reflection of the moon on the sea. But where beaches are illuminated, baby

turtles often crawl to the lit roads, where they are flattened by cars, or wander in circles on

the beach. Once day breaks, they bake to death in the sun.

5. Sea turtles and birds are clearly in peril because of light at night, but scientists have begun

to study whether human may share something of the same fate. Richard Steven, a US

Epidemiologist, has developed the idea that night light can disrupt critical hormonal levels

that affect human health.

6. Stevens came to this conclusion while trying to solve the puzzle of why breast cancer risk
is five times higher in industrialized societies than in non-industrialized countries.

7. Stevens turned to literature on circadian rhythms- the 24-hour biological clock that guides

daily body functions – and on melatonin, a hormone most living creatures produce only in

darkness. In a study published in 2001, Stevens says that there is ‘mounting evidence to
suggest that disruption of the melatonin rhythm may lead to chronic fatigue, depression,

reproduction anomalies and perhaps even cancer’. Melatonin is produced in the brain’s

pineal gland only when the eyes signal it is dark. Those working under lighting at night

could be reducing the amount of melatonin they produce.

8. Travis Longcore, Science Director at the Urban Wild lands Group (a Los Angeles

conservation group), says that light pollution should be receiving the same attention as

other environmental ills. Canada has set up a conservation reserve north of Toronto, the

first in the world to preserve a pristine night sky. Conservationists are hoping to expand the

area of preserved night sky beyond the park’s boundaries by encouraging local

municipalities to curtail the use of poorly designed night lighting.

9. In the United States, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has been campaigning
for bylaws requiring ‘night-friendly’ lights, with the bulbs recesses into the fixture so that the

light does not glare out horizontally or upwards. Lamps that direct a light beam at the

ground use less electricity and do not uselessly light the sky. While the health and

environmental impacts of night pollution are starting to capture attention, Dave Crawford,

the executive director of IDA, has other concerns too. He too worries that light may be

making people sick and harming wildlife, but he says the fading of the heavens could also

cause a fading of the human imagination – in many ways a greater long-term threat.

Writers and artists have been drawn inspiration from the night sky. Says Crawford, “It’s the
glamour and wonder of the universe we live in. We’ve got to preserve that.”

a) Make notes on the passage given above in any format using recognizable
abbreviations. Give a suitable title to the passage. (4 marks)

b) Write a summary based on the notes you have made in about 80 words.

(4 marks)

SECTION: B

WRITING SKILLS: 30 MARKS

OR

You are the President, Literary Society of Blooming Dale Public School, Dalhousie. Draft an
invitation to invite author Sudha Murthy requesting her to conduct a creative writing session
in your school. You are Romi/Rohit.

4. You are Satish/Sonali, the student prefect in charge of the school library. You have been
asked by your Principal to write a letter to place an order for children’s story books (10 –13
years). Write a letter to M.S.Book Depot Ramnagar, Bikaner placing an order for the books.
Invent the necessary details. 6 marks

OR

Write a letter in 120-150 words, to the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of your city
to apprise him about the general unsustainable growth of building activities in the city.Also
comment on the poor parking and other civic amenities available to support it .You are
Ganesh/ Gauri Sen.

5. Write an article for a youth magazine in about 150-200 words on ‘Films and their influence
on school-going children’. You are Manpreeth / Manjula, a student of class XII.

10 marks

OR

You are an active member of “Small Paws Club” in Mumbai, which works for the welfare of
animals by preventing cruelty to them. You recently visited Paalna Animal Care Home in
Powai and were pleasantly surprised to see the after- care provided to the animals. Write a
report on your visit in 150-200 words.

6. -Water is very precious. Some scientists even go to the extent of saying that the Third
World War may be fought on the issue of water. Write a speech in 150-200 words expressing
your views to be delivered in the morning assembly in your school. You are Amita/ Amit.

10 marks

OR

‘’Homes for the aged is inevitable in India’’. Write a debate in 150-200 words either for or
against the motion. You are Somesh/ Suparna.
 SECTION:C

(LITERATURE: TEXT BOOKS)

(MARKS:30)

7.Read the extract below and briefly answer the questions that follow each: 1x4=4

a) Here far from the city we make our roadside stand

And ask for some city money to feel at hand

To try if it will not make our being expand

And give us the life of the moving pictures’ promise.

That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.

(i)Who has made the roadside stand?

(ii)What does the speaker wish for?

(iii) Who is the ‘party in power’?

(iv)What was the promise made and by whom?

b) “But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk
without being seen : but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as
Sunday morning. Through the window I saw m y classmates, already in their
places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under
his arm.” 1x4=4

(i)Why was it so still?

(ii)What commotion is being referred to here?

(iii)Why did ‘I’ hope for the commotion , as suggested?

(iv)Why was M. Hamel walking up and down?

8.Answer any five of the following questions in 30-40 words each: 5x2=10

(i) Why do you think Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode a turning point in his life?

(ii) What made the chief astrologer ponder in wonder?

(iv) Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own
character?

(v) Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?

(vi) Why does Asokamitran call Subbu, ‘a charitable and improvident man?’

(vii) What does the poet’s smile in the poem, “My Mother At Sixty-six” signify?

9.Answer the following in 120-150 words. 6m

Despite the drawbacks of an interview, it is a supremely serviceable medium of

OR

We always admire those as heroes who face challenges bravely in different phases of life and
emerge successfully. Elaborate upon this statement with reference to William Douglas.

10.Answer The following in 120-150 words. 6m

The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi yet, metaphorically
speaking, miles away from it. Comment.

OR

Teachers always advise their students to dream big. Yet , the same teachers in your
classrooms find fault with Sophie when she dreams.Comment.