English (Core)

Time allowed: 3 Hrs Maximum Marks: 100

General Instructions: (i) This paper is divided into three Sections: A, B and C. All the sections are compulsory. (ii) Separate instructions are given with each section and question, whenever necessary. Read these instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully. (iii) Do not exceed prescribed word limit while answering the questions. SECTION-A: READING 1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: In this jet age, everyone is interested in making easy money. Thanks to the advancement in science and technology, these days life become more easy and comfortable than earlier with lot of domestic gadgets as well as instantaneous food recipes available in the market. This has resulted in making the people develop a mind-set to have anything immediately without waiting for-even at the traffic signals. 2. A piano teacher described an interesting encounter she had with a young lady who came to inquire about music lessons. The young lady asked her, How long will this course take? My father tells me that it is in fashion now to be able to play musical instruments and that I should learn quickly. I want something that will be quick, fast and easy like. When the amused teacher explained that it would take a lifetime of meticulous practice to learn music, her face fell and, needless to say, she never came back. 3. The single most important factor that distinguishes those of us who succeed in any venture from those of us who dont is this instant coffee attitude. Most of us want results quickly. We want to reach the top immediately and get worked up when things go wrong. Perseverance and patience are forgotten words. We get upset, frustrated and angry when a skill or activity requires us to put in a lot of effort and time. We get dejected and want to give it up. Things should be easy. Why should things take long? It is unfair. 4. Life is too short and there is not enough time to do all the things we want to. We tend to compare with others and get upset when they seem to be doing well - dismissing their achievement as pure luck or think that they have support, help, approach.that God is being too kind to them and not to us. And so we give up. 5. But such thinking serves no purpose. For it doesnt solve the problem. Life is tough for those with the instant coffee attitude. 6. Success, real success and happiness come to those who have a bread making attitude. Those who are willing to knead the dough, wait for hours for it to rise only to punch it down and knead some more, wait for another couple of hours for it to rise again, then bake it before it is ready to be eaten. Nothing is instantaneous. For every endeavour whether in the area of career, academics, music, sports, relationships, physical fitness or even in spirituality it is a long arduous journey. 7. Only if we are willing to spend time, put in painstaking effort and have faith, can we get results. If we dont accept this difficult but true fact of life, our lives will be far from being happy and fulfilling. For we may not make that extra effort which can change the course of life dramatically, for our benefit. 8. I often come across clients who have changed their doctors and do not even after they have spoken to me because they are on the lookout for a doctor who will instantly give them relief from their problems. One who will ensure that by the time they reach home from the clinic they will have wonderfully fulfilling relationships with their 1.

families. No wonder, most of us get bitter and disillusioned with life and ourselves and look for escape routes which seem to promise quick results. 9. The major problem with these instant coffee solutions is that they are invariably short-lived. If we stubbornly refuse to give up this search for quick solutions, all we do is end up on the wrong track. We never gain anything lasting from them. However, if we just pause to analyze what we are doing, we will realize how much time we are wasting searching for such magical solutions which simply do not exist. We actually save time when we stop this futile search and accept the proven methods of treading the straight and narrow path however difficult it may seem initially. (a) (i) Why did the young lady who wished to learn piano not go back to her teacher? (ii) What causes a person with instant coffee attitude to get upset or dejected? (iii) What qualities do people with a bread making attitude have? (iv) What will be the disadvantages if we do not accept the difficult-but-true fact of life? (v) What is the major problem with the instant coffee solutions? Pick out words from the above passage which mean the same as the following: (i) happening immediately (para 1) (ii) strenuous (para 6) (iii) walking (para 9)

(b)

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: More than a century ago, some countries had no proper police force. Local leaders devised their own methods of ensuring that their orders were carried out and fulfilled. the offender was not given a second chance to repeat his mistake for he was either killed or hunted out of district. In England, the modern police force grew largely from an unofficial body gathered by a London magistrate. He found that it was practically impossible to apprehend any of the criminals in his area unless he deployed some men secretly to detect and hunt the culprits. These unofficial constables had to patrol one large district. They looked upon their position largely as an honorary one and had very little power. Worse still they were sometimes corrupt man themselves for they would conveniently look the other way round in times of trouble, like theft, hooliganism and vandalism. Magistrate Fielding enrolled a few men whom he could explicitly trust and employed them to catch the thieves and other undesirable persons. Their remuneration was poor, their work was dangerous and they were unpopular. The majority of the people resented what they thought was a threat to their liberties, intrusion on their privacies and above all spying on them. They maintained that they should have every right to drink themselves to death with any form of alcohol, as so many of them did. They thought, too, that they should be allowed to quarrel, to fight and even to kill amongst themselves. The situation was made worse by the fact that the penalties for offences were very heavy in those distant days and a man could be hanged for the theft of some unimportant thing. Arrest by the magistrates man could bring disastrous results. Contrary to general feeling, the authorities gradually admitted that these early policemen were vitally necessary. After much discussion, argument and persuasion, the government secretly agreed to re-imburse the magistrate for the men he employed. This step was not made public lest it should be thought that the government was planting spies amidst its people. Eventually the public came to look upon the police with a more friendly spirit as the benefits became more noticeable. At long last, man and women could walk along the streets by day and even by night without fear of robbery and other acts of violence. Hitherto, the people were free to do practically anything good or bad, irrespective

of the possible consequences. As the police force was built up, the people gave up their freedom to commit evil deeds so that they might have a greater freedom to do good so as to enable one and all to enjoy life peacefully and harmoniously. (a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it points only using abbreviations wherever necessary. (b) Write a summary of the above passage in 80 words using the notes made.

SECTION B: ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS 3. You are Sonia/ Sohan of Simon Public School, MEERUT. Your school has decided to organize a cultural programme to raise funds for the victims of floods in Bihar. Draft notice, in not more than 50 words, for your school notice board. OR You want to sell a few (4 items) household items as you are going abroad. Draft an advertisement in not more than 50 words to be published in Dainik Bhaskar under classified columns. You are Dinesh/Divya of Moti Gabj, Balia. 4. You are Sharad/ Sharda, a press reporter. You witnessed the sufferings undergone by Tsunami victims in terms of loss of life and property. Write a report in 100-125 words for The Indian Express, Chennai. OR Recently you attended a seminar on Disaster Management in which matters related to floods, earthquakes, fires etc. write a report in 100-125 words to be published in Deccan Chronicle, Chennai. You are Prince/Priti, Head Boy/Head girl of ABC Public School, Chennai. 5. Rohtak University is running a correspondence course in MBA. Write a letter to the Director, Correspondence Course Study Centre, Sonepat requesting for a brochure and prospectus. You are Madhu/Madhav of K.K. Nagar, Delhi. OR Write a letter to the Chief post Master, General Post Office, Lucknow complaining of late delivery of letters causing a lot of inconvenience to you. You are Meena/ Mohit of 21, Babuganj, Lucknow, 6. We have traveled from the Stone Age to the age of Computers. There is an explosion of technology in the field of knowledge. Write an article in 150-200 words on the topic entitled The Future of Information Technology. You are Ramesh/Rani. OR Even after sixty years of our independence we have not been able to eradicate illiteracy from our country. Our dream of becoming one of the top leaders of the world cannot be realized unless illiteracy is totally removed from it. Students can play a very important role in this matter. Write an article in 150-200 words on The role of students in Removing Illiteracy. You are Puspendra/Pushpa.

SECTION C: LITERATURE 7. (a) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: Far far from gusty waves these childrens faces. Like rootless weeds, the hair torn around their pallor: The tall girl with her weighed-down head. The paper-seeming boy, with rats eyes.

(i) Where do you think are these children sitting? (ii) How do the faces and hair of these children look? (iii) Why is the head of the tall girl weighed-down? (iv) What do you understand by The paper-seeming boy, with rats eyes? OR 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) Why are Aunt Jennifers hands terrified? (ii) What are they still ringed with? (iii) Where did she make the tigers? (iv) What will happen to her tigers after her death? (b) Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words each: (i) Why does Kamala Das describe the young trees as sprinting? (ii) Why does Pablo Neruda urge us to keep still? (iii) Why does Keats associate grandeur with the mighty dead? (iv) Which things irritated those passers-by who stopped at the roadside stand? 8. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each: (a) How does M.Hamel pay a tribute to the French language? (b) Food is more important for survival than an identity for the rag pickers, says the author. Do you agree? Why? (c) Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire? What did he do there? (d) Why did Rudyard Kipling refuse to be interviewed? (e) How does Eco find the time to write so much? 9. Answer the following questions in 125-150 words: Attempt a character sketch of the crofter. How did he treat the peddler? OR Describe the efforts made by R.K.Shukla o persuade Gandhi to go to Champaran. 10. Answer the following question in 125-150 words: Write a character sketch of Dr. Sadao as depicted in your lesson, The Enemy. OR What happens on the part of the police and prison authorities helped Evans to escape from the prison? 11. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each: (a) Why did Charley think that Sam had escaped to Galesburg? (b) What happened to Gondwana 150 million years ago? (c) According to Derry, what do people think and say about him? (d) Why was Zitkala-Sa terrified when Judewin told her that her hair would be cut short?