ENGLISH-B
(New Syllabus)
2024
Total Time: 3 Hours 15 minutes
Total Marks: 80
Special credit will be given for answers which are brief and to the point. Marks will be deducted for spelling mistakes, untidiness and bad handwriting. Figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions.
INSTRUCTIONS:
This Question Booklet consists of 20 pages.
Attempt the questions as per the instructions given therein.
Write the answers only in the Main Answer Script, nowhere else.
The questions related to MCQ and SAQ should be answered in the specific printed TABLE accordingly in the Answer Script.
(Multiple Choice Type Questions)
1. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided: 1×12=12
PROSE
The girl who boarded the train from Rohana was wearing
(a) high heels
(b) slippers
(c) boots
(d) sports shoes.
Ans. (b) slippers
(ii) Before Roger left Mrs. Jones gave him
(a) a pair of suede shoes
(b) a ten cent cake
(c) ten dollars
(d) a set of new clothes.
Ans. (c) ten dollars
(iii) Kalam’s ancestral house was made of
(a) limestone and brick
(b) cement and brick
(c) mud and brick
(d) bamboo and tin shed.
Ans. (a) limestone and brick
(iv) When the Tsar saw the hermit for the first time, the latter was
(a) meditating under the tree
(b) sleeping on the porch
(c) digging the soil in front of his hut
(d) talking to the villagers.
Ans. (c) digging the soil in front of his hut
আরও দেখুনঃ সমস্ত বিষয়ের প্রশ্নপত্র
POETRY
(v) The Cricket’s shrill song is heard on a
(a) rainy afternoon
(b) sunny morning
(c) scorching noon
(d) winter evening
Ans. (d) winter evening
(vi) According to the poet what has All too short a date” ?
(a) Eye of Heaven
(b) Darling buds of May
(c) Summer’s lease
(d) The poet’s friend’s beauty.
Ans. (c) Summer’s lease
(vii) When the roots of the tree are pulled out, they are
(a) dry and dead
(b) white and wet
(c) hard and twisted
(d) green and moist
Ans. (b) white and wet
(viii) The soldier appears
(a) cold
(b) warm
(c) pale
(d) bright.
Ans. (c) pale
(ix) The setting of the play “The Proposal’ is
(a) Chubukov’s garden
(b) Lomov’s drawing room
(c) Chubukov’s drawing room
(d) Lomov’s garden
Ans. (c) Chubukov’s drawing room
(x) Natalya lived
(a) alone
(b) with her parents
(c) with her mother
(d) with her father
Ans. (d) with her father
(xi) Lomov was ………….. years old.
(a) twenty five
(b) thirty
(c) thirty five
(d) forty
Ans. (c) thirty five
(xii) The piece of land that Lomov
and Natalya Quarrell was
(a) Oxen Meadows
(b) Lomov’s farm
(c) Birch woods
(d) Burnt March.
Ans. (a) Oxen Meadows
(Short Answer Type Questions)
2. Answer any four questions from PROSE and four questions from POETRY, of the following questions, each in a complete sentence: 1×8=8
PROSE
(i) What were the names of Kalam’s parents ?
Ans. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s father was Jainulabdeen and mother was Ashiamma More
(ii) Who was supposed to receive the girl at Saharanpur station ?
Ans. (1) The girl ‘s aunt was supposed to receive the girl at Saharanpur station.
Ans. (2) She was her aunt who came to receive the blind girl at Saharanpur.
(iii) What did Kalam’s father avoid in his daily life ?
Ans. Kalam’s father avoid unnecessary comforts and luxuries.
(iv) At what time was Mrs. Jones returning home from work ?
Ans. One night Mrs. Jones was returning home at about 11 O’clock after completing her work at a hotel beauty shop.
(v) What was the third question that came to the Tsar’s mind ?
Ans. The third question of Tsar was that he wanted to know what the most important thing to do.
(vi) Why did the bearded man want to take revenge ?
Ans. The bearded man wanted to take revenge on the Tsar because the Tsar had executed his brother and seized his property.
(vii) What did the narrator know about the animals in the forests near Dehra ?
Ans. The narrator was quite familiar with the area of Dehra and he knew that there was hardly any animal left in the forests near Dehra.
(viii) What did Mrs. Jones plan to prepare from the canned milk ?
Ans. Mrs Jones planned to prepare cocoa from the canned milk.
POETRY
(ix) Who has written the poem ‘On Killing A Tree’ ?
Ans. Dr. Gieve Patel has written the poem ‘On Killing A Tree’.
(x) Who according to the poet is more lovely than a Summer’s day ?
Ans. According to the poet, his friend is more lovely than a summer’s day.
(xi) When the grasshopper gets tired, where does he rest ?
Ans. When grasshopper became tired, he rests ease beneath some pleasant weeds.
(xii) What will happen if miniature boughs are unchecked ?
Ans. If they are left unchecked, they expand and become a huge tree.
(xiii) What kind of a poem is ‘Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day’ ?
Ans. ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ is a Shakespearean love sonnet.
(xiv) What was the soldier’s pillow made of ?
Ans. Soldiers pillows are made up of fern.
(xv) Who is not expected to disturb the soldier’s rest ?
Ans. The insects which are humming there cannot disturb his rest because the young soldier is enjoying the peaceful eternal sleep i.e. the soldier is dead.
(xvi) Why is the poetry of the earth never dead ?
Ans. The poet wanted to say that poetry of nature is never going to end.
(Subjective / Descriptive Type Questions)
3. Answer any two questions from PROSE, two questions from POETRY and one question from DRAMA of the following questions. Each question, inclusive of subparts, should not exceed 100 words: 6×5 = 30
PROSE
(i) “Then I made a mistake.”
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) What mistake did he make ?
(c) Why did he call it a mistake ?
(d) How did his co-passenger react to it ? 1+1+2+2
(ii) “There was a very old mosque in our locality where my father would take me for evening prayers.”
(a) Who waited for Kalam’s father outside the mosque ?
(b) Why did they wait there ?
(c) Why did some of them thank Kalam’s father ?
(d) What would Kalam’s father then say to them ? 1+2+2+1
(iii) “May be, you ain’t been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you ?”
(a) Who is the speaker and who is being spoken to ?
(b) Which meal of the day is ‘Supper’ ?
(c) What did the person spoken to reply ?
(d) What were the things offered by the speaker ?
(iv) “Here comes someone running.”
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) Who came running ?
(c) What was the condition of the person who came running ?
(d) How was the person taken care of ? 1+1+2+2
POETRY
(v) “Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it.”
(a) What is meant by ‘it’ ?
(b) Why will the jab of the knife not do ‘it’ ?
(c) How can ‘it’ be done ? 1+2+3
(vi) ‘A small green valley where a slow stream flows’…
(a) Who lies in the valley ?
(b) How does he lie ?
(c) Describe his bed and pillow.
(d) How does the poet describe the smile on his face ? 1+2+2+1
(vii) “And every fair from fair sometime declines.”
(a) From which poem is the line quoted ?
(b) Who is the poet ?
(c) Briefly explain the meaning of the quoted line.
(d) How does the poet promise to immortalise his friend’s beauty ? 1+1+2+2
(viii) In about 100 words justify the title of the poem The Poetry of Earth’.
6
DRAMA
(ix) Why has Lomov come to visit Chubukov ? How was Lomov dressed ? How does Chubukov react to Lomov’s proposal ? How far was Natalya aware of the reason of Lomov’s arrival ? 1+2+2+1
(x) What are the names of hunting dogs of Lomov and Chubukov ? From whom has Lomov purchased his dog and at what price ? According to Lornov, what defect does Chubukov’s dog have ? 2+2+2
(xi) “Oh what a burden, Lord, to be the father of grown up daughter !” Who is the speaker ? In not more than 80 words, sketch the character of the speaker in light of the above comment. 1+5
4. (a) Do as directed: 1×6=6
(i) “Why don’t you say this to the people who come to you for help and advice ?” I asked my father. (Change the mode of narration)
Ans. I asked my father why he didn’t say that to the people who came to him for help and advice.
(ii) Then I made a mistake. (Change the voice)
Ans. A mistake was made by me.
(iii) You have an interesting face. (Change into a complex sentence)
Ans. Your face is quite interesting.
(iv) We lived in our ancestral house which was built in the middle of the 19th century. (Split into simple sentences)
Ans. We lived in our ancestral house.
The house was built in the middle of the 19th century.
(v) He is the best dog in the district.
(Change into positive degree)
Ans. He is better than any other dog in the district.
(vi) The poetry of earth is never dead.
(Turn into an affirmative sentence)
Ans. The poetry of earth is always alive.
(b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and/or prepositions: `frac1{2}`×6 = 3
I have endeavoured ………(i)………. understand ……(ii)……fundamental truths revealed …….(iii)……. me ………(iv)…….. my father, and feel convinced that there exists ……(v)….. divine power that can lift one up from
confusion, misery, melancholy and failure and guide one ……..(vi)………. one’s true place.
Ans. (i) To (ii) The (iii) To (iv) By (v) A
(vi) To
(c) Correct the error in the following sentence by replacing the underlined word with the right one from the options given below: 1×1=1
Few girls can resist flattering.
Ans. flattery.
[Options: flatter, flattery, flatterer]
5. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Today it is the tonga that is nearing extinction with the emergence of the prosperous middle class in many of our cities. The machine has been given preference as a form of conveyance. Scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses ply on routes that were once the monopoly of tonga, ponies and tram cars. Our roads, never built for such heavy traffic are frequently cracking up.
Tongas are still to be seen in our towns but they are confined to roads where taxis and buses do not penetrate; most tonga drivers refuse to change with the times and still ply their tongas despite a diminishing income. Their ponies seem to have more traffic sense than some of our taxi drivers; they deal very well with traffic jams, seldom panic, and are involved in very few accidents.
Tonga drivers vary according to the towns they belong to. In Lucknow they are still courteous, self styled descendants of Nawabs. In Delhi where you can see them only in the old city they are aggressive and shrewd, matching the temper of the city. Many of them have sold their ponies and bought auto rickshaws. Everywhere they are fading away.
Tongas like tram cars are becoming part of our nostalgia for the past. Good for the animal, perhaps, though I have never met a tonga driver who starved his pony. And the greater the distance we put between our world and the world of animals, the less humane we become.
(a) State whether the following statements are True or False.
Write ‘T’ for True and ‘F’ for False. (You need not write the sentences, write the numbers only) 1 x 4 = 4
(i) Our roads are built for scooters, motor cycles, cars, trucks and buses. [F]
(ii) The income of tonga drivers is decreasing. [T]
(iii) Taxi drivers lack the traffic sense which we observe in tonga ponies. [T]
(iv) The narrator has often seen starved tonga ponies. [F]
(b) Answer each of the following questions in about 30 words: 2×3=6
(i) Where are the tongas confined to in our towns ?
(ii) How do the tonga drivers vary according to the towns they belong to ?
(iii) What do the middle class people of the cities prefer as a means of conveyance ?
6. (a) Write a report on the ‘ANNUAL PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY’ organised by your school. The report is to be published in your school magazine. (Word limit: 150 words) 2+8=10
(b) You had ordered a book from an online bookstore, but the book arrived in a damaged condition. Write a letter to the manager of the customer service department of the bookstore complaining and requesting (Word limit: 150 words) a replacement. 2+8=10
OR
(c) Write a précis of the following passage. Add a suitable title: 2+8=10
No one can deny the importance of history in our civilisation. No study of present is complete without a reference to the past. If we go to history for a mere catalogue of facts and a record of annals and dates, we will be mistaken. We will only know the surface reality. The proper study of history lies in the relation of the past with the present: how the present relates to the past and what happened in the past has a profound connection with the present. It is from history that we come to learn how misfortunes could have been avoided and how people could take lessons from good things. Such knowledge would surely help in the progress of civilisation. The real understanding of history lies in this.