1 2 1 English Communicative
1 2 1 English Communicative
1 2 1 English Communicative
ENGLISH
(Communicative)
Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 80
General Instructions :
(i) The Question paper is divided into three sections :
Section A — Reading 20 marks
Section B — Writing and Grammar 30 marks
Section C — Literature 30 marks
(ii) All questions are compulsory.
(iii) You may attempt any section at a time.
(iv) All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct order.
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SECTION A – (Reading) 20 marks
1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 8
Libraries
1 Libraries are buildings filled with stacks of books and resources.
Modern day libraries also consist of electronic resources. Libraries
offer wealth of knowledge, resources, space and environment to
discover the world of books and enjoy studying or just reading for
pleasure. The benefits of libraries are countless as they play a vital
role by providing access to information, knowledge and
entertainment resources.
2 Virtual libraries provide immediate access to a wide range of books
and resources. Libraries provide materials in all formats such as
books, periodicals, magazines, videos, audios and digital media. The
resources are tailored to meet the needs of the learner community.
The wide range of resources meets the needs of diverse users.
Whether in an educational or public library, people benefit from the
assistance of librarians and staff members. There is a head librarian
in every library and a team of professional staff who help people
with queries and recommend books as per their interest. Libraries
are always catalogued by trained staff. They are catalogued to meet
the needs of the community. The catalogue is also entered and
stored in computers so that it becomes easy for the users to search.
Libraries have a positive impact on the development of our society.
They open a world of books and sources of information and
knowledge to people for free.
3 Libraries require a lot of staff and real estate to house various books
and resources. It becomes really expensive to maintain libraries and
the library staff. Since they are not seen as crucial, they are likely to
bear budget cuts. Since a wide range of books and resources are to
be maintained and updated in old libraries, the useful resources may
be limited due to the time it takes to update. So, the libraries may
not sometimes have access to the current information. Some limited
edition books and journals from centuries ago may not be available
in every library. People looking for such resources must visit
traditional libraries for the same.
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4 Some argue that there is technology to read online and do research
so what is the need to visit a library. Yet libraries have served the
communities for centuries by providing original and quality
resources. People who have the habit of visiting and using libraries
understand the value and importance of libraries. In addition to it,
there are people who love reading but cannot afford to buy many
books. They can get easy access to valuable resources in libraries.
1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer
any eight of the following questions : 18=8
(a) What do modern libraries offer ?
(b) What is the role played by the head librarian and other staff
members ?
(c) What is the use of making a catalogue ?
(d) How do libraries help in the development of society ?
(e) Why do libraries become expensive ?
(f) Why sometimes do they not have access to current
information ?
(g) What are the uses of a traditional library ?
(h) What can be the impact of online material on libraries ?
(i) Who understands the value and importance of a library ?
2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 12
1 His heavy bat was a major talking point whenever Sachin Tendulkar
battled injuries in his over-two-decade-long career but the iconic
cricketer said he was never convinced about giving it up for a lighter
one as his timing got affected every time he tried the change. In his
autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’, Tendulkar wrote that he was asked
several times to try a lighter bat but it never worked for him.
2 ‘‘I used a pretty heavy bat and I was sometimes encouraged to move to a
lighter one. Again, I did try but I never felt comfortable, as my whole
bat swing depended on that weight. When I was hitting a drive, I
needed the weight to generate the power. It was all to do with the
timing,’’ he explains. The all-time leading scorer in the game also
offered an interesting take on how to hold the bat. ‘‘To me the bat
should be an extension of your arm, and if you’ve reached the stage
where it’s become an extension of your arm, why do you need to
change ? What mattered to me most when I was batting was feeling
comfortable. As long as I felt comfortable, it didn’t matter where I was
playing or who I was playing against. If you make technical
adjustments, such as moving to a lighter bat, to cope with different
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conditions, there’s a risk of making yourself feel uncomfortable and of
thinking too much about your technique,’’ he says.
3 Tendulkar has advised budding batsmen against too much
experimentation, saying, ‘‘the bat should be an extension of your arm’’
and there is no need for a change in technique if ‘‘you have reached that
stage’’. ‘‘People have often commented on my own grip, which is very
low down on the handle. It all goes back to when I started playing
cricket when I was eleven, with my brother Ajit, who is ten years older.
As I didn’t have a bat of my own, I had to use Ajit’s full-size bat and the
only way I could cope with the weight at that age was to hold the bat
right at the bottom of the handle,’’ Tendulkar writes. ‘‘Some coaches
suggested changing my grip, and I did experiment, but it never felt
right. I had got used to feeling the end of the handle pressing against
the inside of my forearm and if I gripped the bat further up I didn’t
have that, and batting just didn’t feel natural. ‘‘That’s not to say that
my technique didn’t change at all, though. Throughout my career, I was
always looking to improve and constantly tried new things to cope with
different situations.’’
4 Tendulkar said one must try to read the bowler’s mind rather than
thinking too much about ‘‘your own batting’’. ‘‘I’ve always felt that I’ve
batted best when my mind has been at the bowler’s end of the pitch, not
at my end. In fact, for both batsmen and bowlers, I’ve always believed
that cricket is played best when your mind is at the opposite end and
that problems occur when your mind is stuck at your own end. ‘‘For
example, if a bowler is thinking too much about bowling no-balls, he’s
not going to be able to bowl what he wants to bowl. Instead, his mind
should be at the batsman’s end, focusing on where he’s going to pitch
the ball, which way he’s going to swing it and so on. As a batsman, if
I’m not consciously worrying about my footwork or my backlift or my
wrist-work, then I know that I’m in the right space, because my mind
needs to be at the opposite end, figuring out what the bowler is trying to
do. There’s no time to think about both ends at the same time,’’ he says.
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2.2 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, fill in
any two of the following blanks with appropriate words/phrases : 12=2
(a) Tendulkar’s bat was a major talking point because ________ .
(b) To Tendulkar the bat was an __________ .
(c) When he used a lighter bat ___________ .
2.3 Find out words/phrases from the passage that mean the same as the
following. Attempt any two. 12=2
(a) create (para 2)
(b) hold (para 3)
(c) trying to understand (para 4)
SECTION B – (Writing and Grammar) 30 marks
3. Write a letter, in 100 – 120 words, to the Police Commissioner, Pune
complaining about the use of loudspeakers after 10 p.m. in your city. You
are Anu/Anupam, 18, Rose Colony, Pune. 8
OR
Write an article, in 100 – 120 words, on ‘Importance of Festivals in Our
Social Life’. You are Anu/Anupam.
4. Write a short story in 200 – 250 words, with the help of the cues given
below. Give a suitable title to the story. 10
Honesty is the best policy its merit was realized by Rahul/Riya
when ... … …
OR
I sat frozen as if made of stone I did not move a muscle I did not blink
and stared unseeingly when I saw ... … …
5. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph given below by choosing the most
appropriate options from the ones that follow. Attempt any four. Write
the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. 1×4=4
In our school, the ground realities (a) different. We have not (b)
our salaries for the last three months. The shortage of funds (c) hit
the purchase of new books. But happy days are coming according
(d) our Principal. An approval of funds (e) received from the
Head Office.
(a) (i) is (ii) were (iii) are (iv) be
(b) (i) received (ii) been received (iii) receiving (iv) receives
(c) (i) have (ii) had (iii) has (iv) having
(d) (i) for (ii) on (iii) to (iv) of
(e) (i) is (ii) are (iii) were (iv) has been
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6. In the following paragraph, one word has been omitted in each line. Write
the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that
comes after it against the correct blank number. The first one has been
done for you. Attempt any four. 1×4=4
Word Missing Word
before word after
Do you remember last time you laughed e.g. remember the last
loudly ? For most us laughing out loud is an (a) ________ _______ ________
uphill task. More often not people think (b) ________ ________ _______
that they no time to laugh. There are more (c) ________ ________ _______
important things do. Says Sudha Chandra, (d) ________ ________ _______
‘‘Hiring laughter coach is my aim here.’’ (e) ________ ________ _______
8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : 1×4=4
You know not what you do : do not consent
That Antony speak in his funeral :
(a) Identify the speaker of the above extract.
(b) Whose ‘funeral’ is being talked about ?
(c) Why did the speaker raise this objection ?
(d) Give the antonym of the word, ‘consent’.
OR
‘‘Get all your friends and acquaintances to stop using the Ouija board, and
then we’ll start helping you to write.’’
(a) Identify the speaker of the above lines.
(b) To whom has this request been made ?
(c) Why has the speaker made this request ?
(d) How has the speaker been ‘helping you to write’ ?
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9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each : 2×4=8
(b) How did the circumstances prove favourable for the tiger hunt by
Mrs. Packletide in ‘Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger’ ?
(c) What will the poet’s friend learn when he arises on the ‘Judgement
Day’ in the poem, ‘Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments’ ?
(d) In the poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, what opinion do you
form of the other crew members on the ship with the Ancient
Mariner ? Why ?
(e) In the play, ‘Dear Departed’, why did Ben Jordan refer to the
grandfather as ‘The drunken old beggar’ ?
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