Code No.

2/5/2
Candidates must write the Code on the
Roll No. title page of the answer-book.

 Please check that this question paper contains 8 printed pages.

 Code number given on the right hand side of the question paper should be written
on the title page of the answer-book by the candidate.

 Please check that this question paper contains 11 questions.

 Please write down the Serial Number of the question in the answer-book before
attempting it.

 15 minute time has been allotted to read this question paper. The question paper
will be distributed at 10.15 a.m. From 10.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., the students will
read the question paper only and will not write any answer on the answer-book
during this period.

ENGLISH
(Language and Literature)

Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 80

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General Instructions :
Read the following instructions very carefully and strictly follow them :

(i) The question paper comprises three sections  A, B and C.

Section A — Reading 20 marks
Section B — Writing and Grammar 30 marks
Section C — Literature 30 marks

(ii) There are 11 questions in the question paper. All questions are compulsory.

(iii) Answers should be brief and to the point.

(iv) There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice
has been provided in Section B and Section C. Make your choices correctly.

(v) In addition to this, separate instructions are given with each section and
question, wherever necessary.

(vi) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

SECTION A – (Reading) 20 marks

1. Read the following passage carefully. 8
1 Caged behind thick glass, the most famous dancer in the world can
easily be missed in the National Museum, Delhi. The Dancing Girl of
Mohenjo-daro is that rare artefact that even school children are
familiar with. Our school textbooks also communicate the wealth of
our 5000-year heritage of art. You have to be alert to her existence
there, amid terracotta animals to rediscover this bronze image.
2 Most of us have seen her only in photographs or sketches, therefore
the impact of actually holding her is magnified a million times over.
One discovers that the dancing girl has no feet. She is small, a little
over 10 cm tall  the length of a human palm  but she surprises us
with the power of great art  the ability to communicate across
centuries.
3 A series of bangles  of shell or ivory or thin metal  clothe her left
upper arm all the way down to her fingers. A necklace with three
pendants bunched together and a few bangles above the elbow and
wrist on the right hand display an almost modern art.

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 4 She speaks of the undaunted, ever hopeful human spirit. She reminds
us that it is important to visit museums in our country to experience
the impact that a work of art leaves on our senses, to find among all
the riches one particular vision of beauty that speaks to us alone.
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the
following questions. 18=8
(a) The Dancing Girl belongs to
(i) Mohenjo-daro.
(ii) Greek culture.
(iii) Homo sapiens.
(iv) Tibet.
(b) In the museum she’s kept among
(i) dancing figures.
(ii) bronze statues.
(iii) terracotta animals.
(iv) books.
(c) Which information is not given in the passage ?
(i) The girl is caged behind glass.
(ii) She is a rare artefact.
(iii) School books communicate the wealth of our heritage.
(iv) She cannot be rediscovered as she’s bronze.
(d) ‘Great Art’ has power because
(i) it appeals to us despite a passage of time.
(ii) it is small and can be understood.
(iii) it is seen in pictures and sketches.
(iv) it is magnified a million times.
(e) The jewellery she wears
(i) consists of bangles of shell or ivory or thin metal only.
(ii) is a necklace with two pendants.
(iii) Both (i) and (ii) are correct.
(iv) Neither (i) nor (ii) is correct.
(f) She reminds us
(i) of the never-say-die attitude of humans.
(ii) why museums in our country are exciting.
(iii) why she will make us come into money.
(iv) of dancing figures.
(g) The synonym of the word ‘‘among’’ in paragraph 1 is _______ .
(h) The size of the dancing girl is equal to the length of the
human palm. (True/False)
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2. Read the following passage carefully. 12
1 As the family finally sets off from home after many arguments, there is
a moment of lull as the car takes off. ‘‘Alright, so where are we going
for dinner now ?’’ asks the one at the driving wheel. What follows is a
chaos as multiple voices make as many suggestions.
2 By the time order is restored and a decision is arrived at, tempers have
risen, feelings injured and there is at least one person grumbling.
3 Twenty years ago, you would step out of home, the decision of meal and
venue already made with no arguments or opposition and everybody
looked forward to the meal with equal enthusiasm. The decision was
made by the head of the family and the others fell in line. Today every
member of the family has a say in every decision which also promotes a
sense of togetherness and bonding.
4 We empower our kids to take their own decisions from a very early age.
We ask them the cuisine they prefer, the movie they want to see, the
holiday they wish to go on and the subjects they wish to study.
5 It’s a closely connected world out there where children consult and
guide each other. A parent’s well-meaning advice can sound like
nothing more than unnecessary preaching. How then do we reach our
children through all the conflicting views and make the voice of reason
be heard ? Children today question choices and prefer to go with the
flow.
6. What then is the best path to take ? I would say the most important
thing one can do is to listen. Listen to your children and their silences.
Ensure that you keep some time aside for them, insist that they share
their stories with you. Step into their world. It is not as complicated as
it sounds; just a daily half an hour of quality time would do the trick.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the
following questions in 30 – 40 words each : 24=8
(a) Write one advantage and one disadvantage of allowing every
family member to be a part of the decision-making process.
(b) In today’s world, what are parents asking their kids ?
(c) Which two pieces of advice does the writer give to the
parents ?
(d) The passage supports the parents. How far do you agree with
the author’s views ? Support your view with a reason.

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 2.2 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the
following : 14=4
(a) The synonym of ‘hurt’ as given in paragraph 2 is __________ .
(b) The word which means the same as ‘a style or method of
cooking’ in paragraph 4 is
(i) cuisine (ii) gourmet
(iii) gastric (iv) science
(c) The antonym of ‘agreeable’ as given in paragraph 5 is
__________ .
(d) The antonym of ‘simple’ as given in paragraph 6 is
(i) difficult (ii) complicated
(iii) easy (iv) tricky

SECTION B – (Writing and Grammar) 30 marks

3. You are Neena/Sumit, a student of Class XII, Blooms Public School,

Dwarka, Delhi. The road leading to your school has become notorious for
fast running vehicles. Students coming to the school in the morning, and
leaving in the afternoon are put to a great difficulty. School buses and
parents who come to leave and take their children from school are put to
inconvenience. Write a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Delhi Police to
post traffic constables on duty in front of the school in the morning as well
as in the afternoon. (100 – 150 words) 8

OR
You are Mitali/Manish. You have recently read that the instances of
violence among students have been on the rise. You believe that this is due
to violence shown in films and video games etc. Lack of moral values has
also contributed to the problem. Write an article on ‘Violence Among
Students’ in 100 – 150 words. 8

4. Complete the following story in 150 – 200 words using the beginning
given below : 10
There lived a cricket and an ant. They were good friends. The cricket was
silly but the ant was wise ... ... ...
OR

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 Develop the following story in 150 – 200 words using the hints given
below : 10
A rich man arranged a great feast  the occasion, his son’s marriage  a
fisherman brought five big fish  gatekeeper allowed him to enter on the
condition to share half of the reward  fisherman asked for hundred
lashes on his back as a reward  the rich man surprised, came to know
the cause  dismissed the gatekeeper.

5. Read the paragraph given below and fill in the blanks by choosing the
most appropriate words from the given options. 14=4

Buddhism (a) survived in India only (b) a comparatively small

section of population (c) Buddhism in (d) Far East today has over

150 million adherents.

(a) (i) has (ii) have (iii) had (iv) been
(b) (i) among (ii) as (iii) but (iv) so
(c) (i) and (ii) or (iii) so (iv) though
(d) (i) a (ii) an (iii) the (iv) at

6. The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error in each
line. Write the error and the correction in your answer-book against the
correct blank number. 1×4=4
Error Correction
Tourism is one in the biggest businesses (a) ________ ________
in the world generating on least (b) ________ ________
288 million jobs. It is vital for an (c) ________ ________
economies of much countries. (d) ________ ________

7. Rearrange the following set of words and phrases to form meaningful

sentences. 14=4
(a) boys / prize / each / a / the / given / of / was
(b) prizes / number / a / display / on / of / were

(c) these / costly / was / of / prizes / each one

(d) athletes / competition / part / were / in the / many / taking

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 SECTION C – (Literature) 30 marks

8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : 14=4
‘‘Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.’’
(a) The lady’s hair is compared to __________ .
(i) ramparts (ii) ears
(iii) honey (iv) despair
(b) The young man has fallen in love with the lady for her ___________ .
(i) wealth (ii) social position
(iii) looks (iv) mind
(c) Name the poem and the poet.
(d) According to the poet, the lady wants the young man to love her for
__________ .
OR
Ausable moved to an armchair and sat down heavily. ‘‘I’m going to raise
the devil with the management this time, and you can bet on it,’’ he said
grimly. ‘‘This is the second time in a month that somebody has got into my
room through that nuisance of a balcony !’’
(a) Who is Ausable ?
(i) A secret agent (ii) A tourist in a hotel
(iii) A reporter (iv) A businessman
(b) Why was Ausable angry with the management ?
(i) His room was unsafe.
(ii) The food was not good.
(iii) The balcony was a nuisance
(iv) The armchair was not soft.
(c) Was there a balcony with the room ? Yes/No.
(d) Ausable was playing a ___________ on his visitor.

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9. Answer any five of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each : 25=10
(a) Did the letter reach God ? Why did the postmaster send a reply to
Lencho ?
(b) What does Mandela refer to as ‘an extraordinary human disaster’ ?
(c) What is the central idea of the poem, ‘Animals’ ?
(d) Why does Anil not hand Hari Singh over to the police ?
(e) Why did Ebright lose interest in tagging butterflies ?
(f) Why did Bholi not marry Bishamber ?

10. How did the Buddha make Kisa Gotami realise the reality of death ?
(100 – 150 words) 8

OR
‘‘Valli was a mature girl and ahead of her age.’’ Justify the statement with
instances from the text. (100  150 words) 8

11. Mme Forestier proved to be a true friend of the Loisels. Elaborate.

(100 – 150 words) 8
OR
Discoveries of science can be used for the welfare of mankind as well as for
its destruction. How is this applicable to Griffin’s scientific discovery ?
Explain giving examples from the text. (100  150 words) 8

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