ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Class: XI

Time: 3 hrs Max Marks: 100

General Instruction:
1.Read all the questions carefully
2. Attempt all compulsory questions.
3. Marks are allotted in front of each question.

Question. 1

Write a composition on any one of the following in about 400-450 words. [25]

(a) Imagine that you visited a remote village which has no schools or any means of
education for the children. Describe the village, the people and the children, the problems
they face and how education is important for them. How did you feel at first? What were
your feelings when you had to head back?

(b) You were waiting at the ATM of Formont Bank, when a minivan drew up and three
men with masks broke into the bank. Narrate how a bank robbery was blocked by an
vigilant security guard and system.

(c) “Today’s youth think more in a practical sense then to trust their emotions.” You’re
your opinions in for or against the statement.

(d) Honesty

(e) “It is easier to moralize than to perform‟. Express your views on the given statement.

(f) Write an original short story beginning with the following words: “Everything was
perfectly planned in her farewell party until we heard a knock at the door……”

 Format – Content – expression

Points to be remember:
1. Start with introduction of the topic.
2- Describe the topic with supporting points.
3- Give examples and incidents
4- End with a conclusion.
Question. 2
(a) As a reporter you have visited a number of local hospitals in your city. Write a
newspaper report in not more than 300 words, entitled “Local Hospitals”, based on the
following points: [20]

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Buildings and infrastructure – accessibility - maintenance of the hospitals – quality of
services – Doctors – nursing staff – waiting period for treatment – emergency facilities –
other facilities available – medical equipment – overall opinion.
 Format – Content -expression of the review
1. Reference to the question
2. Should cover all points
3. Proper structuring of the review
4. Verdict in the end.

(b) As a member of the student welfare Council of your school, you have been given the
responsibility of setting up a Gender empowerment club. Write a proposal in not more
than 150 words, stating the steps you would take to successfully establish the club and
mention the reason and importance behind it. [10]
 Format – content – expression of proposal
1. Give introduction Mention about the need of the club
2. Mention the need of the club in the school
3. Draft proposal with suitable information
4. Should be written in a Formal Style.

Question. 3

(a) In each of the following sentences, A is complete, but sentence B is not. Complete
sentence B, making it similar in meaning to the sentence A. Write down sentence B in each
case. [10]

(1) (A) Not only did he buy a bed but also a side table.
(B) Besides………………………………

(2) (A) The heavy showers of rain rejuvenated the flowers.

(B) The flowers……………………………

(3) (A) The men were forced to work although the arrangements was pitiable.
(B) In spite of …………………………….

(4) (A) No sooner did we see a blaze of light in the sky than we heard a thunderous bang
near us.
(B) As soon as……………………………

(5) (A) As she has not brought a pencil, she is writing with a sketch pen.
(B) Not……………………………………

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 (6) (A)Rajasthan is the most traditional city in India.
(B) No .………………………………

(7) (A) Their dog is too lazy to be an efficient guard dog.

(B) Their dog is so……………………….

(8) (A) Samy said, “Ram, can you help me with my assignment?”
(B) Samy…..…………………………

(9) (A) All nooks and corners were checked.

(B) No nook or corner…………………..

(10) (A) How long I shall stay is suspicious.

(B) The………………………………….

 1. Besides buying a bed he also bought a side table.

 2. The flowers were rejuvenated by the heavy showers of rain.
 3. In spite of pitiable arrangements, the men were forced to work.
 4. As soon as we saw a blaze of light in the we heard a thunderous bang near us.
 5. Not bringing the pencil she had to write with a sketch pen.
 6. No other city in India is as traditional as Rajasthan.
 7. Their dog is so lazy that he can’t be an efficient guard dog.
 8. Samy requested Rama if he could help him in his assignment.
 9. No nook or corners were left unchecked.
 10. The doubt is how long should I stay in suspicion.

(b) Fill in each blank with a appropriate word. [5]

(1) If we set _______________ early, we can come back before sundown.

(2) He left the company and set _________ his own company.

(3) The teacher came _________ a conclusion and punished the boy.

(4) Ram jumped__________ my offer of a job in the company.

(5) Being a simple man and I have no use _________ such money.

(6) My father lost the use ____________ his left leg in a car accident.

(7) Rahul decided to carry ___________ with basket ball and give up volley ball.

(8) Divya is a good lady and is always ready to carry________ her knowledge.

(9) Reena agreed _________ me when I projected a conference meeting.

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(10) The sisters could not agree __________ themselves.

 1. out
 2. up
 3. to
 4. at
 5. for
 6. of
 7. on
 8. out
 9. with
 10. among

(c) In the following passage, fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the
word given in brackets. Do not copy but write answers in correct serial order. [5]

The other day we ______(1)(discuss) the setting up of a Cultural Club in our school. We
________(2)(talk) about the club and number of students ______ (3)(be) interested in it.
Then we ________(4)(begin) to talk about the rules regulations and requirement
_________(5)(govern) the club. None of us _______(6) (agree) and we started
______(7)(argue). Finally, our Social science teacher ______(8)(have) to be informed and
she _________(9)(come) and _______(10)(break) up the meeting.

 1. Were discussing
 2. talked
 3. were
 4. began
 5. To govern
 6. agree
 7. Arguing
 8. had
 9. came
 10. broke

Question. 4

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

My father and I left the hall and made our way out to walk across to headquarters. There
were street lights round the square, but underfoot the cobblestoned ground was dark and

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lumpy. My father tripped on the uneven surface and went down on one knee, trying not to
fall entirely.

At exactly the same moment there was a loud bang and a sharp zinging sound and a
scrunch of glass breaking. I bent over my father and saw that his eyes were stretched wide
and his mouth grim with pain. “Run,” he said. “Run for cover. For God’s sake, Ben! That
was a gunshot!” We were halfway across the square, easy immobile targets. He struggled
to get to his feet and told me again to run: and for once I disobeyed him.

“Stay down,” I told him. “You don’t understand...” His voice was anguished. “Are you
bleeding?” “What? I don‟t think so. I twisted my ankle.” People ran out of the hotel,
drawn by the bang that re-echoed around the square. There was confusion and people
saying, “What happened, what happened?” and hands stretching down to my father to
help him up. When he was well surrounded he finally took my arm. Putting his left foot
down caused him much discomfort. “That noise…” a woman said. Heads nodded. “It
sounded like... Was it... a gun?” “But where?” There’s no one here with a gun.”

Everyone looked round, but it was far too late to see the rifle, let alone the person shooting.
My father put his arm round my shoulders for support, and indicated that we should set
off. We walked in a procession to the headquarters and my father called the police. I went
to the open door, looking across the square to the hotel. I remembered the zing of the
bullet. If the bullet had been aimed at my father, and if he’d stumbled at the exact second
that the trigger was squeezed, and if the bullet had smashed some glass so that I heard the
tinkle, then why was every pane of the window in the headquarters intact? I told myself
that the whole thing had been a coincidence and turned to go back inside, and saw for an
instant a flash of light on broken glass down on the ground.

It was a window of the shop next door that had been hit. Zing. Ricochet. Smash. The
straight line could have been deflected by the curve of a cobblestone. The police arrived at
headquarters, and it was nearly two o’clock when I finally closed and bolted the doors and
switched off the lights. My father moved himself into one of the single beds in the bedroom.
I lay on the second, not at all sleepy. My father said, “Ben, why didn’t you run?” I
answered. “I didn’t want you to get shot.” “So you stood in the way...” After a while, I
said, “I’d say it was a .22 rifle with a high-velocity bullet. Hitting you in the body, it quite
likely won’t kill you. You need to hit the head or the neck to be lethal. All I did was shield
your head.” There was a silence. Then he said, “I’d forgotten you could shoot.” “I was in
the school team. We were taught by one of the country’s best marksmen.” I smiled in the
dark. “You paid for it, you know.”

Adapted from Penalty by Dick Francis

(a) (i) Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage for the following words:
[4]

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(1) full of severe pain and discomfort
(2) to stumble, misstep
(3) violence, to break, collision
(4) to apply pressure, to fit in a tight place

 1. Anguished
 2. tripped
 3. smashed
 4. Squeezed

(ii) For the words given below write a sentence of at least ten words, using the same word
unchanged in form, but with a different meaning which it means in the passage. [4]

(1) Quite
(2) fall (season)
(3) square
(4) head (auth)

 1. It’s said to be a very quiet place at night

 2. I like the fall season the most
 3. The square patch of the light at dark showed them way
 4. She was the head of her cultural committee.

(b) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.

(i) What two things happened at the same time when Ben and his father were walking
towards the headquarters? [2]

(ii) What did Ben noticed when he looked at his father on the ground? [2]

(iii) Why did Ben’s father asked to run and why did Ben did not listen to him? [2]

(iv) What logical answer did Ben gave to his father for not obeying him? [3]

 (i) Ben’s father lost his balance due to the uneven ground and fell down. Exactly
at the same time a bullet was fired which caused in loud bang and breaking of
glass.
 (ii) Ben saw that the eyes of his father were broad open due to extreme pain.
 (iii) Ben’s father ordered him to run away as he had heard a gunshot. Ben did not
listen his father rather he wanted to protect him from being shot in the head.
 (iv) Ben, explained his reason for not running away to his father is that if the
bullet had hit him in the body, it would not have killed him. The gunshot had to
be made towards head or neck so that it could confirm critical, so he did not leave
his father so that his head could be protected.

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(c) Describe the incident of the shooting in not more than 100 words (Paragraphs 1 to 10).
[8]

 Stick to the word limit

 Mention the incident to the point