AKT MEMORIAL VIDYA SAAKET SCHOOL - KALLAKURICHI

Class – XII ENGLISH CORE (301)

DPT - 4
Name:-------------- Time: 1hr
Roll no: ------------- Mark:25

Section-A Reading Skills

I. Read the passage given below. (12 Marks)

1. Given the standing of some of its institutions of higher learning, the IITs and IIMS,
India is a potential knowledge power. Realising the potential, however, is not going to
be easy. The impressive strides made by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
notwithstanding, universal access to quality school education- a minimum necessary
condition for any progress towards making India a knowledge society', as the 2006
report of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) puts it-remains a distant goal.

2. There is as yet no legislation at the national level to affirm the right to education, a
fundamental right under the Constitution. The number of school buildings for
elementary and secondary education falls far short of requirements and so does the
number of qualified teachers. The pressure on government budgets, which forces
governments to hire teachers on contract paying a pittance of a salary, is playing
havoc with quality. While the incursion of the private sector in the field is providing
some competition, mechanisms to enforce the required standards are lacking.

3. Not that there are no national standards or standards-enforcing agencies. We have

the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to bring out
textbooks in various subjects for school education. The Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) conducts examinations for schools affiliated to it across the
country. The states too have their school boards to conduct exams and enforce
minimum standards. How even the standards vary widely. In their anxiety to show
spectacular performance, some states are overly lenient-in marking answer papers.

4.Questions arise even over the standards applied by CBSE. Going by the number of
students securing 90% or more in their higher secondary exam, it would appear India
is on the brink of a knowledge revolution. The numbers are so large that the cut-off
point for admission to top colleges is now above 90%. However, admissions to IITs
and medical colleges are not based only on CBSE or State Board Exam results.
Leading undergraduate colleges offering non-professional degree courses hold their
own admission tests. Obviously, Higher Secondary School results are not taken to be
a reliable index of the quality of a student's learning capability or potential.
5. The numbers seem to be growing every year. The standards applied by Higher
Secondary Boards like CBSE seem to have been diluted to the point that leaves a big
gap between what students learn at school and what they have to face on entering
institutions of higher learning.
6. In an attempt to remedy the situation, NCERT had recently commissioned experts
to rewrite textbooks on economics. Though not entirely free from blemishes, these
new texts should go some way in helping beginners get acquainted with the basic
concepts in the subject and their applications.
7. Not surprisingly, their introduction is facing roadblocks. Teachers do not like to be
compelled to look at textbooks they are not familiar with. Those who revel in seeing
students score 90% are reluctant of ushering in something that may stop the rush of
such scores.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions.

(i) Governments have to hire teachers on contract basis due to

(a) the non-availability of regular teachers

(b) abundance of teachers in an area
(c) the guidelines issued by the Central Government
(d) the pressure on government budgets
(ii) List the reason as why India is referred as a potential knowledge power.
(iii) Select the option that conveys the opposite of 'plenty' from words used in
Paragraph 2.
(a) Pittance (b) Looking (c) Mechanisms (d) Incursion

(iv) What is the tone of writer when he remarks "India is on the

revolution?"
(a) Sarcastic (b) Optimistic (c) Imaginative (d) Presumptuous

(v) Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inferences with respect to the
following The main factor that has affected the quality of education is……..

(vi) Why do leading undergraduate colleges hold their own admission tests?

(vii) The writer would not agree with the following statements based on Paragraph 4
EXCEPT__________.
(a) a large number of students score more than 90% in their higher secondary school
exams
(b) the cut-off point for admission to top colleges is above 85%
(c) admissions to IITs are based only on CBSE or state board results
(d) higher secondary school exam results are taken to be a reliable index of the quality
of a student's learning capabilities

(viii) Based on the information given in the last paragraph, why do you think that
teachers are opposing the introduction of new textbooks?
(ix) Pick the option that correctly lists the feelings of the writer with reference to the
topic concerned in the passage.
1. Frustrating 2.Amusing 3.Satisfying 4.Disillusioning 5.Exacting 6.Enlighting
Codes
(a) 1 and 4 (b) 4 and 6 (c) 3 and 5 (d) 2 and 3
(x) Select the most suitable title for the above passage.
(a) The Reality of Indian Education System
(b) India as a Potential Knowledge Power
(c) The Indian Education System
(d) None of the above
xi) What are the problems caused by the incursion of private sector in the field of
education? (2)

Section –B Creative Writing Skill

II. Write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, suggesting ways of making
public places in your city friendlier for differently abled people. (5)

Section –C Literature
III. Read the extract and answer the following questions
(1x4=4)
DERRY : You needn’t think they haven’t all told me that fairy story before. ‘It’s not
what you look like, it’s what you are inside. Handsome is as handsome does. Beauty
loved the monstrous beast for himself and when she kissed him, he changed into a
handsome prince.’ Only he wouldn’t, he’d have stayed a monstrous beast. I won’t
change.
i. List the playwright’s purpose of using contractions in the extract.
ii. Which literary device has been used in ‘handsome is as handsome does’?
(a) Alliteration
(b) Repetition
(c) Personification
(d) Simile
iii. Select the option that best describes the synonym of ‘monstrous’ in the extract.
(a) Beast (b) Love
(c) Prince (d) handsome
iv. Why does Derry say ‘I won’t change’?
IV.Answer any two from the following questions . (2x2=4)

a.Why does Derry tell Mr. lamb that he is afraid of seeing himself in the mirror?
b.Why is one green growing plant called a 'weed and another flower'? What does Mr
lamb mean by the statement?
c. Why do you think Mr Lamb changed the subject when Derek was talking to him
about being unwanted?
d.) What kind of house did Derry want for himself?
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