Code No.

2/4/3
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 T.K. Pramod Kumar / P.V. Pramodini, 22 Church Road, Chennai.
Last week you placed an order for the supply of a few items of furniture.
On receiving the furniture you found that some items were damaged and
some not according to specifications. Describing the shortcomings, write a
letter (100  150 words) of complaint to the supplier, Sri Rama Furniture
Mart, Mint Road, Chennai asking for an immediate replacement. 8
OR
The traffic situation in our towns is quite complex. There are all sorts of
vehicles from bullock carts to fast moving cars. Sometimes this leads to
traffic jams and air pollution. Write an article in 100  150 words for your
school magazine on ‘Increasing Traffic on our Roads’. You are
Astha/Ashwani. 8

4. Complete the following story in 150 – 200 words : 10

This morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror, I did not recognize
the face looking back at me. ‘‘This is not me ...... ,’’ I cried aloud. ... ... ...
OR
Taking help from the cues given below, develop a story in 150  200 words : 10
Old farmer  all his sons lazy  farmer dying  called all his sons  told
them of a treasure  hidden in the fields  to find it they must dig it 
then died  sons dug every bit of the land  no treasure  sowed the corn
 a very fine crop  sons learnt a lesson.

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5. Fill in the blanks to complete the paragraph given below with the help of
options that follow : 14=4

You play to win but a good sportsperson (a) that defeat may also come

once in a while. There are times when others (b) do better than you.

What you should look to do is to maximize your chances of success.

And (c) only way you (d) do this is by being yourself.

(a) (i) knew (ii) knowing (iii) knows (iv) know

(b) (i) are (ii) is (iii) will (iv) have
(c) (i) a (ii) an (iii) the (iv) some
(d) (i) are (ii) were (iii) have (iv) can

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
The passengers were waiting at the
platform when five policemen rushing (a) ________ ________
into difference compartments of the (b) ________ ________
train. After sometimes one of them (c) ________ ________
comes out with two young men. (d) ________ ________

7. Rearrange the following words and phrases to form meaningful

sentences. 14=4

(a) join / college / decided to / at the / I / thirty-five / age of

(b) worried / to study / about / my ability / not / I was

(c) confused teenager / not a / grown-up / was a / woman and / I

(d) I realised / than me / the teenagers / very soon / that / were better

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 SECTION C – (Literature) 30 marks

8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : 14=4
The trees inside are moving out into the forest,
the forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit
no insect hide
no sun bury its feet in shadow
the forest that was empty all these nights
will be full of trees by morning.
(a) What are the trees trying to do ?
(b) Why was the forest empty ?
(c) All these days, the forest referred to here was _________ .
(i) filled (ii) empty
(iii) hidden (iv) separated
(d) The figure of speech used in these lines is _________ .
(i) Simile (ii) Alliteration
(iii) Personification (iv) Metonymy
OR
Ausable was, for one thing, fat. Very fat. And then there was his accent.
Though he spoke French and German passably, he had never altogether
lost the American accent he had brought to Paris from Boston twenty
years ago.
‘‘You are disappointed,’’ Ausable said wheezily over his shoulder.

(a) Who is ‘you’ here ?

(i) Fowler (ii) Ausable
(iii) Waiter (iv) Max
(b) Ausable was a native of __________ .
(i) France (ii) Germany
(iii) the U.S. (iv) Sweden
(c) ‘You’ believed that Ausable was a __________ .
(d) He spoke French like an __________ .

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9. Answer any five of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each : 25=10
(a) Why did Lencho’s happy mood change into concern ?
(b) What did Nelson Mandela remember on the day of the inaugural
ceremony ?
(c) What vices in human beings does Whitman notice ? (Animals)
(d) Why did Bholi dislike Bishamber ?
(e) How did Richard Ebright’s mother help him ?
(f) In which queer way did Anil make a living ?

10. What lesson on death and suffering did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami in
the chapter, ‘The Sermon At Benares’ ? (100 – 150 words) 8

OR
Whenever we want to achieve something, difficulties always come in our
way. What did Valli have to do to go and ride in a bus ? (Madam Rides the
Bus) (100  150 words) 8

11. We should be happy with what we have and should not crave for what we
don’t have. Matilda suffered in her life because she was not contented.
Comment. (The Necklace) (100 – 150 words) 8
OR
A brilliant scientist though he was, Griffin misused his scientific discovery.
Illustrate this point by giving any two examples from the story. (Footprints
without Feet) (100  150 words) 8

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