HYENGSET1QP1115 8/12/15

HALF YEARLY EXAMINATION (2015-2016)

Subject: ENGLISH CORE Max. Marks: 80 mks
Grade: XI Time: 3 hrs
Name: Section: Roll No:
General Instructions:-This paper is divided into three sections:

Section A: Reading Comprehension 20 Marks

Section B: Writing Skills and Grammar 30 Marks
Section C: Literature and Long Reading Text 30 Marks

 All sections are compulsory.

 Separate instructions have been given for each section and each question.
Follow these instructions carefully.
 Do not exceed the word limit.
 This question paper consists of 7 printed pages.
 All answers to be written in the answer sheet provided.

SECTION A – READING 20M

1 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:- 12marks
1. The titanic, in its watery grave, is a great museum of human history and is at risk of being
lost forever because of curious voyagers and treasure hunters, fears Bob Ballard, who first
discovered the remains of the iconic ship in 1985. Famous for discovering the great ship,
Ballard is a former US Navy Officer and a professor of oceanography.
2. “Titanic is a museum of human history without door and guard. I am deeply concerned
about not only the Titanic but all the ancient history that is now at risk. If we cannot save
this iconic ship, then there is very little hope we can save ancient ships. The world should
realize that you don’t have to go down and take everything and you do not have to do a
treasure hunt. This is a common heritage of all of us and if we really want to take steps to
preserve human history in the ocean, we need to start with Titanic,” Ballard said in a
telephonic interview from London.
3. Ballard, as part of a tie-up, is presenting a documentary called “Save the Titanic” on the

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 100th anniversary of the sinking of the great ship – April 15, 1912. The ship and her fate
continue to fascinate, largely because of the horror that took place that night, with 1,522
passengers and crew losing their lives.
4. Ballard says that despite being on the ocean floor for 100 years, the ship is full of human
footprints. “You will find pairs of shoes everywhere. The sea and the life below has
claimed everything but they do not know what to do with shoes so you will find a pair of
mother’s shoes next to her little daughter and that’s their gravestone. At her wreckage, we
almost felt that we were surrounded by the lifeboats of all the people that were in the water
at that spot”.
5. Ballard says that the fate of Titanic continues to fascinate so many years after it sank
because it is “irony personified in history”. “The story has all the ingredients to make it
timelessly fascinating. You have this revolutionary ship that’s unsinkable, and carrying a
cross section of people in society. And then, it goes and hits an iceberg and sinks on its
maiden journey. It’s an irony personified in history”.
6. Talking about his discovery, which came after great research and 75 years later, Ballard,
says it was a somber moment when they first spotted the boiler of the Titanic. “In the 90s,
advanced technology gave us double diving capabilities in the Atlantic Ocean. I knew that
the Titanic was sitting at almost 12,000 feet. What led me to her discovery was a simple
technique that I followed. We decided to look for the debris trail instead of the ship”.
7. Ballard says the ship, if preserved well and not subjected to constant submarine journeys,
will last for a long time on the Atlantic floor. “The deep sea, because of its darkness, its
cold temperatures and its great pressure, creates a high state of preservation. With a little
caution, we can protect the Titanic for future generations to visit.”
8. Ballard has also connected to the people of Belfast, who refused to talk about the tragedy
“The ship’s construction took place at Belfast. After the tragedy, families of the workers
refused to talk about it because of the shame and sadness in the loss of life involved”.
a) On the basis of your understanding of the passage choose the right option

(a) The Titanic sank on------------------ 1

(i) its 100th anniversary

(ii) 15th April 1912

(iii) an iconic voyage in 1985

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 (iv) leaving the port of Belfast

(b) the Titanic continues to attract attention because— 1

i) it is irony personified in history

(ii) its advanced technology gave double diving technologies

(iii) it is a treasure hunt

(iv) it is a common need

(c) Ballard’s documentary on the Titanic is titled------------------- 1

(i) a museum of human history

(ii) the titanic

(iii) save the Titanic

(iv) 75 years later

b) Answer the following questions :- 1*6=6

(a) What happened on April 15, 1927?

(b) Who is Bob Ballard and what did he discover?

(c ) Why does Bob Ballard call it a museum of human history?

(d) Why did the people of Belfast refuse to talk about Titanic?

(e) What did Ballard do as part of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic?

(f) Explain “it is irony personified”.

c) Find the words from the passage which mean the same as:- 3

(a) first of its kind (para5)

(b) very solemn or serious (para6)

(c ) Famous or popular (para1)

2 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:- 8marks
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 1) A good business letter is one that gets results. The best way to get results is to
develop a letter that, in its appearance, style and content, conveys information
efficiently. To perform this function, a business letter should be concise, clear and
courteous.

2) The business letter must be concise: don’t waste words .Little introduction or
preliminary chat is necessary. Get to the point, make the point, and leave it. It is
safe to assume that your letter is being read by a very busy person with all kinds of
papers to deal with. Reread and revise your message until the words and sentences
you have used are precise. This takes time, but is a necessary part of a good
business letter. A short business letter that makes its point quickly has much more
impact on a reader than a long-winded, rambling exercise in creative writing. This
does not mean that there is no place for style and even, on occasion, humour in the
business letter. While it conveys a message in its contents, the letter also provides
the reader with an impression of you, its author: the medium is part of the message.

3) The business letter must be clear. You should have a very firm idea of what you
want to say, and you should let the reader know it. Use the structure of the letter-
the paragraphs, topic sentences, introduction, and conclusion- to guide the reader
point by point from your thesis, through your reasoning, to your conclusion.
Paragraph often, to break up the page and to lend an air of organization to the letter.
Use an accepted business letter format. Reread what you have written from the
point of view of someone who is seeing it for the first time, and be sure that all
explanations are adequate; all information provided (including reference numbers,
dates and other identification) a clear message, clearly delivered, is the essence of
business communication.

4) The business letter must be courteous. Sarcasm and insults are ineffective and can
often work against you. If you are sure you are right, point that out as politely as
possible, explain why you are right, and outline what the reader is expected to do
about it. Another form of courtesy is taking care in your writing and typing of the
business letter. Grammatical and spelling errors (even if you call them typing
errors), tell a reader that you don’t think enough of him or can lower the readers’
opinion of you faster than anything you say, no matter how idiotic. There are
excuses for ignorance; there are no excuses for sloppiness.

5) The business letter is your custom –made representation .It speaks for you and is a
permanent record of your message. It can pay dividends on the time you invest in
giving it a concise shape, a clear structure, and a courteous tone.

a) Make notes on the above passage in a suitable format. You should use recognizable 5marks
abbreviations wherever necessary. Give a suitable title to your passage.
b) Write a summary of the passage based on your reading. 3marks

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 30 M
SECTION B- WRITING SKILLS AND GRAMMAR
3. Your school is organizing a tour to Mumbai and Goa during the winter vacation. Write a 4marks
notice giving detailed information to the students. You are Madhav /Meera, Student
Council Head, St. Columbia’s Senior Secondary School, Ameenabad, Lucknow.(word
limit-50)
OR
Prepare a poster on kindness to animals to be displayed in the city at public places
appealing to people to show kindness to animals. (use slogans and draw pictures)

4. Recently a devastating fire demolished thirty floors of an apartment block in Mumbai, 6marks
rendering 250 families homeless. As Ashwin/Manisha, write a letter to the Editor of a
National Daily drawing the attention of the public on the importance of maintaining safety
norms.(120-150 words)
OR
You are the librarian of T.H.S.S. School, Kolkata. Write a letter to the Manager of Messrs
Vikas Publishers, Chennai placing order for novels written by Indian authors. Mention the
details of the books (at least four) and ask for the discount available on the purchase. (120-
150 words)

5. Today social networking has become an indispensable part of life. With Facebook, Twitter, 10marks
Whatsapp taking prominence, the young generation is inclined to post and tweet whatever
happens in their life and around. The sense of security and privacy has become a thing of
the past. Hence they are rightly called “The Loudspeaker Generation”. Write a speech to
be delivered in the morning assembly highlighting on the ill effects of such social
networking sites. (150-200 words)
OR

Fast food counters are mushrooming in every town and city. Though fast food is fast to cook
and fast to eat, it is fast to kill as well. You are Mahesh/Meenu. Write an article in 150-200
words on ‘Fast Food A Great Health Hazard’ to be published in the school magazine.

6. Complete using suitable Modals 3marks

If we sit in an incorrect posture, it (a)______ strain our back. As far as possible this
(b)_____ be avoided. If the posture becomes a part of habit, a low back invariably
develops. It (c)_______cured if we become conscious of our posture. We (d)________ also
take time to perform a few exercises. If the exercises are done regularly the backache
(e)______certainly be cured. It (f) ______ also improve blood circulation within the spine.

7. Rearrange the following words to make meaningful sentences. 3marks

a. covered / snow / with / land / is / in / North / the
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 b. food / so / get / they / easily / cannot
c. fly / South / to / and / chill / they / starvation / to / escape

8. There is an error in each line of the following passage. Edit the passage and write the 4marks
correct and incorrect words in the sheet provided:
Incorrect Correct
I first saw the leopard when I am crossing (a)_______ ________
a small stream. As I crossed a stream and (b) _______ ________
begun climbing the hill , the grunting and (c ) _______ ________
chattering increased, such though (d) ________ ________
the langurs was trying to warn me from (e) ________ ________
some hidden danger. A tiger was not looking (f) ________ ________
towards me , but it must have sense my (g) ________ ________
present. It slowly turned its head and looked (h) ________ ________
down at me. I had disturbed the animal in its
quest for food and I felt sorry.

SECTION C –LITERATURE AND LONG READING TEXT 30 M

9. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

When did my childhood go?

Was it the time I realized that adults were not
All they seemed to be,
They talked of love and preached of love,
But did not act so lovingly

a What did the child observe about adults? 1

b What idea do you get about a child who learns to see through the hypocrisy of the 1
adult?
c Who is ‘I’ in the poem? Name the poet. 1

OR

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth place, after fulfilment, wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

a How does rain give back life to its own origin? 1

b From where does the rain originate? 1
c Why are the last lines put within brackets? 1

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10 Answer the following in 60-80 words. 3*3=9

a Who was Amenhotep IV? Why is he described as ‘Wacky’?

b ‘Of all the things I had to forget, that would be the easiest’. What does the speaker
mean by this and why?
c Why did Albert hate his lodgings? What would he do to divert his mind?

11 Answer the question in 120-150 words 6marks

The Portrait of a Lady is a reminder about a growing distance between the young and
the older generation. Comment.
OR
Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.
Substantiate your view with reference to the chapter ’Discovering Tut’.

12 Answer the question in 120-150 words 6marks

What attempts were made by the Canterville ghost to frighten the Otis family?
OR
Give a character-sketch of Virginia as the harbinger of love and peace.

13 Answer the question in 120 -150 words 6 marks

Do you think the Canterville Ghost was afraid of the twins? Describe incidents that
support your view.
OR
Mr. Otis is quite practical and modern in his beliefs and views. Discuss.

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