Pre- Board Examination December 2023
District: Karnal
Class : 12th Subject: English
Time : 3 Hours. Max. Marks: 80
General Instructions:
1. The question paper contains four sections-Reading, Grammar, Writing skills and Literature.
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Write the correct question number in your answer sheet to indicate the option(s) being attempted.
Section- A
Reading skills
1. Attempt anyone from (A) and (B) given below.
A) Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. New year is a holiday celebration that includes New year’s Eve and lasts through New year’s D. New
Year’s Celebrations have been around for a long time in one form or another. They can be traced all the way back to the Babylonians at around 2000 BC. New Year’s Day was not always celebrated on January 1st as it is today. Earlier the New Year was celebrated in the Spring as new life began to emerge in the world.
2. This tradition was quite sensible in relation to the seasons, however ancient cultures struggled to create a calendar that could retain alignment with the sun. The Romans went through several versions of calendars in which they inevitably change the first day of the year to January first. They are final change to the calendar was made by Julius Caesar in the year 46 BC. Caesar also adopted January first as the first day of the year. The Julian calendar became the basis for our current calendar so New Year's Day is found at the top of the calendar on January first.
3. Certain Roman traditions of the New Year have remained in some form of this day. Among the many Roman gods was Janus, a two headed god. Janus was considered the god of beginnings and endings and the guardian of gates and doors. Fun of the heads of Janus faced forward and the other looked back. This figure was a symbol good beginnings and endings to the Romans. One head was able to look backward to reflect a phone what had passed, while the other could look forward what was coming. The word Janus is closely related to the world January.
4. The Romans considered the significance of Janus when they established their calendar and named the first month after him. This Roman belief has continued on, in tradition to this day. In many ways the modern celebration of New Year's day carries on ancient traditions. The holiday itself is celebrated from New Year's Eve and continued on through New Year's Day.
5. Buy observing holiday in this manner, we are en cress to look at the previous year as it passes away and two welcome the new one with renewed enthusiasm and desired to improve ourselves. New years day has traditionally been a day to enjoy happiness that will hopefully and endure the year. With the old year gone, and the new year just beginning, it is great time to fulfill another New years tradition to make resolutions.
Based on the understanding of the passage answer the questions that follow. (10x1=10)
(i) The final change in the Julian calendar was made by……..
a) Janus. b) Caesar
c) both a and b. d) None of the above
(ii) On the basis of your reading of the passage find the incorrect statement.
a) Janus was a Roman God
b) In ancient times the New Year was celebrated in Spring .
c) Tha Julian calendar is the basis for the modern calendar.
d) Julius was the guardian of gates and doors.
(iii) On the basis of the passage study the two statements l & lI given below:
I) Janus was the god of good beginnings and endings.
lI) The Julian calendar is named after Janus are two headed God.
Choose the correct option:
a) I is true II is false
b) II is true I is false
c) Both I and II are true
d) Both I and II are false
(iv) Complete the following sentence by choosing the most appropriate option.
Although Roman civilization has ended long ago……
a) Its traditions will never be forgotten
b) Its traditional influence is a thing of fast
c) It's traditions influence today's New Year celebration.
d) It is a tradition that other people besides the Romans followed.
v) The month ‘January’ was named after…
a) Janus. b) Julius
c) Roman goddess. d) All of these
vi) Find the antonym of “divergently” from the para 5 of the text.
vii) Who first started New Year celebration?
viii) complete the following sentence
The two heads of Janus symbolises….
ix) Find the word from para 2 of the text which means same as” certain to happen”.
x) Why was the New Year ‘s celebration in Spring considered quite sensible?
OR
(B) Read the passage given below and answer the question that follow.
1. About one in five of all the people in the world follow the teachings of the Buddha who lived about 2600 years ago(He was born in 563 BC) “The Buddha”is a title, not a name. It means ‘the enlightened one who knows’. The Buddha's real name was Siddhartha. He was the son of Sakya king in Northern India. He and his family were all Hindus and belonged to the Gautama clan.
2. Gautama Siddhartha was brought up in luxury. He lived in his father's palace and sir nothing of the outside word until he was a young man. Then one day accompanied by his charioteer Channa, Prince Siddhartha went round the city. On his way he is a some sights that he had never seen before. First a man who was very old and was went with age. Then he saw a man who was suffering from A terrible disease possibly leprosy. And then he saw or dead man who was being taken to the cremation ground. These sights made the prince very sad.
3. Now, a complete change came in Gautam Siddhartha’s life. He was filled with a longing to find the cause and cure of human sufferings. He wanted to find the true meaning of life and help is fellow man. Although he was married and had a baby son, he left his home in search of truth. He was than only of 28.
4. First of all , Gautama went to the Hindu priests. He wanted to know from them the cause of human
sufferings. But the priests could not give him any satisfactory answer. Now Gautam try to leave the life of an ascetic.For 6 years he tortured himself so that he could become in different to any kind of pain.
5. He was reduced to a mere skeleton. But eventually he realised that all this was foolish and useless.Then, he sat in deep meditation under Bodhi tree near Gaya (in Bihar). Here at last he attained enlightenment and found the answers to his questions. He was then 35 years old.
i) Siddharth saw a man who was suffering from which disease?
a) Plague. b) Leprosy
c) Alzimer. d) Hepatitus
ii) At which age did Gautam Buddha gain enlightenment?
a) 45. b) 36
c) 38. d) 35
iii) On the basis of the passage study the two statements, l and lI given below
I) At the age of only 28 Gautam decided to live his home in search of truth.
II) Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of 36.
Choose the correct option.
a) I is true II is false
b) II is true I is false
c) Both I and II are true
d) Both I and II are false
iv) Who accompanied Buddha at the round of city?
a) His wife. b) His mother
c) His charioteer chana. c) His father
v) To whom did Gautama Buddha visit first?
a ) Hermits. b) Hindu priests
c) Both a and b. d) None of these
vi) Find a phrasal verb/idiom from para 2 which means ‘to care for a child’.
vii) Replace the underlined word with its antonym.(para 4)
viii) complete the following sentence:
Then one day, accompanied by his charioteer Channa, prince………..
ix) How many people in the world follow the teachings of Buddha?
x) What did Gautam decide at the age of 28?
2. Read the following passage carefully and make notes on its using headings and sub headings.
Supply an appropriate title also: (4+1=5)
In a very short period of time the internet has had a profound impact on the way we live. Since the internet was made operational in 1983 it has lowered both the costs of communication and the barriers to creative expression. It has challenged old business models and enabled new once. It has provided access to information on a scale never before achievable. It succeeded because we designed it to be flexible and open.This to features have allowed it to accommodate innovation without massive changes to its infrastructure. An open border-less and standardised platform means that barriers to entry are low competition is high inter changeability is assured and innovation is rapid. The beauty of an open platform is that there are no gatekeepers. Four centuries access to and creation of information was controlled by the few. The internet has changed that and is rapidly becoming the platform for everyone ,by everyone. Of course is still has a way to go. Today there are only about 2.3 billion internet users, representing roughly 30% of the world's population. Much of the information that they can access online is in English, but this is changing rapidly. The technology process of the internet has also said social change in motion. As with other and enabling inventions before it from the telegraph to television some wheelbari about the effects of broader access to information-the printing press and the rise in literacy that is affected work after all long seen as destabilising. Similar concerns about the internet are occasionally raised but if we take a long view I am confident that it's benefits for outweigh the discomforts of learning to integrate into our lives. The internet and the world wide web or what they are become literally millions of people have made it so. It is a grand collaboration. It would be foolish note to acknowledge that the openness of the internet has had a price. Security is an increasingly important issue and cannot be ignored. If there is an area of vital research and development for the Internet this is one of them. I am increasingly confident however that techniques and practices exist to make the internet safer and more secure while retaining its assensary open quality after working on the Internet and its predecessors for over decades, I am more optimistic about its promise then I have ever been. We are all free to innovate on the net everyday. The internet is a tool of the people built by the people and it must a that way
Section - B
(Writing skills)
3. Attempt anyone of the following (5)
a) Draft a notice for the school notice board inviting the students to come forward and donate blood at the blood donation camp being held in your school by the District Red Cross Society.
b) You are the Principal of a senior secondary school. Draft and advertisement announcing admissions to
your school.
c) Design a poster creating awareness about Right to Information.
4. Attempt anyone of the following: (5)
a) Write a paragraph on ‘Value of Games and Sports’.
b) You are Rohan/Radhika. You participated in a career counselling programme organised by ‘Dreamers’. You had the opposite of listening to professionals from various fields like food technology,
biotechnology, media management write a report of the program in about 100 to 200 words for ‘Employment Avenues’
5. Attempt anyone of the following: (5)
a) Write an application to Manager ,State Bank of India of your city ,asking for a loan for the studies.
b) You are Sunidhi/Suresh Khanna of 97 Model Town , Rewari. Write a letter to the editor of The Times of India complaining about the noise pollution in your locality and drawing the attention of the government to take steps to check the same.
Section C
(Grammar). (10)
6. Attempt any two from each sub part:
a) Change the form of narration.
i)”what shell I tell him, Mummy?”The child asked.
ii) The teacher said,”Oil floats on water”.
iii) He said, “What a great misrery!”
b) Supply articles wherever necessary. (1x2=2)
i) He is ………. one eyed man.
ii)......... gold you buy here is of excellent quality.
iii) Neha will go to……school when she is three .
c) Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verb given in the brackets. (1x2=2)
i) Here .............(to be) two apples.
ii) There ……….(to go) the bell.
iii) Either my brother or my father…….(to be) responsible.
d) Fill in the blanks with suitable modal auxiliary verbs given in the brackets. (1x2=2)
i) There…….be some more buses.(ought to/would).
ii) You……. do as I say. (shall, will /can)
iii) We ………obey our parents. (shall/would /could)
e) Change the voice: (1x2=2)
i) He encourages me.
ii) Don't stay here.
iii) Your hair needs to be cut.
Section D ( Textbook)
( Flamingo-Prose)
7. Read the following passage carefully.
Gandhiji decided to go first to Muzaffarpur, which was en route to Champaran, to obtain more complete
information about conditions that Shukla was capable of imparting. He accordingly sent a telegram to
Professor JB Kriplani of the art police in Muzaffarpur whom he had seen at Tagore's Shantiniketan school. The train arrived at midnight 15th April 1917. Kriplani was writing at the station with the large body of students.
Gandhi state there for 2 days in the home of Professor Malkani, a teacher in a government school.”It was an extraordinary thing in those days”. Gandhi ji commented,”4 government professor to harbour a man like me”.
In smaller localities, the Indians were afraid to show sympathy for advocates of home rule.
Choose the correct option for each. (1x=5)
i) Where did Gandhiji decide to go first?
a) Sevagram. b) Lucknow
c) Patna. d) Muzaffarpur
ii) Why did Gandhiji decided to stay ?
a) To meet old friends.
b) To meet the sharecroppers.
c) To obtain complete information.
d) To find the official version.
iii) Whom had Gandhiji informed telegraphically?
a) Professor J.B.Kriplani.
b) Rajendra Prasad
c) Professor Malkani
d) Brij Kishor Babu.
iv) When did Gandhiji ‘s train arrive there?
a) At noon. b) At midnight.
c) At sunset. d) At sunrise
v) Who were waiting at the station with Kriplani ji?
a) Sharecroppers
b) Home rule supporters
c) Lawyers
d) College students
OR
I heard M. Hemal say to me,”I won't scold you, little Franz; you must feel bad enough. See how it is! Everyday we have said to ourselves,’Bah! I have plenty of learn it tomorrow’. And now you see where we’ve come out.Ah, that's the great trouble with Alsace; she puts off learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you,’How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak no right you are own language? But you are not the worst, poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with.”
Choose the correct option for each:
.i) Name the chapter from which this passage has been taken.
a) The Last Lesson
b) Lost Spring
c) Deep Water.
d) The Rattrap
ii) Who does I refer to in these lines?
a) M.Hamel.
b) Alphonse Daudet
c) Vincenet Daudet
d) None of these three.
iii) Who would not scold Franz?
a) His father
b) His mother
c) M.Hamel
d) None of these three
iv) What is the trouble with Alsace?
a) She is putting of learning till tomorrow.
b) She is leaving the city till tomorrow
c) She is coming back till tomorrow
d) None of these three.
v) Which language does M. Hamel teach?
a) English. b) German
c) French. d) Hindi
8. Answer the following questions in about 80-100 words: (5)
What is the theme of the lesson ‘Deep Water’?
OR
Reproduce in your own words what Franz did or thought on his way to school.
9. Answer any four of the following questions. (2x4=8)
i) What happened when the church clock struck twelve?
ii) What forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
iii) When did the writer join the Y.M.C.A. pool and why?
iv) Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being resolute?
v) Why is the English man's visit referred to as an unexplained mystery?
( Flamingo - Prose)
10 . Read the following stanza carefully:
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull
The massive weight of uncle's wedding band
Seats heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.
Choose the correct option for each: (1x5=5)
i) What are Aunt Jennifer ‘sfingers doing?
a) Sifting through her wool.
b) Knitting briskly.
c) Fluttering through her wool
d) Sewing laboriously
ii) How does Aunt Jennifer look?
a) Young and healthy
b) Very old and weak
c) Young but poor
d) Rich but meek..
iii) What sits heavy on Aunt Jennifer's hand?
a) Uncle's wedding band
b) The ivory needle.
c) The gold bracelet
d) The massive gold ring
iv) What sort of a person does uncle appear to be?
a) Very dominating
b) Hard hearted
c) Extremely cruel
d) All of these three
v) Who wrote this poem?
a) Pablo Neruda
b) Robert Frost
c) Adrienne Rich
d) Stephen Spender.
OR
Driving from my parent's are home to Cochin last Friday
morning l saw my mother beside me,
doze open mouthed, har face ashen like
that of a corpse and realised with pain
That's she was as old as she look
Choose the correct option for each:
i) Where was the poet going?
a) To her sister's house.
b) To her parent’s house.
c) To the Cochin airport.
d) To the Cochin railway station.
ii) How did the poet's mother look?
a) She looked very old.
b) She looked very young.
c) She looked fine and fresh
d) She looked as pale as death .
iii) What did the poet realies with pain?
a) She realised that her mother was very sick.
b) She realised that her mother had become very old.
c) She realised that her mother won't live long.
d) She realised that her mother had died.
iv) Identify the figure of speech used in the line; her face ashen like that of a corpse.
a) Metaphor. b) Paradox
c) Simali. d) Symbolism
v) Who wrote this poem?
a) Robert Frost. b) John keats
c) Kamla Das. d) Pablo Neruda
11. Answer any two of the following questions:
i) What does the poem Keeping Quiet teach us?
ii) What do the parking words poet to her mother and her simile signify?
iii) What does some shape/ thing of beauty do to our spirit ?
(Vistas -supplementary reader)
12. Answer any one of the following in about 80-100 words:
What is it that draws Derry towards Mr. Lamb in spite of himself? (5)
OR
What explains the carelessness of the ruthless General in the matter of the enemy soldier? Was it human
consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply self- absorption?
13. Answer any three of the following questions. (2x3=6)
i) How long was the authors journey to Antarctica?
ii) What will doctor Sadao and his wife do with the man?
iii) What did the hunters do with the hundredth tiger after the Maharaja had left?
iv) Why did Derry not like his mother to kiss him?
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