CBSE Board Question Paper 2009
Class – XII (Out of Delhi)
Subject – English (Elective)
Time Allowed : 3 Hours Maximum Marks : 100
General Instructions :
(i) Attempt all questions.
(ii) Your answers should be to the point. Stick to the word limit where given.
1. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow : 8
(a) When we grumble, we are told that all our miseries are our own doing because we have the vote. When we say `what good is the vote?' we are told that we have the Factory Acts, and the Wages Boards, and free education, and the New Deal, and the dole; and what more could any reasonable man ask for ?
(i) Name the chapter and the author. 1
(ii) What are we told when we grumble ? 1
(iii) What rights does the vote provide to us ? 2
OR
Normally, an outburst like this would certainly have discouraged Tao Ying from buying a ticket. But today she says, `Two tickets, please.'
(i) Whose outburst is referred to here ? 1
(ii) What would have discouraged her from buying a ticket ? 1
(iii) Why did she buy two tickets ? 2
(b) For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
(i) Which quality turns a man into a divine being ? 1
(ii) What does the poet mean by, `Peace, the human dress' ? 2
(iii) Where do these qualities exist ? 1
OR
The tiles have fallen here and there
The windows whine and groan
And every. night
The rats come out of the holes
And scamper past our doors.
(i) Name the poem and the poet. 1
(ii) What is described in the above lines ? 1
(iii) What happens there every night ? 2
2. Answer any two of the following questions in about 100 words each : 6x2=12
(a) Why did the author in `I Sell My Dreams' leave Vienna never to return again ?
(b) Why do people have respect for science and scientists ?
(c) Why is the girl named Prakriti in the play ? What are the images in the play that relate to this theme ?
3. Answer any five questions in about 60 words each : 4x5=20
(a) In the poem, `Kubla Khan', which magical elements are mentioned ?
(b) What brought Captain Hagberd to Colebrook ?
(c) Why did Tao Ying not intend to cheat at the temple ?
(d) How genuine is the love that Manjula expresses for her sister ?
(e) Why do you think Eveline let go of the opportunity to escape ?
(f) What are some of the flaws of the world of film-making today ?
4. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the lines. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet as given below. Remember to underline the word that you have supplied. 5
The sun rose upon a peace world e.g. peace peaceful
on Sunday morning. Tom was try to (a) ………… ……………
learn five verse from the Bible (b) ………… ……………
for recite in Sunday school. His (c) ………… ……………
cousin Mary try to help him by (d) ………… ……………
listening at him reciting them. Tom (e) ………… ……………
had choose part of the Sermon on (f) ………… ……………
the Mount, because he cannot find (g) ………… ……………
verses that was shorter. Mary saw (h) ………… ……………
to it that Tom has taken a proper (i) ………… ……………
bath and put off his Sunday clothes. (j) ………… ……………
5. Change the narration in the following sentences : 1x5=5
(i) The captain said to the goalkeeper, "Bravo! Well done."
(ii) I said, "I shall be in time."
(iii) The poor beggar said, "The rich should try to be kind to the poor."
(iv) He said, "Wait here till I come back."
(v) She exclaimed sorrowfully that her husband was dead.
6. Answer the following question in about 100 words : 6
In the novel, ‘A Tiger for Malgudi’ R.K. Narayan has tried to demolish the popular myth about Man who believes that all else in creation exists only for his sport, comfort or nourishment. Explain.
OR
Describe Balu's journey from ‘charming childhood to spoilt frustrated manhood.’
7. Answer either (a) or (b) of the following question in about 60 words : 4
(a) Why did the novelist choose a Tiger as the hero of his novel, ‘A Tiger for Malgudi’ ?
OR
What role did Madan Lal play in Margayya's life ?
(b) Why does the Tiger follow the children to school ?
OR
Where and why did Margayya first meet Dr. Pal ?
8. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 12
1.Driving for long hours can be strenuous. You exert more pressure on your spine while sitting than standing. Life can't be easy if you live in Gurgaon and drive to work to Noida. Rohit working for a French company in Noida shares, "I spend on an average three hours everyday in commuting. By the end of the week I am washed out and have to resort to the services of a masseuse to rejuvenate my aching limbs." Now, all of us can't be fortunate enough to have a masseuse at our beck and call. Hence, it helps to know which posture is good for driving.
2. When a vehicle is in motion, your body is subject to forces that it is not used to, while sitting and standing. Remaining behind the wheel for long can cause poor posture and back pain. Dr. Harshe Hegde, Consultant Orthopedic at Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon advises, "After you sit in the car you have to adjust your seat till you achieve the ideal driving posture that supports the small of your back. If your seat does not allow that, you can keep a small cushion between your seat and the back to provide support. Allow your head to rest on the head rest and incline your seat at an angle slightly more than 90 degrees." Dr. S.K.S. Marya, Director. Orthopedics and Joint Replacement Surgery, Max Hospitals says, "While driving, your foot should be on the accelerator with the knee bent between 30 to 45 degrees."
3. Normally, men drive with a wallet in their back pocket. This is a perfect recipe for nagging back pains. Your car is provided with a glove compartment to keep the wallet. Motorcycle drivers can employ their jacket pocket to keep their wallet while driving.
4. Dr. Marya has a special word of caution for women drivers. "Avoid sitting behind the wheel with shoes that have heels. It is better to drive bare-foot rather than with shoes that have heels. Your heels can get caught between the brake and accelerator pedals of the car causing accidents," says she. If you are a diabetic or pregnant, avoid driving.
5. Driving is a demanding skill and long distance driving over a long period of time starts taking its toll on your back and neck. And, considering the traffic conditions that we have these days, driving is no longer enjoyable in your precious wheels, rather you push ahead through the bumper-to-bumper drive. As if this much is not enough we are surrounded by insensitive drivers who fly into rage at the drop of a hat.
6. Road rage is violent behavior that may lead to unsafe driving conditions. Most psychologists consider it as a behavioral disorder caused by many factors. "People who lose their cool regularly over minor traffic disputes suffer from Impulse Control Disorder and find it difficult to control their bouts of anger," says an eminent consultant psychologist.
7 Personality traits apart, whether or not someone would blow his top at the slightest provocation on the road is also linked to several other factors like the amount of stress the person is under, the weather, influence of alcohol or other drugs, intensity of noise pollution, and even social disparity.
8. "You can keep road rage under control if you avoid reacting and confronting the other drivers. Always believe in defensive driving and let such people have the right of way," advises a doctor. Deep breathing and counting backward to ten before you speak helps too.
(i) How can a long drive with a wrong posture affect the health of the driver ? 2
(ii) What should a driver do to avoid the ill-effects of strenuous driving ? 2
(iii) What special care should the women drivers take and what can be the repercussions if they are reckless about driving ? 2
(iv) What care should be taken by the pregnant women drivers and also by those who are diabetic ? 1
(v) What are the possible reasons for the road rage? 2
(vi) How can one keep it under control ? 2
(vii) Find from the passage the noun form of the word 'provoke’. (para 7) 1
9. Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow : 8
Hail comrades denounce the useless
Dust and dirt of an age gone by
See before us rise the glorious
Mankind's hopelit spire of fire
Come like serpents
Come like greyhounds
Like `Dhananjays' claim the world
Hail the morn
And sound the horn
A newer truer world shall be born
Then sing in chorus
Lo before us there is another world
Yonder yonder
Lo the splendour
And the wonder
Of its faery fiery crown
And the red flag of its dawn
Like the ritual flame of time.
(a) How does the poet view the social order of `the age gone by' ? 2
(b) In what manner does he want the comrades to act ? 2
(c) How does he want to celebrate the new world ? 2
(d) Why has the crown been called `faery fiery' ? 1
(e) What has the red flag of dawn been compared to ? 1
10. Write an essay in 150 - 200 words on any one of the following topics : 10
(i) Increasing crimes in Metro cities
(ii) Effect of terrorist activities in the country
(iii) Global warming
11. As a reporter of a reputed magazine prepare a report in 150 – 200 words on ‘Need for the Care of the Senior Citizens’. 10
CBSE Board Question Papers Class 12th 2009