Series : OSS/1 Code No. 28/1
ENGLISH (Elective)
Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum mars: 100
General Instructions :
(i) Question No's. 1-4 are compulsory.
(ii) Attempt either Question 5 or 6.
(iii) Your answer should be to the point. Stick to the given word limit.
SECTION A: (Reading)
1. (a) Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 12 Marks
(1) The current interest in reality television throws up some interesting questions about the difference between what is real and what is staged. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem like much of a question. When we enact a role we dress up in a cost tune, speak in the voice of somebody else use language we would not otherwise use and create a make-believe world. In our real lives we act prey much as we please. We do not dress up, follow scripts, or use unfamiliar language.
(2) Isn’t it the difference between the two ? Not really. In any number of areas in our lives, we find ourselves enacting our roles in ways not far removed from theatre. We deliberately distance ourselves from real life and act as actors do, donning costumes and speaking in prescribed ways. Take our courts. The courtroom is like a set with a stage and the judge provides visual symmetry by placing himself in the centre. All people are addressed by their role and not their names. They are addressed and referred to as plaintiff, bailiff, defendant, prosecutor, the defence, witnesses and so on. The witnesses take a formal oath and sit in a prescribed place. Everyone dresses up. In some parts of the world judges wear wigs. All conversation is structured in a predefined way, with a prescribed sequence and a rigid protocol for determining who can say what and when.
(3) The same is true of most professions in uniform. The ‘Vardi’ creates its own ecology of rules, behaviour codes, hierarchy and language. The military creates an elaborate display of martial magnificence. It enacts a spectacular show of power. The parade with its immaculate display of choreographed precision acts out a promise of discipline. Other professions in uniform too have their own ways of acting out their roles. A doctor, particularly in an operation theatre, is the conductor of a medical symphony as each member of the team plays out their appointed role. A school imposes an elaborate code of behaviour, making children dress up and act in a very particular way. Outside the uniform, too, be it
in an office or at home, we find ourselves acting deliberately in a way that is not ourselves, using words we do not normally use and doing things that are not scripted by us. In social functions like marriages too we are mounting an elaborate production with its own set of events, decorations, music and little speeches. The girl acts as the bride with her own distinctive make-up just as the boy must play his appointed role and sport some ridiculous headgear that he would not be caught dead otherwise.
(4) In a certain sense the only time we are truly ourselves is when we act reflexively, without trying to conform to any.role that we might need to be playing. Any act of culture involves some-form of role play. One way to understand our current fascination with reality television is that l it allows us to enact ourselves-in the epic story of our lives. The word act itself describes both the real and the staged. We are required to play robes of many different kinds and we need a way to mark the transition from the person to the role. May be, sometimes we need to stage; a performance to figure out what is real.
(i) In what respect is acting a role different from real life ?
(ii) How is the conversation in the court structured in a predefined way as in a theatre ?
(iii) How does a school make its children behave not as their true selves ? (iv) How do we act in social functions like marriages ?
(v) When can we be our true selves ?
(vi) What can be the reason for our current fascination with the reality television ?
(b) Read the poem given below and answer the question that follow : 8 Marks
And round me are words, and words and words,
They grow on me like leaves, they never
Seem to stop their slow growing
From within But I tell myself words
Are a nuisance, beware of them, they
Can be so many things, a
Chasm where running feet must pause to
Look, a sea with paralysing waves,
A blast of burning air or
A knife most willing to cut your best
Friend’s throat words are a nuisance, but
They grow on me like leaves on a tree,
They never seem to stop their coming,
From a silence, somewhere, deep within
(i) What does the poet want convey in this poem ?
(ii) What is the source of wood ?
(iii) How do the words grow ? 2
(iv) How does the poet use these words ? 2
SECTION B : (Writing) 20 Marks
2. (a) Write an essay in 150-200 words on the following topic : 10 Marks
Rising Prices and the Common Man.
OR
Importance of Hobbies.
(b) As a reporter of an important magazine/newspaper, prepare a report in about 150-200 words on the evils of child marriage. Also suggest how such marriages can be stopped. 10 Marks
SECTION C : (Applied Grammar) 10 Marks
3. (a) In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined. The first one has been done as an example. 1/2 x 10 = 5 Marks
During our childhood Goa, the e.g. childhood in Goa
baker used to our friend, companion (a)
and guide. He used to come least (b)
twice a day. Once, when set out (c)
in morning on his selling round, (d)
and then again, he returned after (e)
emptying huge basket. The jingling (f)
thud his bamboo woke us up from (g)
sleep we ran to meet and greet (h)
him. Why it so ? Was it for the (i)
love the loaf ? (j)
(b) Read the dialogue given below and complete the passage that follows : 1 x 5 = 5 Marks
Receptionist : What can I do for you, sir ?
Ram : I have come to see the Manager.
Receptionist : It is not possible. He is very busy.
Ram : But I have an appointment.
Receptionist : Oh! Why didn’t you tell me earlier ?
The receptionist asked Ram respectfully (a)__________ . Ram replied that (b)__________ . The receptionist said that (c)__________ as he was very busy. Ram protested that (d)__________ appointment. The receptionist felt relieved
and asked (e)__________ .
SECTION D: (Literature) 40 +10 Marks
4. (a) Choose any two of the extracts given below and answer the questions; that follow: 4x2=8 Marks
(i) That old man came flying to, Colebrook three years ago all in Mack broadcloth (had lost his wife lately then), getting out of a third-class smoker as if the devil had been at his heels; and the only thing that brought him down was a letter a hoax probably.
(a) Identify the ‘old man’.
(b) What brought the old man to Colebrook ?
(c) What was the letter about ? .
(ii) ‘So you are familiar with the rules and regulations, are you ?’ Now the young man addresses her with the formal ‘you’. Tao Ying detects the sarcasm in his tone but she simply nods.
(a) Who is referred to as ‘you’ ?
(b) Who is the ‘Youngman’ ?
(c) What sarcasm is tip in his tone ?
(iii) Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Caterpillar and Fly
Feed on the Mystery.
(a) Identify the poem. 1
(b) Explain : ‘The shade of Mystery’. 2
(c) What do Caterpillar and Fly refer to here ? 1
(b) Answer any two of the following questions in about 100 words each : 6 x 2 = 12 Marks
(i) Who was Frank ? Why did Eveline’s father quarrel with him ?
(ii) Discuss ‘Kubla Khan’ as a fragment. What do you think has made it a lasting literary piece ?
(iii) An account of reflections is more important than a description of reality according to Virginia Woolfe. Why ?
(c) Answer any five of the following questions in about 60 words each: 4x5=20 Marks
(i) Why did Bessie sometimes show signs of irritation and disgust ?
(ii) How do we know that Tao Ying did not intend to cheat at the temple ?
(iii) What connection does the author draw between film-making and conjuring ?
(iv) What are the things that mark animate things from the inanimate ?
(v) What are the three major issues Sen discusses in his article in relation to India’s dialogic traditions ?
(vi) Why do you think the playwright has used the technique of the image in the play ?
Note: Attempt either Question No. 5 or 6.
5. (a) Answer the following in about 140 words :
Narrate briefly, how, after leaving Malgudi, Raja (the tiger) and his guru pa their days in sweet philosophical discourses.
OR
Describe the circumstances under which the tiger could free himself from the circus
(b) Answer the following in about 60 words :
What was the tiger’s experience at school ?
OR
What, according to the tiger’s master, is the profound question asked by .someone ? What is profound about it ?
6. (a) Answer the following in about 100 words :
How is Dr. Pal responsible for Margayya’s ruin ?
OR
Describe the efforts made by Margayya to educate his son.
(b) Answer the following in about 60 words :
Describe the role played by MadanLal in making Margayya a rich man.
OR
How did the throwing of the red book into the gutter by Balu Margayya’s life ?