Series OSS Code No. 212
FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH
Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 100
General Instructions
(i) The paper is divided into four sections : A, B, C and D. All the sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary. Read these instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully.
(iii) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.
SECTION A (READING)
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
1 Why should I meet young students in particular ? Seeking the answer I went back to my student days. From the island of Rameswaram, what a great journey it’s been ! Looking back it all seems quite incredible.
2 What was it that made. it possible ? Hard work ? Ambition ? Many things come to my mind. I feel the most important thing was that I always assessed my worth by the value of my contribution. The fundamental thing is that you must know that you deserve the good things of life, the benefits that God bestows. Unless our students and young believe that they are worthy of being citizens of a developed India, how will they ever be responsible and enlightened citizens ?
3 There is nothing mysterious about the abundance in developed nations. The historic fact is that the people of these nations -the G8 as they are called believed over many generations that they must live a good life in a strong and prosperous nation. The reality became aligned with their aspirations.
4 I do not think that abundance and spirituality are mutually exclusive or that it is wrong to desire material things. For instance, while I personally cherish a life with minimum of possessions, I admire abundance, for it brings along with it security and confidence, and these eventually help preserve our freedom. Nature too does not do anything by half measures, as you will see if you look around you. Go to a garden. In season, there is a profusion of flowers. Or look up. The universe stretches into infinitude, vast beyond belief.
5. All that we see in the world is an embodiment of energy. We are a part of the cosmic energy too, as Sri Aurobindo says. Therefore when we begin to appreciate that spirit and matter are both part of existence, are in harmony with each other, we shall realize that it is wrong to feel that it is somehow shameful or non-spiritual to desire material things.
6 Yet, this is what we are often led to believe. Certainly there is nothing wrong with an attitude of making do with the minimum, in leading a life of asceticism. It has to be a matter of choice. You follow such a lifestyle because it answers a need that arises from deep within you. However, making a virtue of sacrifice and what is forced upon you - to celebrate suffering - is a different thing altogether.
7 This was the basis of my decision to contact our young. To know their dreams and tell them that it is perfectly all right to dream of a good life, an abundant life, a life full of pleasures and comforts, and work for that golden era. Whatever you do must come from the heart, express your spirit, and thereby you will also spread love and joy around you. - An excerpt from ‘Ignited Minds’
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions : 8
(i) Which journey is the author talking about ? What has been its purpose ? 2
(ii) Name four things that contribute to progress in one’s life. 2
(iii) What is the secret behind the affluence of developed nations ? 1
(iv) Which common notion does the author challenge ? How does he justify it ? 2
(v) What message does the author give to the young people ? 1
(b) Pick out the words which mean the opposite of the following : 4
(i) Ignorant (Para 2)
(ii) Scarcity (Para 4)
(iii) Condemn (Para 5)
(iv) Epicureanism (Para 6)
2. Read the passage and answer, the questions that follow :
The modern garden has a history going back many thousands of years. Early humans were hunters and gatherers and
usually did not stay in one place for a long time. Instead, they travelled from place to place owing the food (plants and animals) according to the seasons., ‘During the Neolithic period this slowly began to change; humans started to domesticate certain plants which meant they could remain in one. place and grow their own food. The ,first ‘garden’ was a vegetable garden, where early humans cultivated different types of plants for food.
Evidence of early agriculture includes edible plants such wheat and lentils and also includes more ornamental plants for decorative purposes. Plants for medicine were grown as were herbs and spices for flavouring or preserving food.
Certain plants also had religious or spiritual value and were not only grown because they were useful or edible but had a religious significance. They were planted to honour the Gods or used in religious ceremonies. Certain plants were sacred, for instance the tulsi. The ancient Greeks planted groves for their Gods, and many cultures believed that gardens were holy.
Gardens were a way to, show that their owners were rich or ,powerful. Ancient rulers created huge gardens to display their wealth in the same way that large places were symbols of prosperity. Sir Francis Bacon described gardens as “purest of human pleasures,” The ancient Greeks believed that growing food was a job for the poor but gardens were places for enjoyment and contemplation. The English word ‘Paradise’ comes from the Persian word ‘Pairidaeza’ meaning a
walled space; garden. One of the most famous early gardens was the Hanging Garden of Babylon. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was created 2,600 years ago, near the river Euphrates. It was designed so that the river could continually irrigate it and as a result was green all year around.
As gardens have developed over the years, design and beauty have become more and more important. Humans have learnt about Nature and to design gardens precisely, like a work of art or building. ‘the gardens of Versailles, in France and our very own Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan are excellent examples of “Garden Architecture” - everything is symmetrical and even the trees are pruned to fit in with the design.
Carefully planned or not, gardens are still beautiful and relaxing places to visit. On a fine day you might even find a little part of Paradise if you look hard.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. 5
(b) Using the notes write a summary of the above passage in 80 words. 3
SECTION B – (WRITING) 25
3. Rosalind/Ravi is very excited on moving into a room of her/his own in the college she/he has just joined after passing out of school. She/He writes a description of the room in her/his diary. You are Rosalind/Ravi. Write the description in not more than 80 words. 5
OR
You are a member of your, school environment club. On the occasion ‘World Save Energy Day’ you and the other club members decide to create awareness about the urgent need to conserve electricity by designing a poster highlighting the merits of conserving electricity. Design the poster in not more than 50 words.
4. Career Counselling workshops have become a regular feature for the students of senior classes (X-XII) in most reputed schools of today. You are Rahul/Rama, a student of class XII of New Model Second School, Pune. Write a letter to the Editor of a national daily express your views on the utility of such workshops in conducting tests determine one’s potential as well as inclination and in making the students aware of the evolving career options of today.
OR
You are Ritwik/Raveena, staying at D-74 Friends Colony, New Delhi. You came across the following advertisement in ‘The Times of India’ on ,December 2, 2009.
| Destination Moon! Destination Mars! |
Write a letter of enquiry to the Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology,, Thiruvananthapuram, asking for details he programmes offered, entrance examination to be held, duration, course fees and placement service provided.
5. The aim of a progressive educator is to provide learning in a stress-fret environment. A congenial environment plays a major role in a child’s holistic development. Write an article on the topic ‘Role of Environment in Holistic Growth’ in 200 words. Use the input given below : 10
| Favourable environment - unleashes full potential of child - learning without stress and fear - maximum output - child happy and relaxed - healthy competition |
OR
You are Vinod/Vimla, a student of New Era Public School, New Delhi. Prepare a speech for the assembly in not more than 200 words on the following topic: ‘Commercial Advertisements: a boon or a curse of the 21st century’. Use the input given below :
| • Attractive advertisements - glorify product in a consumerist society - do not give full information - people easily duped - cause greed and dissatisfaction if unaffordable • Create general awareness - make it possible to compare products and services |
SECTION C – GRAMMAR 20
6. Rearrange the following sentences sequentially to make complete sense : 5
(a) Elizabeth was in the audience and felt inspired.
(b) On growing up, Elizabeth realized that there was only one registered woman doctor in the world - Elizabeth Blackwell.
(c) She argued with her father that if women could become efficient nurses like Florence Nightingale, why couldn’t they become doctors.
(d) When Blackwell visited England she gave a lecture on “Medicine as a profession for ladies”.
(e) Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was born in a rich family, in 1836.
7. Gayatri has approached the school counsellor Mrs. C to discuss some problems that she is facing at home. Make five sets of exchanges based on the cues given below. The first one has been done for you as an example : 5
| Feeling misunderstood / parents think not studying enough/rude to parents / not dressing appropriately / not helping in housework / talking too much on the phone |
Mrs. C : Hello Gayatri. What makes you so sad today ?
Gayatri : The problem is not new. I feel so misunderstood especially at home.
8. The following passage has ten errors. Identify the errors in each line and write them along with the corrections as shown in the example :
To being able to fly like a bird is the dream of many. being be
1. Birds are mysterious creatures. They didn’t have
2. houses. So where do they store food ? Under their
3. throat! Birds has a bulge Below their throat
4. called a ‘Storage Bag’ and food stays there and
5. must be coughed up for chicks to eat. Not having teeth
6. is not a problem for it. They have a special grinding
7. organ called a gizzard. Food is crush by the muscles
8. as they moves around the gizzard. Some birds swallow
9. grit and small stones, this stay in. the gizzard and help
10. to grind up the food. They will also store this flying fuel in
11. tiny sacs all over their body.
9. You are Madhu working with a company conducting market research to find out what people look for when buying clothes. Frame ‘ten questions that you would like to ask the people in your city/town. home cues have been given to help you, prepare the questionnaire.
| material; price; brand; style; fashion; utility; colour; design; influences-parents / friends / others; place you buy it from-boutiques malls / small shops; |
SECTION D – LITERATURE 35
10. Choose any one of the following extracts and answer the questions that follow : 7
Their dreams that drip with murder; and they’ll be proud
Of glorious war that shatter’d all their pride...
Men who went out to battle, grim and glad;
Children, with eyes that hate you, broken and mad
(a) What is the theme of the poem ? 1
(b) Who does ‘Their’ refer to in the first line ? What do they dream of ? 2
(c) Explain the irony in the second line. 2
(d) Who does the narrator refer to as children ? Why ? 2
OR
And is there cause for sorrow
That in the one small white murder of one kiss
Are born two ghosts, two Hamlets, two soliloquies,
Two worlds apart tomorrow ?
(a) Pick up an example of irony from the above lines and explain it. 2
(b) What is a soliloquy ? Who does the word ‘two’ refer to ? 1+1=2
(c) Who are the two ghosts and why are they being referred to as Hamlets ? 2
(d) Quote the lines that convey the theme of the poem. 1
11. Answer any two of the foll6volog in not more than 50 words each: 2x4=8
(a) Autumn is a season of abundance and joy with an underlying sense of sadness. Discuss with reference to the poem ‘Ode to Autumn’.
(b) What are the feelings of the narrator towards his mother as expressed in the poem ‘Of Mothers, Among Other Things’ ? Give examples from the poem to justify your answer.
(c) What does the narrator of the poem ‘Sally in our Alley’ want to convey through this line - ‘But sure such folks could ne’er beget so sweet a girl as Sally.’ ? How does he spend time with Sally ?
12. Answer any one of the following in 80-100 words :
‘This will be my last- act of mercy.’
How is this statement made by the speaker ironical ?
OR
What was the second wish made on the monkey’s paw ? Why was it made ? What was the result ?
13. Answer any two of the following in about 50 words each
(a) Who were the Censors of Piety and what role did they play in the administration of Asoka’s kingdom ?
(b) How does the story ‘Grief’ convey the insensitive nature of humans ?
(c) Why does Mrs. Malik feel that the architect had been mocking her all these years ?
14. Answer any one of the following in 100-125 words : 7
Compare and contrast the characters of the two actresses – Lisa from the story ‘The Actress’ and Suzanne from the story ‘The Judgement of Paris’.
OR
Discuss the memories that Robert Lynd has of his childhood. Why does he call some of them ‘illusions’ ?