B.A. (Programme)/1 ENGLISH LANGUAGE (A) - Paper I
(Advanced English)
Time : 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 100
Attempt All questions.
1. Answer any five of the following questions in about 30 words each : 1x5=15
(1) What explanation does Rashid Khalifa give his son regarding his ability to make stories ?
(ii) In these 'heady days' how does lnzamam spend his Friday mornings ?
(iii) Why does Mill want to sleep with Naani ? Is it only to listen to her stories, or is there something else too ?
(iv) What mention is made of Subroto Bagchi’s mother's political leanings as a girl ?
(v) What remarks were heard by Bannu’s spies on the fifth day of the fast, regarding Savitri and Bannu ?
(vi) How can girls beat boys at the dowry game ?
(vii) The father knows that he is ‘unfair’ to his elder slaughter. Do you think he is a ‘good’ father or a ‘Bad’ one ?
Answer any two of the following questions in about 75-100 words each : 5x2=10
(i) Why does the child make strange and fantastic excuses in the poem titled ‘Some People’ ?
(ii) Why does Mary begin to ‘giggle’ when one of the policemen says that the murder weapon was probably
‘right under our noses’ ?
(iii) The girl in the poem ‘To Mother’ does not wish to live by ‘the code’. List what all she refuses to do or obey ?
3. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
Two great men were born in the year 1564; one was William Shakespeare in England, the other was Galileo Galilei in Italy. When Shakespeare writes about the drama of power in his own age, the twice brings scenes to the Republic of Venice : once in The Merchant of Venice, and then in 'Othello'. That is because in 1600, the Mediterranean was still the centre of the world, and Venice was the hub of the Mediterranean. And here ambitious men came to work, because they were free to work without restraint. Merchants, and adventurers and intellectuals, a host of artists and artisans crowded the streets. It was in Venice that a false patron trapped Giordano Bruno in 1592 and handed him to the Inquisition, which burned him in Rome eight years later. Certainly the Venetians were a practical people. Galileo had clone deep work in fundamental science at Pisa, But what made the Venetians hire him as their Professor of Mathematics at Padua was his talent for practical . Some of them survive in the historic collection in Florence. Among other things there is something which Galileo, who had a knack for salesmanship. called a “military compass”. though it is really a calculating instrument not unlike a modern slide rule. Galileo made and soId them in his own workshop. He wrote a manual for his “military compass” and published it in his own house : it was one of the first works of Galileo to get into print, This was sound commercial science as the Venetians admired it.
Questions:
(i) Which two works of Shakespeare are set in Venice ? 2
(ii) What kind of people came to Venice, and why ? 2
(iii) What did a false patron do in Venice in 1592 ? 2
(iv ) What was Galileo known for Why' did the Venetians hire him ? 2
(v) What name did Galileo give to his calculating machine and where did he sell it ? 2
(vi) What aspect of Galileo impressed the Venetians, and Why ? 2
(vii) Make sentences of Your own with: 3
Scene. street. hire.
(a) Fill in the blanks in the passage below with the most appropriate phrases in the box : 10
| Soft-option, assiduously, ulterior motive, established pattern, not worth living, absent-mindedly, toyed with the idea, strenuous, tempted her, keeping in perspective. |
Tara had always been unassertive. In college she had chosen the _____1_____ of studying English Honours not _____2_____ her own interests and aptitude, and therefore found studying quite _____3_____. After marriage she realized it was no use arguing with Ahhay. With him it was an _____4_____ that he had the last word. She wanted to he slim but life without chocolates was_____5_____. And, more so, since Abhay always catered to her tastes_____6_____. Little did she realize that he had an _____7_____ in stuffing her with so many chocolates. When she found that her husband was having an affair, she _____8_____ of committing suicide. _____9_____she bit into a chocolate; it nauseated her. The chocolates no longer_____10_____and she gave up eating them.
(b) Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B; 5
Column A Column B
Narrative Where the literal meaning is opposite of that intended
Humor story of events, experiences, or the like
Informal giving knowledge or information
Irony comic quality causing amusement
Informative irregular or casual.
5. (a) Complete the sentences with the given verbs, using appropriate tenses : 5
| Look/slip, write/drive, eat/pick, order/wait, shut/start |
(i) When his father _____1_____ in the other direction Rohit _____2_____ away quietly.
(ii) I ____3_____ the windows soon it _____4_____ to rain.
(iii) After they _____5_____ all the food, they _____6_____ up their bags and left.
(iv) Rahul _____7_____ a drink while he _____1_____ for Sunil to arrive.
(v) It was an amazing coincidence. Just as I _____9_____ to Priya. she _____10_____ to my house.
(b) Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate articles (a, an and the) : 5
(i) There’s __________ cold wind blowing from the north.
(ii) She dreamt of __________ future where she could spend more time painting.
(iii) He is a __________ finest young player around at the moment.
(iv ) She was __________, when she retired.
(v) I wouldn’t allow __________ child of mine to be treated in that way.
(vi) The best way to learn musical instrument is to find __________ enthusiastic teacher.
(vii) The mobile has had __________ enormous impact on communication.
(viii) This painting is __________ most unusual in the collection.
(x) What are your plans for __________ future?.
(c) Do as directed : 10
-Change the voice :
(i) She handed the plate to me.
(ii) The news surprised me.
(iii) The city was ruined by the flood.
-Change into Reported Speech :
(iv) ‘I don’t want anything to eat’, she said.
(v) ‘I grew these carrots myself’, she said.
(vi) ‘Can I borrow your pencil ?’, he asked.
-Use Appropriate modals :
(vii) You __________ try to visit Nepal - its a beautiful country.
(viii) You__________ have received his reply by now
(ix) Whenever I had to go to town, Mohan __________ give me a lift.
(x) Children __________ enter only when accompanied by an adult.
6. (a) Write a short dialogue in about 100 words between Bannu and Raba Sankidas,
when Bannu decided to go on a fast. 5
(b) ‘Luck has a way of running out without the slightest warning’. Describe in 150-200 words,
any incident from your life that supports this observation. 10
(c) Write an essay in about 250 words on the role of parents in the growth and development of children. 10