English: 2012 (Solved)

1. Choose the right answer:

a. Maria Sharapova went ot the U.S at the young age with her

i. Mother ii. Father iii. Mother and Father

Ans: ii.

b. Bruno took to drinking milk from a

i. bottle ii. Cup iii. Bowl

Ans: i. Bottle

c. Mr Sappleton and his two brother-in-laws were supposedly

i. shot ii. Engulfed in a bog iii. Killed at war

Ans: ii. Engulfed in a bog

d. in Ovaros, the first meeting with the guide was disappointing, because

i. he was fat ii. There were not enough people escaping that night

iii. he said that they could not escape that night

Ans: iii. he said that they could not escape that night

e. Three figures walked across the lawn towards the window and close at their heels was

i. grey spaniel ii. A white poodle iii. A brown spaniel

Ans: iii. A brown spaniel

f. the first and only person to show Megan some sympathy was:

i. Megan’s mother ii. Miss springer iii. Susie

Ans: ii. Miss springer

g. Pramodini did not go to school as:

i. she was deaf and dumb ii. There was none to cater to her needs

iii. she could not learn anything

Ans: i. she was deaf and dumb

2. State whether the following statements are true or false (any five):

a. Claire proved to be a true friend to Megan. (False)

b. Framton Nuttle found Vera to be a timid young girl. (False)

c. Bruno forgot all about narrator’s wife when he was in the zoo. (False)

d. For Maria Sharapova, tennis was a business and a sport. (True)

e. Megan gave birth to a baby boy. (True)

f. The moonlight helped Christene Arnothy and her parents to cross the border of Hungary.
(False)

g. Mr. David did not talk to Mrs. Bhandari as he was proud. (False)

3. Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow:

a. “I am very competitive. I work hard at what I do. That is my job”

i. Who said these words?

Ans: These words were spoken by Maria Sharapova

ii. What was her mantra for success?

Ans: Hard work was her mantra

iii. What did she attain in 2004 and 2005?

Ans: She won the Wimble in 2004 and she won the World Championship in Women’s Tennis.
b. “ a most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttle”

i. Who said and to whom?

Ans: Mrs Sappleton to Mr Sappleton.

ii. Why did she find extraordinary?

Ans: He was extraordinary because he only talked about his illness and went away without
saying goodbye.

c. “How rude he is”

i. Who uttered these words?

Ans: Mrs Bhandari said these words.

ii. Who was the person she referred to?

Ans: It is Mr David.

iii. Why did she say he was very rude?

Ans: Because he made Pramodini feel embarrassed with his politeness and even after being told
not to approach their daughter he darted towards her.

4. Answer any two of the following:

a. Why was Bruno sent to the zoo? How did the author’s wife take her separation from
him? After how many months did she visit him in the zoo? What did Bruno do to show that
he remembered and loved her when she visited him?

Ans: Bruno was send to the zoo because he growing rapidly and there was not enough space in
the house to keep him. The tenants were concerned about their safety as Bruno becomes a fully
grown bear.

The author’s wife was in a state of shock; wept terribly and refuse eat anything. From time to
time she would write letter to the curator of the Zoo enquiring about Bruno’s state of being.
She visited the zoo after desperate wait of three months.

When she visited the zoo Bruno recognized her from afar and howled with happiness.

b. Who was Vera? What did she love to do? What story did she create regarding Mrs.
Sappleton’s tragedy? What was Vera’s theory regarding Mr. Nuttle’s sudden departure?

Ans: Vera is a young witty girl of fifteen years of age. She loves narrating make up tales and
play pranks on strangers. She is the character who is responsible for making Mr Nuttle leave the
house without saying goodbye to Mrs Suppleton.

Vera weaves a story of how Mrs Sappleton wait by the open window for her husband and two
other brothers who went for hunting three years ago. According to Vera Mr Suppleton, his two
brothers along with a spaniel dog were engulfed in a bog and their bodies were never found.
However her aunt thinks that her husband and the two brothers will come someday and walk in
through the window. She has been waiting for them in this manner for the past two years and that
is why the window is kept open.

Regarding Mr Nuttle’s abrupt departure, Vera says that it is because of the Spaniel dog. Mr
Nuttle once had a terrible experience with dogs where he was hunted by pariah dogs into the
cemetery and has to sleep alone in a newly dug grave.

c. Why was Megan taken to the doctor? What did the doctor declare after he had examined
her? What did the doctor say after he had examined her? What did her mother say Megan
should do? Relate to the conversation between Megan and her mother on the way home
from the doctor.

Ans: Megan was taken to the doctor to examine on her pregnancy. To the utter shock of Megan’s
mother, the doctor confided that the girl was twenty two weeks pregnant. The doctor advised that
it would be too dangerous to do the abortion.

The mother told Megan they would have to search for someone who can adopt the baby right
after its birth.
They returned home without much conversation. The mother shared how embarrassed she had
become because of Megan and that the prescription of ‘Iron and Vitamins supplements’ will let
everyone know that she is pregnant.

d. Why did Cristine Arnothy and her parents plan to excape to Austria? Why did they
have to go the house of a man in Ovaros first? Why was the escape to the frontier not an
easy one? How had the narrator imagined the frontier to be?

Ans: Christine Arnothy her parents escaped to Austria in search of a refuge from the communist
regime. It was during the time when communist regime had come to power implementing its
tyrannical law.

The family had to go straight to the house in Ovaros because the man promised to lead them to
the frontier of Austria secretly.

The escape was not an easy one because the communist police carefully kept vigil on everyone’s
movement. If found, the police could have arrested the narrator and his family.

The narrator imagine the frontier to be fortified with wall and barbwire to restrict free access but
it was not as she had imagined it to be. The frontier appeared beautiful and calm in the moonlit
night with a grassy plain.

SECTION B

a. Peace comes dropping slow

i. Snowfall will be peaceful

ii. The lap of nature would bring joy

iii. It will take time for him to find peace

Ans: iii. It will take time for him to find peace

b. Subdued, subduing strain

i. The restrained music of rain has a pacifying effect.

ii. The rain has disturbed him with the memories.

iii. The rain is loud hence the poet cannot sleep.

Ans: i. The restrained music of rain has a pacifying effect.

c. It’s a fine land, the westland, for hearts as tired as mine:

i. One will get solace and comfort in one’s homeland

ii. The westland is meant for tired people

iii. The poet is asked to stay away from home.

Ans: i. One will get solace and comfort in one’s homeland

d. Is earth like this, in which we shall die:

i. All places on earth are same

ii. Because we die, we are same

iii. All of us will finally be buried in the same earth

Ans: iii. All of us will finally be buried in the same earth

6. Supply the missing line in the extracts:

a. where woods come out from the depth of truth

Ans: Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.

b. And forget, I gazing on her,

Ans: That her heart was all untrue

c. They too aware of Sun and air water

Ans: Are fed by peaceful harvests, by the war’s long winter starv’d

7. Read the extracts and answer the following questions that follow:

a. “Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake”

i. Who is the poet praying to?

Ans:The poet is praying to God

ii. For whom is he praying?

Ans: The poet is praying for his countrymen

iii. For what should his country awake?

Ans: His country should awake from being exploited, tortured and divisions between themselves.

b. “And thousand recollection weave their bright hues into woof”

i. What triggers the recollection?

Ans: The raindrop hitting the shingles triggered the poet’s memory.

ii. Who are the four persons that he recalls?

Ans: The four persons the poet recalled are: his mother, sister, brother and his beloved wife.

iii. What are the memories compared to?

Ans: The memory is compared to a yarn that is beautifully woven.

8. Answer any one of the following:

a. What do you think Yeats desires to go to Innisfree? What is the kind of dwelling place
that the poet has imagined for himself? What else will he do in the Innisfree?
Ans: The poet wants to go to the lake Innisfree in order to escape the hustle bustle of the City
life. He is sick of the tension and anxiety that grips up everyday living in the city. The poet wants
to refresh his sense and have a time of peace amidst the nature.

The poet imagines to be in a place away from city. He desires to build a simple dwelling cabin
made of clay of and wattles

He will plant nine rows of beans, place a hive for the honey bee. In the idyll retreat he will enjoy
the song of cricket in the morning and in the evening the sparkling light of stars.

b. What does the West wind make the poet nostalgic? What outstanding features of the
west land are described in the poem? What decision does the poet take in the end?

Ans: The West wind reminded the poet of his beloved country. There is never a time when he
does not think of the west wind without tears flowing down his cheeks because the wind reminds
him of the land in the west, the old brown hills and the beautiful daffodils of his country.

In the west land the air has the aroma of wine because of the orchard filled with apple and the
green grass in the meadow give a refreshing look and soothes the sight of a tired soul. Here the
men may lie down and rest in peace. The month of April is the best month of the year with green
in the trees everywhere, flower blossoms, and the bird from the trees sing melodious songs. The
month of May is filled sunshine and even when rain comes the air is warm and pleasant. The
blue sky, the white cloud, the warm rain and sun all beckon to his romantic sensibilities.

The poet, standing before the white road that goes toward the west, decides he must take this
road that leads him home.

C. How does James Kirkups poem, ‘No men are Foreign’ tell that all people of the world
are alike? How does he convey that by hating others we hate ourselves?

Ans: The poem recounts the oneness of human being. No one is different because God has
created man identically in His image. We breathe the same air, gets the same sunshine, and drink
the same water. When we are alive we walk upon the same earth and when we die we will be
buried on the same. Even the internal system that functions on our body is the same. So one is
stranger to one another and also there is no country that is foreign. The only difference that exists
is man-made based on the egoistic nature of man.

The poet strongly holds to the view of universal brotherhood. When we hate others and try to
harm them we are hating ourselves and doing harm to ourselves unknowingly. He explains this
by giving an example of war. During the when nations fight each other, it is our earth that we are
defiling and maiming. No one is winner but we are only polluting the air we breathe in from the
guns and the explosive.

SECTION: C (RAPID READER)

9. Answer in 2 or 3 sentences each:

a. What were the contents of the first will of Dr. Jekyll?

Ans: The will states that Mr Hyde would inherit Dr Jekyll’s property in case of Dr Jekyll
disappearance and unexplained absence for a period of three months. But Hyde has to pay a little
amount to the member of the Dr. Kekyll’s family.

Or

Who was Danvers Carew? What did the police find at the site of his murder?

Ans: Sir Danvers Carew was a member of the British Parliament.

The Police recovered a purse, gold watch, broken half of the the stick made of rare heavy wood
and an envelope that addresses to Mr Utterson.

B. Whose house did Mr. Utterson ans Mr Enfild reach one Sunday? Where was the owner
of the house sitting? What did the two men witness there?

Ans: Mr Utterson and Mr Enfild reached Dr. Jekyll’s house on Sunday.

The owner of the house was sitting on the middle of the three windows that was half open.
The two men witnessed an abrupt change happening to Dr Jekyll.
or
Who was Dr Lanyon? What was the terrible shock that caused his death? What was the
terrible shock that caused his death?

Ans: Dr. Lanyon was an acquaintance of Dr. Jekyll and an old friend of Mr. Utterson.

The transformation of Dr Jekyll into Edward Hyde by taking the chemical potion made
Dr Lanyon to lose faith in the goodness of man. This shock was the reason that caused Dr
Lanyon’s death.

10. Who was Poole? Why did he go to Mr. Utterson’s house? How did he justify to Utterson
that his “master has been done away with?” What did Poole and Utterson find when they
broke open the door to Henry Jekyll’s study?

Ans: Poole is the servant of Dr Jekyll. He went to Mr. Utterson’s house to confide what is
happening at home and also to get his advice on the matter.

Poole fears that Dr. Jekyll has been murdered by the strange dwarfish man he saw in his master’s
chamber.

When the two men broke into Henry Jekyll’s chamber there was a man lying on the floor in the
middle of the room. The man as they recognized later is Mr Hyde. The two men found a rusted
key, sign of chemical experiment being done on the table and on another table there were letters.

Or

How did Dr. Jekyll prepare the transcendental drug? What Changes took place in his body
after he consumed the drug?

Ans: The drug was prepared by compounding a particular chemical salt with tincture.

On taking the drug the immediate reaction was racking pains, grinding in bones and
nausea. After all these reactions are over, he can feel a change in his body. When he looks
himself into the mirror he sees another man smaller, deformed and decay in his structure. The
looks on his face clearly shows a wicked character.
 SECTION: D (GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION)

11. Rewrite as directed:

a. He was tired. He went to sleep (Join the two sentences beginning with being…)

Ans: Being tired he went to sleep.

b. She said to me, “What is the time?”

Ans: She asked me what the time was.

c. Sheena like to sit near the window (Rewrite using a gerund)

Ans: Sheena like sitting near the window.

d. The peon rings the bell. (Change to the passive voice)

Ans: The bell is rung by the peon.

e. He loves to look at the swaying trees. (Use ing form of the verb)

Ans: He loves looking at the swaying trees.

f. We must listen to his music. (Begin: His music)

Ans: His music must be listened by us.

g. “Have you finished your work?” Mr Brown asked Sam. (Begin: Mr Brown)

Ans: Mr. Brown asked if Sam had finished his work.

h. She told me that she could easily beat me in singing. (Begin: she said to me…)

Ans: She said to me, “ I can easily beat you in singing”.

12. Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions:

a. The train passed over a long tunnel.

b. The village from where Sonu comes is in Sikkim

c. She told the child to keep away the stove.

d. A bullfight is a contest between a bull and a man called matador.

e. He is an heir to his father’s property.

f. Sachin Tendulkar plays for India Cricket team.

13. Make sentence with the following idioms:

a. To cry over spilt milk: What has been done is done; there is no point of crying over spilt milk

b. in the nick of time: The navy came in the nick of time to help the man from drowning.

c. tall talk: He only goes around with tall talk but never does a thing.

d. to break one’s heart: The death of his wife has broken his heart.

e. a bolt from the blue: His achievement in the Olympics was a bolt from the blue.

f. a hard nut to crack: Getting a slot in the premiere institute of management is a hard nut to
crack.

g. a cock and a bull story: The narrator befools all his listener with his cock and bull story.

14. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Our country gave birth to mighty soul and he shone like a beacon, not only for India
but also for the whole world. Inspite of this, he was done to death by one of his own
brothers and compatriots. How did this happen? You might think that it was an act of
madness but that does not explain this tragedy. It could only occur because the seed for it
was sown in the poison of hatred and enmity that spread throughout the country and
affected so many of our people. Out of that seed grew this poisonous plant. It is the duty of
all of us to fight this poison of hatred and ill will. If we have learnt anything from Gandhiji,
it is that we must bear no ill or enmity; it is the poison within him that we fight and which
we must put an end to.

a. Who is the mighty soul in the passage?

Ans: The mighty soul in the passage is referred to Mahatma Gandhi.

b. By whom was he done to death?

Ans: By one of his brothers and compatriots.

c. How did this tragedy occur?

Ans: Due to the seed of hatred within one’s heart.

d. What do we learn from Gandhiji?

Ans: We must not hate each other or we should not bear ill-will or enmity for others.

e. How is the individual not our enemy?

Ans: Enmity is the outcome of ill-will not from the individual.

f. What is the poison referred to?

Ans: The poison in the passage is referred to hatred against another community.

Or

a. Your locality has become very dirty due to reckless throwing of garbage by its residents.
Write a notice, as if you were the Secretary of your locality, warning the local residents
against the indiscriminate throwing and dumping of garbage in and around the locality.

Ans: Notification for cleaning drive

This is to notify to all the residents of Nongthymmai that the locality will undertake a
cleaning drive on the 25 of August 2016. All the household are requested to send their
representative to take part in the cleaning drive. And it is also being decided hitherto that careless
throwing of garbage and dirtying the locality will be strictly prohibited. Strict actions will be
taken by the local authority against the violators.

S. Mark
Sd/ Secretary, Nongthymmai
b. For Sale : Alto k10 of 2014 in tip top condition at Rs 300000 (three lakhs) with A/C and
music system fully loaded. The prize however is negotiable for the interested person. It has well
modified seat and new tyres with first class alloy. Interested person contact in this number
9465876897

15. Write an essay on “Health is Wealth”

Ans: It is true that health is one of the greatest blessings that one can have in life. Good health is
considered as the precious earning of a human throughout his/her life. If one has losses his
health, he has lost all the charms of life. A good wealth can be earned anytime using a good
health however; a good health can never be earned again in the life if once destroyed. In order to
maintain a good health we need to do regular physical exercises, yoga, meditation, balanced
food, good thoughts, cleanliness, personal hygiene, regular health check-ups, proper sleep, rest,
etc. If one is healthy, he/she does not need spend money on his/her health in buying medicines or
visiting doctors. A healthy person just needs to spend some money only on his health on regular
basis. However, on the other hand a lazy, diseased or sluggish person needs to spend more
money throughout his life.

People generally fail in their life to maintain a good health just because of their lazy and idle
habits. They think that what they are doing is right but time has already gone whenever they
understand their mistakes. A good health is one which keeps us healthy in all aspects like
mentally, physically, socially and intellectually. A good health provides us freedom from all the
sickness and diseases. A good health is the feeling of mental, physical and social well-being. It is
a costly and most precious gift of the life and necessary for living a purposeful life.

A good health reduces the stress level and promotes healthy life without any sufferings. We
should always be aware of our health and go for regular health check-up. We should eat balanced
food having fresh fruits, salad, green leafy vegetables, milk, egg, dahi, etc in timely manner in
order to maintain the good health. A good health also need some daily physical activities, proper
rest and sleep, cleanliness, healthy environment, fresh air and water, personal hygiene, etc. In
order to reduce our rush between hospital and home, maintain a good health is better idea.
Maintaining a good health is a good habit which should be practiced from childhood with the
help of parents.
In earlier days, life was not so hectic. It was quite simple and free of too many challenges with
healthy environment in comparison to these days. People were healthy as they had to perform all
the daily routine activities by their own hand and body. But now, life in the technological world
has become easy and comfortable but hectic because of the competitions. Now-a-days, easy life
is not possible as everyone wants to earn more money to get better life than others. Now-a-days,
living life has become costly and tough as well as unhealthy as everything like air, water,
environment, food, etc has become contaminated, infected and polluted.

A good health allows us to work for more time without getting tired. A good health is the real
pleasures and charm of life. An unhealthy person always worries about his/her physical or
physiological complications. So, it is good to maintain the good health to get rid of all the
complications of body as well as successfully face all the challenges of life.

Memories of Childhood:

The memories of childhood have their own significance in one’s life. As one grows up, one feels
more and more attached with his childhood, the best period of a man’s life. A child has no
worries, anxieties or work. He is free from the dirty and filthy noise of worldly life. His motto of
life remains eat, drink and be merry the charm of childhood cannot be forgotten. These memories
leave an everlasting impression on one’s life.

Same is the case with me. When I recollect the days of my childhood, I feel very much delighted;
it was a pleasant period which I spent in high spirits. In my childhood days, I was carefree,
having no worries at all. I used to wander like a deer in the open fields enjoying the natural
beauty in the pastures. There are certain incidents which are still fresh in my memory. For
instance, at the age of five, I got severe attack o typhoid. In those days medical science was not
so much advanced. In the absence of proper diagnosis, I was reduced to a skeleton. After taking
medicine for a sufficiently long period I was cured. The doctor advised me to go to some hill-
station. So, father took me to hill-station.

Once a juggler with two monkeys came to our street, he showed monkey’s tricks which engaged
our attention. The he-monkey fell in love with the she-monkey. She monkey refused to marry the
he-monkey. The he-monkey went to his father-in-law’s house after wearing colorful dress. These
were the pranks which attracted me. I fully appreciated the tricks shown by the juggler.

Another incident which I still remember is swimming experience. It was Sunday when I along
with my friends want for picnic to river. Some of us were expert swimmers, but unluckily I did
not know how to swim. My friends dived into the river and compelled me also to do the same.
Soon I was caught by the current of water and was carried away swiftly. There was every
possibility of my losing life, but due to the valour of one of my friends, I was rescued from the
current of water and was brought on the bank, I was really very much grateful to him because he
gave me a new life.

The memory of the days spent in my childhood is still haunting my mind. Although I do wish
that those days, full of pleasure, may come back; yet I know that it is a thing of the past. Time is
always on its wings. I cannot enjoy those days again. It is this period which has often been
praised by poets and writers. Recollecting past is to plunge ourselves in a state of melancholy.
Wordsworth, the immortal poet of England and a great worshipper of Nature, describes in his
poems, his childhood period, which to him was full of pleasantries and pleasures, joy and
entertainment.

As I am growing in age, I feel greater attachment and attraction for those days which I had spent
in my childhood. I am certain that my desire of enjoying childhood again will never be filled
because, gone are the good old days when I was a child.

The Use of Mobile Phones:

Mobile phone is a wonderful gift of science. It is a gift to society. It has revolutionized the world
of communication. Now a man can have communication anywhere, anytime to anyone sitting
thousands of kilometers away from him. Though a small instrument, it can perform big
functions. The latest version of it offers many great facilities including music system,
photography, internet, computer, etc. It is, in fact, an improved version of landline phone which
has facilitated communication. Now we can talk whether we are in car, bus, train or airplane.
Mobile phones have received overwhelming response from all across the world. Now everyone
has a mobile phone. It is useful for all. A businessman uses it to keep in touch with his clients,
customers, his workers and other associates affiliated to him. It has contributed to his business
expansion. Even green grocer and plumber have a mobile phone. It helps them in their business
dealings. Almost all the big cities are well-connected by the mobile phones. Even in remote
villages mobile facility is available. Many big companies have come into this field. Severe
competition among them has caused to a fall in the prices of the instrument and cost of the
services as well. As a result, now even middle class and lower middle class people find it
convenient to afford mobile. This has led to increase in tendensity in India.

The mobile market in India is booming. India being a big market offers tremendous business
opportunities. Big multinationals from across the world are rushing to India. This has made the
market good in favour of the customers. It along with many other factors has brought the prices
down. Mobile phones have particular value during the time of an emergency, such as an
accident, robbery, murder or sudden serious illness. Today mobile, which once was a luxury, has
become a necessity. We cannot think of life without mobile phones. Today man, woman, elderly
person even school-going and college-going children make use of mobiles.

The latest mobile has many more facilities. It has a music system, video game, recorder, speaker,
camera and even internet facility available in it. A mobile user can use it as a recorder. It is of
great facility to the media persons. They no longer need to carry a camera, recorder, speaker, etc.
An entrepreneur and an executive can deal his business even while they are far from their work
place. It has removed the boredom particularly during travelling.

Mobile has some negative impact on society. It has facilitated the task of anti-social elements.
The underworld and the criminals carry on their business sitting far away with great ease and
convenience. It is very difficult to unearth the crimes committed with the help of mobiles.
Mobiles have adversely affected the reading habits particularly of the children. The time they
should devote to some light reading, they enjoy video game. It has affected social interaction.
Through mobiles they send greetings and good wishes to their dear ones and share their
feelings.However, mobile phones are wonderful inventions of science. It is up to the users, how
they make use of them. If used properly, they are indeed a boon to us.