OMTEX CLASSES: HSC English Question paper with solutions. Maharashtra state board. (Part Two)

Part One Click Here

SECTION 'B' : POETRY

Q4. (A) Read the following poem and answer the questions given below: (4 marks)

We used to think seven generations ahead

Now we have become selfish

Only thinking about me, myself and I

Only thinking in the present, not learning from the past.

We used to stroll barefoot through the overgrown grass,

Its morning dew tickling our feet

Now we step outside onto the rugged concrete

No more natural than the over processed food we eat

We used to walk down the snow sprinkled trail,

Maybe catch a glimpse of a bobcat, playing eye tricks with its tail

Now there is only one type of bobcat we see

The one that is fur free, clearing the pavement of all debris

We used to walk through a footpath in a forest of pine

The smell intoxicating our lungs and mind

Now the only smell to be found comes from plastic trees.

Swaying on my rear – view mirror, labelled pine breeze

we used to watch the valley play hide and seek

Shadowed by the mountain's immeasurable peak

considered the largest think known to man.

Questions:

1. Why does the poet say that we have become selfish?

Ans. The poet says so, because now we have become selfish and we are thinking only about us and ourselves.

2. Complete the statement by choosing the best alternative.

The poet used to stroll barefoot because.

i. he had no footwear

ii. he wanted to enjoy morning walk over green grass.

iii. there were concrete roads everywhere.

Answer. The poet used to stroll barefoot because – he wanted to enjoy morning walk over green grass.

3. What was the largest thing known to man?

Answer: Shadowed by the mountain's immeasurable peak was considered the largest thing known to man.

4. 'Only thinking in the present, not learning form the past'

(Find out the figure of speech)

Answer: Antithesis: Two opposite ideas are placed side by side for poetic effect.

Q4. (B) Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below: (4 marks)

My father told the tenants to leave

Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill

One by one the structures were demolished

Only our own house remained and the trees

Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say

Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all

The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down

But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem

Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives

My father ordered it to be removed

The banyan tree was three times all as our house

Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet

Its scraggly aerial roots fell to the ground

From thirty feet or more so, first they cut the branches

Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge

Insects and birds began to leave the tree

And then they came to its massive trunk

Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped

The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years

We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter

As a raw mythology revealed to us its age

Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay

Where there was no tree except the one

Which grows and seethes in one`s dreams, its aerial roots

Looking for ground to strike.

Questions:

1. Why were the tenants asked to leave their houses?

Answers: The tenants asked to leave their houses because they lived in the houses surrounding poet's house on the hill and these houses were demolished.

2. What did the poet's grandmother use to say about trees?

Answer: Poet's grandmother used to say that trees are sacred.

3. What did the poet's father do with the trees?

Answer: The poet's father has ordered to remove the banyan tree which was huge and created a huge problem.

4. Why was the banyan tree a problem?

Answer: The huge banyan tree stood like a big problem because its root lay deeper than all their lives.

Section C: Rapid reading and composition

Q5.A. Rewrite the extract imagining yourself as the little daisy. ( 4 marks)

OW listen! In the country, close by the high road, stood a farmhouse; perhaps you have passed by and seen it yourself. There was a little flower garden with painted wooden palings in front of it; close by was a ditch, on its fresh green bank grew a little daisy; the sun shone as warmly and brightly upon it as on the magnificent garden flowers, and therefore it thrived well. One morning it had quite opened, and its little snow-white petals stood round the yellow centre, like the rays of the sun. It did not mind that nobody saw it in the grass, and that it was a poor despised flower; on the contrary, it was quite happy, and turned towards the sun, looking upward and listening to the song of the lark high up in the air.

The little daisy was as happy as if the day had been a great holiday, but it was only Monday. All the children were at school, and while they were sitting on the forms and learning their lessons, it sat on its thin green stalk and learnt from the sun and from its surroundings how kind God is, and it rejoiced that the song of the little lark expressed so sweetly and distinctly its own feelings. With a sort of reverence the daisy looked up to the bird that could fly and sing, but it did not feel envious. “I can see and hear,” it thought; “the sun shines upon me, and the forest kisses me. How rich I am!”

B. Convert the extract into a dialogue between the narrator and Roma:

We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat. As European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had been left unsaid between us. She broached the subject, "Where were you, during the war?" she asked softly.

"The camps," I said, the terrible memories still vivid, the irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.

She nodded. "My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin," she told me. "My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers."

I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion. And yet here we were, both survivors, in a new world.

"There was a camp next to the farm." Roma continued. "I saw a boy there and I would throw him apples every day."

What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy. "What did he look like? I asked.

He was tall. Skinny. Hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months."

My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be.

"Did he tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?"

Roma looked at me in amazement.

"Yes."

"That was me!"

I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions. I couldn't believe it. My angel.

"I'm not letting you go," I said to Roma. And in the back of the car on that blind date, I proposed to her. I didn't want to wait.

"You're crazy!" she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for Shabbat dinner the following week. There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go. That day, she said yes.

And I kept my word. After nearly 50 years of marriage, two children and three grandchildren, I have never let her go.

Convert the extract into a continuous write up.
OR

2. Add a paragraph of your own at the beginning of the extract of about 120 words.

Yes, there was a skeleton in the cupboard, and although I never saw it, I played a small part in the events that followed its discovery. I was fifteen that year, and I was back in my boarding school in Simla after spending the long winter holidays in Dehradun. My mother was still managing the old Green's hotel in Dehra - a hotel that was soon to disappear and become part of Dehra's unrecorded history. It was called Green's not because it purported to the spread of any greenery (its neglected garden was chocked with lantana), but because it had been started by an Englishman, Mr Green, back in 1920, just after the Great War had ended in Europe. Mr Green had died at the outset of the Second World War. He had just sold the hotel and was on his way back to England when the ship on which he was traveling was torpedoed by a German submarine. Mr Green went down with the ship.

The hotel had already been in decline, and the new owner, a Sikh businessman from Ludhiana, had done his best to keep it going. But post-War and post-Independence, Dehra was going through a lean period. My stepfather's motor workshop was also going through a lean period - a crisis, in fact - and my mother was glad to take the job of running the small hotel while he took a job in Delhi.

Section – D

Q6. (A) Letter writing: (4)1. Write an application letter for the post of Teacher

(OR)

2. Letterto your friend explaining him about the importance of Joint family system.

(B) Read the following passage and prepare a factfile, taking into account at least five points.

One of the most popular gateways from Mumbai and Pune is Lonavala, a beautiful hill station located in the Western Ghats and is about 106 kms from Mumbai. Lonavala is also called a the jewel in the Sahayadri range. As monsoon rains come tumbling down the Sahayadri hills, the hill station shows its best colour green. Lonavala derived its name from the Sanskrit word ‘Lonavli’, which means ‘city surrounded by caves’. The region around Lonavala was once a popular Buddhist centre. The picturesque view of the Sahayadri range is one of the many highlights tat Lonavala has to offer. With its lush surroundings and peaceful environment, Lonavala is an ideal gateway from Mumbai’s concrete jungle and an ideal place for trekking. A leisurely walk along the waterfalls and other beautiful spots is what keeps most travellers busy in Lonavala. There are number of places around Lonavala to visit. The lakes around Lonavala worth visiting include Tungarli and Bhushi. Khandala, just five kilometres away, is another exciting hill resort that can be visited from Lonavala. Lonavala is a year round destination, however most people prefer to visit the hill station druing Sumer and the Monsoon. The nearest airport to Lonavala is Pune, which is about 64 kilometres from Lonavala. Lonavala lies on the main railway line between Pune and Mumbai and hence the train is one the most convenient ways to reach Lonavala. Lonavala is well connected by road and lies on the Mumbai – Pune highway.

Answers:

Fact file on Lonavala

Location : Western Ghats 106 kms from Mumbai.

Distance from Important Places : 64 km from Pune.

Modes of Transport : Roadways and railways.

Uniqueness : Lush greenery all around and peaceful environment.

Best time of the year to visit : all year round, especially in summer and in monsoon.

What to see : Khandala, lakes, waterfalls

Anything special : Picturesque view of the Sahayadri range.

(OR)

Read the following headlines of news items. Choose ONE of them and write the date line, into and short containing paragraph. (4)

MASKED MEN SHOOT BANK MANAGER

MASKED MEN SHOOT BANK MANAGER

Mumbai, February, 21

By a Staff Reporter,

In a daring daylight robbery, three masked men entered the Indian Bank, Mahim branch on Monday at 10 a.m. When the manager refused to cooperate, he was fired at chest from a N – 38 revolver and was seriously injured. The three masked escaped in a waiting Red Maruti Van with a loot of 5 lakhs.

The Bank Manager Mr. Anbu Selvan, was rushed to Sion Hospital. He had sustained two bullet wounds on his chest. Doctors have reported that his conditions were critical. When contacted Mr. Ragavan, commissioner of Police said that certain important clues have been inspected which would definitely lead to the arrest of the bank robbers.

(OR)

HEAVY RAINS DISTURBED NORMAL LIFE

Mumbai, February, 21

By a Staff Reporter,

Heavy, rains which continued for the third day in Mumbai, brought all normal life to a stand still. The Central part of the city was the worst affected with the water level rising above 3 feet in some areas.

Most of the main roads were completely flooded. In many areas the electric poles had fallen down and thus the whole city faced darkness. The situation may improve by tomorrow. The Spokesman of B.E.S.T. said that, “All the city buses were cancelled, which leads to a major problem for a common man”

(C) Write a tourist leaflet of a place of your interest keeping in mind the following. (4)a. Name of Placeb. Conveyancec. Distance from Mumbai.d. Climatee. Things to do

Ans.

OOTY

Introduction: Ooty is the queen of Hill with beautiful lakes, rivers, scenery, etc. It is situated in the heart of Tamil Nadu.

i. How to go there: Ooty is well connected with rest of India. One can go to Chennai by the way of Plane, Bus

or Train:

Plane: Daily two flights namely IA – 550 and IA – 330 from Mumbai to Ooty are available.

Bus: The State Transport Bus Services and many other private Bus Services are available from Mumbai to Ooty.

Train: There are many trains available which can take you to Ooty. The most convenient is “Mumbai – Ooty Express”

ii. Where to Stay: Accommodation is no problem in Ooty. The Government tourist Hotels and other Big and

Small hotels are available to suit ever one’s budget.

iii. When to Visit: June to October is the best time of the year to visit Ooty.

iv. What to See: The climate and scenery of Ooty is mind – blowing. It is a well planned hill station with huge roads, parks, theatres, and gardens, there are many interesting places to see like Bull Temple, Lord Ganesh Temple, Dolphin Nose, Flower Garden, Lord Murugan Temple, Palatial Buildings, etc,.

v. Shopping: Shopping in Ooty is fun. One can buy very traditional and well as modern things from Ooty. Ooty is very famous for woollen clothes.

vi. Anything Special As far as food is concerned Ooty is famous for Black tea, Idli, Vada, Sambar, Masala dosa, Idli fry, Prawns fry, Mugal Briyani, etc. The people are very culture oriented and highly intelligent. They give more importance to their education.

(OR)

Write a speech to be delivered among your class mates, regarding blood donation.

BLOOD DONATION

Dear friends, we have one life let us make our one life more meaningful by donating blood. Blood donation is the mother of all donations. Blood donation directly gives life to another human being. It is not only saves one individual but also the entire family of that individual. A person can donate blood thrice in a year. The donated blood will be thoroughly checked and stored up in a secured form. For donating blood a person must have a weight of at least 45 kg.

Many people have misunderstandings about bold donation. They feel by donating blood they will fall sick. But it is not like so, the donated blood will automatically regenerate by our body itself within four to five hours after donating the blood. A person will be prohibited from donating blood if he drank alcohol during the last six hours.

So friends, let us put our hands together and make a promise to donate blood at least once in a year.

Q7. (A) Prepare counterview for the following views: (4 MARKS)

Views

Villages have much lesser pollution and more greenery, hence cooler climate.
Village life is slow, monotonous and non - trendy.
Better medical facilities and educational facilities are being offered in villages.
Villages offer man the sight of natural landscapes and sceneries.
Villages remain stagnant(stable) over a period of time.

Answer: