PRELIMINARY PAPER : 2018 – 19
ENGLISH YUVAKBHARATI: STANDARD XII: OMTEX CLASSES
Section 'A' : Reading Skill, Grammar, Summary and Note – Making.
Q1. (A) Read the following passage and answer the following questions. (11 marks)
Michael Dell's Two-Billion-Dollar Dream
One afternoon in 1977, as his parents and two brothers fished in the Gulf of Mexico, 12-year-old Michael Dell sat on the beach, painstakingly putting together a trotline, a maze of ropes to which several fish hooks could be attached. "You're wasting your time," the rest of the family called to Michael, as they pulled in fish. "Grab a pole and join in the fun.”
Michael kept working. It was dinnertime when he finished, and everyone else was ready to call it a day. Still, the youngster cast the trotline far into the water, anchoring it to a stick that he plunged deep in the sand.
Over dinner his family teased young Michael about coming away empty-handed. But afterward Michael reeled in his trotline, and on the hooks were more fish than the others had caught all together!
Michael Dell has always been fond of saying, "If you think you have a good idea, try it!" And today, at 29, he has discovered the power of another good idea that has helped him rise in just a few years from teen to tycoon. He has become the fourth-largest manufacturer of personal computers in America and the youngest man ever to head a Fortune 500 corporation.
Growing up in Houston, Michael and his two brothers were imbued by their parents with the desire to learn and the drive to work hard. Even so, stories about the middle boy began to be told early.
Like the time a saleswoman came asking to speak to "Mr. Michael Dell" about his getting a high-school equivalency diploma. Moments later, eight-year-old Michael was explaining that he thought it might be a good idea to get high school out of the way.
A few years later Michael had another good idea, to trade stamps by advertising in stamp magazines. With the $ 2000 profit he made, he bought his first personal computer. Then he took it apart to figure out how it worked.
In high school Michael had a job selling subscriptions to the Houston Post. Newlyweds, so he figured, were the best prospects, so he hired friends to copy the names and addresses of recent recipients of marriage licenses. These he entered into his computer, then sent a personalized letter offering each couple a free two-week subscription.
This time Dell made $18 000 and bought a BMW. The car salesman was flabbergasted when the 17-year-old paid cash.
Questions
1. Why was the car salesman flabbergasted? (1)
2. State whether the following statements are true or false. (2)
i. In high school, Michael had a job of selling newspaper subscriptions.
ii. At 29, Dell bought an expensive BMW car.
3. How did Michael succeed in catching more fish? (2)
4. What does Dell fondly say about any good idea? (2)
5. Do as directed: (3)
1. What do these words stand for?
OPEC, NASA, WHO
2. What are the above abbreviated forms called?
3. Everyone else was ready to call it a day.
That has helped him rise in just a few years from teen to tycoon.
(What do the underlined expressions mean?
6. Write word from the passage which related to the phrase 'with great care of trouble' (1)
B. Grammar:
Do as directed: (4 marks)
1. Multani mitti takes its name from a place in Pakistan. (Rewrite using the Present perfect tense.)
2. He was unable to see their act. (Rewrite using ‘could’)
3. I’d see you and run to get in your path. (Rewrite using ‘used to’)
4. He’d need a massive home library. (Add a question tag.)
Q2 (A) : Read the following passage and answer the questions: (11)
To me, a world without poverty means that every person would have the ability to take care of his or her own basic life needs. In such a world, nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition. This is a goal world leaders have been calling for decades, but have never any way of achieving it.
Today 40,000 children die each day around the world from hunger – related diseases. In a poverty – free world, no children would die of such causes.
Everybody in every part of the globe would have access to education and health – care services because he or she would be able to afford them. Unlike today, the state would not be required to provide free or subsidized health – care or schooling.
All state organizations created to provide free or subsidized services for the poor would no longer be required and could be done away with.
Thus, no need to welfare, or local welfare agencies, or the national welfare department. No need for hand – outs, no sup – kitchens, no food stamps, no free schools, no free hospital care, no begging in the streets.
State – run safety – net programme would have no rationale for existence because no one would live on charity any more. State – run social security programmes, income – support programmes would be unnecessary.
Social structures in a poverty – free world would, of course, be quite different from those that exist in a poverty – ridden world. But nobody would be at the mercy of anyone else, and that is what would make all the difference between a world without poverty and one riddled with it.
Finally, a poverty – free world would be economically much stronger and far more stable than the world today.
Questions:
1. State whether the following sentences are true or false. (1)
(i) Today 25,000 children die daily around the world from hunger related diseases.
(ii) Finally, a poverty – free world would he economically less stronger and far more stable than the world today.
2. What, according to the writer, would the 'world without poverty' be like? (2)
3. What would happen to the charitable trust and state organizations helping to poor, if there were no poverty? (2)
4. How does the social structure in poverty – free world look like? (2)
5. Do as directed: (3)
(i) It became too dark to read easily.(remove too)
(ii) I do not remember. (Make it affirmative)
(iii) They always come in time. (add a question tag)
6. . Give noun forms of the following adding suffixes. (1)
a. Enjoy b. prefer
B. Note – making (4 marks)
Draw Tree Diagram with the help of following points. A Tissue may be defined as a group of cells having some shape, size, origin, function and the same type of development. Tissues are basically classified into two groups namely, meristematic tissues, and permanent tissues. Meristematic tissues are divided into two, these are position based and origin based. Permanent tissues are further divided into two groups. They are simple tissues and complex tissues. On their basis of their position in the plant body meristematic tissues are classified as aplicle – intercalary, and lateral. On the basis of origin, meristematic tissues are divided into 3 groups; they are Pro – meristem, Primary – meristem and secondary – meristem. Simple tissues are classified into 3 groups, namely parenchyma, collechyma, sclerenchyma, The two complex tissues are found in vascular plant. They are xylem and phloem.
Q3. A : Read the following passage and answer the questions: [11 marks]
The nests of parrots were neatly crafted holes in the trunks of palm trees. I continued to wonder how they made these holes on the hard trunks until I saw the patient work of the woodpeckers. They were the carpenters and their long, sharp and strong beaks, chisels. They make the holes (in search of worms inside the weak spots of the trunks) and the parrots occupy them. If I heard the sound tak, tak, tak, I knew it was a woodpecker chiselling a hard trunk. I would go after him. It seems that the woodpecker is the only bird which can walk perpendicularly on the tree trunks! How beautiful the sight was! Its strong legs, red crest, the dark red stripe on the face and black beak and the tak, tak, tak sound used to captivate me.
One of the coconut trees near the pond was thunderstruck. It was a headless trunk for a long time and there were at least three parrot nests on its top. I have seen many parrots entering the holes and coming out to bring food to their little ones. One day, I saw the tree was being cut. I rushed to the site and begged the tree cutters to spare the trunk as it was the home of many a parrot. But I was laughed at and the tree fell with a great thud. I ran to the top end to see two just hatched chicks thrown out of their nest and smashed to death. I looked into all the nests and saw smashed eggs in two of them and one little chick in the other one. Fortunately, the little one survived the fall. I brought it home. The chick can be identified as a parrot only by the shape and colour of its beak. No feathers had come out. I carefully fed it with milk and within two weeks it began to eat bananas; and two months later, it started to fly and I let him fly away. But he wouldn't fly long. He used to linger on the coconut trees in our compound and when I reached home from school, he would fly down and land on my head!
Questions:
1. What sight did the narrator enjoy? (1)
2. What would captivate the narrator? (2)
3. How many nests were made in the trunk? (2)
4. How can we help protecting wild life, according to you? (2)
5. Read the adjectives in column 'A' and match them with their meanings given in column 'B': [3]
A
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B
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i. awestruck
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a. enjoying theatre a lot and wishing very much to be an actor.
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ii. dumbstruck
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b. crazy because he / she is in love.
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iii. stage – struck
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c. impressed by famous people.
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iv. moonstruck
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d. heatstroke caused by excessive exposure to the sun.
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v. starstruck
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e. feeling very impressed.
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vi. sunstruck
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f. unable to speak because of surprise.
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B. Summary
Write a summary of the main findings of the passage. Give it a suitable title. [4]
Section B.
Q4. (A) Read the following poem and answer the questions given below. (4 mark)
THE PERSON I AM LOOKING FOR _ Hazara Singh
If you do not get lowered in your own eyes
While you raise yourself in those of others
If you do not give in to gossips and lies
Rather heed them not, saying ‘Who bothers’.
You may be the person I am looking for.
If you crave not for praise when you win
And look not for sympathy while you lose
If cheers let not your head toss or spin
And after a set-back you offer no excuse.
You may be the person I am looking for.
Questions:
1. What should you be cautious of when raising yourself in the eyes of others? (1)
2. What should be your reaction towards gossips and lies? (1)
3. How should be your reaction when you are the winner and when you are the loser? (1)
4. How does the poet expect you to react to 'cheers' and to a 'set – back'. (1)
(B) Read the following poem and answer the questions given below. (4 mark)
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh, excuse me Please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
Wasn't even watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
QUESTIONS:
1. How did the mother behave with the stranger? (1)
2. If you discovered that something was wrong on your part how would you make up for it? (1)
3. Write the example of 'Antithesis' from the passage. (1)
4. What difference was there in the behaviour of mother in two incidents mentioned? (1)
Q5. Read the following passage answer the following questions: (8 marks)
In just eight years, 2020 will be upon us. By then, our cities will be either areas of more chaos or meaningfully planned. The choice is ours. We are at a crucial junction as far as urbanism goes. The need to work vigorously on our cities and improve them is urgent and critical. Their populations have surged tremendously in the last few decades . Delhi's population increased from12.8m in 2001 to 16.3m in 2011. Bangalore grew from 5.7m to 8.5m during the same period.
Our urban planners have perhaps not understood the nature of the modern city, what it takes not just to run them but to make them livable. The two key requirements of a city are: provision of basic services and social infrastructure. These need to be developed together.
So what is a city? It's a dense amalgamation of buildings and people. A city must provide equity and also be sustainable. As an architect who has been closely connected with Delhi and its planning, my wish list is more about the direction we need to take so that future generations don't end up living in chaotic dysfunctional cities.
The first requirement for a city is a pragmatic plan. Many of our cities such as Delhi and Bhubaneswar and even Port Blair in the Andamans have reasonably good master plans. Many also have City Development Plans which have been made an essential requirement to draw funds from the government's Urban Renewal Programme (JNNURM). But they should be updated frequently based on the changing needs of its people.
Questions:
1. What two choices do we have about our cities? (2)
2. How does the writer define a city? (2)
3. What must a city provide? (2)
4. Who need to be involved when evolving a master plan for a city? (2)
Section – D
Q6. (A) Letter writing: (4)
(OR)
(B) Read the following passage and prepare a factfile, taking into account at least five points. (4)
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.
(OR)
Read the following headlines of news items. Choose ONE of them and write the date line, into and short containing paragraph. (4)
(C) Write a tourist leaflet of a place of your interest keeping in mind the following. (4)
Name of Place
Conveyance.
Distance from Mumbai.
Climate.
Things to do (OR)
Write a speech to be delivered among your class mates, regarding blood donation. (4)
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.
(B) Prepare a set of ten questions they you would ask the winner of the overall championship at the state level. (3 MARKS)
