Class Test-3
English Core
Class XII
Time: 90
Minutes
M.M: 50
General
Instructions:
1. All questions are compulsory.
2. Separate instructions are given with each question. Read them
carefully and follow them faithfully
3. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the
questions.
Q1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
8
In a very short period of time the internet has had a profound
impact on the way we live. Since the Internet was
made operational in 1983, it has lowered both the costs
of communication and the barriers to creative expression. lt has
challenged old business models and enabled new ones. Lt has provided access to information on a scale never before
achievable. lt succeeded because we designed it to be
flexible and open. These two features have allowed it to accommodate
innovation without massive changes to its infrastructure. An open, border
less and standardized platform means that barriers to entry are low
competition is high, interoperability is assured and innovation is
rapid.
The beauty of an open platform is that there are no gatekeepers.
For centuries, access to and creation of
information was controlled by the few. The internet has
changed that and is rapidly becoming the platform for everyone, by everyone.
Of course, it still has a way to go. Today there are only about
2.3 billion internet users, representing roughly
30% of the world's population. Much of the information that they can access
online is in English, but this is changing rapidly.
The technological progress of the internet has also set social
change in motion. As with other enabling inventions
before it, from the telegraph to television, some will
worry about the effects of broader access to information -- the
printing press and the rise in literacy that it effected were, after all, long seen as destabilizing. Similar concerns about
the internet are occasionally raised, but if we take a long
view, I’m confident that its benefits far outweigh the
discomforts of learning to integrate it into our lives. The internet and the World Wide Web are what they are because literally
millions of people have made it so. It is a grand
collaboration.
It would be foolish not to acknowledge that the openness of the internet has had a price. Security is an increasingly important
issue and cannot be ignored. lf there is an area of vital
research and development for the internet, this is one of them. I am
increasingly confident, however, that techniques and
practices exist to make the internet safer and more secure while retaining its essentially open quality.
After working on the internet and its predecessors for over four decades, l'm more optimistic about its promise than l have ever
been. We are all free to innovate on the net every day. The
internet is a tool of the people, built by the people
for the people and it must stay that way.
(a) On the basis of your reading of
the above passage make notes on it
using recognizable abbreviations (minimum four) wherever necessary. Use a format you consider appropriate. Supply a suitable
title. (5 marks)
(b) Write
a summary of the passage in about 80 words. (3 marks)
Q3. You are the
General Manager of Panton Herbal India Limited, Noida. You need sales
executives for the marketing division of your company. Draft a suitable
advertisement to be published in a national daily giving necessary details. 4
OR
You
are Sonal Ragini of 12-A, R.K. Puram, New Delhi. You have been invited by the
principal of St. Joseph Public School, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi to act as one of
the judges at a debate Contest to be held on 29th Sep. 2014.
But you are unable to accept this invitation due to a previous engagement.
Write an informal reply to the Principal expressing your inability to accept
the invitation. 4
Q4. You are Prateek/ Pratiksha staying at 34-C, Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad. Last
month, you bought a Telephone Answering System with Facsimile from the Royal
Electronics, 56-N, Palika Bazar, New Delhi against a warranty of two years. Now
you discover that there is something wrong with the answering machine. It does
not record the caller’s message. Write a letter to the dealer complaining about
the problem. Also request him to replace it, if needed, against the warranty
that goes with it. 8
OR
Mobile phones have become a necessity and are seen
in the hands of young and old alike. Write an article highlighting the crucial
role of mobile phones by way of communication and in promoting business and
economy. Also point out the difficulties and dangers in using mobile phones
while driving. You are Abhinav/ Alisha.
8
Q5. Read the following extract and answer the questions
that follow: 4 marks
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
Questions:
1. What is it that should not be confused with total
inactivity? 2
2. What is the life about?
2
Q6. Answer any four of the
following in about 30-40 words each: 3x4
= 12
a. How did Douglas
overcome his fear of water?
b. What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
c. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
d. “If all the Japs were like you there wouldn’t have been a
war,” said Tom. Justify.
e. How does Jo want the story to end?
Q7.
Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words each: 7
a. Bring
out the contrast in the ironmaster’s attitude and behavior towards the stranger
before and after he realizes his mistake.
b. Why
does Jo want that the Wizard should hit the mommy? Does her stand reflect a
child’s perspective on life? What is your choice?
Q8.
Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words each: 7
(a) Describe the meeting between
Marvel and the Invisible Man. 7
(b) What was the general feeling in Iping about
the existence of an invisible man?
XXXXXX