Sample Test Paper - 4
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:
10
1.
South India is known for its music and for its arts and rich literature. Madras
or Chennai can be called the cultural capital and the soul of Mother India. The
city is built low in pleasant contrast to the ghoulish tall structures of
Mumbai and Kolkata. It has vast open spaces and ample greenery. The majestic
spacious Mount Road looks like a river, wide and deep. A stroll on the Marina
beach in the evening with the sea glistening in your face is refreshing. The
breeze soothes the body, it refreshes the mind, sharpens the tongue and
brightens the intellect.
2.
One can never feel dull in Chennai. The intellectual and cultural life of the
city is something of a marvel. Every street corner of Chennai has a literary
forum, a debating society and music, dance and dramatic club. The intelligent
arguments, the sparkling wit and dashing irony enliven both the political and
the literary meetings. There is a young men’s association which attracts
brilliant speakers and equally brilliant listeners to its meetings. It is a
treat to watch the speakers use their oratorical weapons. Chennai speakers are
by and large sweet and urbane, though the cantankerous, fire-eating variety is
quite often witnessed in political campaigning. The more urbane speakers weave
their arguments slowly like the unfolding of a leisurely Karnataka raga.
3.
Music concerts and dance performances draw packed houses. There is hardly any
cultural family in Chennai that does not learn and patronize music and dance in
its pristine purity. Rukmani Devi Arundale’s ‘Kalakshetra’ is a renowned
international centre. It has turned out hundreds of celebrated maestros and
dancers who have brought name and glory to our country. Karnataka music has a
peculiar charm of its own. It has the moon’s soft beauty and moon’s soft pace.
Thousands of people flock to the temple ‘maidans’ to get drunk with the
mellifluous melodies of their favorite singers. They sit out all night in them
grueling heat, swaying to the rhythm of ‘nadaswaram’ and rollicking with the
measured beats of ‘mridangam’. M.S Subbulakshmi is considered to be the nightingale
of the South.
4.
The Gods might descend from heaven to see a South Indian damsel dancing. There
are several varieties of South Indian dance – Bharat Natyam, Mohini Attam,
Odissi, Kathakali etc. age cannot wither nor custom stale its beautiful
variety. Bharat Natyam is the most graceful and enchanting dance form whereas
Kathakali is most masculine and virile. South Indian dances combine
voluptuousness with purity. Here every muscle and fibre of the body vibrates
into life, and as the tempo increases, a divine flame-like passion bodies forth
as if making an assault on heaven.
5.
South Indian dress, particularly of the males, is puritanically simple. There
you cannot distinguish a judge from an ‘ardali’ by their dress. South Indian
ladies too look charming and graceful in their colourful Kanjeevaram and Mysore
silk saris.
6.
South Indian cuisine, especially ‘dosa’, ‘idli’ and ‘vada’ are so delicious
that now we can enjoy them almost everywhere in India as well as in some
foreign countries. The Madras ‘idli’, which was a favourite of Gandhiji is served
with ‘sambhar’ and coconut ‘chutney’.
(I)
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following
questions by choosing the most appropriate option. (2 Marks)
1.
South India is known mainly for its
(a) Tasty food
(b) Traditional
music, art, literature
(c) Scenic beauty
(d) Delicate and
precise ways
2.
South Indian dances are special because
(a) Gods come from
heaven to see them
(b) There aren’t
many varieties of dance
(c) They are pure
as well as sensuous
(d) They make an
assault on heaven
(II)
Answer the following questions as briefly as possible. (1×6 = 6 Marks)
3. How does the
breeze on Marina Beach affect the author?
4. How do we know
that music is very important for the people of South India?
5. What is the
common connection between language, music and dance of South India?
6. What makes
Karnataka music charming?
7. Enumerate the
features of Bharat Natyam and Kathakali form of dance.
8. What is
Kalakshetra renowned for?
(III)
Find words from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following.
(2 Marks)
(a) Ill-tempered
and quarrelsome (Paragraph 2)
(b) Smooth and
sweet (Paragraph 3)
Q2. Praveen Chandra of 38-G, Gokulpuri, Palam, New Delhi wants to let out a
portion of his house only to foreigners/ Central Govt. employees. Draft a
suitable advertisement to be published in the To-Let column of a national daily giving necessary details. 4
OR
Design a poster on Cruelty
to Animals to create love and sympathy for animals in the general masses. You
are secretary of Animal Welfare Club of Shantikunj, Delhi. 4
Q3. You are Aman/Avantika of 25-A, Anand Niketan,
New Delhi. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily about rising prices
of essential commodities. Give suggestions on how to control the price rise. 6
OR
Read the advertisement
given below and write a letter applying for a job. Also give your detailed
resume to be sent along with the letter. You are Praveen/ Prachi of 87-D,
Shalimar Garden, New Delhi. 6
|
Situation Vacant
Wanted Post Graduate
Teacher in Physics to teach Senior Secondary classes in a reputed school in
South Delhi. Candidate should have a minimum of three years teaching
experience. Apply to The Times of India, Post Box No. 127, New Delhi.
|
Q4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 3
A thing of
beauty is a joy forever
Its
loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into
nothingness; but will keep
A bower
quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of
sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Questions:
1. How is a thing of beauty a joy
forever? 1
2. Why
doesn’t a beautiful thing pass into
nothingness? 1
3. What does the poet mean by “A bower quiet for us”? 1
Q5. Answer any
five of the following in about 30-40 words each: 3x5 = 15
(a) What did the peddler think of the world and its people?
(b) Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers of Muzaffarpur?
(c) What are the things that give pains and sufferings to man?
(d) Why didn’t Roger Skunk’s mommy like her son smelling like
roses?
(e) Why does Derry go back to Mr. Lamb?
(f) Why did Rajkumar
Shukla meet Gandhi?
Q6. Answer any one of the following in about 125-150
words each: 6
(a) Give an account of
Gandhiji’s efforts to secure justice for the poor Indigo sharecroppers of
Champaran.
(b) How did Mr. Lamb’s meeting with Derry become a
turning point in Derry’s life?
Q7. Answer any one of the following in
about 125-150 words each: 6
(a) How does Griffin keep
Marvel under his control?
(b) Who was Dr. Kemp? What
did Dr. Kemp see from the window of his study room?
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