English 2008 CBSE [ All India ] Set I
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Q1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.
(i) What does the poet expect of the fishermen and why? 2
(ii) What will the man gathering salt do? 1
(iii) What do the hurt hands imply? Marks:4View AnswerAnswer:
(i) The poet expects the fisherman not to harm whales as he proposes that for a moment everybody in the world should be quiet and keep still so that there should be no discrimination in the world for at least a second.
(ii) The man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands.
(iii) The 'hurt hands' refer to the pain and grief the man has to suffer daily in his struggle to earn his livelihood. -
Q2
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. (i) How does a thing of beauty remain a joy forever? 2
(ii) Mention any two sources of joy which a thing of beauty provides to us. 2 Marks:4View AnswerAnswer:
(i) A thing of beauty remains a source of constant joy because its beauty goes on increasing day by day. It never passes into nothingness. It gives solace in the times of trouble.
(ii) A thing of beauty provides us sound sleep which is full of sweet dreams and it provides us with health and quiet and peaceful breathing. -
Q3
You are Saran/Swati, Cultural Secretary of Queen’s Senior Secondary School , Patna . Write a notice in not more than 50 words for your school notice board, giving details of the cultural programme to be organized by your school. Invite the names of the participants. Marks:5View AnswerAnswer:
Queen’s Senior Secondary School, Patna NOTICE Explore Your Talent March 10, 2008 The school is organizing a Cultural programme to be held on 2nd of April in the school auditorium. All the students are invited to participate in it enthusiastically. Interested students must submit their names to the undersigned latest by March 12. For further details contact the undersigned in the ‘0’ period in the sports room. Swati
Cultural Secretary -
Q4
You want to sell your car as you are going aboard. Draft a suitable advertisement in not more than 50 words to be published in the classified columns of ‘The Hindu’. Give necessary details of the car. You are Suman/Sushil, 21 Ram Nagar, Delhi . Marks:5View AnswerAnswer:
FOR SALE 2005 model, Santro Xing DX, run 35000 kms. Rs. 1.75 lacs. Single owner driven, in excellent condition with brand new tyres. Owner going abroad, wants to sell immediately. Price not negotiable. Contact Sushil, 21 Ram Nagar, Delhi -
Q5
Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words each: 3x2=6
(i) What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? 2
(ii) Describe the tigers created by Aunt Jennifer. 2
(iii) Why does the poet, Stephen Spender call the map a bad example? 2
(iv) What do the parting words of the poet, Kamala as to her mother signify? 2 Marks:6View AnswerAnswer:
(i) Those who had put up the stall hoped that they would be able to tempt the people whizzing past in their limousines, to stop and buy some of the berries and the vegetables that they had put out to sell and thus earn some money to make their lives better.
(ii) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are of a bright topaz green colour and can be seen prancing on the screen. They are sleek, chivalrous and bold and are not afraid of any man.
(iii) Stephen Spender calls the map a bad example because it depicts sun and ships and bright objects far removed from the reality of the slum children’s lives which tempt them to steal.
(iv) The parting words of the poet present her worries about her mother and the fear of separation that has been there since the childhood. The words of assurance "See you soon Amma" are in reality hollow as she does not know whether she will meet her mother again or not. -
Q6
Answer the following question in 125-150 words:
The astrologer’s prediction about the death of the Tiger King came to be true. Do you agree with this statement? Explain why or why not. Marks:7View AnswerAnswer:
The astrologer’s prediction came true about the Tiger King’s death. According to the prediction, the King’s death was caused by a tiger. The astrologer had said that the hundredth tiger, the King would come in contact with, would prove fatal for him. Thus the Tiger king went on a hunting spree and killed 99 tigers. The hundredth tiger which the Tiger King thought had been killed had actually fainted from the shock of the sound of the bullet. It was the wooden tiger from the toyshop which became the cause of the Maharaja’s death. One of the slivers from its wooden body pierced the Maharaja’s right hand which resulted in infection and developed into a suppurating wound. The king died during the operation. -
Q7
What oppression and discrimination did Zitkala-Sa and Bama experience during their childhood? How did they respond to their respective situations? Marks:7View AnswerAnswer:
Bama is a victim of caste system as she is born a dalit. Zitkala-Sa is a Native American who feels that the ruling Americans are out to destroy their culture. She notices their hostility against her culture and women. The cutting of her hair is symbolic of subjection to the bosses. In their culture, only unskilled defeated warriors had their hair shingled by the enemy. The rulers have not even left her soft moccasins shoes worn by Native Americans. She feels shy and indecent without her blanket on her shoulders which has also been removed. Rules observed at breakfast table are alien to her. Both rebel against the existing circumstances. They refuse to bend to their situations. They work very hard to remove all the barriers raised by the people in authority. Their struggle is against prejudice, oppression, superstitions and ignorance. They prepare to reach their goal through education and study hard to earn a name for themselves. They wield their pen and distinguish themselves in their respective fields. Their work depicts their viewpoints and thus they march on to remove the discrimination that has dominated them and their race. -
Q8
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: A vast blanket of pollution stretching across South Asia is cutting down sunlight by 10 per cent over India , damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, according to a new study. The startling findings of scientists working with the United Nations Environment Programme indicate that the spectacular economic growth seen in this part of the world in the past decade may soon falter as a result of this pollution. Research carried out in India indicates that the haze caused by pollution might be reducing winter rice harvests by as much as 10 per cent, the report said. "Acids in the haze may, be falling as acid rain, have the potential to damage crops and trees. Ash falling on leaves can aggravate the impacts of reduced sunlight on the earth’s surface. The pollution that is forming the haze could be leading to several hundreds of thousands of premature deaths as a result of higher levels of respiratory diseases," it said. Results from seven cities in India alone, including Delhi , Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata estimate that air pollution was annually responsible for 24,000 premature deaths in the early 1990s. By the mid 1990s they resulted in an estimated 37,000 premature fatalities." "The haze has cut down sunlight over India by 10 per cent (so far) - a huge amount ! As a repercussion, the North West of India is drying up," Prof. V. Ramanathan said when asked specifically about the impact of the haze over India . Stating that sunlight was going down every year, he said, "we are still in an early stage of understanding of the impact of the haze." Asked whether the current drought in most parts of India after over a decade of good monsoon was owning to the haze, he said, "it is too early to reach a conclusion. If the drought persists for about four to five years, then we should start suspecting that it may be because of the haze." India , China and Indonesia are the worst-affected owing to their population density, economic growth and depleting forest cover. The preliminary results indicate that the build-up of haze, a mass of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles is disrupting weather systems, including rainfall and wind patterns and triggering droughts in western parts of the Asian continent. The concern is that the regional and global impacts of the haze are set to intensify over the next 30 years as the population of the Asian region rises to an estimated five billion people. (a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary. 5 (b) Write a summary of the passage in 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title. 3 Marks:8View AnswerAnswer:
(a) I. Startling facts
A. Pollutn – its effects on India
(i) 10% sunlight cut
(ii) agriculture dmgd
(iii) rainfall pttrn modified
(iv) svrl ppl at risk B. UNEP findings
(i) economic growth may soon falter
II. Damaging effects
A. Pollutn haze
(i) winter rice harvest- 10% reductn
(ii) acid rain – crops & trees dmgd
(iii) ash on leaves – sunlight reduced
B. Premature deaths bcoz of pollutn
(i) Pollutn causes svrl premature dths due to respiratory diseases
(ii) 24000 premature dths in 1990 in jst 7 Indian cities
(iii) By mid- 1990s no. rose to 37000
III. Droughts in India-caused by haze?
A. Experts say- sunlight rducing evry yr
B. Result- NW India drying up
C. Droughts in India maybe result of this
IV. Worst affected countries
A. India, China , Indonesia mst affected due to-
(i) poputn density
(ii) economic grwth
(iii) dpltng forest cvr
B. Impact of pollutn
(i) haze, ash, acids, aerosols bldng up
(ii) wthr system disrupted
(iii) effects may intensify in future
Key Pollutn - pollution
Dmgd- damaged
Ptrn- pattern
svrl- several
ppl- people
reductn -reduction
bcoz- because
%- per cent
&- and
dths- deaths
jst- just
evry- every
yr- year
mst- most
grwth- growth
poputn- population
dpltng- depleting
cvr- cover
bldng- building
wthr- weather (b) The Debilitating Effects of Pollution Increase in pollution in the South Asian countries, especially India , China and Indonesia , is a big cause of concern today. Due to their population density, economic growth and depleting forest cover, these countries are the worst-affected. The haze caused by pollution is cutting down sunlight, damaging agriculture, disrupting weather systems and causing several premature deaths due to increase in respiratory diseases. It is also causing acid rain and formation of aerosol which damage crops and producing ash which when falls on leaves, aggravates the impact of reduced sunlight. Experts say that the droughts in most parts of India may be due to this pollution-induced haze and that the spectacular economic growth seen in these countries may soon falter due to this pollution. -
Q9
Answer the following questions in 30 - 40 words each:
(a) Who do you think has outwitted the other - Evans or Governor? How? 2
(b) How does Mr. Lamb try to remove the baseless fears of Derry ? 2
(c) How can a visit to the Antarctica be an enlightening experience? 2
(d)How did the Skunk’s mother get his old smell back? 2 Marks:8View AnswerAnswer:
(a) Evans befooled the governor and escaped right under his nose without putting any effort. Evans had friends and a lot of well wishers around him. Even prison officers like Jackson had compassion for him. The police personnel helped Evan to escape. All the governor’s efforts to see that he should not escape proved futile. (b) Derry had developed withdrawal symptoms. He didn’t like being near people. Mr. Lamb tells him the story of a person who was afraid of everything in the world. So he went into his room and locked the door. He got into his bed and stayed there for a while. Then a picture fell off the wall on to his head and killed him. This story helped in shaking the apathetic attitude of Derry . (c) A visit to Antarctica can be an enlightening experience as it will give us a grasp of where we have come from and where we could possibly be heading. It would help us study about the future climate changes and tell us about the repercussions of environmental changes. (d) The Skunk’s mother took him back to the wizard. She hit the Wizard on his head asking him to give Roger Skunk’s old smell back. The Wizard readily agreed and reverted back his smell to the old one. -
Q10
Answer the following question in 125-150 words: Marks:10View AnswerAnswer:
Since
