12th STD.

- CBSE BOARD
Date : 05.03.2018 English Paper - SET - I
Question Paper
Solutions

English
(Core)

General Instructions

(i) This paper is divided into three sections A. B and C. All the
sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate instructions err given with each section nod question,
wherever necessary. Read these instructions very carefully and fallow them
faithfully.
(iii) Do not Exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

Section A -
(Reading)
1. Read the passage given below
[12]

1. When you grow up in a place where it rains live months a year, wise elders help you to get
acquainted with the rain early. They tell you that it is ignorant to think that it is the same
rain frilling every day. Oh no, the ruin is always doing different things at different
times. There is rain that is gentle, rind there is also rain that falls Ion hard and damages the
crops. hence, the prayer for the sweet rain that helps the crops to grow.
2. The monsoon in the Naga hills goes by the native name, khuthotei (which means the rice- growing
season). It lasts from May to early or mid. October, The local residents firmly believe that Durga
l'ujn in October announces the end or rain. After that, one might expect a couple of short winter
shawers, and the spring showers in March nod April. Finally, comes the lug rain' in May; proper
rainstorms accompanied by heart-stopping lightning and earsplitting thunder. have stood eat in
torms looking at lightning arc across dark skies, a light-And-sound show that can go on for hours,

3. This is the season when people use the word sezuo or suzu to refer to the week-long rains,
when clothes don't dry and smell of mould, when fungus forms on the floor and when you
can’t see the noon or the stars because of the rainclouds. see the noon or the stars because of
the rainclouds. But you learn not to complain: Ruin, after all, is the farmer’s friend and brings
 food to the table. Rituals and festivals center around the agricultural rhythm of life, which is
the occupation of about 70 percent of the population.

4. The wise learn to understand its ways. I grew up hewing my grandfather say, It’s very windy
this year. Well get good rain." If the windy season was short and weak, he worried there
might not be enough rain for the crops. I learned the interconnectedness of the seasons from
childhood, and marveled at how the wind could bring rain. Another evening, many
rainy seasons ago, my paternal aunt observed the new moon and worried, its legs are in the
air, we’re in for some heavy rain." She was right. That week, a storm cut off power lines and
brought down trees and bamboos.
5. Eskimos boast of having a hundred names for snow. Norwegians in the north can describe all
kinds of snow by an equal amount of names pudder, powder snow, wet snow, slaps, extra
wet snow, tight snowfall, dry snow, and at least 96 more categories of snow. Likewise, in
India we have names and names for rain. Some are common, some are pnssing into history.

6. The rains are also called after flowering plants and people believe that the blossoming of
those plants draws out rain. Once the monsoons set in, field work is carried out in earnest
and the work of uprooting and transplanting paddy in flooded terrace fields is done. The
months of hard Inbaur are June, July and August. In August, as the phrogii plant begins to
bloom, a rain will fall. This August rain, also called phrogO, is a sign that the time for
cultivation is over. If any new grain seeds are sown, they may not sprout; even if they do
sprout, they are not likely to bear grain. The rain acts as a kind of farmer’s almanac.

7. The urban population of school-goers and office-goers naturally dislikes the monsoon and its
accompanying problems of landslides, muddy streets and periodic infections. For non-
farmers, the month of September can be depressing, when the rainfall is incessant and
the awareness persists that the monsoons will last out till October. One needs to have the
heart of a farmer to remain grateful for the watery days, and be able to observe — from What
seems to the inexperienced as n continuous downpour — the many kinds of rain- Some
of the commonly known rain-weeks ore named after the plants that alternately bloom
in August and September. The native belief is that the flowers draw out the rain.

8. Each rain period has a job to fulfil : October rain helps garlic bulbs to form, while
komonyo rain helps the rice bear groin. Without it, the ears of rice cannot form properly. End
October is the most beautiful month, in the Naga hills, as the fields turn gold Find
wild sunflowers bloom over the slopes, all heralding the harvest. Prayers go up for protecting
the fields from storms, and the rains to retreat because the grain needs to stand in the sun and
ripen. The cycle nears completion a few weeks before the harvest, and the rain does retreat
so thoroughly from the reaped furrows that the earth quickly turns hard. The months of rain
become a distant memory until it starts all over again.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete the statements given below with the
help of options that follow: [1 x 4 =4]
 (a) The rains are called after flowering plants because
(i) heavy rains kill plants.
(ii) flowers grow in the rainy season.
(iii) it is believed that the plants bring the rain.
(iv) flowers grow all the year round.

(b) The rain is like a calendar for farmers because

(i) it tells them when to saw and when to harvest.
(ii) it tells them the birthdays of their children.
(iii) each month has a time for plantation.
(iv) different kinds of rain tell different. Things.
(c) People who live in cities don't like rain because
(i) it brings mud and sickness with it.
(ii) they are not bothered about the farmers.
(iii) they don't like the plants that grow during the rain.
(iv) going shopping becomes difficult

(d) People pray asking the rain to retreat because

(i) the fungus and mould need to dry.
(ii) children don’t get a chance to play.
(iii) the crops need the sun and heat to ripen.
(iv) they like to pray.
Ans. People pray asking the rain to retreat because the crops need the sun and heat to ripen.

Answer the following questions briefly : [1 x 6 =6]

(e) Why do the elders want you to understand the rains in the Naga him?

(f) What does Durga mean to the farmers of the Naga hills?
(g) What kind of rain is called sezuo?

(h) What is the occupation of more than half the population of the Naga hills?
(i) How is the heart of the farmer alter-cot from that of the city person?
(j) When does rain become a memory in the minds of the people of the Naga hills?
(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following: [1 x 2 =2]
(i) flowering (para 6)
(ii) nonstop (para 7)
2. Read the passage given below:

1. Every morning Ravi gives his brain an extra boast. We re not talking about drinking
strong cups (if coffee or playing one of mind-training video games advertised
all over Facebook- "I jump onto my stationary bike and cycle for 45 minutes to work,"
says Ravi. "Whoa I get to my desk, my brain is at peak activity for a few hours." After his
mental focus comes to a halt Inter in the day, he starts it with another short spell or cycl i
ng to be able to run errands.
2. Ride, work, ride, repeat. it s a scientifically proven system that describes some unexpected
benefits of cycling. In a recent study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research,
scientists found that people scored higher on tests of memory, reasoning. and planning after
30 minutes of spinning on a stationary bike than they did before they rude the hike. They
also completed the tests faster after pedalling.

3. Exercise is like fertilizer for your brain. All those hours spent on exercising your
muscles. create rich capillary beds not only in leg rind hip muscles, but also in your brain.
More blood vessels in your brain and muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients to
help them work. When you pedal, you alga force more nerve cells to fire. The result you
double or triple the production of these cells — literally building your brain. You
also release neurotransmitters (the messengers between your brain cells) so ell those cells,
new and did, can communicate with each other for hotter, faster functioning. That s a
pretty profound benefit to cyclists.
4. This kind of growth is especially important with each passing birthday, because as we age,
our brains shrink and those connections weaken. Exercise restores and protects the brain
cells. Neuroscientists say, “Adults Who exercise display sharper memory skills, higher
concentration levels, more fluid thinking, and greater problem-solving ability than
those who are sedentary”
5. Cycling also elevates your mood, relieves anxiety, increases stress resist-once, and even banishes
the blues. "Exercise works in the same way as psychotherapy and antidepressants in the
treatment of depression, maybe better," says Dr. Manjari. A recent study analyzing 26 years of
research finds that even some exercise — as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day — can prevent
depression over the long term.
6. Remember although it s healthy, exercise itself is a stress, especially when you re just
getting started or getting back into riding. When you first begin to exert yourself, your body
releases a particular hormone to raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood
glucose levels, says Meher Ahluwalia, PhD, a professor of integrative physiology. As you
gel fitter, it takes a longer, harder ride to trigger that same response.

On the basis of your understanding of the passage, complete the statements given below with the
help of the options that follow : [1 x 2 =2] (a)
Ravi gets his brain to work at peak level by
(i) drinking three cups of coffee.
(ii) playing games that need brain activity.
(iii) cycling on a stationary bike.
(iv) taking tablets to pump up his brain.

(b) When nerve cells work during exercise then

(i) the body experiences stress.
(ii) the brain is strengthened by multiplying them. (iii)
you start to lose your temper.
(iv) your stationary cycle starts to beep.

(c) How does exercise help the rain ?

(d) Why does Ravi do a circuit of ‘ride, work, ride' ?

(e) What is the work of neurotransmitters?

(f) What benefits other than greater brain activity dues one get from cycling?

(g) Why is exercise important for adults?

(h) How is exercise itself a stress?

(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following: [1 x 2 =2]
(i) manure (para 3)
(ii) inactive (pare 4)
 3. Read the passage given below : [8]

1. Keeping cities clean is essential for keeping their residents healthy. Our health depends not just on
personal hygiene nutrition, but critically also on how clean we keep our cities and their
surroundings. The spread of Dengue and chikungunya are intimately linked to the deteriorating state
of public health conditions in our cities.

2. The good news is that waste management to keep cities clean is now getting attention through the
Swachh Bharat Mission, However, much of the attention begins and stops with the brooms and the
dustbins, extending at most to the collection and transportation of the mixed waste to some distant or not
so distant place, preferably out of sight.

3. The challenge of processing nod treating the different streams of solid wast, and safe
disposal or the residuals in scientific Innelfills, has received much less attention in municipal
solid waste management thou in expected from n health point of view.

4. One of the problems is that instead of focusing on waste management for health, we have got
sidetracked into ‘waste for energy” If only we were to begin by net mixing the biodegradable
component of solid waste close to 60 percent of the total) in our cities with the dry waste, and
instead use this stream of waste for composting and producing a gas called methane.

5. City compost from biodegradable waste provides an alternative to farmyard manure. (like cow-
dung), it provide an opportunity to simultaneously clean up our cities and help improve agricultural
productivity and quality of the soil. Organic manure or compost plays a very important role as a
supplement to chemical fertilisers in enriching the nutrient-deficient soils. City compost can be the
new player in the field.

6. Benefits of compost on the farm are well-known. The water holding capacity of the soil which uses
compost helps with drought-proofing; rind the requirement of less water per crop is a welcome
feature for a water-stressed future. By making the
 7. City compost has the additional advantage of being weed-free unlike farmyard manure
which bring with it the seeds of undigested grasses and requires a substantial additional
labour cost for weeding as the crops grow. City compost is also rich in organic carbon, and cur
soils are short in this.

8. Farmers clearly recognize the value of city compost. If city waste was composted before making it
available to the farmers for applying to the soil cities would be cleaned up and the fields around them
would Lie much more productive.

9. Quite apart from cleaning up the cities of biodegradable waste, this would be a major and sustainable
contribution to improving the health of our soil without further damage by excessive chemical
inputs. What a marvellous change from waste to health!

10. The good news is that some states ore regularly laying plastic roads. Plastic roads will not only
withstand future monsoon damage but will also solve a city's problem of disposing of non-
recyclable plastic. It is clear that if the mountains of waste from our cities were to be recycled into road
construction material, it would tackle the problem of managing waste while freeing up scarce land.

(a) On the basis of your understanding the above passage, make notes on it using headings and
sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary (minimum four) and a
format you consider suitable. Also suply en appropriate title to it. [5]

(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words. [3]

Section B – (Writing Skills) [30]

4. You are FaizFalnk Muzumdar living at 39, Udampur Colony, Shimla. You decide to hold
a dinner party to congratulate your grandparents on their golden wedding
anniversary. Draft a formal invitation in not more than 110 words to all family
members to attend a grand dinner at home.
OR
You are Harish/Harshita of 12, Seva Nagar, Pune. You want to sell your flat as you are
o mother city for work. Draft to a suitable advertisement in not more than 50 words to
be published in The Pune Times under the classified columns.
5. You are Neeraj/Neeraja Shekhar, Principal. Vasant Public School, Pune. Your school has
just started a music department. Write it letter to the Manager or Melody House,
Pune wholesale suppliers of musical instruments. placing an order for musical instruments
for the school. Ask for as discount on the catalogue prices. (120 — 150 words)
OR

Bal Vidya Public School, Bhilai, urgently requires a post-graduate teacher

to teach political science for which they have placed an advertisement in The Bhilai
Express. You are Sanjay/Sanjana Sharma from 21, Vasant,Draft a letter including a CV,
applying for the advertised post. (120 –150 words)

6. Recent floods in many metropolitan cities of the country during the monsoon Henson laid
bare the hollowness of the claims of the civic authorities of their preparedness. The poor
hod to hear the brunt or the problem while no one was ever held accountable. Write an
article in 150 — 200 words on the common man s woes during the monsoons and the need
for accountability of the officials concerned. You are sumit/smita Verma
[10]

OR

You are MI/Alia Head girl/Head boy of your school. You are deeply disturbed by the
rising cases of aggressive behaviour of students in your school. You decide to speak
riu rig t. arming assembly about it. Write a speech on Indiscipline in schools . (150 — 20
words)
7. Academic excellence in the only requirement for a successful career."
Write a debate either for or against the motion. (120 – 150 words) [10]

Section C – (Literature : Textbooks and Long Reading Text) [40]

8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
That for themselves a cooling convert make
Gainst the hot season: the mid forest brake.
Rich with the sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms: ………..
 (a) identify the poem And the poet.

(b) What is the role of the clear rills ?

(c) How has the mid forest brake become rich?

(d) Name the figure of speech in ‘cooling covert’.

OR

…….On their slag heap, them children.

Wear skins pooped through b bones null spectacles of steel
With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

(a) Name the poem and the poet

(b) Explain : ‘slag heap’.
(c) What future a waits these children?
(d) Name the figure of speech used in the third line.

9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30- 40 words each

(a) What does the poet’s smile in the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ show?

(b) Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds . In the context of Mukesh, the
bangle maker’s son, which two worlds is Anees Jung referring to?

(c) Though the sharecroppers of Chain ran received only one-fourth of the compensation,
how can the Champaran struggle still be termed a huge success and victory ?

(d) Which article in Mcleery’s suitcase placed perhaps the most significant role in Evnn’s
escape and how?

(e) Why does Derry's mother not want him to go back to visit Mr. Lamb

(f) What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married?

 10. Answer the following question in 120 -150 words [6]

In one’s approach to life one should be practical and not live in a world of dreams.
How is Janise’s attitude different from that of Sophie?
OR
Fear is something that we must aim to overcome if we want to succeed in life. How did
Douglas get over his fear of water?

11. Answer the following question in 120 — 150 words [6]

At the end of the storytelling session, why does Jock consider Himself "caught in an ugly middle
position' ?
OR
It may take a long time for oppression to be resisted, but the seeds of rebellion are
sowed early in life. How did Zitkala-Sa face oppression as a child an did she
overcome it?

12.Answer the following question in 120 — 150 words: [6] How does the

perception and attitude of the villagers of Raveloe towards Silas Marner change from the

beginning to the end of novel ?

OR
How do you perceive Dr. Kemp based on his in interaction with Griffin? (The Invisible

Man).

13.Answer the following question in 120 — 150 words: [6]

How is Godfrey Cass different from his younger brother, Dunstan?

OR
"Misdirected and self-serrving ambition essentially remains an exercise in
futility." Describe Grillin's character in the light of the above statement.